Do i need a new HDD?

[programer25]

Every time i turn on my laptop its says `operating system not found`
when I put the recovery disk in the slot I can access the recovery options but it doesnt let me format the HD cuz it cant find the volumes. it doesn't even let me restore the pc to a earlier date.. basically it dont let me do anything.. i also here some kinda creak sound when i turn on the laptop from the HD so i unscrewed the bottom to see if the HD was popped out but it was ok.. so is that mean i need a new HD? pls helppp

[twiss]

What I always do in such cases is get a bootable linux thing (Ubuntu is easy to use) and check the disk and partitions with that. You can also have it at least first recover your data.

[programer25]

thanks sir.. any more ideas?

[twiss]

What you could try is insert a Windows (I assume?) installation disk and boot that. At some point it tells you "hit key x for recovery options" or something like that.

[jingda]

Operating system not found means either your hard disk have crashed or your OS was corrupted but there are other too. What OS are you using? You actually do not need a new hard disk, you can try restore your system before the problem happen if not maybe try to see whether you can re format your disk. But doing a re format will mean you will lose all data previously on the laptop. We only advise to do a reformat at the last option. So don't reformat now. We will find other methods for you first..

Check out this link

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/321626

[crunchie]

Try removing the battery power pack for a few minutes and then put it back in and try again.
I had my work laptop do the same thing not long ago and it turned out to be the HD :(.
If you can, remove the HD and connect it to another PC. If the PC manages to read it ok, it is probably some form of corruption. If not, say goodbye to it.

[Sunnyrepairs]

Well .. before replacing HDD i suggest you to take your PC to a good technician, he may fix the problem and save you from buying a new HDD.

[jingda]

So have you follow our suggestions, programer25?

@ Sunnyrepairs

If programer25 can get help here there is no need to take his pc to a pro to have a look at it. And people always come to forums because they want help and not spending money everytime sending their laptop or computer for repair. If we can help them here i don't see why he should need to spent money and send his computer to an expert.

[fares1001]

yes your need HDD new

[jingda]

So how did it go, if your problem is still the same, you might need a hard drive replacement.

[ljdellar]

I have used this
http://www.sysresccd.org/Download

and Hiren's Boot CD (http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd) to fix this type of problem before.

LJ

[mistamrd]

There are a few things that you can try before buying a new HDD. If you have another PC or a friend with another PC with internet access I would first suggest the following. Download the AVG Rescue CD. This will allow you to do many tests to determine if the problem is actually a hardware or software failure (there are instances when the Boot sector becomes corrupt), this will help analyze that. It is free and quite useful. Here is a link.
http://www.avg.com/us-en/avg-rescue-cd

For a more powerful (although much more complicated product), you can download the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows (There is also a Linux only version). Here is that link:
http://www.ubcd4win.com/
Good Luck.

[Speedo12]

It's possible to have this problem due to a hdd problem. I had this situation a while ago and i was always unplug the HDD and plug it back. Problem solved.

[FragFighter]

It's possible to have this problem due to a hdd problem. I had this situation a while ago and i was always unplug the HDD and plug it back. Problem solved.

Always good to check connections.

I also recommend a live version of Linux to rescue your files. Do this before you go tinkering around too much further. Once you've backed things up, quite frankly, I'd delve into repairing the OS and potentially reinstalling it as a last resort. Let us know how things are going!