Hard-drive problems

The_One_2

Hey

i took my pc down 2 the local PC shop because my computer was making these clicking noises, it turned out that it was the harddrive, and i couldnt start up the computer.

But i want 2 knw..... if i get the hard drive replaced, will i lose Windows XP, Office XP and all my other software and files. ??

OR,,,,is there a possibility of the actual hard-drive being repaired therefore saving my files etc ? (was told tht i could get a new drive for the amount it costs 2 repair and the labour)

any help would be grateful

Shoiab

indiegirl_2

It depends how 'dead' your HD is.

I would buy a new HD regardless, because for the cost of repair you can probably buy something twice the size of your current one.

Once you have Windows installed on the new HD, you can plug your old one into the machine to check it out. If it's recoverable, it will appear as another HD in Windows and you can copy across as much of your stuff as possible.

A 'clicking' HD like you describe is a very poorly one, and I don't think your chances of recovering it are very high, I'll be honest.

I definitely wouldn't go down the repair route though, just write this off as a bad experience and remember to back up to RW discs often!

The_One_2

cool....thx 4 the reply, well the thing is...i dont have the Windows XP CD thing, i have no idea where it is. but i have the Office XP cd with Word, Excel etc, on

So it looks like i'll have to buy a new hard drive aswell as Windows XP, what do you think ? How much can you get a 40GB for these days? and how much does Windows XP home edition cost?

bluep

Hard drives are really cheap nowdays - from around £40 to £90 for a HUGE one (like 200GB). Somewhere like https://www.pcworld.co.uk is pretty good for getting an idea of the expensive end of the popular market, but you will find it cheaper in small local pc shops that carry their own lists of hardware. There are internet suppliers like https://www.dabs.com and a flick through this site will reveal the best new traders out there for comp bits but I always prefer to go and buy hard drives in person as they can get damaged in the post.

Depending on what make your old hard drive is and how old it is, it might be guarenteed by the manufacturer - some do for 5 years, some for life. But...they'll only replace it with a blank new one, not repair it. People only really go for the repair option if they have valuable commerical or highly personal data on it (like only copy of baby photos etc....). They are so cheap that they are pretty much disposable now.

They are also really easy to put it yourself by the way unless you buy one from your local pc shop and they offer to slot it in for you (takes 5 mins).

You will have to reinstall everything. However, if you have your windows XP serial written down anywhere (some pc's come with a sticker on the case with it on), then you should be able to borrow an install disc from a friend and use YOUR serial number. If not, then a new copy will cost anything from around £70 if you are a student or a teacher (or someone in your household is) to £100 plus (can't remember the price as my partner is a teacher). Don't be tempted to buy a pirate copy off ebay or anywhere as its just not worth the hassle.

I presume though...your pc shop a) reset the bios on your motherboard (this can suddenly for no reason cause HD's to click and the comp to not start up) and b) tried out the HD by linking it to another pc (tests whether its the actual HD or something else in your comp affecting the HD).

bluep

oh , I wasn't recommending you ever buy anything for pc world!! I just use it as a starting to point to get an idea of what I'm NOT going to pay for a particular brand LOL.

https://www.dabs.com is cheaper but customer service isn't top notch and components can often turn up damaged.... https://www.overclockers.co.uk are pretty good - I actually live kind of near so I go in person and buy from their warehouse shop. Have always been impressed with their advice (over phone or in person) and service - they even tested a zonked graphics card for me whilst I waited as I didn't know if it had definately gone or if something else was wrong. Of course it was teh graphics card and they then got £120 out of me hehehe.d

bluep

ah lol! I see - the missing "s"

The_One_2

bluep wrote:

Hard drives are really cheap nowdays - from around £40 to £90 for a HUGE one (like 200GB). Somewhere like https://www.pcworld.co.uk is pretty good for getting an idea of the expensive end of the popular market, but you will find it cheaper in small local pc shops that carry their own lists of hardware. There are internet suppliers like https://www.dabs.com and a flick through this site will reveal the best new traders out there for comp bits but I always prefer to go and buy hard drives in person as they can get damaged in the post.

Depending on what make your old hard drive is and how old it is, it might be guarenteed by the manufacturer - some do for 5 years, some for life. But...they'll only replace it with a blank new one, not repair it. People only really go for the repair option if they have valuable commerical or highly personal data on it (like only copy of baby photos etc....). They are so cheap that they are pretty much disposable now.

They are also really easy to put it yourself by the way unless you buy one from your local pc shop and they offer to slot it in for you (takes 5 mins).

You will have to reinstall everything. However, if you have your windows XP serial written down anywhere (some pc's come with a sticker on the case with it on), then you should be able to borrow an install disc from a friend and use YOUR serial number. If not, then a new copy will cost anything from around £70 if you are a student or a teacher (or someone in your household is) to £100 plus (can't remember the price as my partner is a teacher). Don't be tempted to buy a pirate copy off ebay or anywhere as its just not worth the hassle.

I presume though...your pc shop a) reset the bios on your motherboard (this can suddenly for no reason cause HD's to click and the comp to not start up) and b) tried out the HD by linking it to another pc (tests whether its the actual HD or something else in your comp affecting the HD).

Well...my dads buying me a new computer now, ..however, my mate is interested in buying the computer off me

But...i'd like to know how u access the BIOS settings ? Which function button do u press on start up?

Mr_Skint_2

F2 or Del button....

The_One_2

rite then, i'll get it out of the garage 2moro and give tht a go,see if they've reset it or not...it never occured to me.LOL..thx very much

1purplefairy

Mate to be perfectly honest if your HD is making a clicking noise it is poked. Sometimes you can still get data off them if they pick up in windows as a slave. You would need to get another drive anyway.

You can get the data recovered from a drive even if it is totaly dead. It obviously depends how important the data is to you because it is going to be very expensive. I had it happen to one of our servers at work once and we had to send it away. They basically open the drive up and place the discs on a machine and copy the data to a new drive.

Like I said depends on how badly you want whats on the disc. Our server was the accounts server with all the companies Accounting records on so it was something that had to be done.

Hope that helps.

Mr_Skint_2

Oh yeah have a look here for tons of help https://www.pcmech.com