corrupted hard disk?

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bevisjl

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OK, I have a HP Pavilion dv6408nr. Last week, for no apparent reason, the computer went dead. When I turned it on it displayed "A disk read error occurred. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del to restart" but that never helped. After doing a hard disk check in the BIOS and it saying everything was ok, I tried to recover my data by taking it out and hooking up to another computer. The computer said the drive was to corrupted to read. Ok, fine. So forget my precious data, I just want my computer back. So I system recovered it and everything was going well for the next two days. Well, then, again without me doing anything out of the ordinary to it, the monitor shuts off and will not come back on. When I turn it on it seems like it is running ok, but the monitor just will not show anything.

Questions:

1) Could this be related to the previous malfunction, or just a coincidence that both decided to give me trouble around the same time?

2) If it is due to a bad sector on the hard drive, which I have been told by a technician is probably the case, where could I go to find a reasonably priced hard drive, new or old, store or website, that would have an operating system already installed, or at least a disc to go with it?

I am trying to fix this as inexpensively as I can since I am attempting to go to law school and all the LSAT and admission fees are coming up this month.

Any ideas?
 
Replace the hard drive. When you get a critical error like that you should usually replace the drive. While reinstallation will temporaraly fix the issue, if it is a faulty drive (like in this case) the drive will just crash again.

1)I think it is a coincidence - replace the drive and see if that alleviates the other issue. Your monitor could have crapped out too.

2)I agree with his diagnosis, but i think it is far worse. A bad sector can be 'skipped' by doing a disk check. That way the bad sector is never used. Get a new drive through newegg or something of the sort. Avoid Worste Buy as they will charge way more than newegg for the same products.

Check to see if your drive is PATA(which encompases IDE,EIDE,ATA) or SATA. Then purchase a replacement drive fitting that interface type.
 
It is a SATA.

Ok so, when i purchase a new drive, will I have to also purchase a new operating system as well?

And also, besides it being a SATA, which brands out there are the best for the price? Can I use any brand with it?
 
I don't know your price range, just make sure it is SATA and 2.5'' (the size of a laptop). Is it SATA 1.5Gb/s or 3.0Gb/s?

Some things to note though:
-Yes you will have to reinstall your OS. If your laptop did not come with a 'recovery' CD you will either have to call the manf. to see if they can ship you one, or you may have to borrow one from a friend. I say borrow because you should already have a CD Key for your laptop (in your documentation or on the bottom of the laptop), so you don't need to purchase a new CD. Just need to get your hands on a CD that is the same OS as yours.
-When taking out the old laptop drive, there will probably be an adapter on the end of the old hard drive. You will need to take that adapter off and place it on the new hard drive before inserting it.

I saw some SATA on newegg from 40 - 100 dollars. Depends on the size/price/speed you are wanting.

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Spinpoint M Series HM121HI 120GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Notebook Hard Drive - Laptop Hard Drives
Newegg.com - Western Digital Scorpio WD800BEVS 80GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Notebook Hard Drive - Laptop Hard Drives
 
Unfortunately, No. Even if it was, I am not big on the idea of shipping it off until God knows when. I would prefer a quick fix. I know that probably goes without saying but, I'm the kind of person where if I can do something myself, I am going to.
 
I just got a Hitachi 320gb SATA 2.5" drive from zipzoomfly for $50 and after rebate. With free shipping, I just couldn't pass up that deal.
 
Ok, i broke down and took it to the shop to find out just what was going on. They say that it is the motherboard that is not working properly. They quoted me around $360 for the motherboard and with labor the total around $510. So, i looked around on the internet and can find a motherboard for a HP Pavilion dv6000 for $95-$178. My question is, does anyone know how technical it is to change out a motherboard in a notebook? If it is just simply unscrewing screws and unhooking/rehooking wires then I think I can handle that myself. However if any saudering (sp?) is involved then I may not have the know-how to do it on my own. Anybody have any experience with this?
 
No soldering is involved - and IMO it is the most technical aspect of computer hardware. It is the most difficult and time consuming thing to replace in a computer (laptop MB). I would say it is more difficult than anything else you could replace on a desktop or laptop hands down.
 
Would there be anything else involved say after installation? or is it just a plug-n-go type deal? ( Understanding of course that is simplfying what you are saying is a tedious job)
 
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