View Full Version : Dell Issue
Kate Moss
27-03-09, 10:37 AM
Laptop wont start up - says hard drive is not there :confused: :confused: :confused:
error message 0141
what to do?
It's the pink one if that helps!!:rolleyes:
Do you have a floppy disk in?
If so take it out and try again.
SoulKiss
27-03-09, 11:02 AM
Laptop wont start up - says hard drive is not there :confused: :confused: :confused:
error message 0141
what to do?
It's the pink one if that helps!!:rolleyes:
Looks like a dead HD
If you have the Windows install disks etc it will cost about £50 for a new HD, then just the time to install Windows - you will probably have lost all data on that drive, and data recovery can be expensive.
Of course, switching it off, leaving it for a few hours and getting someone to remove the current drive and plug it back in again (could be a loose connection/heat issue) may fix the problem - at which point you want to get data backed up off it ASAP as it may only be a temporary fix) unplugging the drive and re-seating the connections is not THAT hard - you should be able to do it yourself - but if not confident, get someone who is.
Probably best to contact Dell
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen
Kate Moss
27-03-09, 11:41 AM
thanks guys! Il get Phil on the case when he is home from work ;)
Bluepete
27-03-09, 11:47 AM
Easy! Mine did it.
Process as follows;
Unplug from mains and remover battery.
Push power button for five seconds to ensure no juice left in.
Turn laptop over and look at the base, you are looking for two screws with a little pic of a barrel next to it.
Undo the screws and slide the hard disk out sideways.
Blow on the contacts and replace, including the screws.
Should work now!
Pete
If you want it fixing, follow Pete's words...
If you want confusing read this... http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=170224
HTH.
phil24_7
27-03-09, 11:53 PM
Tried all, HD is dead according to Dell customer support. Getting a new one sent back and they've given me 5 days to try to get my files off of the old one. PC World are gonna plug it into something to see if it will be easy enough to get the files off. :-(
Anybody got any ideas for data recovery?
This is most disappointing. This is the first HD I've had fail, even the one in the laptop I am currently on has been going strong for 6 years and the dell one was only 8 months old!!
Anybody got any ideas for data recovery?
How desperate are you to get files off it? Are Dell sending out an exact replacement?
I know a lad that worked for Dell, they won't really care if you put a week old dead fish in the box & send that back*. Even if it is checked, they won't challenge you about it, they never do.
*Maybe apart from the smell.
phil24_7
28-03-09, 02:19 AM
Yes they are, I just have to swap them over and send back the old unit after 5 days.
Anyone got a real $hit hard drive I can send in it's place? The guy on the phone was saying they would need the numbers off the new and old hard drive when I got it. Do You thinking I could strip and rebuild the hard drive?
Do You thinking I could strip and rebuild the hard drive?
If the drive is knackered, it's usually the control PCB that's shot, not the actual discs/spindle/needles etc.
If they're sending an exact replacement part, you can remove the new old PCB & replace with the old one.
It's a bit of a PITA though, and I'd only bother if I really wanted data from the drive. If it was things I could get again, over time, I wouldn't bother TBH.
phil24_7
28-03-09, 03:38 PM
Has got photo's on it that I don't have copies of. I could just not bother but I'd like to keep them if I can.
JohnMcL7
28-03-09, 04:22 PM
Tried all, HD is dead according to Dell customer support. Getting a new one sent back and they've given me 5 days to try to get my files off of the old one. PC World are gonna plug it into something to see if it will be easy enough to get the files off. :-(
Anybody got any ideas for data recovery?
This is most disappointing. This is the first HD I've had fail, even the one in the laptop I am currently on has been going strong for 6 years and the dell one was only 8 months old!!
Is the drive making any obvious noises or just nothing?
With hard drives unfortunately they can be hit and miss, I've seen some drives last many years yet I've seen a new hard drive fail within two months. Although some people swear by certain brands I've seen drives of all different ages and manufacturer fail so I always ensure my data is fully synced up with at least one other drive regularly and a second drive once a month. External 2.5in drives are small, convenient and not too expensive making it very easy to keep data backed up.
John
fizzwheel
28-03-09, 04:31 PM
I agree with Baph sounds like it might be a suspect PCD.
Phil, try taking it out of the chassis and then disconnecting the data cable and power, then giving it a reasonable thump on the top bit of the disk, not the PCB side the other side.
I've had drive before that I've rescued in that way, well long enough to get the data off them that the customer wanted.
