Hard Disk not Booting

[sarahbirke]

I downloaded XP Service Pack 2 and I think it destablised the system as when watching a dvd a blue screen flashed up and the computer shut itself down. Now the hard drive won't boot up at all so the computer won't turn on. I can't sign into e-support as it won't recognise my new email address and I'm in italy. Can anyone help??!!

[Woody27]

Sarah,

I'm afraid this sounds more than just SP2, it sounds as if your HDD may have either been corrupted or failed!

What exactly happens when you try to start the computer?

CW

[sarahbirke]

it makes a sound as if it's going to start but then doesn't. but the lights are on to show battery and it makes a whirring noise. if there is total corruption of my hd what do I do? what has caused this - a virus perhaps? this computer has been nothing but trouble since i got it...i've already used the recovery disks twice before.
thanks for your help...

[Woody27]

Yes, it still sounds like a hard drive failure!

I's difficult to say what has gone wrong, but hard drives simply fail.... ....hopefully after a long time period, but unfortunately not always.

When you consider the speed of the disk and the tolerance of the drive head it's a wonder they work at all!

If your VAIO is under 12 months, return it to Sony!

If not new 2.5" laptop hard drives cost from £100-200 and depending upon the laptop model can either be easy or quite hard to physically replace. What VAIO model do you have?

CW

[sarahbirke]

It's a couple of years old. Can't remember the model - will look it up later. Buying a new hard disk is ok, but can all my data from the old one be transferred onto the new one? Can I get it from any retailer or is going to Sony the best option? Also, I'm thinking it may be worth my while trying to upgrade as i wanted to anyway, and this one has been unstable since the beginning - the initial configuration was unstable, particularly because of Adobe which when i used the recovery disks I removed straight after.

[Woody27]

It's a couple of years old. Can't remember the model - will look it up later. Buying a new hard disk is ok, but can all my data from the old one be transferred onto the new one? Can I get it from any retailer or is going to Sony the best option? Also, I'm thinking it may be worth my while trying to upgrade as i wanted to anyway, and this one has been unstable since the beginning - the initial configuration was unstable, particularly because of Adobe which when i used the recovery disks I removed straight after.

Sarah,


Data Transfer:

It depends upon just how knackerd the hard drive is. I'm afraid it is not always possible to recover data from a dead or dying hard disk! Contact Sony, they maybe able to help (albeit slowly)!

Unstability:

It's strange that you say the Adobe software was causing the instability issues. I have used their products for many years and consider them an example to the rest of the industry (much better than say Microsoft or Sony software). I have never had an issue relating to their software. The only critisium that I could fired at them is that there is a steep learning curve associated with many of their products... ...but boy are they powerful!

Sorry I can't be of more help!

CW

[TygerTyger]

If you're thinking of upgrading Sarah, aside from the size of a hard disk obviously, really the most important number is the speed, which will be a 4 digit numer in rpm. Higher the better. Just as a rough guide, most laptops come with a 4200rpm. The difference going up to say 7200rpm should be reasonably noticeable.

As for data recovery, if you want to get some really really important stuff off your hard drive then it can be done via doing a small amount yourself with a free program all the way up to paying a specialist company to do it who could recover a hard drive that had been toasted in a fire if they had to. But of course, it costs you big time. It's a bit of a gamble anyway, because what's recoverable and what isn't is impossible to say, it's just a case of trying and seeing what's left.

[kee-lo_]

Some stores even do a service where they replace the hard disk and put a copy of the old data onto the new disk.