Hard Drive Problems

[Barry_G]

My computer is making a an audible clicking sound when i start up. I sometimes get it started sometimes i get an error message that says unable to boot insert system disk. I guess the hard drive is going bad. Is this correct?

It's only 2 years old. 2.66ghz 160 Gb hd. I have a lot of Pokertracker Data etc.. that i dont want to lose. Whats the best solution?

Buy a external drive and save all the files while i can. If i get a new external hard drive can i keep using the computer just the same as i do now. How difficult will it be to install? Plug and play or more complicated. I'm working off several bonuses (multipoker included) and can't have too much downtime but i want the cheapest and fasteset solution.

Thanks in advance.

[MyMindIsGoing]

[ QUOTE ]
I guess the hard drive is going bad. Is this correct?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes very. A drive with those sounds are going down fast. I would not even have the computer running with a drive like that but replace it as fast as I could and then try to copy everything I wanted from it.

I personaly do not se the point with external drives, I would just buy something similar to what was going down and put it in its place, install the operating system and all programs and drivers and then connecting the old drive and copied over the stuff. Maybe the fastest solution would be letting someone you know get a new drive for you and do all the work? It takes less than an hour to install windows and all drivers.

That noise is referred to as "The Click of Death". More than likely your HDD motor is dying and you need to back up your data ASAP. If that motor dies the only way you are going to get the info off is you take it to a facility with a clean room and pay them a few thousand dollars.

The easiest thing to do is backup your data onto a CD-R, buy a new HDD, install the new HDD, install an OS on the new HDD, reinstall the programs you need, and replace the data from the CD-R.

Most external drives are USB plug-n-play devices that are easy enough to use, but you would have to change your BIOS to boot to that drive (I've never tired this), and then you would have to install a OS on that drive.

I would give up on the old drive and replace is ASAP. If it comes to a point that it simply will not boot what so ever and is clicking, you can remove the drive from the system and drop it onto a hard surface from a short distance of, say, six inches. This will sometimes "unstick" the heads and allow you to boot to the drive again, but it is not a permenant fix. I've also heard of putting the drive in the freezer overnight, but have never tried that one.

[Chief911]

IF you can access your data, back it up immediately.

However, if it fails and you dont have a chance to back it up, its not going to cost thousands of dollars as someone said in this thread. Usually $400 or $500 will do the trick with any reputable data recovery company.

Nick

[Barry_G]

Ok I'm going to backup all data to DVD. I went to control panel/performance and maintenance/back up data/ in windows XP media center edition. Is this all i need to do?

I already have a copy of the OS (on 8 cds) i made from the HD when i first purchased the computer.

Thanks.

I'm not sure what "data" that method is actually backing up and would be suspect. I would navigate to the actual data files that you need (pictures, resumes, poker tracker data files) and burn them to whatever media you want using a burning program like Nero, but the built in burning program with XP should also be fine. Programs like Nero are more intuitive and reliable, in my opinion.