It might not work but it might be worth a try, it might also make things worse though...
phil24_7
28-03-09, 04:48 PM
I keep my stuff backed up but Kate doesn't. The drive is a Tosh and it makes NO noise, it jut stopped working, no song and dance, nothing!
fizzwheel
28-03-09, 04:52 PM
Try the thump trick then you've got nothing to loose. I've got drives going again that were dead by doing that.
Miss Alpinestarhero
28-03-09, 05:09 PM
How annoying..you'd think that in this day and age technology would last a lot longer :rolleyes: I have a really rubbish compact camera and its been going strong for about 3/4 years. My sister bought a brand new one last year and its dead already.
Things just dont last :(
I hope you do manage to recover your lost files though kate!
Maria
phil24_7
28-03-09, 05:12 PM
Thumping it never worked fizz! :-(
fizzwheel
28-03-09, 05:39 PM
Its fubar then :(
_drummer_
28-03-09, 05:40 PM
As has been said, it's usually the pcb so you need to replace the exact same to get it working.
As a last ditch something might be worth a go if you've nothing to lose & everything else has failed. -Try putting it in a freezer for 24 hours in a sealed plastic bag, It might get it to work long enough to get your data off but tbh I've never tried it myself, & theoretically it would only work with certain drive problems; (if it's not a head crash it probably won't work, & will probably do more damage than good, it's also supposed to work better with old hard drives)
tinpants
28-03-09, 07:30 PM
Um, having read thru this thread I've realised that none of my stuff is backed up on my PC. All my business accounts and invoices, estimates etc and all my personal 5hit.
Errm, how do you back it all up? I'm not the most computer literate person in the world so the "kiss" method would be appreciated.
Ta muchly..........
Dave20046
28-03-09, 07:33 PM
Laptop wont start up - says hard drive is not there :confused: :confused: :confused:
error message 0141
what to do?
It's the pink one if that helps!!:rolleyes:
hardrive dead :smt078#-o
_drummer_
28-03-09, 07:39 PM
Bellerophon, if I were you I'd get an external hard drive & copy all your stuff onto it.
I'd also back up using dvds/cds (use makes like Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden), make a couple of copies of the same files.
If you dont have any burning software I'd recommend ImgBurn ( I don't know what OS you run), it's free.
kwak zzr
28-03-09, 09:12 PM
i got a dell issue :( lappy is just running really slow :( ive took 10 - 20 gig of crap off it, run disk clean up and de fragged it but its still very slow :( any ideas?
JohnMcL7
28-03-09, 09:35 PM
Um, having read thru this thread I've realised that none of my stuff is backed up on my PC. All my business accounts and invoices, estimates etc and all my personal 5hit.
Errm, how do you back it all up? I'm not the most computer literate person in the world so the "kiss" method would be appreciated.
Ta muchly..........
Roughly how much data are you looking to back up? As drummer above has mentioned there's a couple of different ways to back up which I agree with, I'd go for a so called 'portable' external hard drive which is basically a laptop drive in a USB case. They're small, light and can be powered entirely off USB making them very convenient although if you're a desktop PC and less bothered about portability then desktop drives while bigger and requiring their own power are cheaper for the same capacity. Some examples of portable drives:
http://www.ebuyer.com/cat/Hard-Drives/subcat/External-Portable-Drives
In terms of software there's a couple I'd recommend, the first is Microsoft's free Synctoy - you simply tell it which folder you want to back up, which one you want to back up to and how you want the action to work (I just go for copying data from one to the other). Once you've created your folder pair you can simply hit 'run' at any time and the software looks at the two folder locations, works out what has changed or been added then updates your backup. As all the software is simply kept in a standard file structure it can be read by any system as normal.
The other software I'd recommend is what's known as imaging software which takes a snapshot of your entire drive. This means if you took an image today and your drive failed tomorrow, you could just buy another one, run a restore and you'd be exactly where you were. My choice of imaging software is Acronis as I find it's pretty user friendly and works well, you can choose to take differential images so rather than going through the time consuming process of imaging the entire drive you basically just add what's changed to the image which is much quicker. This is not quite as simple to use but the advantage is that you're getting a back up of everything which you can quickly restore to which is definitely worth looking into.
John
Phil, can you take a photo of the label on the drive and upload to the .Org? I'll type out a detailed answer as to how to swap over the PCB if you/kate are really desperate for the pictures!!
