UBB.Developers Forums General Discussion Chit Chat My Computer Died...

My notebook I've been using exclusively the last 9-10 months or so died on me yesterday. I am pretty sure it was a hard drive failure as it kept erroring and giving me a blue screen then a crash and got to where I couldn't do anything this week. I tried re-installing windows and it wouldn't copy all the files over.. I formatted the HD because I thought maybe it was a file ownership problem, but it continued to get worse to where it won't even boot to the hard drive at all now... all email, files, username/passwords, etc is all gone I can boot to the hard drive using the XP cd, but nothing else... if you know of a program that can retrieve info from an NTFS partition that has been formatted... please let me know.

I'm gonna order another hd, replacement is ~$100, but until I get it in I won't be on unless I'm using this old server I have at home and it's a pain

Say LA VEE, eh Charles?

I'm sorry Allen. There is nothing worse than loosing a drive, especially when you don't have a backup. Thus showing the importance of having a good back up routine.

All the software that can retrieve data from a formatted hard drive is very specialized, difficult to use, and extremely expensive. Its not like you just tell it to rebuild drive C. Every step is manual and requires some training to understand how to do it properly because you usually have only once chance to get the data.

There are companies like DriveSavers that specialize in recovering data but they're extremely expensive. I've heard they start around $1000 per drive.

Blah. I know that feeling. I lost my hard drive on my laptop about a month ago. Lost a ton of information that I hadn't been able to back up. Funny thing is that I knew it was acting up, and began to archive and delete older files. Naturally, I backed up and deleted stuff that was old and I wasn't going to need, and was working my way forward from there. Never got to my 2003 stuff before it crapped out.

We sent out out for data recovery, as it would have been worth the cost rather than my having to recreate a lot of my stuff. Unfortunately, they weren't able to recover anything. They suggested sending it out to another recovery place, but the odds are against being able to get anything useable.

So here I am still trying to break in this new drive and get all my setting back where they had been, and dreading having to re-create a lot of stuff. Blah.

At least I can look forward to getting a DVD-R drive that I can use for backing up stuff. CD-R's don't cut it with some of my files.

The battery went today. I'm hoping the slight difference in amperage will fry the computer so I can get one of them shiny new ones.

You didn't miss anything. I moved the site, but didn't. Then Charles didn't either. Then LK almost did, but didn't. So I tried again, but couldn't. Tonight I'm going to try again.

This time CC did.

And if at first you don't succeed... Uh... How does that phrase end again?

Ah well, fifth time lucky...

If at first you don't succeed, ask someone else to take a shot. If that person also does not succeed, throw the job at yet another person. When that person also has a severe lack of success, look at the clock, realize it's like 4 AM, and go to bed so you can actually try, try again tomorrow.

Sorry to hear that AA. Hope you're back in action soon.

Stilgar go to ubbcental links and fix your link.

I changed it from games stuff to Jeeps! lol.

thanks.. ordered another hard drive, will just start over

Thanks navaho. All done. Forgot all about that list.

I just got a new laptop 2 days ago, I know your pain Allen. I've been bit enough that now I have good backups of all of my machines. This new laptop is SO nice. I can play Unreal Tournament 2003 in all of it's 3-d glory. It runs better than most desktops I see.

apparently it's not fixed... It has been dieing another slow death the last couple weeks. I am trying to save what files I can before it's completely dead. I am gonna buy a new notebook asap (I've had enough of buying used and inheriting someone else's problems). I won't be around much during the day until I can get one in tho.. I want a dell and those take a couple weeks to get in. Any other recommendations? (besides Mac ). If it's a sony or toshiba or something I can pick one up at BestBuy or Circuit City today

lol...I dig my 12" PowerBook, wish I could use that for work rather than my Dell.

12? Is that difficult to read or do you have it set at 800x600?

cough... ordered a dell, should be in in ~10 days or so.

I'll use this one what I can... right now I'm looking at a 640x480 screen in the middle of my notebook's screen

I've uploaded all my php/cgi files to a website so they're safe until I my notebook comes in I'm gonna make a backup of my settings/etc with this XP 'transfer to new computer' program.

I've had a Sony VAIO lappy for over 2 years, and this past week, I've been traveling a lot here locally. Go to dial into the office to work via Terminal Services on one of my servers and 5 minutes later, *POOF* disconnected. Go to dial in ...4.3k, try again. Get on for another 7 minutes and POOF. Repeat a few times with some swearing inbetween.

So I figured our modem bank was acting up.

At home Saturday, get a call from one of my users needing an account unlocked. Takes me 4 times to get connected via dialup.

