laptop packed up

[durmz]

any IT whizzes about? has my laptop completely had it? when i turn it on, i get the hewlett packard screen, then i get black, and in the top left corner i get a flashing '_' underline, just flashing away, this allways did this on start up, but for like a second or two, now thats all i get....ahhhhh

 

[Texx]

It's possible the hard disk has died. Are you able to access the bios to check if the drive is being detected?

 

[durmz]

urrrr no idea. im thinking i should let someone who knows what there talking about look at it lol, im computer illiterate.

if the hard disk has died, does that mean Ive lost all my data?

 

[pig666eon]

if your hard disk is gone you could have lost data but there is people out there that will be able to get it off it

when your computer is starting up it will say press f8 hold it down but you have to be fast it will bring you to your computer master settings now im not sure with your computer but there is usually a diagnostics menu and it should tell you whats up it will take a while tho

 

[Arnold]

if the hard disk has died, does that mean Ive lost all my data?

Not necessarily mate.

It does sound like your HDD / related issue though! Some BIOS systems allow you to scan the hard disk to check for errors and that would definitely confirm it. You could also try resetting your BIOS's default settings as something may have changed them.

 

[davehart]

What operating system do you have?

Could be a few things, corruped boot sequence, some conflictingitem messing with the boot sequence.

If its the hard drive, boot it up from CD and check the disc.

 

[danb87]

It's possible the hard disk has died. Are you able to access the bios to check if the drive is being detected?

x2 , ive had problems on 3 laptops after a while the hard disks just pack up, ive now given up with laptops an gone too a desktop computer. if you still got warranty then it is covered, if you dont have warranty/insurance then you looking at a £200 minumum too get the parts an too pay a company too fit./fix it.

 

[Texx]

A new hard drive would cost around £30-£40 and usually takes a matter of minutes to swap them over.

 

[danb87]

A new hard drive would cost around £30-£40 and usually takes a matter of minutes to swap them over.

my uncle works for samsung/acer as a technician, a new hard drive for lap tops ranges from £150 too £400 depending on size,model, etc. changing one in a laptop requires removal off the bottom of the unit, including disc tray. etc not a quick job matey

i had my ones fixed then sold them on after

 

[shizerproject]

my uncle works for samsung/acer as a technician, a new hard drive for lap tops ranges from £150 too £400 depending on size,model, etc. changing one in a laptop requires removal off the bottom of the unit, including disc tray. etc not a quick job matey

i had my ones fixed then sold them on after

Lol well thats daylight robbery at its finest as its usualyy a 10 min & £20+(HDD size dependant on price) job to pop a new one in its re-installing that takes the time... Before u buy a new hdd tho try it in another laptop first or if u hav or can get hold of an external enclosure then plug it into any pc, as i have known a faulty motherboard cause this issue or it cud jus b a corrupt partition which a reformat n install would sort

 

[Arnold]

my uncle works for samsung/acer as a technician, a new hard drive for lap tops ranges from £150 too £400 depending on size,model, etc. changing one in a laptop requires removal off the bottom of the unit, including disc tray. etc not a quick job matey

i had my ones fixed then sold them on after

I've done HDD swaps for people before costing £40 brand new (western digital blue) drives. Also on some laptops it's a simple case of 1 screw out, drive slides out and replace with the new one.

The only thing is with drive swapping is if you had a recovery partition on your old one and don't have any recovery CD's, you won't be able to re-install anything!

 

[Arnold]

a corrupt partition which a reformat n install would sort

Or if you're running XP, just run FIXBOOT and it usually sorts itself out. Vista has a repair option from Windows Setup on the CD

 

[Texx]

my uncle works for samsung/acer as a technician, a new hard drive for lap tops ranges from £150 too £400 depending on size,model, etc. changing one in a laptop requires removal off the bottom of the unit, including disc tray. etc not a quick job matey

If it's a 2.5" SATA drive then it'll cost very little to replace.

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?store=2&cat=4&subcat=2274

If it's an older IDE drive you may have to pay and extra £15 for a replacement.


Most laptops require the removal of a panel on the underside of the unit which is held on with a few screws. If it takes longer than 5 minutes to swap a hard drive from the majority of laptop models, then your doing something wrong.

 

[Arnold]

IDE is now known as PATA and alot of products specs have changed from IDE to PATA even though it's the same thing. As a result you'll see less products available for IDE devices and some suppliers may even mark up the prices to cash in on those who don't realise the termonolgy has changed.

A good website to have a look round products is Dabs.com. I get most of my things from here

 

[danb87]

i myself wont touch it, if it takes that long then they would offer too do it in the stores rather than sending it off.

my local computer company quoted me around £250 too repalce a hard drive, so i just got warranty too do it for free.

seems therea somne computer wizzes on here, maybe you should put an add up an do it if its that quick lads make yourselfs some money :beer:

 

[lingl9z]

Laptops are easy to strip, done my brothers in around 30mins to strip it all the way down! Just the hdd is easy usually has a few screws on the back, remove them and the keyboard lifts out (may have securing ransom front that pop out) rams usually right there and the few I've done had the hdd nextto that! Easy peazy

 

[Dub-Se7en]

certainly sounds like the drive, but before ordering a new one remove the one thats in and boot up, see if you get a disk boot failure, if it hangs in the same place it might not be the drive.

 

[Paul_JJ]

any IT whizzes about? has my laptop completely had it? when i turn it on, i get the hewlett packard screen, then i get black, and in the top left corner i get a flashing '_' underline, just flashing away, this allways did this on start up, but for like a second or two, now thats all i get....ahhhhh

Well, the good news is YOUR laptop is Alive and the most expensive stuff is OK. I can't say anything else till I see the laptop. I fix computers, it's my job -) Try to press F2 or DEL when you have a HP logo, and you need to get in to bios! I would be more than happy to have a look at it, But I live in MK.