feck ::: lap top hrd disk problem.

[Graham]

mmm great first I stand on the cdr with the backup on it, then when i run a backup to a usb hard disk the laptop hd crashes also corrupting the backup.....

lap top now fails to boot with a corrupt system.sys file..

if i try a repair from an xp cd it just keeps rebooting...

I have the recovery disk that came with the lap top so i could reinstall windows... I havent had to do this for ages if i do will it nuke the data files or does it just stick a new install over the existing files... most of my stuff is within the windows directory structure..... i could try installing windows to a different directory but there is only 1 and a bt gb spare on the disk how much does xp need.


ANy other suggestions gratefully recieved.


lap top is currently in fridge !!!! as i've tried that trick on a knackerd hd before


Yours in mild panic

Graham

[Plotloss]

Go to maplins buy a 2.5" to 3.5" (40 to 44 pin) IDE Adaptor

Beg borrow or steal a desktop, put laptop drive in that via the adaptor cable.

Copy required files.

Replace laptop HDD

Reinstall XP

[Graham]

Now thats a plan, i've got loads of desktops knocking around here


i'll try that... just got to work out where the nearest maplins is... too technical for pc world to have a vastly overpriced one I guess

[Plotloss]

PC World may have one but it will be at a premium...

[Graham]

Just whipped the hd out, how do I power it?

G


p.s. its a samsung laptop

G

[Graham]

mmm nobody local with an adaptor... one thing that occured tome you can get usb external drives with 2.5" disks. would it work if i got one of those and swapped the disks over or is there special formatting on the hd's?

G

[PJR]

Graham said:

mmm nobody local with an adaptor... one thing that occured tome you can get usb external drives with 2.5" disks. would it work if i got one of those and swapped the disks over or is there special formatting on the hd's?

G

No special formatting for laptop hd's, if thats what you meant? Nor for external vs internal.

I recently had a laptop hd fail. But I was lucky and got my data back. Turned out the drive would stop working once it got warm, as it inevitably does when its inside a cramped laptop. I bought a new internal hd (took the opportunity to upgrade while I was at it), fitted it, and also got a cheap external hd case for 2.5" laptop drives (£7 at dabs, I kid you not. Works a treat..) I put the original knackered hd in the case, and it all worked like a charm, as the drive stayed cooler in the external usb case, and worked for longer periods of time.
Worth a shot?
Link for the drive enclosure www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3V65&SearchType=1&SearchTerms=drive+enclosure&PageMode=3&SearchKey=All&SearchMode=All&NavigationKey=0
I also got the new hd from Dabs. Tons on there to choose from.

Cheers, P

[trackcar]

funnily enough (though not very funny at all in fact) my old Dell stopped working yesterday and won't get beyond the first 30 seconds of the boot sequence. I'm just going to get the HD out and run it on my PC to get the files off it I need .. I'd not heard of the fridge thing .. I'm guessing that's fr heat related issues not corrupted files issues or is it worth a go anyway in the fridge? Good job it's not April 1st hehe

[road2ruin]

That all seems a bit dramatic. You will be surprised how often this kind of thing happens and it is not too difficult to fix. See this link and follow exactly. It worked fine for me first time.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/30754

Peter

[Graham]

road2ruin said:

That all seems a bit dramatic. You will be surprised how often this kind of thing happens and it is not too difficult to fix. See this link and follow exactly. It worked fine for me first time.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/30754

Peter

I've tried getting it to run the recovery console but it just reboots, probably due to it being an oem install, and me trying it with a random xp disk... the oem disk doesnt give a recovery option

G

[Graham]

Just a quick update ( I should have done it sooner)


I bought a 2.5" usb hard drive and swapped over my unbootable one, connected it to another lap top and got all the info from it...

the hd that came in it has now gone in the old lap top and thats been rebuilt... the dodgey drive has now bee reformated and being used in the portable drive for temp transfer storage...

one advantage is now a much bigger drive in the laptop


so thanks for the pointer

G