HELP - computer hard drive purchase - advice needed

smilelols

Hi
My friends hard drive has just died, so she needs to buy a new one. She has a flat screen monitor etc so its really just the base unit she's after.
She needs it for internet access (she has broadband) and her kids use it for school work.

I'm not sure if I posted this in the right place - but any advice/suggestions on where to go and what to look for would be gratefully received

Thanks!!!!

poppy_f1

if its just the hard drive thats died then she can just buy a new one from the likes of maplins, dabs etc and install windows on it then it should work no problem

she may not need to buy a whole base new pc if thats the only problem

saintscouple

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needaspirin

As poppy said there is no need to buy a new base unit if you are sure it is the hard drive and not the motherboard, RAM, or power supply. What happens when she turns on the PC?

jje_2

Hard Drive 160 GB £45
Need to know if its a IDE ( broad grey ribbon cable ) or SATA ( thin red cable ) before buying .
Its case side off unscrew whatevers holding drive in place the two connectors and fit to new drive secure back in case . 20 min job .
Then disc will need formatting and windows and programs reinstalling .

Other choice would be to buy a cheap base unit ( the computer ) prices start for low end current spec from £170 upwards .
Still have to install windows and all programs .

In both cases you will need a valid windows install disc .
The one from the old computer will probably be ok .
So you need to check if Windows disc available .

jje

o_c99

The hard drive computer market is very competitive. there are loads of sites you can try to get a competitive price. You shouldn't have to spend too much if you are using it for general work and internet use. You shouldn't need to buy a new base unit either as hard drives aren't too difficult to install. This is definitely a better option than spending more money buying a base unit.

www.play.com
www.pcworld.co.uk (can be quite expensive specification-wise)
www.ebuyer.com (One i have used before and recommend)
www.scan.co.uk
www.dabs.com

and many more!

After installation of the hard drive you will have to re-install all your programs again.

Forris

Without wanting to sound patronising, I think the OP may be using the term 'Hard Drive' when they actually mean the base unit (ie. the whole PC).

As Needaspirin said above, can you give a desciption of what is actually happening when the PC is switched on?

DatabaseError

i'd be concerned, the op is confusing base unit with hard drive, perhaps if we know what error is happening we can diagnose which component is likely to have failed

C_Ronaldo

OP what you ned to do is find out what happens when the pc is turned on, i cant see how the ops friend can call the base unit the hard drive

bamberbamboo

Hi guys I was just about to post the same question, my fathers base unit has also died been into the local repair centre they have said they can do nothing with it so we need to replace it with something he can go on internet, store his camera pictures on and other basic stuff any ideas on a reasonable base unit would be great.

Also the repair shop has said they can't get it going again and all my Grans pics are on there from before she passed away does anyone know if there is a way to retrieve this??

Many Thanks

DatabaseError

i guess if the computer shop claim they can do nothing with it, then its a really, really old pc, or a bad shop. you need a techie mate to take out the hard disk and slave it to their pc to save the piccies to cd/dvd, so long as its not the drive that's died (unlikely, any shop can replace one of those) it should be a dead easy job, maybe an hour all told.