Computer HD possibly gone bad

[DocGlock86]

Problem fixed that's to Ttravis

I know this is a gun forum but I'm too darn lazy to register on a computer forum and I know there are a couple computer nerds in here somewhere

Does this test result mean I have a bad hard-drive? My HD is the primary drive 0: WDC WD800.

EDIT: Added more information on my second post down further.

 

[Brandon]

Def. not what you want to see.
Does it still work but slow or noisy?

 

[iChokePeople]

If it's still working now, back it up quickly -- it's dying.

 

[norman428]

Did you drop your computer recently? Sometimes if something comes loose you will see that, or if its a desktop just make sure everything is connected still. How old is the HD? that is a good sign that if its still got life in it, it wont be for long. I would back it up soon if you still can.

 

[Double T]

Set it to read only, and pull what files you can.

 

[norman428]

Another thing to do is get a new drive and install it, then put this old drive in an external HD mount. That may let you access the files on it if something is really important. Sometimes the drive has the power to act as an external, just not run windows and such.
If it doesn't work just return the external mount.
If it does work....just return the external mount after you take everything off it, no sense in wasting money on something you will use once.

 

[iChokePeople]

.[FONT=arial,helvetica][/FONT]

 

[hornadylnl]

Another thing to do is get a new drive and install it, then put this old drive in an external HD mount. That may let you access the files on it if something is really important. Sometimes the drive has the power to act as an external, just not run windows and such.
If it doesn't work just return the external mount.
If it does work....just return the external mount after you take everything off it, no sense in wasting money on something you will use once.

So the store can eat the loss on it?

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Yeah, last time I went to Fry's they weren't a computer parts library. There's only one internal drive, put the new one in IDE primary 1 and try from there. You'll have to make it bootable. I used to do crap like that all the time.

 

[DocGlock86]

Guess I should've gave more info on the situation.

This is an old Dell desktop (I believe approx 5 years???) that belongs to my in-laws. It started locking up when trying to boot it up. At first it would just freeze up on the windows loading screen, now it gets past the Dell BIOS screen and just stays blank.

I figured it just got corrupted, so I attempted to reinstall the OS on it through the CD-ROM. It got to where I could select the drive to install it on, I selected the HD, and it failed. I even tried to partition (I think that's the right term) the drive and no luck.

I've tried every avenue I know how to diagnose it but I can't get anything. I'm definitely up for suggestions.

This isn't an important PC it was just used to the grandkids could play kid games on it. So I'm not worried about missing files or anything.

 

[DocGlock86]

Another thing to do is get a new drive and install it, then put this old drive in an external HD mount. That may let you access the files on it if something is really important. Sometimes the drive has the power to act as an external, just not run windows and such.
If it doesn't work just return the external mount.
If it does work....just return the external mount after you take everything off it, no sense in wasting money on something you will use once.

Yeah, last time I went to Fry's they weren't a computer parts library. There's only one internal drive, put the new one in IDE primary 1 and try from there. You'll have to make it bootable. I used to do crap like that all the time.

Can I just put an external USB HD on it and run windows through it? I've read that you couldn't because the USB doesn't have enough power to run an OS.

 

[Hammer]

With it being 5 yoa I would not mess with it if you don't have files on it you want to save and buy another tower to replace it.

 

[perry]

From what you describe, the drive is toast.

USB would be pretty slow for running Windows off of.

 

[DocGlock86]

With it being 5 yoa I would not mess with it if you don't have files on it you want to save and buy another tower to replace it.

I'd rather buy an approx $50-75 hard-drive than buy another tower. Like I said it's just for the kids to play on. I even saw some of the exact hard-drives on Ebay refurbed for $20ish. I just wanted to make sure that was the issue and not the motherboard or something more costly or I was overseeing a way to fix the problem I'm having.

 

[TTravis]

I'm in Plainfield and willing to help out a fellow INGO member. PM me with your phone number.

If your machine is new enough and has a SATA drive, I would suggest getting a new Solid State Drive like this one from Amazon. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Extreme-Gb-s2-5-Inch-Solid-SDSSDX-120G-G25/dp/B006EKJCWM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1349394466&sr=8-2&keywords=sandisk+extreme+ssd."]Amazon.com: SanDisk Extreme SSD 120 GB SATA 6.0 Gb-s2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SDSSDX-120G-G25: Computers & Accessories[/ame]

SSD drives are 4-8 times faster than what you had.

I can help you get it installed and possibly save some or all of your data.

If it is an older IDE hard drive, I have a pile of them and you can have one for free!

 

[jkaetz]

I'm in Plainfield and willing to help out a fellow INGO member. PM me with your phone number.

If your machine is new enough and has a SATA drive, I would suggest getting a new Solid State Drive like this one from Amazon. Amazon.com: SanDisk Extreme SSD 120 GB SATA 6.0 Gb-s2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SDSSDX-120G-G25: Computers & Accessories

SSD drives are 4-8 times faster than what you had.

I can help you get it installed and possibly save some or all of your data.

If it is an older IDE hard drive, I have a pile of them and you can have one for free!

Though I'm a huge proponent of SSD, no way could I advocate one for the specified use of this computer.

@OP, pick one from the amazon link below, reinstall OS from disk, everyone is happy.

www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feat...+drive&ie=UTF8&qid=1349398870&rnid=5054030011

 

[David202]

Probably not worth an SSD if the computer is five years old. I would take TTravis up on the free offer or look on Craigslist for a ~$10 IDE drive. No need to worry about capacity as long as its reasonable for a kids PC (>60GB or so) and IDE. Might want to double check to see if you have any SATA ports available as well.

 

[downzero]

I bet someone this forum has an IDE drive they could offer. I know I have some, but they're at home in my basement.

 

[k2ace]

If have a surplus of used drives I was tearing apart to get the magnets out. If your still needing a drive I have some 80 GB IDE drives I haven't destroyed yet.

 

[jimbob488]

toast

its toast soon