Anyone fix pc's

mr.e90 · 08-23-2011, 10:03 PM

So last night I was using my Dell laptop and was working fine. I shut off after a while and when I went to turn it on today it says on screen "primary hard drive not found". I took it geek squad and they said better to buy new one. Only bad thing is all my files are in my Dell. Can anyone try up fix this or should I give up?

JohnL135I · 08-23-2011, 10:44 PM

I guess the question would be did your hard drive crash/die, or did you have a bios failure.

My recommendation would be to remove the hard drive and try and find a way to read it (external hard drive adapter, etc). If its readable, you can transfer your data...if its crashed, then your out of luck.

dchef · 08-23-2011, 10:46 PM

How old is your Dell ? If you turn it facedown, can you see the HDD? If its an old PC you may well kiss your data goodbye. Very few people doe extract the info ,but at a 1000$$$

.

mr.e90 · 08-23-2011, 10:52 PM

I think it just died all of a sudden. My Dell is about 5 yrs old. Never had any problems until today =(..I can see it

cloakster · 08-23-2011, 11:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnL135I

I guess the question would be did your hard drive crash/die, or did you have a bios failure.

My recommendation would be to remove the hard drive and try and find a way to read it (external hard drive adapter, etc). If its readable, you can transfer your data...if its crashed, then your out of luck.

This.

Though, since it is 5 years old, trying to get any data off of it that you need and buying a new laptop would not be a bad idea.

mr.e90 · 08-23-2011, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cloakster

This.

Though, since it is 5 years old, trying to get any data off of it that you need and buying a new laptop would not be a bad idea.

Yes my thought exactly. Just want go extract data and then new laptop. I just need help with that since I'm not a computer guy

ragingclue · 08-24-2011, 08:47 AM

Remove the hard drive from the laptop and get a 2.5" external enclosure with a USB interface. Then hook that up to another computer and if the hard drive cooperates, you'll be able to access everything on it.

ABQ325i · 08-24-2011, 09:46 AM

Before you purchase your enclosure you need to find out if you hard drive is SATA or IDE.

SATA looks like this, and is found on the later Dell laptops:

IDE looks like this, and is found on the older Dell laptops:

Dell also used hard drive adapters for IDE drives which look like this:

Be careful when removing the adapter as you do not want to bend the pins.

Buy the enclosure to match the hard drive.

Also, it wouldn't be too expensive to put in a new hard drive in and re-install windows so that you could sell it and recoup some money from it.

E90SoFlo · 08-24-2011, 10:04 AM

ShouldhavegotaMAC.jpeg

>_<

cloakster · 08-24-2011, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E90SoFlo

ShouldhavegotaMAC.jpeg

Mac's use the same harddrives inside, so having a mac wouldn't change anything.

MadDog · 08-24-2011, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ABQ325i

Before you purchase your enclosure you need to find out if you hard drive is SATA or IDE.

SATA looks like this, and is found on the later Dell laptops:

IDE looks like this, and is found on the older Dell laptops:

Dell also used hard drive adapters for IDE drives which look like this:

Be careful when removing the adapter as you do not want to bend the pins.

Buy the enclosure to match the hard drive.

Also, it wouldn't be too expensive to put in a new hard drive in and re-install windows so that you could sell it and recoup some money from it.

Never saw an IDE drive that had that type of pins. All of the ones I've seen looked like this:

ragingclue · 08-24-2011, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cloakster

Mac's use the same harddrives inside, so having a mac wouldn't change anything.

Generally, yeah, there's no magical mac hardware component factory.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadDog

Never saw an IDE drive that had that type of pins. All of the ones I've seen looked like this:

Isn't your pic of a 3.5"?

FDfranklin · 08-24-2011, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E90SoFlo

ShouldhavegotaMAC.jpeg

>_<

This idiot...

ABQ325i · 08-24-2011, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadDog

Never saw an IDE drive that had that type of pins. All of the ones I've seen looked like this:

Yours is a desktop hard drive and the OP has a laptop hard drive, that is why they look different.

