Q: I know that everything like my pictures, files, etc... will be lost when I replace the hard drive, but I've gotten opposing answers from the guys at best buy about whether or not I'll lose the Windows system and my applications. So will this happen? My hard drive is dead, I've been told enough, but I don't think I have the system re-boot Cd's. Any ideas? That's what I was afraid of. Thank you very much!
A: A couple of corrections on previous posts ...depending on whom the manufacturer is and whether you bought the machine new or not, you usually can contact the vendor and "order" a replacement recovery disc. This disc will have the factory pre-load on it, which includes the O/S and all that crap that comes on the computer that no one ever uses :) If the drive is kinda dead, you can have a local IT guy or ...(groan) Best Buy pull the data off of it and onto a DVD or other backup media for you. If the drive is mostly dead, you'll be lucky to get anything off of it, but it's still possible. If you know someone who has an external drive reader, wrap the drive in a paper towel, then put in a Ziploc bag - then stick it in the freezer for 60-90 minutes. If the drive is making clanking noises, don't waste your time. If you try to pull files off of it, you can be causing more damage to the heads. In that case, a company like DriveSavers is your best option ...but it ain't cheap. To summarize, yes you will lose your O/S, no question - but you may not be completely without hope. Contact your PC vendor about a recovery/restoration disc, and if the drive is just corrupted, and not actually "bad", you should be able to reinstall your O/S from it, and save your files. However, when you run the recovery, pay CLOSE attention to your options. A format will wipe everything ...usually a recovery gives you the option to just "reinstall" Windows, and that's what you want to do to save your files. Hope this helps :) Scott Merrill Midsouth PC Repair http://www.midsouthpcrepair.com/
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