Hard Drive Failure

[clucky]

We have a Dell PC which we use for surfing the web. The other day it went to a blue screen saving fatal hard drive error. I thought it might just be a virus of some sort, but when i try to boot the machione up i just get the cursor flashing on the top left hand corner. I have tried all the usual re-boot methods F8 etc but all with the same result.

 

First of all do you think it is hard drive failure and if so would it be easy to change

[PseFrank]

Hi Clucky...

 

First of all, do you have personal files like photos and word documents that are not backed up to an external media on the HDD (Hard Drive). If the answer to this is yes, and they are of great value to you then before attemting a fix, your first priority must be to try and get this data backed up.

 

DO NOT use or try and start the PC until either you have your data backed up, or you have resigned yourself to the fact that it has gone for good.

 

One of the easiest ways of retrieving data from a computer that will not start is to use an external enclosure, sometimes called a caddy.

These can be brought quite cheaply (Subjective) from most PC stores and work by removing the HDD from the sick computer and placing it in the caddy which in turn is plugged into a healthy computer via USB.

If the HDD still spins up and is not too badly damaged, then the healthy PC should recognise it in the same way as it would any other external media, such as a Flash stick, etc. This of course enables you to transfer/copy data from the sick HDD.

 

Can you give us the make and model of your PC so as to assertain if it has a Sata or Ide HDD. This may also help other posters here that may have another idea.

 

Other details that could help:

Was the computer making clicking noises in recent weeks or months?

Has the computer been dropped or received a hard bang prior to the problem?

Do you have a licenced copy of your operating system (Disk)

Is there a small sticker somewhere on the casing that gives a microsoft product code.

 

The product key will be made up of 25 characters, in groups of 5.

 

In answer to your question is it easy to change the HDD. Yes, either yourself or a knowledgable friend should be able to do this. And we are here at Extreme Tech Support - Free PC Help to advise, should you have problems.

 

Sorry about all the questions....

Edited November 13, 2010 by PseFrank

[clucky]

Hi Clucky...

 

First of all, do you have personal files like photos and word documents that are not backed up to an external media on the HDD (Hard Drive). If the answer to this is yes, and they are of great value to you then before attemting a fix, your first priority must be to try and get this data backed up.

I think we have most of the data / photos etc on CD's.

 

DO NOT use or try and start the PC until either you have your data backed up, or you have resigned yourself to the fact that it has gone for good.

 

One of the easiest ways of retrieving data from a computer that will not start is to use an external enclosure, sometimes called a caddy.

These can be brought quite cheaply (Subjective) from most PC stores and work by removing the HDD from the sick computer and placing it in the caddy which in turn is plugged into a healthy computer via USB.

If the HDD still spins up and is not too badly damaged, then the healthy PC should recognise it in the same way as it would any other external media, such as a Flash stick, etc. This of course enables you to transfer/copy data from the sick HDD.

 

 

Can you give us the make and model of your PC so as to assertain if it has a Sata or Ide HDD. This may also help other posters here that may have another idea.

 

Dell Dimension 3100

 

Other details that could help:

Was the computer making clicking noises in recent weeks or months? Dont think so

Has the computer been dropped or received a hard bang prior to the problem? No

Do you have a licenced copy of your operating system (Disk) No it was already installed.

Is there a small sticker somewhere on the casing that gives a microsoft product code. Yes there is a sticker.

The product key will be made up of 25 characters, in groups of 5.

 

John

 

I've edited your post John, to make things clearer.

[RandyL]

clucky I think you made a mistake with your last post. Can you post again please?

[PseFrank]

Hi again Clucky...As stated above, I edited your reply so as to make your post a little clearer. Based on the information that you have now given, my advice is to make use of your computers recovery partition.

 

The way this works is when starting your computer you should press CTRL + F11. You will then be given the option to recover your computer to its factory state.

 

Can you please try this and let us know how you get on.

 

If CTRL + F11 does not work for you, then you may see the correct key command to use briefly when you first boot your computer. If it goes by too quickly to read what is on the screen, try pressing the Pause/Break key to freeze the screen.

[Synapse]

Dell's have disk diagnostics built in. Boot to BIOS and you'll find them there. The manual (downloadable) will tell you how to use it.

 

Also, there's a Recovery Console ISO linked somewhere on the forum. Download and burn it to CD, boot from it and run a chkdsk /r from the recovery console.

It will take about an hour and has a 50/50 chance of fixing it. It may save a full rebuild job, but do check the hard drive first.