Help! Computer repair/data recovery places?

[thatrisa]

the hard drive of pc is biting the dust - hard. i can't even start the computer at this point.

does anyone have experience/recommendations for a data recovery place in NYC? i've heard of drivesavers, but also don't want to have to spend $700. a name of a good PC repair shop would also be appreciated.

i know someone out there can help me - thank you, irc!
-risa

 

[Rocco]

it doesn't start means a lot of things. It's possible the drive is a little messed up but you can recover the data. Doesn't startup how? WHat error? What kind of PC (desktop, laptop)?
I have an external USB drive cage I use to plug in drives to read them - sometimes a drive won't boot but the drive itself is ok - xp/nt2000 can be missing a single file from a freak corruption and nothign else works. Or, for example, this weekend I fixed my sisters' pc -the drive got corrupted enough that the OS didn't work, but I was able to plug her drive externally into another PC and read all her data out easily enough. One new hard drive, OS install, and data copy later and she was gold.

 

[thatrisa]

i have a dell laptop - when i start it up, it says, "disk read error" and tells me to ctrl+alt+del to restart. and that don't work.

thanks!

 

[Ute Giddeon]

What Ernie said.

Take the problem drive out of your computer and take it to work or a friend's computer. An external enclosure is certainly easier, but you can always just install the drive in the friend's computer. You can then backup your important data to writable CDs or DVDs (or bring another hard drive and copy the data there).

Make sure you have your backup solution ready to go when you test the problem drive- if the drive is damaged (and not just corrupt, as Ernie suggests), using it can damage it further. So be ready to get the data off the next time you power up the drive.

You can get your Dell back up and running with a new hard drive. Try Madison Computer - they're a local place that sells parts "OEM," which means cheaper and without retail packaging (it doesn't mean used - as long as the drive is in its sealed silver pouch, you've got a new and warrantied drive). Look for a 7200 rpm drive with an 8 MB cache.

I don't know from that error mesage if the drive is damaged or corrupt. If it's just corrupt, there are ways to repair it with software. You should probably contact Dell about that.

 

[Ute Giddeon]

Sorry, I just noticed that you said "Dell Laptop."

If you need to backup, you'll definitely need an external enclosure for the problem drive, since laptop drives can't connect inside a desktop PC.

While it's very easy to replace desktop hard drives, working inside your laptop can be tricky. You'll probably want to contact Dell or get a computer expert to help you out in-person.

Try these guys for online info about your particular machine: www.notebookforums.com.

 

[MattCoats]

if you want to go the cheap way, check out craigslist. There are some out of work computer techs that can fix it for cheap. But call Dell first to see if it's a warranty issue, even if it's an old computer it (hard drive) might be covered by the mfg. warranty.

 

[Rocco]

Ahem - let the MASTAH speak.

1. If you need a laptop sized hard drive, I've got them, depending on what size you want - I've got plenty of 6gb drives and maybe a tenner lying around.
2. I have external enclosures to read laptop drives too, but that's because I rebuild laptops. So if the drive is readable, I can read your data from it.
3. If it's under warranty, Dell might fix it, but almost certainly will wipe the drive in the process.
4. If you put your ear to the laptop and youhear a clicking, the drive is shot - chances are reading from it are minimal.

Make/Model of laptop would help (so I could look up the drive size). Chances are I could get the data off (if the drive is readable). PM me if interested. My easiest suggestion would be to bring it to UCB and let me have it for a day. If you can work with a 6 gb drive I could reinstall XP and office, copy the data off, and just give you everything back.