HP Desktop hard drive failure UPDATE

grumpycrab

Annie1960 wrote: »

I'm still confused about whether I will need to pay for Win 10 at some point, as the above responses are not clear to me.

If Windows10 was previously installed on the computer we're talking about (HP desktop)... now with broken hard disk I believe... you do not pay for windows10. Microsoft keep a record of your license at HQ. When you reinstall windows10 (even on a different hard disk or ssd...) Microsoft recognises this and doesn't charge you. Honestly.

EveryWhere

that wrote: »

Yes, but need the windows 10 iso first? That software will down load it, but probably won't work on a Mac, so chicken & egg situation. Usb key + bottle wine + friend with windows laptop = Good to go -unless you have one of your secret links

https://software-download.microsoft.com/pr/Win10_1909_EnglishInternational_x64.iso

But you might not know that not all Browsers are fed the same page. So opening; https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10ISO on Safari should lead to a different page than as if you opened it on a Windows device. On a Windows device, you will be redirected here; https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10
On the Mac, you should have the option to download the image directly, without the need for the Media Creation Tool.

You can do the same on a Windows device, by changing the Browser User Agent temporarily.

Example using EDGE;


...after changing User Agent;

Annie1960

UPDATE:

Just on a whim, I pressed the 'on' button, and the computer loaded up OK.:):):)

I did a 'chkdsk' and all was well on my hard drive. I then found out how to run 'chkdsk' at boot up, and this is where the problem lies.

Is the boot-up disc part of the hard drive? I've tried running the diagnostics and automatic repair, and got the message that it could not carry out the repair.

So, at the moment, I can log on to my Win 10 desktop, but have to go through a rigmarole to bypass the 'chkdsk' process. I'm not sure how to remove the 'chkdsk' process from the start up procedure.

In summary, my questions now are:

1. Is the start-up disc part of the hard drive? Do I still need to replace the hard drive? Or is it somewhere else?

2. How do I remove the command I added to 'chkdsk' every time I turn the computer on?

grumpycrab

Annie1960 wrote: »

1. Is the start-up disc part of the hard drive? Do I still need to replace the hard drive? Or is it somewhere else?

Yes. Probably.

Annie1960 wrote: »

2. How do I remove the command I added to 'chkdsk' every time I turn the computer on?

open a command prompt :- left-mouse-click on search; type cmd
right-mouse-click on the command prompt app that should appear at the top of the list; select run as administrator
type chkntfs C:
if the reply is similar to “chkdsk has been scheduled manually to run on next reboot.”
at command prompt type chkntfs /x C:
(type exit to close command prompt)

Of-course, if chkdsk insists on running then its because there's a disk problem.

Annie1960

Thanks grumpycrab. I'll give that a go.

In the meantime, what is the best way to wipe my data off the hard drive, as I can access it now.

Frozen_up_north

Annie1960 wrote: »

Thanks grumpycrab. I'll give that a go.

In the meantime, what is the best way to wipe my data off the hard drive, as I can access it now.

If you just want to clear the drive of everything, DBAN https://dban.org/
Wipes everything... be careful, it is intended to wipe a computer drive of everything and runs from CD. It takes a long time... 4 hours or longer.

To clean the spare space and remove general junk, leaving your operating system and programs, user files, etc. intact, then CCleaner or Bleachbit will clean things up.
https://www.ccleaner.com/
https://www.bleachbit.org/

Annie1960

Frozen_up_north wrote: »

If you just want to clear the drive of everything, DBAN https://dban.org/
Wipes everything... be careful, it is intended to wipe a computer drive of everything and runs from CD. It takes a long time... 4 hours or longer.

To clean the spare space and remove general junk, leaving your operating system and programs, user files, etc. intact, then CCleaner or Bleachbit will clean things up.
https://www.ccleaner.com/
https://www.bleachbit.org/

I want to clear everything as the drive is failing and needs to be replaced.

EveryWhere

Annie1960 wrote: »

I want to clear everything as the drive is failing and needs to be replaced.

Maybe organise and install the replacements first?

Annie1960

grumpycrab wrote: »

If Windows10 was previously installed on the computer we're talking about (HP desktop)... now with broken hard disk I believe... you do not pay for windows10. Microsoft keep a record of your license at HQ. When you reinstall windows10 (even on a different hard disk or ssd...) Microsoft recognises this and doesn't charge you. Honestly.

The computer was originally Win 7. At some point, Win 10 installed itself so I don't have a reference number or anything I could type in if requested.

Annie1960

EveryWhere wrote: »

Maybe organise and install the replacements first?

I have all my filed backed upon an external drive.


How can I erase the original faulty drive if I have removed it to install a new drive?