posted on June 17, 2001 08:51:46 PM
For the past two weeks our computer has been doing progressively screwier and screwier things. Printer wouldn't work, hard drive wouldn't respond, monitor went nuts, and little things like the task bar keeps disappearing and I can't get the font settings the way I used to have them before the monitor screwed up.
Tonight Gateway had me run a "GW Scan" which told them that my hard drive is messed up and not repairable. The tech said it was very rare but apparently somehow there is actual physical damage to it and he also said something about "abort CMD message" and "read write or rewrite or read right command failure".
So they are sending me out a new hard drive and assured me I would be able to replace it which I am very nervous about. Will I actually be able to do it?
This is going to sound really stupid, but I have no idea what I should save or back up before then nor do I know how to do it.
posted on June 17, 2001 09:22:26 PM
If you have a CD-R, back up your whole computer, because when you install the new hard drive, it will be blank.
Personally, I would take it to a computer store, or even Best Buy. They will install it for you, and can transfer all of your files.
I know someone who had this happen to their computer, and you are right, there was physical damage to the hard drive.
------------------------------------------
posted on June 17, 2001 09:22:56 PM
Replacing a hard drive and getting it back to "factory delivered" condition is not too difficult. Backing up (if possible) and restoring your data, along with reinstalling all your software is another matter.
If you are inexperienced with this, and if there was a lot of valuable data on the thing, you might consider seeking professional help. Otherwise, just plan on spending a long weekend.
posted on June 17, 2001 09:34:21 PM
If you have any worthwhile data at all hire somebody I wouldnt recomend best buy peronally I would go to a independent shop or call independent repair person.
You can probably get someone competant to do the whole thing for 50-75 dollars
One thing to try though open up your case unplug the power and be sure all the ribbon cables are plugged in tight
I used to get the hard drive error message occasionaly and a few months ago I took it apart blew evrything out with a can of compressed air pushed all the ribbon cables in tight and I have not had the error message since.
posted on June 17, 2001 10:06:26 PM
Find a tech who can clone your old drive for you. It's a DOS proceedure in which the new drive is installed as a slave and the contents of the old drive are transferred. After you have everything transferred, the new drive will be jumpered and made active and become the master drive. The old drive can then be converted to a high tech door stop. I've done this several times when upgrading to a larger hard drive and it's by far the quickest and most reliable method I've found so far.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on June 17, 2001 11:17:47 PM
Gateway's phone tech support isn't known for their accuracy. Before you do much, check and see whether GW scan will allow you to repair any damage.
Then read all 10 installments of this person's nightmare dealing with Gateway regarding his "defective" hard drive (click 'next' to move to next installment):
When I first got my Cow-Flop PC, the poor baby was ill -- right out-of-the-box!
Sooooo... phone tech decided to RE-FORMAT my HD! EXCEPT...when they got to the last 2 steps...THEY FORGOT HOW TO PROCEED! Three days with no PC until I found a TELEPHONE OPERATOR (NOT a tech!) at CF-PC who knew what to do!!
Then, after they royally SCREWED my friend out of a CD-RW drive in his new PC (still writing letters to the BBB and AttGen of ND about that fiasco), I said GOOD-BYE forever to Cow-Flop PC, INC!
My new MONSTER Dell don't smell...Gateway was HELL!
posted on June 18, 2001 01:12:46 AM
Had a similar thing happen to me.
A friend took the new hard drive and made it the primary (master) and the bad hard drive became the secondary (slave). That way, I could pull what info I wanted from one hard drive to the other in my computer.
Find a friend who knows how to do this. It's not hard at all to do. But if you don't like fooling around with computers, find someone who does! It will make their day when you get all impressed!
