any suggestions onthigns i need to do.. my hard drive became corruped
and has a ****load of bad sectors and corrupted stuff...

i got a new one coming
any tips

make sure ur grounded when u go to put it in..static kills!..lol

i should bable to use my windows disc to put xp back on right?

aska IT person

I'm an IT person.
Yes, you can restore the Operating System, but not the files themselves.
You should attempt, if you can turn on the computer, to save as many of
your files as possible.

In the future, you should always make backup copies of your files on a
CD. I've had more than one crash, so you shouls know that no one is
really protected from Hardware failure. But you can recover from it
easily, if you plan ahead.

okay IT man, tell me the very best laptop to get for an old lady, that
wants to get email, and maybe type a letter now and then. Is it Dell,
Gateway, Sony or what? Inquiring minds want to know.

i got most everything backed up.. tahnkfully im paranoid aobut doing
that..

that and i think most of what i use my computer for is warcraft and jsh

Buy a Dell! I have 4 of them & love em

OUCH!! I have a gateway. This dam moo cow should have been sent out to
pasture 4 hard drives ago!!!

I've had a Toshiba Protege laptop for over 10 years. It's a "vintage"
pentium 2 and it stills runs fine. I recommend Toshiba because they
last, and require less maintenance.

I got somethin hard that needs drove.

Your first mistake was using windows! LOL! I use Linux its free, secure
and easy to use.

It is true that data stored, on a formatted windows hard drive becomes
corruped ALOT more often than a linux based pc. As far as hardware, well
it's hardware. If this new HD is going to be the hard drive that you
install the OS on, then the basics are to make sure that the HD jumper
is set for master, and you have it plugged in the primary IDE slot. You
may be able to install the old HD as priamary slave and recover some
data from it that way, through your newly installed OS.

well i tryed to reformat it before i knew there was anything seriously
wrong with it (at first my system config became missing or corrupt).
after reinstalling it said the disk was damaged.. so it was f'ed anyway

activemode,

Toshiba does make an incredibly good laptop. I tried out several some
years ago and when I scrape the funds together will be getting one to
replace the old, old, old laptop I currently have. I don't even use the
thing much anymore as there are too many hoops to jump through to get
the info from "it" to this 'puter. LOL.

I think netuser has covered ya on the hard drive replacement classyjeff!

Have a great day all!

got my new harddrive today.. thankfully they made it hard by sending the
wrong one.. a SATA instead of a ATA.. so now i have to **** around with
returning it and getting the propper replacement...
ugh
dang gateway

Hey IT guy I have to disagree with you about a Toshiba. My cousin bought
one so he could run his DJ software at shows and not have to deal with a
desktop. His is a Toshiba sattilite, he has only has it about 6 months
and it has been in the shop about 4 times. The motherboard had to be
replaced twice and the hard drive wants to keep crashing.

Hiya Classyjeff,

Oh man, dontcha HATE when that happens? When they send me the wrong
stuff, I try to get expedited shipping for freee. Sometimes it works and
sometimes it doesn't.

Personally I would suggest programs like norton ghost or there is a
similar one out ther I am told is actually better. However, If you
create an image of your system and burn it to DVD. even with a total HDD
loss you can restore your OS and all the programs and data onto a new
HDD in about an hour or less.

It is like those system recovery tools to bring your system back to the
way it was the day it left the factory.

I never get those personally as I build my computers from pieces.

BTW touching the outside of the metal case while you are in there will
ground any static electricity you may have built up in you.

Keep in mind you may need to specially format your new HDD as drives
over a certain size will not be recognized as their full size if you do
not do it correctly. Read the lit with it or use the disks and driver
programs to setup your new hdd you should be fine.

Actually I would rather have an SATA then and ATA drive it is much
faster and will also reduce your temp as the wire is round and thin
allowing you to have increased airflow in your case.

Also SATA atr typically more expensive then ATA as well. ATA is
becomming "Vintage" .