My Hard Drive is damaged.

Chacaocop · Nov 25, 2006, 03:46 PM

Hello:
My computer started acting up and every time I start it up it would get slower and slower. I thought it was a virus, but after scanning with everything I have it showed no infections, no spyware or any hidden programs that could be causing it.

Then it got worst, up to the point where the hard drive was spinning and even sometimes the computer did not start at all.

I spoke with the IT guys in the company I work for, and they gave me a SW named Spinrite, which scans, diagnose and repairs the HD surface.

Well, Spinrite showed that the HD had a lot of sectors damaged and the are not recoverable.

I am ready to purchase a new HD, but somebody told me that if I install a new HD, I won't be able to use the system recovery disk that comes with the laptop. That person told me that I need to "ghost" the HD in order to do that.

What I need from somebody here in this forum, is to kindly tell me how to replace the HD with a new one and be able to recover the computer at least to the factory SW level when I purchase the computer using the system recovery disk.

Thanks in advance.

PangingJr · Nov 25, 2006, 04:14 PM

due to different company have different system recovering method and policy on how to do what you want when the computer requires a new hard drive, so i suggest you contact your laptop support personal service for assisting you on this first.

swimtech · Nov 26, 2006, 07:21 PM

Make and model of your laptop please? I haven't heard of a laptop that comes with restore CDs not being able to install on a new hard drive - even if the capacity of the new HD is different.

If the original HD had a restore partition on it, the restoration CDs should be able to put it back on the new HD as well. That partition is only used when the hard drive is still in good shape - you won't use it in this case as your original hard drive is damaged. Good thing you've got a restoration CD set.

Nov 25, 2006, 03:46 PM	#1
Chacaocop DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	My Hard Drive is damaged. Hello: My computer started acting up and every time I start it up it would get slower and slower. I thought it was a virus, but after scanning with everything I have it showed no infections, no spyware or any hidden programs that could be causing it. Then it got worst, up to the point where the hard drive was spinning and even sometimes the computer did not start at all. I spoke with the IT guys in the company I work for, and they gave me a SW named Spinrite, which scans, diagnose and repairs the HD surface. Well, Spinrite showed that the HD had a lot of sectors damaged and the are not recoverable. I am ready to purchase a new HD, but somebody told me that if I install a new HD, I won't be able to use the system recovery disk that comes with the laptop. That person told me that I need to "ghost" the HD in order to do that. What I need from somebody here in this forum, is to kindly tell me how to replace the HD with a new one and be able to recover the computer at least to the factory SW level when I purchase the computer using the system recovery disk. Thanks in advance.

Nov 26, 2006, 07:21 PM	#3
swimtech HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: North Carolina Posts: 4,040 Rep Power: 124 System Specs	Make and model of your laptop please? I haven't heard of a laptop that comes with restore CDs not being able to install on a new hard drive - even if the capacity of the new HD is different. If the original HD had a restore partition on it, the restoration CDs should be able to put it back on the new HD as well. That partition is only used when the hard drive is still in good shape - you won't use it in this case as your original hard drive is damaged. Good thing you've got a restoration CD set. __________________ It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Nov 25, 2006, 04:14 PM	#2
PangingJr Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 5,989 Rep Power: 71	due to different company have different system recovering method and policy on how to do what you want when the computer requires a new hard drive, so i suggest you contact your laptop support personal service for assisting you on this first.