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Hi all,
When I try to boot my laptop I get the following screen and the Hard Disk is making a heck of a racket
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I've had the cover off and carefully checked the cable to the HDD and tried again and also fully removed the cable and reattached without any luck.
I haven't touched any BIOS settings or changed anything setup-wise since this happened which is the only other thing a quick Google seems to suggest.
Given the noise it makes trying to boot and no obvious loose connection is it simply a case of the HDD coming to the end of its life?
If the HDD is dead, will replacing it likely be a complete fix? Also, is there a recommended place for trying to recover the data without spending a fortune? I am confident everything is backed up but it would be nice to get the data for peace of mind if possible.
Any thoughts much appreciated!
DanW
Sounds like a dead HDD; you're seeing the PXE boot because it's trying and failing to boot from the disk and ticking over to the next boot device. You can fix it with a new one (and a reinstall of the OS).
Data recovery isn't cheap, you're looking at several hundreds of pounds upwards.
Sounds like a dead HDD; you're seeing the PXE boot because it's trying and failing to boot from the disk and ticking over to the next boot device. You can fix it with a new one (and a reinstall of the OS).
Kind of what I thought but with more technical language 😀
Now... what does one do when one can not locate the recovery disk 😳
Data recovery isn't cheap, you're looking at several hundreds of pounds upwards.
Is there anyone especially recommended for this if I did decide to go down that road?
Thanks!
Is there anyone especially recommended for this if I did decide to go down that road?
OnTrack, or whatever they're called this week.
Now... what does one do when one can not locate the recovery disk
You may be able to get one from the laptop vendor, expect to pay a handling fee. Alternatively, you might be able to get hold of an .ISO - what version of Windows was it?
Someone will be along shortly to hilariously tell you to install Linux or buy a Mac.
Great thanks for all the info Cougar. OS is Windows 7- does that affect anything?
Lost touch a bit with my meddling with PCs a few years back, but could be worth trying to create a bootable USB stick and then recovering data from the drive? Don't ask me how...when I was doing it laptops still had CD drives and PCs still took 3.5" floppy boot discs.
Edit: Your recovery 'disc', could be a partition on the existing drive?