URGENT Help Required: Har Drive Crashed

[dsmodi]

Hi All,

I hope someone can help on this. If so, then please d o!

I have a dell latitude CPx laptop. It keeps crashing from anytime between 5 minutes to 30 minutes after start up. occasionally it has stayed on for up to 5 hours. this has happened in the last week.
After running dell diagnostics, i have been informed a new hard drive will be replace by dell, and after that the best they can do is leave the old HD with me for about 30 days.
What I need to know is is there any way after installing the new HD, is there any instrument i can get, or better still HIRE, to put the old HD in, so that I can run the computer through the new HD, and use the old HD as a secondary or 'slave' to then copy across my information that i need.

i would then like to permanently delete the old information as well, before sending back to dell.

if anyone can answer the above, then please do, and if possible, please also email the answer as well to [email protected]

many thanks peeps !

 

[Rognvald]

Do you have a desk top too? How much data? Cuold you cut it onto CD's, try transferring data to another drive before making the change, have you access to a networked drive, once the data's transferred its easy to format the drive (delete all from it) before you return it.

 

[madasafish]

Norton Ghost is ideal for xferring data from 1 disk to another.. E bay has lots for under £10.. Norton Systemworks Pro 2003 has it..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3642219924&category=191

 

[dsmodi]

Thanks VERY much for your replies Rognvald and mads. (and also oatman on pm!)... it's much appreciated. And thats an excellent link for cheap software mads! great! thanks.

However, i think i didn't explain myself too well. Sorry here's take 2;

Once dell remove the current HD and put in a new one, they will leave the old one... but how do i connect that one to my computer? Shouldn't there be a "cradle" type of thing to put it into? I don't know what these things look like stripped (me being a computer virgin you see - pretty sad but that's the fact of life... ). So, that's what i need to know - how do i connect the old HD to my laptop.

Rognvald : I do have an old Pentium 90 from 1995 desktop computer - that i no longer really use.... it does work, but i don't think i'll be able to do much with it. Unless you know better - in which case of course please let me know.

Cheers peeps... many thanks....please don't hesitate to come back with more suggestions....

 

[zambuck]

While your old drive is working back it up via CD etc on a media...you will need to back up the files that you need not everyting as new HD will have software preloaded by DELL if it is under a guarantee...

After new HD is in place move back the data from media that you had backed up.....and bin the old drive...

I had Inspiron which went the same way and that's what I did...

 

[Rognvald]

Hi DD,

Thanks for the further explanation of your circs. I don't use laptops myself and so don't know whether it is possible to put a laptop hard drive in an external cradle and then transfer data from it to a laptop - someone will probably prove me wrong but I'm gusssing that its unlikely without special gear

I have done a similar job once myself but it was a desktop hard drive - not a laptop.

Your best bet I think is to make a transfer from the old laptop hard drive (before it pops its clogs ) to another hard drive using Ghost or Drive Image software (do you have a friend who will let you use his machine as a host for the image?)

Basically you are installing Drive Image or Ghost on the laptop and using it to create an image file of the laptop hard drive. You then have to move this image to a destination hard drive which can either be its permanent home or a temporary one.

To do this you need to be able to connect the laptop either to an external hard drive unit or to another machine with a hard drive with sufficient space for the image file (and the image software on it)

I'm a little unwilling to try to give you detailed advice about doing this job by remote control especially in view of my lack of knowledge on laptopsand in view of what you have said about the level of your knowledge.

It might be best to go to a local computer specialist to have the work done. He will then take some responsibilty for the safety of your valuable data. It shouldn't be too costly as he will probably have all the kit to hand and the physical process shouldn't take very long.

Sorry this isn't a full answer
Ron

 

[novice101]

DSMODI

If its any help at all use ghost and make a mirror image of your present onto another partition on another computer, Ghost will copy the boot and fat partitions too

Really at the end of the day you only need to back up data which you have put on.

The original prog will write its stuff all over the shop as it does!!

I hope this helps and best of!!

If I can help more please let me know and good luck.

Let us know how you get on.


Andi

 

[ChartMan]

You've all forgotten to mention that to connect a laptop drive to a regular PC you will need a data adapter cable...... Then ghosting to a regular HDD is the way to go. Better still, just get dell to send you the new laptop drive and ghost the old one straight onto the new one. Simple. Or take it to your trusted computer shop in Farnborough.....
I guess at the end of the day, saving your data is probably worth 10 times the cost of a replacement drive. Most people don't see it that way. Pay up and be safe and happy.

 

[bonsai]

If he's going to drive all the way from Edgware to Farnborough
wouldnt it be better to go to Fleet ?


You never know, it may get done while you wait .


Seriously, better to get a pro to do it for you

BUT DONT go to PCWorld ! (recent personal experience)

 

[ChartMan]

Bonsai, Farnborough and Fleet are 3 miles apart Farnborough being nearer to Edgeware.