aardvarkeater 0 #26 September 23, 2008 Quote That makes sense. I still don't know if I'd trust someone named Aardvarkeater... What do graphic designers know about computers? All they know how to do is make pretty pictures.Muff Brother #4026 Loco Zapatos Rodriguez SCR #14793 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkeater 0 #27 September 23, 2008 QuoteI meant running my computer off the external permanently. I guess it would be slow as it would have to USB the data over. It's be slow and older motherboards like yours typically didn't have the capability to boot off an external USB device.Muff Brother #4026 Loco Zapatos Rodriguez SCR #14793 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
npgraphicdesign 2 #28 September 23, 2008 Quote I believe it is 2.0. Not positive, but pretty sure. Kyle, can I not use the external HD as my HD to run the computer from? You could in theory, but would you want to? If you're a regular every day user then you don't need to do that. If you're a tech who wanted a portable OS on an external HD to diagnose problems, that's a different story. I think that aardvark's idea makes more sense and it's a bit less risky. How big is your hard drive in the laptop? You could probably get away with $200 or less for both the new internal hard drive and a new external HD. Check www.pricewatch.com, zipzoomfly.com, and newegg.com. Honestly? If the laptop is 6 years old, can you save up and get a new one? You can hunt around and get a refurbished or even new laptop for 300-450 hundred dollars. If all you use it for is word processing, web browsing, etc. then that will be a better option for you. Just some food for thought: Option 1 New external HD + new internal HD for 6 year old laptop - $150-$200 Option 2 Refurbished/new laptop ( try to get a warranty for both) - $300-$450 Option 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
d_squared431 0 #29 September 23, 2008 Quote Quote I believe it is 2.0. Not positive, but pretty sure. Kyle, can I not use the external HD as my HD to run the computer from? You could in theory, but would you want to? If you're a regular every day user then you don't need to do that. If you're a tech who wanted a portable OS on an external HD to diagnose problems, that's a different story. I think that aardvark's idea makes more sense and it's a bit less risky. How big is your hard drive in the laptop? You could probably get away with $200 or less for both the new internal hard drive and a new external HD. Check www.pricewatch.com, zipzoomfly.com, and newegg.com. Honestly? If the laptop is 6 years old, can you save up and get a new one? You can hunt around and get a refurbished or even new laptop for 300-450 hundred dollars. If all you use it for is word processing, web browsing, etc. then that will be a better option for you. Just some food for thought: Option 1 New external HD + new internal HD for 6 year old laptop - $150-$200 Option 2 Refurbished/new laptop ( try to get a warranty for both) - $300-$450 Option 1 TPM Sister#130ONTIG#1 I love vodka.I love vodka cause it rhymes with Tuaca~LisaH You having a clean thought is like billyvance having a clean post.iluvtofly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simplyputsi 0 #30 September 23, 2008 The mother board is not more than 3 years old. Anyway. I don't think I'd go that route anyway. I need an external HD as I'd like to put all my music somewhere so that eventually I can put it all on an IPOD and stop with all the dang CD's I have.Skymama's #2 stalker - Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
npgraphicdesign 2 #31 September 23, 2008 Quote Quote That makes sense. I still don't know if I'd trust someone named Aardvarkeater... What do graphic designers know about computers? All they know how to do is make pretty pictures. I worked as a jr. technician & computer geek at an engineering firm for 6+ years and put together prototype logic boards and tested them, as well as fix computers once in a while. Why don't you assemble a prototype logic board for a broadband seismometer and then get back to me... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkeater 0 #32 September 23, 2008 Quote I mean it's like night and day with the thing. It's flat and not working, I tilt it up bam instant working, I put it back down, not working. With that additional info it very well may just be the processor overheating. There's a good way to test this. Being the cautious type, I'd still first get the eternal HD and backup your data. (And they're still cool to haveInstall a program called SpeedFan. http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php It's free. It monitors various temperatures and fan speeds in your computer. Have it running and look at the CPU temp while it's at an angle. Then lay it flat and watch the temp. If it significantly increases then it's an airflow issue and you could fix it with either getting the fan replaced or using a laptop stand. (Stand might be cheaper) If you don't see anything change drastically, then it's probably the HD. Get a new internal HD and restore the data.Muff Brother #4026 Loco Zapatos Rodriguez SCR #14793 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
