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internal hard disk drive not found

2

Comments

  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,129 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    The time to back up is before you give your hard drive a 'little tap', not afterwards. If the drive is dead and won't spin up, then no data recovery will be possible, unless you go for forensic recovery, which starts at about £350. Your 'shop across the road' is not equipped to do this, and are simply likely to render the data irrecoverable. They will simply be trying to use a USB drive caddy (a fiver on Amazon) and open market software such as Recuva.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    gallygirl wrote: »
    ND it's not ridiculous if I don't know how to do it, which I don't. DS is is my eyes fairly competent but he didn't know how. It's a Dell Inspiron 1750, bought from Dell, but can't remember spec (not at home so don't have paperwork).

    Closed - am hoping you are wrong :). I bought it straight from Dell and it's been great and I do know it's not ancient really - I did buy a good spec at the time.

    The place I have taken it to were very good when we've had problems before (4 of us all with 13 years worth of various PC's and laptops). However, they've now moved to new premises with proper booking in processes so it will probably cost me more than the 4 cans of lager & tin of biscuits from the shop across the road, which is what they charged last time :rotfl:.

    Thanks for input all.

    It is ridiculous(this is a website dedicated to saving money, remember?), as we could have simply guided your son through it. He would have completed the operation, removing the hard drive and placing it into a caddy in minutes. Cost; £4.
    The fact is that you didn't ask.

    Video guide

    DELL guide

    External caddy

    You could then invest in a new HDD, if the old is failing, then we could guide you through the re-installation of the OS and applications.

    Perhaps £50 for a new HDD. So around £55 to be up and running with a new HDD. Oh, you'll prolly like more RAM. But with a clean install of the OS, it will be faster than it was when new, without the bundled carp slowing it down.
    But no problem topping it up to 4GB if there is 2GB now. 2GB RAM £18.45
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,240 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Thnaks for the advice ND, much appreciated. DS will not be around for a few weeks and while I have every confidence in you giving good instructions I have zero confidence in me following them properly :o. There is nothing that valuable on there - except to me - excel stuff re paying off the mortgage, overall debt/assets/pensions, buy to let accounts etc, but I would sooner learn a hard lesson in my pocket than risk it any more. Anyway, deed done now.

    I was very good at backing up till a few months ago then let it slip. Typically, I was literally about to do it when the hard drive went, and was going to set up a reminder to do each month.

    Hopefully if the lappy is ok I will install a new hard drive, so will be asking you to indulge me if DS is not around.

    The one thing I do know about the spec is that I have 4GB RAM., much to DS's amazement.......

    Thanks again.
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    gallygirl wrote: »
    Thnaks for the advice ND, much appreciated. DS will not be around for a few weeks and while I have every confidence in you giving good instructions I have zero confidence in me following them properly :o. There is nothing that valuable on there - except to me - excel stuff re paying off the mortgage, overall debt/assets/pensions, buy to let accounts etc, but I would sooner learn a hard lesson in my pocket than risk it any more. Anyway, deed done now.

    I was very good at backing up till a few months ago then let it slip. Typically, I was literally about to do it when the hard drive went, and was going to set up a reminder to do each month.

    Hopefully if the lappy is ok I will install a new hard drive, so will be asking you to indulge me if DS is not around.

    The one thing I do know about the spec is that I have 4GB RAM., much to DS's amazement.......

    Thanks again.

    It will fly with a fresh install. Vista or Window 7?
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,240 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Crikey - 7 I think (desparately trying to picture it starting up), yup, Windows 7.
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • NiftyDigits
    NiftyDigits Posts: 10,459 Forumite
    gallygirl wrote: »
    Crikey - 7 I think (desparately trying to picture it starting up), yup, Windows 7.

    If it came with Windows 7, it will be a doddle to reinstall with a new hard drive. If you've no discs, it takes a little longer to identify the Drivers on their website and install them.

    As to the hard drive job, I can assure you that you would have completed in less than fifteen minutes. Your son in less than ten.
    It would only take that long as you would be double checking everything.

    So, will the repair shop be sourcing the HDD, reinstalling Windows 7 and replacing the relevant data?
    Otherwise, why have they got it?
    It really was an especially easy job, as long as the HDD is functioning.
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,240 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Motor gone in hard drive so info can't be recovered (I think that's what she said.....). I didn't mention it made a beeping noise when it first started which seems to be relevant?

    So, short of a data recovery company charging hundreds, I'm basically stuffed?

    :(
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • Notmyrealname
    Notmyrealname Posts: 4,003 Forumite
    edited 8 October 2012 at 12:16PM
    NiftyDigits wrote: »
    It is ridiculous(this is a website dedicated to saving money, remember?), as we could have simply guided your son through it. He would have completed the operation, removing the hard drive and placing it into a caddy in minutes. Cost; £4.

    Yes it is a website dedicated to saving money. But when the cheap option actually in most cases causes more problems than it cures, it isn't the best option.

    If the hard drive has physical damage, shoving it in a caddy like you would only guarantee that more data is lost.
  • Notmyrealname
    Notmyrealname Posts: 4,003 Forumite
    gallygirl wrote: »
    Motor gone in hard drive so info can't be recovered (I think that's what she said.....). I didn't mention it made a beeping noise when it first started which seems to be relevant?

    So, short of a data recovery company charging hundreds, I'm basically stuffed?

    :(

    Yes. The hard drive platters need to be removed and placed into a reader or another HDD with an identical circuit board.

    This needs to be done in a clean room and with specialist equipment as the gap between the read heads and discs are measured in microns. Also as the data is stored magnetically, the place that does it has to have some real serious and real expensive electrostatic discharge equipment.

    Prices at proper places that do this are typically around £500 for 20GB.
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,240 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Thanks.

    At least they didn't charge me to tell me I was stuffed :o.

    Looking for a new one now, guessing it's worth paying a bit extra for 500gb rather than 250?
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
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