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  • It. Happened. AGAIN!

    I don't BELIEVE this!

    I turned on my computer tonight. As it warmed up, I heard that dreaded sound - the same sound that I heard a couple of months ago, when it started acting up. Sure enough, an error message popped up, and I hurriedly unplugged the thing (it wouldn't turn off) before the memory could be dumped.

    I contacted two people I know who work in IT. They both called me. One of them has tentative plans to come over tomorrow night or Friday night (Friday's looking better for both of us at this point).

    I'm also chatting with the IT guy at work who fixed it; he's online right now, fortunately.

    But - here's the $64,000-dollar question - what in all flaming hell is WRONG with it?

  • #2
    Well, here's the update.

    My friend, who is almost scarily knowledgeable in these matters, came over this evening and had a look at the machine. As soon as I plugged it in and started it, the noise appeared. He took off the side panel, did a few things with the keyboard, and told me that the hard drive was on its last gasp, hence the noise.

    So it looks like I'm getting a new hard drive. Since this is a necessity, I thought I'd go ahead and upgrade to a larger one. This is a pleasant, attractive idea. The idea of spending money on it is less pleasant and attractive.

    I need to find out from the IT guys if they backed up my data when they worked on it last time - you know, that time when the computer had been making a funny noise, but they didn't find anything wrong. They did ask me what data should be backed up, and I told them. I hope they backed up the programs, too.

    It could be better, it could be worse. I may be shopping for a new hard drive this weekend.

    Comment


    • #3
      I've been doing some searching for a replacement for my current backup software since Symantec is no longer going to make it, much less update it for Windows 7.

      CNet.com gives DriveImage XML a pretty good review. You might give this a shot to transfer one drive to the new one. It'll save you from reinstalling everything again. I works on XP and newer versions of windows.



      Eric the Grey
      In memory of Dena - Don't Drink and Drive

      Comment


      • #4
        I finally contacted one of the IT guys last night, and discovered that they didn't back up ANY of the data. I don't know why. Maybe they didn't think it was necessary, since they didn't hear the death rattle of the hard drive, despite running it all night.

        He did say that if I bring it in, they'll install the new drive and work on saving the data from the old one. This is nice of them, but I'd rather not spend the money on taking a taxi to work and back (since my computer is far too heavy for me to lug on public transit).

        On the other hand, I don't know if my friend has the time to come over and do a lot of work on it. I told him to bring his wife (they're both friends of mine) over here and we can have dinner, but it sounds like he's rather busy.

        It looks like I'm going to buy myself the Western Digital Caviar GP. It has four times as much memory as my deceased hard drive, which is very convenient. I need to get this computer up and running as soon as possible, so that I can work from home whenever necessary.

        Thanks for the advice! Does anyone have experience with Western Digital? My friend said they're pretty reliable.

        Comment


        • #5
          Quoth Eireann View Post
          Thanks for the advice! Does anyone have experience with Western Digital? My friend said they're pretty reliable.
          Pretty much all I use. To date, I have never had an issue with a WD drive. As well, when I was working retail I had the dubious pleasure of destroying one. 10 minutes with a 10 pound sledge and I couldn't even crack the shell. Closest thing to an indestructible HD I have come across. If it doesn't have a defect causing it to fail right away, you're going to get a LONG life out of it.
          I AM the evil bastard!
          A+ Certified IT Technician

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          • #6
            Oh, GOOD!

            I went down to the computer place yesterday, and rarely has it been such a pleasure to buy something. The store is set up very well, the employees speak English, and everyone was friendly and helpful. I got the hard drive, brought it home, and now it's sitting on my desk, waiting for its chance to make my computing easier.

            The laptop may have served its term, though; it was screwing with me yesterday evening, not letting me type URLs and such. Maybe I can get a new/used one on my upcoming trip to the States!

            Comment


            • #7
              A note on WD drives: They sometimes have issues if you have multiple drives in line and you don't have them set just so.

              It's an odd little quirk and the situation that makes it come up is becoming rarer due to changes in technology, but Nekojin ran into it a few years back when he upgraded hard drives back then.

              Unfortunately, I don't have any better information on it than that. Hopefully you won't need it.

              ^-.-^
              Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

              Comment


              • #8
                WOOOOF.

                I got the hard drive. An acquaintance of mine, who works in IT, came over to help me install it.

                He works in IT, but taking a computer apart is not in his field. I was the one who discovered how to remove the front panel. (Fortunately, the side panel had already been removed.)

                He had to go buy some connecting cables, so it took him some time to get out to my place. Then we took off the front panel and he removed the old drive and connected the new one.

