laptop dropped, now no operating system found :o(

espresso

mustbemad wrote: »

Thanks for the tip, I had a look and nothing is visible :sad:

Would you know a hard disk if you saw one though? There is usually a flexible tab that you can get hold of to pull it out.

mustbemad

espresso wrote: »

Would you know a hard disk if you saw one though? There is usually a flexible tab that you can get hold of to pull it out.

Your right, I didnt know that. I've just looked again and it is definitely just black plastic with some gold pins for the battery connection.

MBM x

espresso

OK, it's just that I have seen a notebook spring back to life after the hard drive was re-seated. I always try the easy things first. Hard disks have been known to sometimes fail prematurely, so you may get it sorted under warranty.

Millionaire

I have to agree with the others.

If there is no visable damage that hints it was dropped I would take it back and say that it stopped working and try getting it fixed under warranty.

It might be something simple like a loose connection but it may be some parts are damaged.

If you cant do it yourself get a friend who likes an argument to do it. thats what i would do.

JonnyThunder

I wouldn't mention the fall (if there are no visible signs of damage).

I'd just say "it's stopped working". I mean, this isn't a lie... it's just a smaller fragment of a slightly larger statement ("it's stopped working... because it took a swandive off a table"). But they dont need to know the small details!

MyUserNamesTaken

Before you take it back, remove the HDD (it's under a little flap on the underside of the laptop, which simply unscrews). You don't have to mess with anything else inside the laptop when taking the HDD - it's realllllly easy to do. You'll need to buy a 2.5 hdd external enclosure. Pop the HDD into the external enclosure and plug it into another pc (desktop or laptop) via the usb port (the external enclosure connects via a usb cable). The drive will show up as a second drive on the machine it is connected to. From there, you can save your data. You won't need the operating system to run when viewing the files on the HDD, as the OS from the pc its plugged into is running. You are merely looking at the HDD as a mass storage device when it's connected up to another machine.

To be honest, I don't think the drive's had it. I'm wondering if the mobo is damaged, or something's been knocked and disconnected. If the connector between the mobo and HDD is damaged or has come loose, that could well be your answer. It's also far more likely to get damaged if a laptop is dropped. A HDD is quite sturdy and less likely to sustain damage due to a fall. Hell, I've dropped a HDD which was not even in a caddy - and it still worked.

Would you do me a favour and describe exactly what happens when you try to turn the machine on? Does BIOS start up? If so, can you get into the BIOS set up menu, which will show you the HDD, RAM, etc?


As for removing the drive invalidating your warranty, there's no way they'd know about it unless you made it obvious. It really is a simple case of undoing the screws, disconnect the drive, stick it in a caddy, swipe the data off, put it back into the laptop, reconnect, screw the flap back down.

Browntoa

in your mind think "it's a laptop, it ought to be able to take a tumble as it's portable !!! "

the design of a laptop should really take account of that fact , not your problem that it has not, I'm sure if you had it in the boot of your car and slammed the brakes on it would take just as hard a knock and LOADS of salesman must drive around with theirs in the boot !!

Zahc

I'm with Browntoa on this, take it back!!

Zahc

mustbemad

MyUserNamesTaken wrote: »

Before you take it back, remove the HDD (it's under a little flap on the underside of the laptop, which simply unscrews). You don't have to mess with anything else inside the laptop when taking the HDD - it's realllllly easy to do. You'll need to buy a 2.5 hdd external enclosure. Pop the HDD into the external enclosure and plug it into another pc (desktop or laptop) via the usb port (the external enclosure connects via a usb cable). The drive will show up as a second drive on the machine it is connected to. From there, you can save your data. You won't need the operating system to run when viewing the files on the HDD, as the OS from the pc its plugged into is running. You are merely looking at the HDD as a mass storage device when it's connected up to another machine.

To be honest, I don't think the drive's had it. I'm wondering if the mobo is damaged, or something's been knocked and disconnected. If the connector between the mobo and HDD is damaged or has come loose, that could well be your answer. It's also far more likely to get damaged if a laptop is dropped. A HDD is quite sturdy and less likely to sustain damage due to a fall. Hell, I've dropped a HDD which was not even in a caddy - and it still worked.

Would you do me a favour and describe exactly what happens when you try to turn the machine on? Does BIOS start up? If so, can you get into the BIOS set up menu, which will show you the HDD, RAM, etc?


As for removing the drive invalidating your warranty, there's no way they'd know about it unless you made it obvious. It really is a simple case of undoing the screws, disconnect the drive, stick it in a caddy, swipe the data off, put it back into the laptop, reconnect, screw the flap back down.

Hi,

I can get into the BIOS but there is no sign of the hard drive at all :sad: It just says IDE: 0 where the hard drive used to be.

I'm not sure about undoing the back to take out the hard drive. I think they will notice I have been fiddling about with it as the screws are the black ones that get all scratched when you try and unscrew them. I guess they are like that on purpose so they can see if the back has been off?

Anyway, I'm trying to pluck up the courage to go down to the shop with it, I just hope they dont ask too many questions, I have always been a dreadful liar!

MBM x

MyUserNamesTaken

I bought a laptop from PCWorld. The first one was second hand (obvious to me, as it had data on it that should not have been there). The second one worked for about a month before the HDD died. However, I took out the drive and was able to save my data before it was completely dead. I also upgraded the RAM and installed a wireless networking adaptor (including antenna). Installing the antenna, by the way, meant removing the entire casing of the laptop (back) to site the wires. When it was finally dead, I removed my RAM and my wireless adaptor/antenna, then took it back to PCWorld. They didn't notice I'd fiddled about with it. They swapped it for a new one, which has been fine ever since. The black screws will be fine - they won't look that closely.

The biggest problem you're going to have is that they will say that you've had it for 3 months, therefore they'll want to repair it rather than replace it. If you really don't want to attempt to save your data, ask them to do it. It's a 15 minute job!