Alpha_Zulu · 08-25-2011, 07:44 PM

IT Guy here.

Your hard drive probably crashed. Like what several others have suggest, getting an enclosure or a SATA/IDE to USB adapter is your best bet.

I use the following product at work to retrieve data off of IDE and SATA drives

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0usb%20adapter

It's $20, not too much and it saves a bunch of headache. If your hard drive is completely FUBARed you're up the creek. However having one of those adapters/enclosures isn't a bad idea.

Also, someone else said that the pins look different. The OPs hard drive is a laptop drive, the pins on a IDE are different from the 3.5" drives.

And yes buying a new laptop is a good idea. Get your data, get a new laptop and also get an external drive to backup your data regularly.

Did Geek Squad charge you for looking at the laptop?

ItsHectic · 08-26-2011, 01:26 AM

Another IT guys here.

If there is no elemental damage to the actual disks which there shouldn't be (flood, fire, magnets) then a full recovery should be possible.

I have heard of cases where computers get flood damage and a good amount of data is recovered by professionals. This sounds like a typical computer failure, might be the HDD, might be the bios/motherboard.

I wouldnt consider your data lost so dont stress.

FDfranklin · 08-26-2011, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustMe

Another IT guys here.

If there is no elemental damage to the actual disks which there shouldn't be (flood, fire, magnets) then a full recovery should be possible.

I have heard of cases where computers get flood damage and a good amount of data is recovered by professionals. This sounds like a typical computer failure, might be the HDD, might be the bios/motherboard.

I wouldnt consider your data lost so dont stress.

Still going to cost a decent amount of money to recover the data if you don't know how to do it yourself.

Alpha_Zulu · 08-26-2011, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FDfranklin

Still going to cost a decent amount of money to recover the data if you don't know how to do it yourself.

If you allow yourself to get ripped off, yes it will cost a lot.

KGB7 · 08-26-2011, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FDfranklin

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustMe

Another IT guys here.

If there is no elemental damage to the actual disks which there shouldn't be (flood, fire, magnets) then a full recovery should be possible.

I have heard of cases where computers get flood damage and a good amount of data is recovered by professionals. This sounds like a typical computer failure, might be the HDD, might be the bios/motherboard.

I wouldnt consider your data lost so dont stress.

Still going to cost a decent amount of money to recover the data if you don't know how to do it yourself.

If hdd is dead you won't be able to recover data your self. Hdd has to be taken apart in a dust free room.

FDfranklin · 08-26-2011, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alpha_Zulu

If you allow yourself to get ripped off, yes it will cost a lot.

A lot of money can vary from person to person, a good friend of mine does forensic IT work for the govt and his last on the side job was 600$ for 400gigs of data off of a crashed drive for a mutual friend. Ive never personally had a drive crash on me so I don't know other prices but that's more than I would want to spend.

FDfranklin · 08-26-2011, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGB7

If hdd is dead you won't be able to recover data your self. Hdd has to be taken apart in a dust free room.

Some of us have access to labs designated for forensic work

KGB7 · 08-26-2011, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FDfranklin

Quote:

Originally Posted by KGB7

If hdd is dead you won't be able to recover data your self. Hdd has to be taken apart in a dust free room.

Some of us have access to labs designated for forensic work

Thanks for sharing.

