[zerch]

Hello,

I have a 1 year old Dell laptop Inspiron 1300. Very recently (a week ago), it wouldn't start up -- it just gets stuck at the Windows loading screen. Holding down the power button to restart it would allow me to do a "startup repair" but that doesn't fix it.

I found a few relevant posts on Tech Support Guy, so I followed the instructions provided. Basically, I put in my Dell CD and run the Command Prompt and typed in

chkdsk /r C:

The solution worked and it allowed Windows to load up past the login screen. However, my computer would freeze -- mouse doesn't move, the display seems to have frozen -- at random times. Sometimes, it freezes 2 minutes after I login. Sometimes, it goes on for 8 hours without freezing.

What I noticed today is that right before my laptop freezes, the computer would click a few times then be silent. I was probably unable to hear the ticking because I am used to having a cooler beneath the laptop. I tried running chkdsk /r C: again, but this time, I have rows and rows of file record ######## segment is unreadable.

I am guessing that Dell gave me a very lame hard drive. If it is indeed a hard drive failure, would the aforementioned problems be results or symptoms of a failing hard drive? I would really appreciate a second opinion before I go out and buy a new hard drive. Is there any other way to check / diagnose the problem?

Thanks!

[c0rruptioN]

don't you have a warranty on the laptop?

[crjdriver]

Probably a failed hard drive. You could download the drive maker's utility for testing drives. You download this from whomever made the drive ie samsung, WD, etc NOT dell.

FWIW all hard drives fail. This is one reason we stress backups SO much. With an image backup of your system, it is a no brainer. You simply install a new drive and boot with your imaging app boot disk. Restore the image and your are good to go in less than 15min from the time you started. The system is back to the same state as when you made the image file.

[zerch]

Originally Posted by c0rruptioN

don't you have a warranty on the laptop?

Funny thing is, I only bought 1 year of the warranty, 2 weeks after the warranty expired, this is what starts happening.

@crjdriver:

Thanks so much for reading and for your reply. I've never really backed up my system as an image, but is it still do-able with the hard drive in this state? If I do it would it just copy all the "bad" segments also?

I've actually backed up most of my documents right after the first incident, so I guess this won't be a huge disaster.

What I am mainly concerned with is, if I remove the current hard drive and install a new one, would I be able to use my DELL disc and install the operating system (Vista Home) again? I know some programs recognize a users by the hardware of the computer, so if I change my hard drive, does that mean that my dying hard drive would have dragged with it my Product Key?

Thank you so much to you two for the super quick responses!

[Hughv]

Most Dells have a diagnostic routine built-in.
Try (I think) F12 at boot, or look for the boot options notice.
Run the hardware tests, or at least the HD diagnosis.

[crjdriver]

If your hard disk fails the diagnostic and you install a new hd, then you should be able to use the dell install disk to install vista.

No, you most likely will not be able to image the current drive. With macrium giving away the home version of their imaging software AND the cost of hard drives so cheap, there really is no excuse for not having image backups.

Free version of macrium

[zerch]

Hey guys,

Thanks for all the tips and help!
After installing a new hard drive, everything works perfectly. I haven't gotten any problems so far, and I certainly hope it stays that way.

From now on I will make it a habit to backup my disk as an image.

Thanks again!

[crjdriver]

Good work. Checkout the macruim link I posted. If you buy another drive to store image backups, it takes all of 15min or so to install a drive and restore the image.

[octogenarian]

crjdriver--

Please confirm for me that the following is a satisfactory way to deal with a likely failing 160 gig hard drive:

1. Buy and install a new, larger drive, as a slave, leaving the existing 160 gig as the master,
2. Use Macrium Reflect to create an image of the old drive on the new one.
3. Remove the old drive and move the new one into its slot and identify it as the master. It should boot up and have all the installed applications and data correct, right?
Thanks in advance.