npgraphicdesign 2 #33 September 23, 2008 Quote The mother board is not more than 3 years old. Anyway. I don't think I'd go that route anyway. I need an external HD as I'd like to put all my music somewhere so that eventually I can put it all on an IPOD and stop with all the dang CD's I have. Well you can get a 500Gb external HD for $100 or less. Price also depends how much you care about the brand name and any manufacturer specific technologies (various back-up software, one-touch backups, etc.) That's enough for most people's music collections. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkeater 0 #34 September 23, 2008 Quote Quote The mother board is not more than 3 years old. Anyway. I don't think I'd go that route anyway. I need an external HD as I'd like to put all my music somewhere so that eventually I can put it all on an IPOD and stop with all the dang CD's I have. Well you can get a 500Gb external HD for $100 or less. Price also depends how much you care about the brand name and any manufacturer specific technologies (various back-up software, one-touch backups, etc.) That's enough for most people's music collections. Go with Seagate. They have the best manufacturer's warranty out there. Next go with Western Digital.Muff Brother #4026 Loco Zapatos Rodriguez SCR #14793 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
npgraphicdesign 2 #35 September 23, 2008 Quote Quote Quote The mother board is not more than 3 years old. Anyway. I don't think I'd go that route anyway. I need an external HD as I'd like to put all my music somewhere so that eventually I can put it all on an IPOD and stop with all the dang CD's I have. Well you can get a 500Gb external HD for $100 or less. Price also depends how much you care about the brand name and any manufacturer specific technologies (various back-up software, one-touch backups, etc.) That's enough for most people's music collections. Go with Seagate. They have the best manufacturer's warranty out there. Next go with Western Digital. This man speaks the truth. Oddly enough, I just had an issue w/ my external Lacie enclosure. All of a sudden it stopped working. Took the cover off and listened to the HD (which was a Seagate drive ) It kept winding up and then stopping, and seemed like it wasn't getting enough power. So i tested the enclosure itself, and sure enough, the circuit board in the enclosure blew. I plugged it in internally and it works like a charm! Incidentally, I have nothing but Seagate HDs in my computer. On a side note, I'm not a big fan of small (dimension-wise not HD capacity) enclosures that "save space." I'd rather get a slightly larger external enclosure that preferably has a built in fan and also has some air circulation space around the HD inside... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tuna-Salad 0 #36 September 23, 2008 Your HD has over heated at some point and now the platter inside has warped and is hitting the case of the drive. Back up the data... you don't have much time.. Just to be sure.. the clicking noise sounds like a floppy being opened in the drive? - I would also like to add.. if the drive dies .. put it into a freezer for about 5 minutes and put it back in the PC.. it won't work long, but will enough to drag over a few final files.Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkeater 0 #37 September 23, 2008 QuoteYour HD has over heated at some point and now the platter inside has warped and is hitting the case of the drive. Back up the data... you don't have much time.. Just to be sure.. the clicking noise sounds like a floppy being opened in the drive? - I would also like to add.. if the drive dies .. put it into a freezer for about 5 minutes and put it back in the PC.. it won't work long, but will enough to drag over a few final files. Ummm......no. To all of that. (except the backing up part)Muff Brother #4026 Loco Zapatos Rodriguez SCR #14793 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tuna-Salad 0 #38 September 23, 2008 happened to me twice.. but i guess i dunno anything right?Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 620 #39 September 23, 2008 I'm surprised you haven't heard it yet... "just buy a MAC" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tuna-Salad 0 #40 September 23, 2008 After our all knowing friend aardvarkeater pointed out that I was all wrong.. I think I might just try to get a refund for my A+ and have him teach me the ways of the force since I obviously got ripped off and didn't learn anything. Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simplyputsi 0 #41 September 23, 2008 Well it's not a Toshita, so it's a possiblity. Tuna, I think you are right, but the question lingers, why has this happened before and then it worked fine for months and months after. Did the HD warp itself back? Could it just be that there is dust or something on the HD??Skymama's #2 stalker - Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 620 #42 September 23, 2008 Well you do realize that an MCSE is simply: Microsoft Certified Solitaire Expert not sure about the CompTIA ratings...A+ and N+ could possibly have some entertaining names as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tuna-Salad 0 #43 September 23, 2008 not going to warp back no.. typically the clicking should only happen when the drive is seeking or when you start the pc. Why it has stopped I don't know but I'm positive without a doubt that there is something defective inside the drive itself. Also the putting a drive in a freezer will work.. I don't care what anyone says. (Make sure the drive is dead first) if the drive is ruined anyway you aren't going to hurt it any more by putting it in a freezer. - The way this works is that the cold makes the drive.. shrink so to speak so the connections work better. you might get 5 minutes out of it, you might get 20.. (make sure to put it in a bag or something before you put it in the freezer) I've done this myself and got enough time to back up family pictures some music.. etc.. Is the noise comparable to the metal jacket on a floppy being opened inside the drive?Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
