can i copy old to new?

fatboy2002

hi there,

this may seem like a really simple question to some people...

i have a laptop which that harddrive died as a result of a virus..
having taken it to a shop to have it repaired...it was fine. they even managed to save all my data and the software that was installed on it...GREAT!

problem now is at times my laptop shuts down while on and displays the code.."Intel Base Code PXE-2.1"

could this be a sign that my hard drive has failed?

thus needing me to buy a new hard drive?if so, is there a way...assuming that i can keep my laptop long enough..:o to copy all my software that were installed on the old harddrive to the new harddrive?also...it seems that windows XP was already installed on my laptop when bought..how can i install it on my new hd? would XP be on my "recovery" disk that i got with my laptop?

thanks for reading my long post..hope someone will be able to understand my rambling..and offer some advice..lol

woo

that error seems to imply a loose cable or badly seated RAM, would you or do you know someone who would have a look to make sure cables etc are seated properly?

fatboy2002

hi albert.
yes it seems to appear after the computer shuts down and then turns on again and message appears..

fatboy2002

hi woo,

im not to clever with looking at the ram..though if pointed in the right direction id have a look..though what to look for im not to sure.

thanks for both your help so far:)

albertross_2

I suspect it can't find a boot device, so is looking for a pxe server on the network to boot from. Check the seating of the hard disk, and that they haven't bent any pins.

fatboy2002

hi albert.

i will have a look in a bit and report back.thanks!