Hard drive Issue

[jj33189]

Guys....
i have a problem...
my hard drive started smoking on me for some reason
and now the comp can tfind the hard drive... im pretty sure it fried and it happened about 5 mins ago so would wating and try again work or is there no hope? and also, can i install a new hard drive and will my Windows XP manufacturer CD still work on it? thanks for the help much appreciated
JJ

 

[mRk]

Yea, when you see smoke, something's wrong.

What else can you do besides get a new HD?

 

[jj33189]

what do you mean by what else i can do, see it started smoking, and it was working after that, then all of a sudden it just turned off on me.. i can do anything that would fix it if you have any ideas just let me know anything so that the HD will start working, and if you know if the XP manufacturer CD will work.. the comp is a gateway.. i dont think so cos i thought that it didnt matter the HD as long as its the same Mboard or something... anyways please let me know and ill do it as much to my knowledge as i can.. there is a light on the HD ( i opened it to check it out), a small light , green , and its solid when the HD is working, and now its just blinking, as if trying to establish a connection, well just let me know if worse comes, ill just buy a new HDD but im not sure if ill need to buy WINDOWS XP too

 

[Demalii]

yea, bring the hard drive to a local computer store, usually they can salvage the hard drives, they'll take the platter and copy the information off of it onto another hard drive. XP manufacturer CD? you mean the cd that comes with a computer that you buy? Like a system restore disk? yea that should work, unless it's just a drivers disk for the crap hardware they put inside that machine...

 

[jj33189]

yea its the disk that comes with the comp that lets you reinstall XP if you want to .. how much do you think it costs to take to a store and where can i get a cheap 40 gig HD?
thanks for the help guys
JJ

 

[Ares]

If the pc is under any kind of warranty, you should take it in and have them fix it. If it's not under any kind of warranty, and you're on you own, then you need to act fast to get all your important data copied from the hard drive. Now would be a good time to try the Hard Drive in the Freezer trick. I've never personally tried it, but i've heard it works.

If your disk won't boot up, stick it in a ziplock baggie and in the freezer it goes for about 15 mins. Pull it out and stick it in the pc. Then boot it up. If it boots, hopefully you've got another medium to write to (a zip drive, a cdrw, or another hard drive disk). Copy all your info to it and ditch the old drive.

If you copied all your info... everything... you'd probably be able to use your xp disk (the one that came with the pc) to fix anything that's messed up. If you only copy personal files (and not system files, etc.) then you'll want to get a copy of the OS software to install yourself. If you take it in someplace, not under warranty, you'll most likely pay 30 to 60 bucks an hour for someone to work on it. That same 60 bucks could go toward a new hard drive and you could have it sent to you within 7 days.

http://www.newegg.com
http://www.tigerdirect.com
http://www.zipzoomfly.com

(i'm assuming you're in the states)

 

[modemide]

If the pc is under any kind of warranty, you should take it in and have them fix it. If it's not under any kind of warranty, and you're on you own, then you need to act fast to get all your important data copied from the hard drive. Now would be a good time to try the Hard Drive in the Freezer trick. I've never personally tried it, but i've heard it works.

If your disk won't boot up, stick it in a ziplock baggie and in the freezer it goes for about 15 mins. Pull it out and stick it in the pc. Then boot it up. If it boots, hopefully you've got another medium to write to (a zip drive, a cdrw, or another hard drive disk). Copy all your info to it and ditch the old drive.

If you copied all your info... everything... you'd probably be able to use your xp disk (the one that came with the pc) to fix anything that's messed up. If you only copy personal files (and not system files, etc.) then you'll want to get a copy of the OS software to install yourself. If you take it in someplace, not under warranty, you'll most likely pay 30 to 60 bucks an hour for someone to work on it. That same 60 bucks could go toward a new hard drive and you could have it sent to you within 7 days.

http://www.newegg.com
http://www.tigerdirect.com
http://www.zipzoomfly.com

(i'm assuming you're in the states)

and after you have done all that... turn it on again and take a picture of it smoking

 

[jj33189]

see the deal is im gettin a hard drive and i dont have very important data on it... its all on another comp... but the only thing im direly afraid of is the fact that the XP disk will not work and the fact that im going to have to buy the software.. now XP pro easily costs close to 150-200 dollars. grr... this sucks.. now im having another issue. before, the comp would start up and tell me that theres no hard disk, but now the comp starts up but its not connecting with the monitor, even tho the cables and hooked up tightly and correctly.. the monitor says for me to check the connection but everythings tight... i dont know if the Motherboard or the video card went bye-bye or what.. i checked all connections to the motherboard and also the video card and everything is fine... by the way, i have an Nvidia Riva TNT2 32 MB AGP card.... and thanks ill take a pic.. lol..
thanks for all the help guys
JJ

 

[jj33189]

oh yea, i am from the States, Virginia to be precise..

 

[jj33189]

and it has no warranty, the thing is like 3 years old now

P4 1300 MHz
128 MB RAM
20 G HDD (not anymore)
Riva TNT2 Nvidia 32 MB AGP
15.9 Inch CRT... its a crappy comp , but it suffices well