Have you got enough space on the FreeAgent external to hook it up to the Gateway desktop (via USB) and copy the data you need of its internal drive?

Once this is done, then you could reconnect the...

Word of advice: Never keep important data on a flash drive only without backing it up somewhere else....these things are notoriously unreliable and can fail at anytime.
They should only be used for...

mechbas is correct! Anything that was on that drive will be gone after a format.

This is the main reason why i always keep my system files on a seperate drive/partition from the good stuff (ie...

'NTLDR is Missing
Press any key to restart'

Possible causes..... (my $2 worth)


(Computer hard disk drive is not properly setup in BIOS).

Verify that your hard drive is properly setup...

Serial ATA interface disc drives are designed for easy installation.

It is not necessary to set any jumpers, terminators, or other settings on this drive for proper operation. The jumper block...

Broadly speaking a hard disk can fail in four ways that will lead to a potential loss of data:

Firmware Corruption / Damage to the firmware zone
Electronic Failure
Mechanical Failure
...

DVD+R and DVD+RW
DVD+R and DVD+RW formats are supported by Philips, Sony, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Ricoh, Yamaha and others.

DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD-RAM
These formats are supported by Panasonic,...

If you mean 'installed' programs in your program directory(folder that says 'program files'), leave them as they are along with all your operational system files(windows etc) on c: messing with these...

For serial ATA interface:
http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/howto/sata_install_tshoot.html

If you are d/l from net site through your web browser try selecting 'save' instead of 'open' when promted.

If you are using a software client such as p2p, change direction using 'options' or...

From what i can gather, sounds to me like the tech. has installed one 'physical' Hdd that has been patitioned into two sections. These 2 partitions being termed, local disk C: and local disk I:
...

doh....wrong link, sorry!!

http://www.helpdesk.umd.edu/topics/troubleshooting/os/windows_2000/4349/

The office of information technology (help desk) is great reading for all those that would like to know more on this topic. Here is the link most pertinent to this thread, however, navigate your way...

Yes, you are correct....everything that runs on your mums computer is stored on that Hdd that you want to replace, including the O/S itself.
This means ofcourse if you change the Hdd, you will have...

Nothing worth doing is ever easy....this applies 10 fold to computers!

Try this for an informative 'how to' .
http://www.helpwithpcs.com/upgrading/install-hard-drive.htm

Remember to backup...

If you need certain numbers from the physical drive itself, i would advise that who ever is seeking this information should contact the manufacturer for details... as your hands are bound by the...

For XP, navigate: start>control panel>system, select the 'hardware' tab>device manager, expand 'disk drives' then right click on the hdd in question. select properties then click the 'details' tab....

could be any one of a number of problems from faulty components through to incorrect use.

To help you self diagnose, here is a handy little link that includes a 'diagnostic flowchart' which may...