08-23-2011, 10:03 PM	#1
mr.e90 Captain 60 Rep 743 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cali iTrader: (9)	Anyone fix pc's So last night I was using my Dell laptop and was working fine. I shut off after a while and when I went to turn it on today it says on screen "primary hard drive not found". I took it geek squad and they said better to buy new one. Only bad thing is all my files are in my Dell. Can anyone try up fix this or should I give up?
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08-23-2011, 10:44 PM	#2
JohnL135I Donkey Kong King 89 Rep 1,129 Posts Drives: 2012 Boss 302 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Sahuarita, AZ iTrader: (3)	I guess the question would be did your hard drive crash/die, or did you have a bios failure. My recommendation would be to remove the hard drive and try and find a way to read it (external hard drive adapter, etc). If its readable, you can transfer your data...if its crashed, then your out of luck. __________________ [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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08-23-2011, 10:46 PM	#3
dchef New Member 2 Rep 8 Posts Drives: 2008 E92 Conv 335i Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Puerto Rico iTrader: (0)	Sounds like your HDD is malfunctioning How old is your Dell ? If you turn it facedown, can you see the HDD? If its an old PC you may well kiss your data goodbye. Very few people doe extract the info ,but at a 1000$$$ .
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08-23-2011, 10:52 PM	#4
mr.e90 Captain 60 Rep 743 Posts Drives: E90 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Cali iTrader: (9)	I think it just died all of a sudden. My Dell is about 5 yrs old. Never had any problems until today =(..I can see it
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08-24-2011, 08:47 AM	#7
ragingclue One cam is enough 130 Rep 6,801 Posts Drives: VF Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: mulletville iTrader: (1)	Remove the hard drive from the laptop and get a 2.5" external enclosure with a USB interface. Then hook that up to another computer and if the hard drive cooperates, you'll be able to access everything on it.
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08-24-2011, 09:46 AM	#8
ABQ325i Private First Class 14 Rep 158 Posts Drives: 08 E60 535i + 06 E90 330i Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Albuquerque iTrader: (4) Garage List 2008 535i [0.00] 2006 330i [0.00]	Before you purchase your enclosure you need to find out if you hard drive is SATA or IDE. SATA looks like this, and is found on the later Dell laptops: IDE looks like this, and is found on the older Dell laptops: Dell also used hard drive adapters for IDE drives which look like this: Be careful when removing the adapter as you do not want to bend the pins. Buy the enclosure to match the hard drive. Also, it wouldn't be too expensive to put in a new hard drive in and re-install windows so that you could sell it and recoup some money from it.
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08-24-2011, 10:04 AM	#9
E90SoFlo Banned 196 Rep 2,669 Posts Drives: E90 335i Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Naples, FL iTrader: (9)	ShouldhavegotaMAC.jpeg >_<
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08-25-2011, 07:44 PM	#15
Alpha_Zulu Private First Class 10 Rep 161 Posts Drives: 2014 Z4 35is, Alpine White Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Miami, Florida iTrader: (0) Garage List 2014 BMW Z4 35is [0.00] 2011 BMW Z4 sDrive35is [4.00]	IT Guy here. Your hard drive probably crashed. Like what several others have suggest, getting an enclosure or a SATA/IDE to USB adapter is your best bet. I use the following product at work to retrieve data off of IDE and SATA drives http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0usb%20adapter It's $20, not too much and it saves a bunch of headache. If your hard drive is completely FUBARed you're up the creek. However having one of those adapters/enclosures isn't a bad idea. Also, someone else said that the pins look different. The OPs hard drive is a laptop drive, the pins on a IDE are different from the 3.5" drives. And yes buying a new laptop is a good idea. Get your data, get a new laptop and also get an external drive to backup your data regularly. Did Geek Squad charge you for looking at the laptop?
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08-26-2011, 01:26 AM	#16
ItsHectic But your honour it's my Affluenza I swear! 58 Rep 533 Posts Drives: at a reasonable speed Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: NSW iTrader: (0)	Another IT guys here. If there is no elemental damage to the actual disks which there shouldn't be (flood, fire, magnets) then a full recovery should be possible. I have heard of cases where computers get flood damage and a good amount of data is recovered by professionals. This sounds like a typical computer failure, might be the HDD, might be the bios/motherboard. I wouldnt consider your data lost so dont stress. __________________ 135i M Sport DCT. BSM/Oyster/GP trim. FBO Cobb, Bilstein EDC coilovers, M3 bushings, PSS. Knowledge of the Tapa Tapa Tapa street race start.
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