Hard Drive Problem/Crash

pro_bono

Hi,
I have tried to post before but did not have the time to find out how to generate a new thread (things are a little difficult in a busy office) but its a bit quieter now so here goes...
Last week my four year old Dell 8200 started making clicking noises from the hard drive, my son said it had been doing it for a couple of days previously,
we cannot get anything other than a blank screen or the Dell logo that keeps trying to re-boot. Using the nice chaps in on the help desk we have opened the back up re-seated the cables, as well as trying to boot from the CD installer, all with no luck.. They suggest a new hard drive at what seems a fantastic cost... there are cheaper drives about but without the serious tech knowledge you guys posess, could any of you advise please....
1.Can I use any other drives that would fit (given the right information Gbs RPMs ect) ?
2.Does it need an engineer to fit it?
3. I assume all information contained on the old disc is lost?

Regards

Debt_Free_Chick

1. Yes

2. No. You just need a little patience, some directions and a little confidence For example, I've done it

3. Probably. Sounds like the disk has died. However, once you install a new drive, you can add the old one as a "slave" and have a look in Windows Explorer. You may then be able to simply copy some data across. If not, you may have to pay someone to recover the data for you - no guarantee that they can, but may be possible.

Once you've installed the new drive and set up all the usual security, you need to consider a back-up so you can retrieve any "lost" data at any time in the future.

HTH

wolfman

Fitting a new hard drive shouldn't be a problem. You'll need to find out what type of drive you have. It'll either be IDE or SATA. IDE use a flat, ribbon like cable, the connector is a couple of inches wide. SATA uses a very thing cable and the connector is no more than a couple of centimetres wide.

Have a look on https://www.microdirect.co.uk for a new hard drive. I don't know what size you'd want, but a 160gb IDE drive is about £50. You could get an engineer in if you find the task daunting but it'll set you back about £20-30.

Trying googling about how to replace a drive. It's not difficult at all. Physically taking the drive out, and putting the new one in and connecting it up is the easiest part. You may then have a small amount of configuring to do, but nothing too hard.

You may be able to recover some of the data from the old drive, it all depends on the drives health.

pro_bono

D_F_C and Wolfman,
Thanks for rapid replys,
D_F_C,
Is a slave able to be called 'D' drive for instance? Could it be used solely as a back-up drive
and what is the clicking noise??

Wolfman,
From your description its an IDE. Thanks again for the link, are they very helpul??
Configuring may be a little above me, but hey..... Can I do much in the way of damage?? If you dont get a reply its because work has overtaken me today!
not because I can't be bothered to get back to you both.

Thanks again for the help

Regards

T4i

pro_bono wrote:

Is a slave able to be called 'D' drive for instance? Could it be used solely as a back-up drive
and what is the clicking noise??

Yes, usualy the slave device is called
A hard drive is just like a CD, a spinning disc with a head that reads the data. The head moves back and forwards to locate various parts on the disc. The head is within a mm of the spinning disc and can 'knock' against the disc as it spins. Its just wear and tear.


As for damaging your p.c, no, unless you are really heavy handed. The hard drive itself will release after unscrewing 2-4 screws. The power connector simply pulls out and same for the IDE connecter. When putting a new one in the power (molex) connector will only push in one way, and the IDE cable needs the red strip closest to the power connecter. Most of the time this will only plug in one way because of a plastic notch on the IDE cable end.

The only damage you can really do is by forcing the IDE connector on the wrong way and bend some of the pins.

djohn2002uk

Think you may need to make further checks. I read in one of the threads on here that Dell have different fixings or "cradles" for hard drives. I fitted a modem in a Dell today and couldn't even see a hard drive but there was obviously one there somewhere but not where they are in mine. I'm not certain on this, just something I read on here.