Saving hard drive

Bubby

I am hopeless when it comes to pc technology:o, my pc is being taken away tomorrow to see if it can be repaired (insurance claim) and I have been told that if they can't repair it I will have to pay to have my hard drive sent to me (insurance won't pay for that apparently). Is there anyway I can do this myself before the computer goes?

danthemoneysavingman

you can easily remove the hard drive from the computer, desktop (remove side panel, locate, disconnect) or laptop (undo screws for panel on base with standard hard drive symbol prob on it). If they need this to check your computer, however, then prob not advisable!
It won't cost much at all to send it but chances of it getting damaged in the post are reasonable (dependent on how they pack it).

Seems unreasonable to charge you for this tbh. Parcelmonkey/myhermes means it shouldn't cost more than £4.50 though. Ask how much they'll be charging!

Hammyman

I would back it up before sending it. There's no guarantee as to what will happen with the info on it and there's barely any repairer who will guarantee not to lose your info. Personally, I'd wipe the drive as well.

tronator

Bubby wrote: »

I am hopeless when it comes to pc technology:o, my pc is being taken away tomorrow to see if it can be repaired (insurance claim) and I have been told that if they can't repair it I will have to pay to have my hard drive sent to me (insurance won't pay for that apparently). Is there anyway I can do this myself before the computer goes?

If it's a hardware problem then they don't need the hard disk to repair it and you could remove it. Search youtube for instructions or get a friend to do it for you.

Don't send your hard drive to repair without making a backup first. It's not guarantied that they will send it back or it might get damaged on the transport.

danthemoneysavingman

as your PC's off tomorrow, unless you've already got an external enclosure/usb drive, backing up seems an unlikely option for you.
I assumed this would be the case as per your stated ability re. technology!

So ask them if they need the drive or not! And if not, try to remove it, shuold be very easy, as I sadi above.

Bubby

The lcd screen is cracked, what are chances of repair?

Vuze

If you want to back up your whole drive, you need to have another computer or external disk drive where you can save your backup copy. Do you have another PC nearby? If so, you can search online for free disk imaging software.

If you don't have another drive to save your backup, think about which are your most important files on the computer? probably your documents and pictures (most general software programs can be reinstalled, though you will lose the settings). As a precaution if you have a dvd burner on your computer, you can save your most important files and pictures to DVD as a backup solution.

If you don't mind paying for backup software, then Acronis True Image home edition is the best for this, but it will set you back by about £30-£40 (that's approx what I paid) but it is good value and worth getting regardless of your repair situation, since you should have your most critical files backed up.

If you don't have a dvd burner, join up with Microsoft's hotmail / live service, which gives you about 20GB of online storage through its SkyDrive service, free.

tronator

Bubby wrote: »

The lcd screen is cracked, what are chances of repair?

Are you talking about a PC or a laptop? If it's a PC then they don't need the base unit at all, if it's a laptop then they don't need the hard disk to repair the screen. To answer your question, it is possible to replace the whole screen in under half an hour.

Bubby

tronator wrote: »

Are you talking about a PC or a laptop? If it's a PC then they don't need the base unit at all, if it's a laptop then they don't need the hard disk to repair the screen. To answer your question, it is possible to replace the whole screen in under half an hour.

Laptop. Excess is £100 and getting my hard drive back is an extra £35 if they can't repair/isn't worth repairing.

Vuze

What laptop model is it and how much did you pay for it? £100 excess to get your screen repaired sounds like a lot, I think it costs about that much to get an LCD screen repaired anyway, and that's without insurance.

If it's an old model, it might be better value to just get a new one than paying £100 for a new screen and still having the same specs, but if you have other claims besides the laptop then the excess might be better for your situation. It doesn't sound like this is a dedicated laptop warranty, I'm assuming it's a home insurance claim or similar.

EDIT: If they are charging you so much to get your hard drive back when all it is, is a case of shipping it back to you - I would suggest taking a screwdriver, opening up the case at the bottom and taking your drive out - it is not difficult at all, just take it out and send the laptop without the drive. It's their problem to get the screen working, they can hook it up with any drive to test the screen, so just take it out - if they are lazy and can't do it, then they will have to send you a laptop replacement or vouchers instead of repairing it, so it could work out in your favour. If I was in your position, I would take the drive out and let them deal with the problem, it's their job after all.

googler

I wouldn't send it with the drive, especially since it's the screen that needs repair.

Google or look on You Tube for video and other guides to 'removing hdd from (make/model) laptop'

What make/model is it?

It's easy to do. Small screwdriver required, maybe anti-static precautions (wear rubber gloves), but straightforward stuff.