Hard drive given up? (And Hello!)

Gal19 · 02-06-2007, 10:36 AM

Hey guys and girls.

This is my first post here and basically joined because my laptop at the moment is dead

...and I'd like to learn some more about computers...

I would like your opinions on my laptop problem, but bear with me, I'm going to start from the beginning so it might be a long post.

Right, Christmas day I turn on my computer.Loads up and works fine.Anyway, it stays on for a bit and then turns itself off. I try to turn it back on and this is what happened:

It came up with a screen telling you Windows was interrupted when trying to load up last time and gives you the following options...
- To load up in Safe mode
- To load up in Safe mode with networking
- To load up in safe mode with command prompt
- To load up with your last known 'good' configurations
- To load up Windows normally.

I tried all of these. None of them worked. To cut this bit of the story short, my stepdad gets someone at the school he works at to look at it...he basically tells me he tried to save my files but couldn't

(therefore I lose everything...my fault.should have backed it up) and reinstalls Windows. I get it back and everything seems fine.

However,it starts turning itself off again, and then loading back up like noting has happened. Until the other day when yet again, it turns itself off and wont turn on. What happens now is even less than before. It gets to the windows black loading screen then just turns itself off.

One thing I did notice was that it seems to get really hot.

I have pressed F8 and gone into settings. It won't load up in any mode and when I try to load up in safe mode with XP Home Edition it says:

''Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. could not read from the selected disk. check boot path and disk hardware'

Basically...my friend is pretty sure the hardrive has had it. Just wanted other opinions?

The laptop is:
Acer 3000 series
Model Number: ZL5

Im not sure where the serial number is?

Anyway thanks for reading and thanks in advance!

dai · 02-06-2007, 10:46 AM

check all the air vents are clear of dust
put it on something to lift it up and allow the air to circulate underneath
moving you to laptops

**TheMatt** · 02-06-2007, 01:23 PM

Hi,

Go into your BIOS and see if it can detect the hard disk. Press F2 at the Acer logo.

Rebellion88 · 02-06-2007, 04:17 PM

Under the windows logo on your laptop so the bottom left is a panel, it should have like a icon that represents the hard drive there. Unscrew it take the hard drive out and clean the connections, make sure its all connected back up again the same. But leave the panel off and get a fan and blow air directly at it. Make sure when you go into bios like TheMatt said, that the drive is detected. Boot up in safe mode and see if you have any luck.

Try re-installing windows again, i take it, that its a pre-loaded version so get out your recovery disks, and in bios first change the boot options and make sure cd-rom drive boots up first before the hard drive and do a clean re-install. See if you have any luck.

If the hard drive is dead, you can purchase a new one, but doing this you will also have to purchase windows, heres a few that would work in your notebook:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/95622/rb/25061301941

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/110272/rb/25061301941

**JamesO** · 02-07-2007, 04:16 AM

Why do you say you will need to re-purchase Windows if you replace your hard drive??

This is not correct, you can reload windows on the machine without any problem.

If you cannot get Windows activated once re-installed you will need to contact Microsoft and they will work with you to get the re-install re-activated on a new hard drive.

JamesO

Rebellion88 · 02-07-2007, 04:26 AM

I tried that with my old Dell laptop Microsoft would not budge and ended up purchasing a new XP home cd. But then again that was a few years ago, sorry had no idea microsoft would even do that well maybe Microsoft is moving up in the world.

Should of said you may be need to purchase need windows. Maybe worth getting vista with a larger hard drive.

**JamesO** · 02-07-2007, 07:10 AM

Forget Vista unless the machine has at least 1 GB of RAM and/or can support 2 GB!!

As for your older Dell machine, if the machine did not have a COA sticker (Certificate Of Authenticity) attached to the machine, this may have been the problem, or it was an XP update or possibly a XP new install on a machine with an older OS.

