Samsung P28 Hard drive help please

ktflosspot

Hi all x I'm after a wee bit of help. I was given a 2nd hand Samsung P28 for my ds to use for homework. When I started it I got a blue screen ? I tried re-booting again and it is saying it can not find the hard drive. I had a wee search through the forums and it seems a common problem that may be fixable by fiddling with the hdd cable ? Can anyone tell me how to do this ? What to unscrew/ remove ? Or any other suggestions xx I really am a total technophobe , sorry
All advice appreciated x
Cheers x
KT x

Knarf44

It's a laptop so there won't be an HDD cable. The HDD is probably an older IDE model but even so it will be plugged directly into a connector. If it's not reading the HDD then I'd guess you need a new HDD. I'm not familiar with that particular model but the HDD should be accessible via one of the panels on the underside of the laptop. You'll need a set of precision screwdrivers to remove the panels. If it's not accessible from the underside of the laptop it'll probably be accessible under the Keyboard.

Once you've located it's wherabouts, you'll need to remove it by usually sliding it backwards a wee bit then lifting, sometimes there is a pull tag on them. It may also be encased in a caddy, so again you'd need to remove that to use it with the new HDD. Google tells me it originally had a 40GB HDD fitted. Of Course, you can buy a bigger size to replace it. You can get a 2.5" laptop 160GB IDE Samsung from Aria Technology for £35.

If you are not confident to do it, ask a techie friend or take it to your local PC Repair shop (NOT PC WORLD) who will charge you around £70 for replacing it and £100+ if you want them to reinstall the OS, drivers etc.

Hope this helps