                Then he turned on the computer.

                A few minutes later, after some keyboard work, a message came up stating that the hard drive had to be formatted.

                Folks, these are words of DOOM.

                It took at least FOUR HOURS to formatting the freaking thing. It just sat there, changing the number from 1 to 2 to 3 and so on, every two or three minutes. I ended up turning on the TV and introducing him to Messrs. Starsky and Hutch (3 episodes) before switching to Monty Python (2 episodes).

                Finally, the formatting was complete. He took the OS CD and installed it. For reasons I do not understand, it didn't ask if I wanted the system in Czech, or in English (which is what happened when I first bought the computer and set it up). Now, the language settings are American English, but all the text is still in Czech. Furthermore, I can't connect to the Internet, because there's some odd way of setting it up that I don't remember right now.

                Not to mention the fact that I don't know yet if any of the data from my old hard drive can be saved.

                Fortunately - VERY fortunately! - one of the IT guys here at the office told me to bring in the old drive tomorrow, and he'll see what he can do with it.

                Wish me luck!

                Comment


                • #9
                  4 hours to format? Did you get a Terabyte drive that's running at 5400 RpM (WD "Green" drive?).

                  If I had seen this before I would have recommended this:

                  1) SATA / IDE to USB converter - to hook your old drive up to attempt to get some data off. (under $20 at NewEgg.com)
                  2) A small hard drive - 160 - 250 GB at 7200RpM just for system siles (Windows) and programs (Office, etc..). (Under $60 at NewEgg.com)
                  3) A large drive (500GB +) for data (documents pictures, etc..) (under $100 at NewEgg.com)

                  Yeah, $180 seems like a steep price tag BUT:

                  1) You don't have to worry about losing your data when you format your drive next time.
                  2) All that data won't be clogging your primary so the OS and programs may run a litttle faster.

                  Tell your old tech guy that if his tricks don't work - as a last resort put it in a zip-loc bag and throw it in the freezer for an hour, then connect it and try to get the data.
                  Quote Dalesys:
                  ... as in "Ifn thet dawg comes at me, Ima gonna shutz ma panz!"

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Freezing it? That's a new one!

                    Yeah, I think it is a "green" drive. Right now, I'm just going to hand it over to the IT guy here and see what he can do with it. It's been VERY nice of all these guys to give me so much help - the IT guys here, my acquaintance; I'll have to get busy making cookies or something.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Update.

                      The new hard drive is installed, and we had a hell of a time getting it connected to the Internet. Turns out that the necessary driver was missing (on the old hard drive?), so the guy who's in charge of the neighborhood Internet connection came over here, discovered the problem, went off and downloaded the necessary software, came back, and installed it. Yay! It works!

                      Now, I hope I can just get all the data from the old hard drive.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth Eireann View Post
                        Update.

                        The new hard drive is installed, and we had a hell of a time getting it connected to the Internet. Turns out that the necessary driver was missing (on the old hard drive?), so the guy who's in charge of the neighborhood Internet connection came over here, discovered the problem, went off and downloaded the necessary software, came back, and installed it. Yay! It works!

                        Now, I hope I can just get all the data from the old hard drive.
                        Rule #1 - ALWAYS have a set of drivers your PC needs on a CD-ROM, especially the network card.

                        Glad to see it's working.
                        Quote Dalesys:
                        ... as in "Ifn thet dawg comes at me, Ima gonna shutz ma panz!"

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Well, the IT guy says my HD is dead. He's going to return it to me later this week.

                          So long to some really good computer programs that I can't afford to replace as yet. So long to my photos. Fortunately, all my photos are still on the memory cards, but it's going to take some time to replicate them.

                          What a mess.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth Eireann View Post
                            Well, the IT guy says my HD is dead. He's going to return it to me later this week.

                            So long to some really good computer programs that I can't afford to replace as yet. So long to my photos. Fortunately, all my photos are still on the memory cards, but it's going to take some time to replicate them.

                            What a mess.


                            Before you give up, some of the programs may be available online, and if you registered them, you may be able to get them as downloads if you contact their customer service departments. And sometimes you can tweak data off hard drives ... you can get an adapter to make an internal drive temporarily an external one.
                            EVE Online: 99% of the time you sit around waiting for something to happen, but that 1% of action is what hooks people like crack, you don't get interviewed by the BBC for a WoW raid.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              I'm mulling over the idea of installing the Vista that I bought two years ago and never installed. (I never installed it because I didn't know that my computer came with XP, and because I read so much bitching about Vista.)

                              What are your thoughts? Is it worth it? I haven't been able to sell the Vista software, so I might as well get some use out of it.

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