Kate, moral of the story, backup backup backup!! Then this stress is avoided.
Um, having read thru this thread I've realised that none of my stuff is backed up on my PC. All my business accounts and invoices, estimates etc and all my personal 5hit.
Errm, how do you back it all up? I'm not the most computer literate person in the world so the "kiss" method would be appreciated.
Ta muchly..........
Tesco Online are currently doing a 1TB external drive for £70. It's stupid not to get one. Then manually copy all your sensitive data over whenever you need to. That'll get you started, and post back if you need an automated solution. :)
JohnMcL7
28-03-09, 10:02 PM
It's worth checking instore as well, I noticed my local Tescos had restocked them and they're decent drives.
John
phil24_7
02-04-09, 12:18 PM
They send me a Hitachi 250gb replacement for the Toshiba 160gb hard drive I had!
Result in one way but means I can't swap the boards around.
How likely do you think it is, that I will be able to get away with sending a different knackered hard drive back to them? (or none at all!)
Regards
Phil
Have they said that it has to be sent back recorded delivery etc?
I'd be tempted to tell them "Its in the post."
phil24_7
02-04-09, 12:41 PM
They get a courier to pick it up, however it seems with all their departments, they don't really know what is going on. When originall raised, they said to hold on to the drive for 5 days to recover the required info. The next call from dell said to return it with the courier, as did the subsequent 4 calls from dell and their courier. I keep telling them I'm keeping it for a bit and they say ok.
I will apparently get a call within 5 working days, at which time I MAY say that it was sent back with the original courier to see what happens!
If this all goes tit's up then I shall return the hard drive from my prehistoric laptop that is in the attic, it still works but I doubt I'll ever use it again as the screen backlight flashes!
TheNinj1
02-04-09, 01:10 PM
Have you tried freezing the knackered harddrive, like put it in the freezer overnight, then using it when it's ice-cold to recover wanted files/folders?
phil24_7
02-04-09, 05:35 PM
No I haven't bud, I was under the impression this hardly ever works, and only really works on older drives? The drive I have is only 8 months old.
TheNinj1
02-04-09, 06:18 PM
Fair enough, just a thought
phil24_7
02-04-09, 06:19 PM
Cheers all the same.
Got my eye on a drive off eBay to swap boards with so will keep the org posted!
phil24_7
20-09-10, 09:00 PM
Update... I have located and bought a drive the same as the one I sent back to Dell ;), it even has almost identical numbers on the back. How do I go about swapping the boards over?
tactcom7
20-09-10, 09:09 PM
Have u thought about taking the drive to pcworld to recover the data?
They rescued my gf's after I threw it at the wall and was making some horrible
noises ( in my defense she did trash my new arai lid)
phil24_7
20-09-10, 09:12 PM
They couldn't de a thing for me unfortunately. All avenues have been exhausted, apart from swapping PCB's or EXPENSIVE data recovery, and I wont be doing the latter!
tactcom7
20-09-10, 09:20 PM
Ah sorry missed that bit.
Yeah they did tell me if they couldn't do it then knew someone who was 99.99% sure they could do it, downside being it costs £700!
beabert
20-09-10, 09:26 PM
My friend refused to send his bac to dell and gave the courier an emtpy box lol.
phil24_7
20-09-10, 09:28 PM
I didn't send anything back...not even the box! :D
warrenhewitt10
21-09-10, 08:36 AM
take it out, drop it on the floor, then put it in again, this worked on several occasions with one of my friends laptops hard drives....
They couldn't de a thing for me unfortunately. All avenues have been exhausted, apart from swapping PCB's or EXPENSIVE data recovery, and I wont be doing the latter!
Data recovery should not be THAT expensive unless your drive is so knackered that the only way to read it is to physically take it apart and put it into a new system.
Alternatively, i have some nice data recovery tools (ICT Network admin), as long as when the drive is running you dont hear a constant clicking sound i'll be able to read it fine for you, wont cost the earth either. drop me a PM if your interested.
Sir Trev
21-09-10, 11:57 AM
I didn't send anything back...not even the box! :D
When the drive in my works Thinkpad died a few years ago the courier would not hand over my new drive unless I handed over the old one. I told him to sod off as it had a LOT of sensitive business data on it. IT ended up smashing it to pieces so we gave them back a box of shrapnel.
Never, never, never hand over a disk drive without permanently deleting the data on it.
vBulletin® , Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.