For any computer experts out there, looking for some advice. Laptop (Dell Inspiron piece of crap N5110) has crashed - problem identified as hard drive failure - error code 2000-1460. From what I can find, hard drive needs to be replaced, but wondering on the off chance something else can be done.
I somehow managed to install Ubuntu (linux based) and am able to use Firefox, but even this is obviously less than ideal.
Suggestions welcomed...(Apple calling even louder these days...)
***
Any suggestions on where to take the laptop in to get 'er fixed.
Quick check on Google says Master Boot Record is toast. Easiest way to fix it is to do a clean install, since your data is already gone due to you installing Ubuntu, that is the course of action I would suggest.
Do you have the discs from your OS? A backup you can restore from? I assume you have the product key on a sticker on the bottom of your case?
If all this is gibberish to you, and just want someone to take care of it for an affordable price, send me a PM, I do this kind of thing on the side and can give you the super CP discount.
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Quick check on Google says Master Boot Record is toast. Easiest way to fix it is to do a clean install, since your data is already gone due to you installing Ubuntu, that is the course of action I would suggest.
Do you have the discs from your OS? A backup you can restore from? I assume you have the product key on a sticker on the bottom of your case?
If all this is gibberish to you, and just want someone to take care of it for an affordable price, send me a PM, I do this kind of thing on the side and can give you the super CP discount.
Thanks Rathji! Somewhat gibberish, but not quite...lol
To clarify, I didn't actually install Ubuntu - "trying" it from the USB drive.
So...don't think I necessarily wiped all my data (some of it I was hoping to save).
I have the two "Dell Recovery" discs and a "Dell Repair Disc - WIndows 7 64 bit".
Product sticker still in tact.
Any suggestions on how to proceed? (I'm willing to try on my own, but would be quick to pass it over to someone with the true know how like yourself.)
If you have an existing Windows install and your repair disc, you can rebuild your MBR (info here), but that might be a bit too tricky.
Otherwise, you should first try and recover your data, which should be only a small task with your Ubuntu Live CD that you have.
Boot the Live CD up.
Mount your windows Hard Drive (See here for more info)
Copy the data you wish to recover to an external hard drive
Verify the data has been transfered (and is readable with another PC if possible)
Then you can just boot to your Dell recovery Disc and follow the prompts to reinstall
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Thanks Rathji - I'll try those things and get in touch if need be - really appreciate it.
*Problem I ran into yesterday was I couldn't use my Western Digital My Passport ext hard drive in Ubuntu (something of a conflict with Linux and WD products, or so I read)
- Any suggests on an external hard drive that won't give me the same issues?
Maybe your Linux on USB stick doesn't have the right drivers for your USB 3.0 controller? Do other USB devices work in your ports? Try a small USB thumb drive to copy files to and from your laptop?
"Western Digital's documentation is very explicit that it, Western Digital, knows nothing about Linux. It only mentions that there may exist "generic" drivers."
Location: Close enough to make a beer run during a TV timeout
Exp:
Well for starters, based on Rathji's posts here in the Tech forum; I would have confidense it letting him look at your laptop.
That being said, if you are feeling spunky you could go buy an inexpensive HDD from Memory Express, install it and then re-install Windows. All your data would be on the old drive still. 320 GB 500 GB for $5 more
Then once you have Windows installed grab a hard drive enclosure to copy the data over. Enclosure
Now keep in mind- it does sound like a hard drive issue; but it could also be something else. I would say 75% chance of being hard drive, 20% motherboard, and 5% something else. So you could spend $75 and fix it yourself (gaining some skill in the process), or spend some money to have somebody else look at it.
Not sure if that helps you or complicates things.
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The problem with that Ken is that the HDD on the laptop in question is about the worst pos to get out.
Unless I am confusing models, It is mounted directly on the topside motherboard, so replacing it involves removing pretty much every component from the chassis.
edit: Yep, its a giant pain.
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Last edited by Rathji; 06-03-2013 at 08:36 PM.
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I would just pick up a Sata or USB enclosure from Memory Express and pop in a drive of the appropriate size.
Thanks again gents for the further info.
Any ones in particular you recommend from Memory Express, Rathji.
(I'll try the "simple things" but anything more complicated I'm willing to pay the specialists like Rathji! Problem is NHL draft right around the corner so have to make due for time being.)
Thinking about it further, Hack&Lube is likely right that the problem with the external drive is a driver issue. Did you try your USB 2.0 ports as well? They would probably be black inside, rather than blue. Also, try a regular USB key, if it does't work then the issue might not be the drive at all.
Note: If you want a new drive for inside your laptop, this might not be the one you would want as it is slower. Although, I have heard good things about the performance of the Momentus Thin models, I have no direct experience with them.
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I personally no-longer put mechanical hard drives into laptops. I use SSDs because laptops are the one device I really need to be snappy to turn on and off when I'm mobile, plus they are more shock tolerant. Do you need a lot of space in your laptop? How much data do you need to recover?
If your budget affords it, I would try out a 120+GB SSD (solid state drive, so it's all chips and no moving parts or mechanical platters). An SSD can rescue even the most pathetic laptop from a performance standpoint and make everything feel fast, snappy, and amazing.
Last edited by Hack&Lube; 06-04-2013 at 11:13 AM.
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