computer issues

[jennickels]

Anyone know anything about computers?

I'm pretty good with computers but this is a little out of my league I think.

Here's the story.  We have 3 computers (desktops).  The first one is really old, bought in 2003 (I think).  It's a Sony which I really liked until we had issues with it.  Sony doesn't even make desktops anymore (I think).  Anyway.  When we had troubles with it we replaced it with a Gateway that I got out of the box at Best Buy in 2006.  I got a good deal on it at the time and it came with a gift card for like $150 because there was no box.  It served me well until the fall of 2008.  It started overheating and I couldn't figure out what was wrong for the longest time.  I finally came to the realization that the fan on the graphics card had died and it kept overheating which was causing the computer to shut down.  I was still able to use it with the side off and a fan blowing in it to keep it cool.  I was able to use photoshop elements to scrapbook and I could get online.  I couldn't play any games but I was okay with it for the time being until we could get our taxes back.

Before I figured out what was wrong I decided to just buy a new computer.  We got a customized HP off the Costco website so that I could get what I wanted on it.  It had a 1TB hard drive (RAID 0), 750mb graphics card, 6 gigs of RAM (I think).  I got it in February 2009.  I loved the thing.  It was so fast compared to the Gateway (even though that still ran pretty well with what was on it and ran everything I needed).  And then one year after buying it I got a warning that popped up saying one of the hard drives was failing.  WTF!  Just after the warranty ran out.

Now both drives are in fail mode (I get constant reminders that they need to be backed up before they fail and that they can't be fully accessed).  They are done.  Guess what happened?  The fan on the graphics card broke, it overheated and took the hard drive with it.  Son of a bitch!  When the 2nd drive started to go I backed up important data and pulled out the Gateway to use until I could get the HP fixed.  We got a new graphics card for it earlier this year and it worked much better after that but was still really slow (probably needs a good defrag and stuff).

The slowness was really getting on my nerves so today I pulled the HP out and put the new graphics card in it to see how it would run (I'll be buying another one of these cards so each CPU has one).  It's nice to not have this slow up when I'm typing or trying to switch between tabs and stuff.  I was tired of virtual memory warnings and stuff.  Problem is the hard drives are still failing and I have to replace them.

Doesn't sound too hard, right?  I'm not sure if I want to go with two 500gig drives again or just get one big TB one.  Considering how quickly the dual drives failed on me what difference will it really make?

Anyway, my problem is that when I went to make a recovery disk so that if I got a new hard drive I could install windows and stuff on it.  But the computer says you can only make one recovery disk and it's already been made.  Interesting... considering I never made one.  Which, I assume, means the people that built the thing made one and I have no idea if they gave it to me (I assume they would) and if they did I have no clue where it is.  Great.

So, if I get a new hard drive I have to buy Windows 7 to go on it.  I saw at TigerDirect they have the copies they use when building computers much cheaper but it warns you that they're not as easy to install.  I really don't want to have to take it in but it looks like I might have to take it in.  Blah.

I thought maybe I could use the back up disk that came with the Gateway (if I can find it) and install that on the new hard drive.  It only runs XP but then I could just buy the upgrade version of Windows 7 instead of the full version.  But that depends on me actually finding the disk for that, too (if I made one... I have no idea any more).

Anyway, my question for anyone that knows about computers (*clears throat* Dee) is it that easy to just install hard drives or should I give up and take it in to the repair guy?

I mean, I know I could do it if I already knew what the hell I was doing but I don't want to mess it up more.  Replacing the graphics card was a snap and I can do the memory (I plan to replace the RAM on the Gateway to help with performance because I think it only has 2gigs and can go up to 4).  I also know how to replace the fan on the motherboard if need be.  Just no so sure about the hard drives.

[edit] Crap, forgot to save my firefox profile so I lost all my bookmarks!  So frustrating especially since I can't just go plug the other computer in.  It has no graphics card in it because it's in this computer, lol.  I also forgot to save my mail so I lost all my email addresses and old mail.  Oy.

Comments

[spiletta42.livejournal.com]

Open it up and take a look at the hard drive. If you can actually reach all the screws with your screwdriver, it's a snap. If one of the screws is surrounded by sharp mental spikes that are welded to the tower casing, well, not so much.