JamesO

02-06-2007, 10:36 AM	#1 (permalink)
Gal19 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Gloucestershire Posts: 1 OS: Win XP	Hard drive given up? (And Hello!) Hey guys and girls. This is my first post here and basically joined because my laptop at the moment is dead ...and I'd like to learn some more about computers... I would like your opinions on my laptop problem, but bear with me, I'm going to start from the beginning so it might be a long post. Right, Christmas day I turn on my computer.Loads up and works fine.Anyway, it stays on for a bit and then turns itself off. I try to turn it back on and this is what happened: It came up with a screen telling you Windows was interrupted when trying to load up last time and gives you the following options... - To load up in Safe mode - To load up in Safe mode with networking - To load up in safe mode with command prompt - To load up with your last known 'good' configurations - To load up Windows normally. I tried all of these. None of them worked. To cut this bit of the story short, my stepdad gets someone at the school he works at to look at it...he basically tells me he tried to save my files but couldn't (therefore I lose everything...my fault.should have backed it up) and reinstalls Windows. I get it back and everything seems fine. However,it starts turning itself off again, and then loading back up like noting has happened. Until the other day when yet again, it turns itself off and wont turn on. What happens now is even less than before. It gets to the windows black loading screen then just turns itself off. One thing I did notice was that it seems to get really hot. I have pressed F8 and gone into settings. It won't load up in any mode and when I try to load up in safe mode with XP Home Edition it says: ''Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. could not read from the selected disk. check boot path and disk hardware' Basically...my friend is pretty sure the hardrive has had it. Just wanted other opinions? The laptop is: Acer 3000 series Model Number: ZL5 Im not sure where the serial number is? Anyway thanks for reading and thanks in advance!

02-06-2007, 10:46 AM	#2 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,784 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	check all the air vents are clear of dust put it on something to lift it up and allow the air to circulate underneath moving you to laptops __________________

02-06-2007, 01:23 PM	#3 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,701 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Hi, Go into your BIOS and see if it can detect the hard disk. Press F2 at the Acer logo. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

02-06-2007, 04:17 PM	#4 (permalink)
Rebellion88 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: London, UK Posts: 442 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit My System	Under the windows logo on your laptop so the bottom left is a panel, it should have like a icon that represents the hard drive there. Unscrew it take the hard drive out and clean the connections, make sure its all connected back up again the same. But leave the panel off and get a fan and blow air directly at it. Make sure when you go into bios like TheMatt said, that the drive is detected. Boot up in safe mode and see if you have any luck. Try re-installing windows again, i take it, that its a pre-loaded version so get out your recovery disks, and in bios first change the boot options and make sure cd-rom drive boots up first before the hard drive and do a clean re-install. See if you have any luck. If the hard drive is dead, you can purchase a new one, but doing this you will also have to purchase windows, heres a few that would work in your notebook: http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/95622/rb/25061301941 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/110272/rb/25061301941 __________________ - Dean National Diploma Software Development National Diploma Hardware Route

02-07-2007, 04:26 AM	#6 (permalink)
Rebellion88 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: London, UK Posts: 442 OS: Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit My System	I tried that with my old Dell laptop Microsoft would not budge and ended up purchasing a new XP home cd. But then again that was a few years ago, sorry had no idea microsoft would even do that well maybe Microsoft is moving up in the world. Should of said you may be need to purchase need windows. Maybe worth getting vista with a larger hard drive. __________________ - Dean National Diploma Software Development National Diploma Hardware Route

02-07-2007, 04:16 AM	#5 (permalink)
JamesO Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Fairfax, VA USA Posts: 2,289 OS: 98SE, W2k Pro, XP Pro	Why do you say you will need to re-purchase Windows if you replace your hard drive?? This is not correct, you can reload windows on the machine without any problem. If you cannot get Windows activated once re-installed you will need to contact Microsoft and they will work with you to get the re-install re-activated on a new hard drive. JamesO

02-07-2007, 07:10 AM	#7 (permalink)
JamesO Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Fairfax, VA USA Posts: 2,289 OS: 98SE, W2k Pro, XP Pro	Forget Vista unless the machine has at least 1 GB of RAM and/or can support 2 GB!! As for your older Dell machine, if the machine did not have a COA sticker (Certificate Of Authenticity) attached to the machine, this may have been the problem, or it was an XP update or possibly a XP new install on a machine with an older OS. JamesO