Archived CalgaryPuck Computer Help Thread

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

That requires a re-partitioning application (like Partition Magic) and can be very risky.

Much safer to just buy another drive.

After reading the past few comments, I think I will buy another drive.

Thanks.

[arsenal]

Originally Posted by Azure

After reading the past few comments, I think I will buy another drive.

Thanks.

Yah.. PM = evil. At least in my opinon..

[Bobblehead]

I've actually never had a bad experience with PM, but I know some who have. It is black magic with no respite if things go awry.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

I've actually never had a bad experience with PM, but I know some who have. It is black magic with no respite if things go awry.

And I'd rather not take the chance.

I don't feel like backing up all my stuff(again)...

[Engine09]

My external drive crapped out. Smelled something burning, later noticed that a transistor on the bottom of the drive itself is burnt.

Where is the best place to get my data recovered?

When the electronics get fried, does that necessarily mean the data on the drive has been corrupted?

Most of my stuff is backed up on CDRs, but nothing within the last 2 years. I have a lot of vacation photos that I really do not want to lose.

[prarieboy]

A guy at work recently had to go to a data recovery company. I'll check with him tomorrow and let you know. As I recall it cost him over $1000 to get his data back.

[photon]

I don't know of one specifically, but there are companies that do that sort of thing, in this case it would likely involve replacing the circuit board of the drive and getting the data off. Usually not cheap.

Other than googling hard drive recovery services, maybe someone else has some personal experiences.

[alltherage]

Hey guys... the title says it all. I'm fairly computer literate, and I'm wondering if anyone has a suggestion to help me with this. I'm "fixing" my brother's computer by re-formatting it, but apparently his recovery partition is corrupt. I don't have the disks, but I have the original serial number on the side of the machine, and I know that gives me the right to have win xp.

Anyone have any suggestions as to how to go about doing this?

[photon]

That can be tricky, you basically need to have the OEM version of Windows the same that came with the computer. A normal retail or upgrade CD usually doesn't work. You might be able to download it somewhere. Worst case is ordering a new CD from HP.

[ricosuave]

well, you could call hp and have them send you the actual disks, but it may or may not cost you, depends on which csa you get, and how long you're prepared to wait

or, you could download a hp oem xp iso from a torrent site (or somehow borrow a hp oem cd from someone) and simply install it, but using your xp key.

im sure there may be a way to fix the corrupt partition, but i honestly dont think its worth it, and you should probably buy (or get) the recovery cd's for the future anyway

[alltherage]

Thanks for the help guys, I'm really looking for something I can fix in house here though. I suppose I could call them... I wonder what they would charge me to have it shipped out... and it it could be expidited.

Man I hate this kind of thing. Stupid HP and their stupid cost cutting.

[ricosuave]

if its a matter of 'getting it fixed asap' just try and install xp with that key youve got, if it doesnt work, download a hp oem xp torrent, and just install. worry about the partition replacement later.

once youve got xp installed, you might be able to try and fix it later on too

[alltherage]

Cool I'm going to try this. I hope it works. Otherwise I might have to visit the Geek Squad at the Best Buy I used to work at and see if I can get a copy from an old buddy.

[arsenal]

Yah.. you usually need the OEM XP disk.. i have tried with a Retail Disk and an OEM #, and it kept saying the license wasn't right.

[alltherage]

Well I'm downloading an OEM copy of xp but I don't know if it's HP or what. I hope it works. If you guys stumble upon an HP OEM torrent just give me a heads up... i've tried a few big torrent sites but they haven't turned up anything. "HP OEM XP" in google turns up a bunch of chinese sites, so i think even though I can translate the sites, it's probably a chinese version of XP.

[ericschand]

I know we used to take drives with obvious issues like that,
then take a similar drive, rip the circuit board off the working
one, attach it to the non-working one. Then get the data off,
flip the boards again, [send both off for warranty, but you
didn't hear that].

Most of the time it worked.

Can you still do that with current drives? Are the cables still
easily removable?

ers

[RougeUnderoos]

I've got a 19" LCD NEC monitor here that is probably 3 years old. It worked this morning, sat idle most of the day, and when I came home and turned it on it worked for about 5 seconds and then went dark, although the little green light that signifies "on" remained on. I am an expert, so I turned it off, turned it on again and it worked for about 2 seconds, then went dark and the light remained.

I was just about out of ideas after the whole "turn on/turn off" exercise, but then I decided to cut the power and restart the whole works but no dice. There is nothing. Blank screen*. I even jiggled the wires and made sure all the connections were connected just in case some gremlins came in and pulled them out a little while I was gone.

Anyone got any ideas as to what happened to this damned thing?

*yeah, it's a blank screen, so if there are any spelling errors in this post, blame it on the computer. I'm flying blind here, moving my mouse and clicking by memory/luck so spelling is the least of my worries. I just hope I navigated to the right board and clicked in the appropriate place. Mods, if I posted this on the wrong board please move.

[Bobblehead]

LOL, how are you going to read any responses?

Anyways, my guess is the backlight is screwed. Not something you can fix yourself.

[Vulcan]

I'd try unplugging your LCD for a minute or so and also try using the other input.

[LockedOut]

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

I've got a 19" LCD NEC monitor here that is probably 3 years old. It worked this morning, sat idle most of the day, and when I came home and turned it on it worked for about 5 seconds and then went dark, although the little green light that signifies "on" remained on. I am an expert, so I turned it off, turned it on again and it worked for about 2 seconds, then went dark and the light remained.

I was just about out of ideas after the whole "turn on/turn off" exercise, but then I decided to cut the power and restart the whole works but no dice. There is nothing. Blank screen*. I even jiggled the wires and made sure all the connections were connected just in case some gremlins came in and pulled them out a little while I was gone.

Anyone got any ideas as to what happened to this damned thing?

*yeah, it's a blank screen, so if there are any spelling errors in this post, blame it on the computer. I'm flying blind here, moving my mouse and clicking by memory/luck so spelling is the least of my worries. I just hope I navigated to the right board and clicked in the appropriate place. Mods, if I posted this on the wrong board please move.

Wow nice job posting this while blind unless the mods did move it, LOL.

Do you usually get a message or blue screen when there is no connection to the monitor instead of all black. If you do try pulling the cord from your monitor that is connected to your computer.

Another thing you can do is to try it on a different computer or try a different monitor on the same computer. Also try a different cord or check its connections that go from the computer to the monitor. Maybe the cord's connections are off or its broken somehwere in between. Just some things to try to isolate the problem.