Desktop died....help!

[kermit315]

Hey guys,

Here is the deal. I have an eMachines EL1333G-03w. It was working fine all day (actually, I havent had a problem with it since I bought it a couple of years ago). Anyway, I came in the room earlier, and it says "Disk Boot Failure, Insert System Disk and Press Enter" across the top of the screen.

I reset it and it gets to the windows logo (Win 7 64 bit), then resets the computer and gives the same error message above. I then try to repair it, and when it loads as X: it shows no operating system. I click on restore to earlier point, and it gives me an error about the I/O device and this code: 0x8007045D.

I am freaked out that the hard drive completely died on me, as I have pictures and other stuff on it that I want off. I swapped the SATA cable between the dvd drive and the HD with no luck. The inside was not dusty and no sign of any blown capacitors or other parts on the MB or HD. When I go to boot options, and select HD, it shows Ch4 M. : ST3500418AS, so I believe the HD is at least partially still alive.

Is this something that Win 7 repair disc can fix (reinstall the boot sector, etc), or am I screwed?

Also, if I am screwed, is it possible to buy a new SATA drive and have the data recovered and moved from the old drive to the new one?

Thanks in advance, this one is above my paygrade.

Jamie

[kermit315]

Oh yeah, I cant boot into safe mode either.

[rplusplus]

Just sent you a PM on FB... I can help with this. =]

[kermit315]

Thanks bud....checking in over there.

[JDay]

Mechanical drives die, this is why you should keep backups.

[ExtremeX]

Mechanical drives die, this is why you should keep backups.

This...

Plus, if the drive is dead, replace it, and install windows. Pretty much all you can do at that point.

If the data was that important, you can try a data recovery service, but the cost alone will make you a true believer in making backups.

[kermit315]

Mechanical drives die, this is why you should keep backups.

This...

Plus, if the drive is dead, replace it, and install windows. Pretty much all you can do at that point.

If the data was that important, you can try a data recovery service, but the cost alone will make you a true believer in making backups.

well, thanks for the input.....I had no idea that a mechanical device could fail. I guess I shouldnt have downloaded the camera pics to free up the cards without immediately burning it to 5 cd's and putting it in the safe because the 2 year old HD could go at any minute.

Yes, I get that HD's fail. If it was a machine that had shown any signs of having problems, I wouldnt have used it (my kids school computer, he is 9).

[Merc1138]

well, thanks for the input.....I had no idea that a mechanical device could fail. I guess I shouldnt have downloaded the camera pics to free up the cards without immediately burning it to 5 cd's and putting it in the safe because the 2 year old HD could go at any minute.

Yes, I get that HD's fail. If it was a machine that had shown any signs of having problems, I wouldnt have used it (my kids school computer, he is 9).

It may very well have been showing issues, but unless you're monitoring things like the reallocated sector count, resets, and so on(you need a utility to monitor the SMART data from the drive for that), or observed odd delays in spin-up times, possibly delayed writes, writes being cached and not written till later, etc. you wouldn't have noticed anything. That's just how hard drives are when they fail. Hence having a backup at all times.

Complaining now because people are telling you what you should have done, isn't going to do any good. You should take the advice for next time or any other computers you may have. Unless you like the idea of paying a few hundred dollars and up for a data recovery service.

There are a couple of things I would do in this scenario, but since they're beyond your scope of knowledge and I don't know what rplusplus told you, I'm not going to make a suggestion that could risk making things worse.

[bigbearbear]

Windows 7 comes with a built-in backup feature, all you have to do is to attached a USB external drive to your computer (with large enough capacity for the backup of course). You can also set a daily schedule for it to backup. This is probably the easiest way to ensure you don't lose data in the future. Or at least, don't lose as much in the event that the disk crashed just prior to the backup kicking in.

[NYT]

the hdd is most likely fine but the os corrupted. i would ask a friend of mine to throw it in their box and try to recover the data for you. It's a pretty simple process but takes a good amount of time depending on how much data you have to recover.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

[Bangzoom]

The laptop im using right now would not boot the other day...would not load the system/config hive software or something....nothing worked...could not run a recovery from cd or usb...no safe mode...no last known good config

i had to take the hard drive outta my laptop and put it in my hard drive cradle and attach to my desktop and manually backup those hive files from backups stored on the same hard drive...well here i am...it worked

[zfields]

the hdd is most likely fine but the os corrupted. i would ask a friend of mine to throw it in their box and try to recover the data for you. It's a pretty simple process but takes a good amount of time depending on how much data you have to recover.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Uh, those errors don't sound like an OS issue...

Sent from my fingers, to your face.

[glockman19]

Hard drives are inexpensive today...I just paid $84 for a 500GB 7200rpm for my old laptop.

I always partition my Hard Drives into two...One for OS & Programs, the other for data...I've always been able to recover my data.

Also helps when you get a virus or other malicious program, just whipe and reinstall the operatng system and programs.

Lastly, I keep numerous backups on different media. DVD's, Flash Drives, other portable hard drives.

I used to back up by mirrored Hard drives on a RAID setup...Tape, Floppy...

Just recently had to do a system recover on a new laptop due to shutdown while installing updates.

You should backup at lease monthly, I prefer weekly because of my usage...If you are working on an important project...backup immediately

[POLICESTATE]

Replace drive, install OS. Hook up old drive as a secondary, you may be able to get data off of it. It's worth a shot at any rate because at this point you have nothing left to lose.

[kermit315]

Replace drive, install OS. Hook up old drive as a secondary, you may be able to get data off of it. It's worth a shot at any rate because at this point you have nothing left to lose.

This is where I am at as of now. I need to download some software that will recover data once it has been set to RAW....

I just have to find time to do it when I am home.