*glares at currently half unassembled computer on the floor and contemplates taking wire cutters to said sharp metal spikes*

Yeah, as you may have guessed, and doing this right now, because my mom needs files off of her 256MB worth of RAM Win ME computer and all of its disk drives are broken.

[jennickels.livejournal.com]

LOL. Damn, ebil teknologies.

I just closed up the case and don't feel like opening it again but I think the drives are installed into these cradles that just pop in and out. I haven't really looked.

I'd really love to build my own next time but it still seems cheaper to just get a premade one. Although I could probably save money by salvaging the working parts of the computers I have.

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

I hate it when I misplace installation disks. :(

I've installed RAM before, but haven't replaced a hard drive. Inserted an old drive into an external case, yes, but not inside a desktop or laptop. There are probably video tutorials specific to your hardware on YouTube, though. (The ones I've seen are reeeeally boring.)

[jennickels.livejournal.com]

I'm not even sure I made the disk for the Gateway one.
I know when I got the Sony I never made one because it said it needed like 10 CDs and at the time I didn't have that many, lol. Then when the hard drive crashed on it I couldn't make one and found out it was the only model Sony made that didn't come with a premade disk. The only way to get one was to make it yourself.

But I found a work around at the time. The problem at the time ended up being that Windows crashed (not the actual drive) so I couldn't boot up to get to the recovery portion. Once I found the work around to access the partition and reinstall Windows I was fine.

This is beyond that. The physical drives are dying. Sigh. I'm going to keep using this one until they are in the grave I guess or until I can get new drives and afford Windows 7.

And I probably should look online for some videos or something. It's probably a lot easier than I think.

I am thinking that they must have made a recovery disk for this computer and included it in the packaging it's just with the move and everything I have no clue where I might have put it. I had all the computer stuff together in several boxes. I just cleaned the garage the other day and put them all to one side. I guess I should go back through them disk by disk to see if it's in there. That would save me some worry and my husband would probably go out this week and get the hard drive without comment.

[campylobacter.livejournal.com]

If it's any consolation, at least your troubles have reminded me that I need to perform a data backup.

[jennickels.livejournal.com]

I guess that's something, lol.

I was in the garage rooting around for disks and found the install and recovery disks for the Gateway (made by the Geek Squad since it was an out of the box buy). Still have no idea if there was a disk made for the HP. I know for sure I didn't make it but it won't let me make a new one so...

[spiletta42.livejournal.com]

I always save all my defunct hard drives in static bags, and when I remember what I forgot to back up, I plug them into an external hard drive case, or with something like this:

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/thumb-drives-storage/dd1a/

[jennickels.livejournal.com]

I might have to look into that. I might be able to access the hard drive on the Sony that way (it's so freaking slow to boot up and navigate) because all of my husband's music is stored on there. He had it backed up to an external drive but for some reason the Gateway wouldn't access it (both computers were running XP). Haven't tried it on this computer. I'd hate for him to lose all that.

[spiletta42.livejournal.com]

It's by far the easiest way to transfer music from one machine to the next, since you can keep the file structure intact that way, and move it all with one drag and drop, without the file sizes becoming issues.

Plus, I've discovered that a couple of really old hard drives that were too ridiculously corrupted to be read via my computer could actually be accessed using my western digital media box. I have yet to figure out how that's useful, but in a test run, it played a Billy Joel song I had downloaded from Napster in the 1990's onto a hard drive that my computer alternately reads as either a brick, or a big pile of viruses, depending on its mood. So back into the static bag went that hard drive, with some hope in the back of my mind about someday retrieving the files I want from it. (Not the Billy Joel song, I've long since bought that legally, I assure you.)

[cschick.livejournal.com]

I am both drunk and 9 hours jet-lagged, so I will revisit this post tomorrow. But the one thing I want to say today -- if the computer with the failing drives is out of warranty, that doesn't necessarily mean the individual parts of warranty (especially if warranty is 1 year only). Open the box, see if you can find the brand on the drives, and look up what the standard warranty for that brand is.

Replacing hard drives shouldn't be too hard ... but it all depends on the brand. One reason we tend to go with Dell is that the things can be generally pretty easily stripped and rebuilt and done other various cruel things to them.

[jennickels.livejournal.com]

I'll have to look into the brand.

I knew I could count on you Dee...even drunk and jet-lagged.