So I lug my lappy to Best Buy and they are like..."Duuuuuhh....we gotta send that to the vendor and they might junk it". Lucky I bought their Service Plan when I got it. I've already cooked one battery.

Fine, I go home, plug in to one of my ports and try to sling files to the file server. It keeps telling me "Cannot access server". At this point, I'm read to turn the lappy into a discus, run ipconfig and realize that my onboard NIC shot craps too. So I resort to transferring 3-5GB of data via Wireless LAN.

Take it back to the store "If you don't hear from us in 7 days, assume you'll see your laptop via UPS in about a 2 weeks from today". That Sony and I have lots of miles...Seattle, Rochester, and lots of miles in the midwest.

In a twisted way, I hope they junk it so I can get a new one. I'll find out soon enough...

Not sure if I have it 800x600 or 1024x768. Will have to look when I get home. It's a nice compact light machine. Also use it as a portable dvd player for planes, etc.

For my next work machine, I'm going to try to get one of the smaller Dells-Lattitude D400/500.

I ended up ordering a dell... hard to mess-up there, plus I have a 3-year warranty just in case

I got one of the mid-level Inspiron 8600's, a little heavy, but lighter than this old latitude I'm sure and at least double the performance/specs in every category. It'll be nice to be able to get some work done again.. I haven't been able to even print for >2 weeks now.

I own a Dell as well , I like it much better than Compaq!!

I have a Dell laptop, let me tell you, worse choise I ever made...

I've had to send it in twice to have the keyboard replaced.
I've had to send it in once to fix the modem.
My warrenty expired THEN my touchpad burnt out (a month after i sent it in to repair the keyboard)...

The worse part is, when i sent it in for the keyboard they lost my laptop for 3 weeks... Then i get it back and my monitor has never acted the same...

Sorry Gizzy about your Dell Laptop! I had to send my Compaq in for it's CD/DVD drive not working, they replaced it free of charge, good thing I bought the extented warrenty.

My Home computer is a Dell Desk Top.. I love it better then my old Compaq desk top!!

I wanted to buy the extended warrenty, but when i had the money for it it expired ...

I'm glad I got it on my VAIO when I bought it. I cooked a battery in the first year, so it has already paid for itself.

:tap: :tap: :tap: My notebook has been built for a while now... waiting on UPS to update their site so I can find out where it is I'm only 4.5 hours from Austin, I coulda picked it up myself the other day

I hope it's not like when I ordered one of my dvds.

Shipped from NY to PA through... NC?!

tell me about it... it was sent out at 3am on the 16th, it's now the 19th and no update

I still haven't heard anything on my Sony yet.....

Lol...I'm anxiously waiting for UPS to let me know that my new TiVo has been delivered today

F5...F5...F5....F5...

mmm hmmmm.. exactly.

It's now ~90 hours and no tracking number

I sorta know how you feel. My problems started steming after i bought this expensive cpu fan/heat sink, guess i was so anxious that i never noticed the pc370 pentium 3 was in backwards. So i turn it on and i hear this "PFFFFFFFFFFFF!" (not the fan), and start smelling this odd stinch. I about have a emotional breakdown coming to the conclusion that everything's gone.

After a search i find that's it backwards, turn it around and it starts up, so i bite my lip and carry on seemingly everything is fine. Shortly after, i was constantly freezing on startup/boot. Now i can't boot at all. BAD me

Dell's order status page never updated. I called them and got a tracking number... it went from nashville to arkansas to houston... should be here tomorrow

argghh.. got my notebook in, screen isn't working - too dark

They're supposed to be sending me a new LCD screen - I have to connect a CRT to be able to use it until then

Those Bastards

See... We all tried to warn you about Dell

As I like to say "Dude, you're getting a computer from Hell"

or "Dude, you're getting screwed by Dell"

At least its not a Gateway

I've had this Dell laptop for ... I guess 2 years now. It's win2k. XP wasn't out yet. Heck I dunno, I had I've had it a long time. Never had even the smallest problem with it. Ya, it is getting slower, probably time for a full OS nuke and pave, but that's it. I would buy anohter in a heartbeat, though that sager 8790 seriously has me thinking.

ha ha, I own a Dell, it works fine for me it's a Dimension 4400 that I bought in 2003 I think. I upgraded the RAM from 256MB to 1024MB or 1GB. I also run windows XP.

Psst! Kristi Ann, 1024MB is 1GB. I bet you meant 512MB, right?

Whoops 2 @ 512MB a piece.. you're right 1GB of RAM. Thanks Navaho

screen should be in tomorrow... got any recommmendations for a wireless mouse?