Solved: Hard Drive's shot, what to do?

[barryzito777]

Hey guys,

I have a Toshiba NB 205-N310/BN Netbook. Apparently my hard drive is damaged and now doesn't work. Warranty's out, I bought this November of 09' and I already had the hard drive replaced once while it was on warranty. Can anyone tell me what my options are?

-Will

P.S. I apologize for any faux paux I may make on the forum, I'm not a frequent user, I jsut drop by when i need advice.

 

[Hughv]

Why do you think it's damaged? What are the symptoms/error messages?
Do you know why the previous drive was replaced?
The usual solution to this problem is to replace the drive and reinstall the OS.
Since your netbook probably doesn't have an optical drive, you may need an external DVD drive.

 

[dustyjay]

It would seem to me that Toshiba should have extended the original warranty with regards to the new Hard Drive. You may want to check this.

 

[barryzito777]

Hugh: Upon trying to reformat the Windows I received error messages saying it could not be completed (i'm sorry I didnt think to write it down at the point) and then I loaded it with Ubuntu and got a message when I booted up that there was a section of the HD that was damaged and needed to be replaced. Afterwards I tried to install a different version of Ubuntu (one that was made for Netbooks) and keep getting error messages saying the hard drive is damaged and cannot be accessed completely for the installation. Do you think a hard drive replacement would be feasable? Or should I jsut be shopping for another Netbook instead?

Jay: I looked it up on the website and my warranty's been up since August of this past year.

 

[Hughv]

Boot to the Windows disk and run chkdsk /r on this drive.
If it's XP, you need recovery console, which will be the first repair option.
It's possible you need to replace the drive, which will be far less expensive than a new netbook.
BTW, I use Ubuntu Netbook remix on my Dell Mini and I really like it.

 

[barryzito777]

Yeah I really wanted to run Ubuntu on it too but I cant get it to install. it jsut hits that same point where it tells me the hard drive is damaged and it cannot continue. If i buy a new HD do you think It will be easy to install? I know how to do that with desktop computers but I'm not that experienced with the dismantling of notebooks.

 

[Hughv]

If it was mine, I'd flip it over and start taking out screws from any HD sized portion. You could always look up the manual, but that's probably not necessary.

 

[barryzito777]

Thanks for the tip. I figured out where it was and I got it out. For some reason I always thought hardware removal from laptops/netbooks would be alot more difficult. But it seems its more or less the same as desktops. Now I just need to find a good replacement HD to buy...

 

[Hughv]

I know what you mean. I was much more cautious with my first few laptops.
Well done.

 

[Frank4d]

Thanks for the tip. I figured out where it was and I got it out. For some reason I always thought hardware removal from laptops/netbooks would be alot more difficult. But it seems its more or less the same as desktops. Now I just need to find a good replacement HD to buy...

A few months ago I replaced a backlight tube in my 40-inch Sony LCD TV and was impressed after I took out about 100 screws and put it back together; I had no shortage of screws, and none leftover.

 

[barryzito777]

A few months ago I replaced a backlight tube in my 40-inch Sony LCD TV and was impressed after I took out about 100 screws and put it back together; I had no shortage of screws, and none leftover.

Haha I usually end up with 1 left over screw and a look of sheer panic and frustration on my face

 

[galoryber]

A few months ago I replaced a backlight tube in my 40-inch Sony LCD TV and was impressed after I took out about 100 screws and put it back together; I had no shortage of screws, and none leftover.

now that's a proud moment!

 

[barryzito777]

I could've used your help Frank, I just installed my new HD (500GB for $59.99 awesome deal) and it was a total of 6 screws and i STILL had a tough time....haha

 

[barryzito777]

New HD's installed. Ubuntu's installed and working well. Thank you Hugh and everyone else for the help!