simplyputsi 0 #44 September 23, 2008 The noise is similar to a floppy noise, well what I remember of them.Skymama's #2 stalker - Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkeater 0 #45 September 23, 2008 I agree that heat could cause warping of a drive platter, however I'll disagree that it's going to warp so much that it'll hit the case of the drive. If it does warp enough it'll cause a head crash before it touches the case. In the case of a head crash the drive will make some god awful grinding noises that are worse than a few intermittent clicks. Paul doesn't have that. The clicking (if it is coming from the hard drive and not a system fan) more than likely is coming from bad sectors trying to be read multiple times, a defective spindle, or possibly loose read/write heads. Heat usually affects the bearings of the spindle first and can prevent the HD from spinning up. Putting the drive in the freezer or whacking the hard drive on the side can unstick the motor and cause the drive to spin up again, however 9 times out of 10 it either won't work or cause additional damage. Also, if you were to then send the drive to a data recovery specialist, freezing it could prevent full data recovery from happening. A great site that has some excellent presentations on hard drive data recovery can be found here: http://www.myharddrivedied.com/presentations.html Btw I'm A+ Certified too. Oh btw Paul, if there's dust on the HD it'll just get flung off when it spins up.Muff Brother #4026 Loco Zapatos Rodriguez SCR #14793 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tuna-Salad 0 #46 September 23, 2008 I need to look at that seeing as how I have a 300gb drive that was paritioned into 2x 150's and now the mbr of one of them is toasted. I got a MBR recovery tool but later found out that I needed to have a good working mbr on floppy already. If you can fix that one you can have a 300 sata drive free. Millions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #47 September 23, 2008 I've got a brand new Vaio FW190 with a 320 gig 5400 rpm HD. I've was planning on buying a 320 gig Black Scorpion (7200 RPM) and an enclosure, ghosting the current HD to the new one for the OS & add-on programs, then using the stock HD inside the enclosure as my external HD. The problem is all the enclosures I looked at specified maximum HD sizes and were limited to like 250 gig. I thought 2.5" was 2.5", regardless of data density, but there's got to be some reason they limit the size. Any idea what that reason is? Or what'd be a good enclosure for my plan? Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkeater 0 #48 September 23, 2008 A great data recovery program I use is Runtime Software's GetDataBack. It does a great job of recovering data even if no MBR or partition table exists. http://www.runtime.org/ Now about that free drive.... Muff Brother #4026 Loco Zapatos Rodriguez SCR #14793 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aardvarkeater 0 #49 September 23, 2008 QuoteI've got a brand new Vaio FW190 with a 320 gig 5400 rpm HD. I've was planning on buying a 320 gig Black Scorpion (7200 RPM) and an enclosure, ghosting the current HD to the new one for the OS & add-on programs, then using the stock HD inside the enclosure as my external HD. The problem is all the enclosures I looked at specified maximum HD sizes and were limited to like 250 gig. I thought 2.5" was 2.5", regardless of data density, but there's got to be some reason they limit the size. Any idea what that reason is? Or what'd be a good enclosure for my plan? Blues, Dave I'd guess that the SATA to USB control boards of the enclosures you looked at have some limitation that allows them to only access 250GB. http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010090092%201053807124%201054207132%201054107131&bop=And&Order=PRICE A number of drive enclosures listed in the link above support 320GB and should work just fine for you.Muff Brother #4026 Loco Zapatos Rodriguez SCR #14793 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tuna-Salad 0 #50 September 23, 2008 lol if it works its yours. The problem was that my windows user account had a password and i cannot access those folders on the drive without the password and i cannot get promted to enter one, even after going into the recovery console and trying the cacls command to remove all passwords. This problem happened about 2years ago. It shows the drive as having 0 space but I am able to navigate on it when slaved until i try to get into the documents and settings/usernameMillions of my potential children died on your daughters' face last night. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
