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So, my hard disk died...

 
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UndeadLord



Joined: 05 Jul 2008
Posts: 12

PostPosted: 2008-08-09 15:38:50    Post subject: So, my hard disk died... Reply with quote

... but I managed to install XP on an external drive and boot from there.

The question is, is there any way to disable my internal drive (through BIOS or software) from spinning (it keeps on going "KRRSCHT...KRR...KRR...BEEEP...").

'Disable internal hard disk' doesn't give anything on google, so I'm asking here coz' I know some of you are computer guru's with dead laptops on your hands.
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Carpetsmoker



Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 381
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

PostPosted: 2008-08-09 16:14:21    Post subject: Reply with quote

Why not just disconnect and/or take out the hard disk?
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Snakeye



Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 461
Location: Graz, Styria, Austria

PostPosted: 2008-08-09 16:34:48    Post subject: Re: So, my hard disk died... Reply with quote

I'm with Carpet on this issue - get that harddisk out. If it's a desktop it shouldn't be any problem, if it's a good laptop it should't be any problem, if it's a crappy laptop you'll need to unscrew some more screws than on a good one and perhaps void warranty - so no real problem..

UndeadLord wrote:
..with dead laptops on your hands.

Sir, THAT was below the line Crying or Very sad
She was a good laptop BTW. Two screws [to unscrew] and the HDD was out. I'd really miss her more if it wasn't for Jade Sad
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UndeadLord



Joined: 05 Jul 2008
Posts: 12

PostPosted: 2008-08-21 15:56:08    Post subject: Reply with quote

I thought I could do that, however, once removed, Windows won't boot any longer.

Can't figure why.

The hard disk doesn't appear in the BIOS nor in the Windows Disk Management. However, it always tries spinning for a little while when I turn the laptop on.

So I'm thinking that the hard disk is part of an inbuilt powering up procedure that can't be changed, and removing the drive would be very much like removing a light bulb off a Christmas garland: won't work anymore.

Could that be the case?
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Snakeye



Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 461
Location: Graz, Styria, Austria

PostPosted: 2008-08-21 17:24:53    Post subject: Reply with quote

UndeadLord wrote:
I thought I could do that, however, once removed, Windows won't boot any longer.

Can't figure why.

The hard disk doesn't appear in the BIOS nor in the Windows Disk Management. However, it always tries spinning for a little while when I turn the laptop on.

So I'm thinking that the hard disk is part of an inbuilt powering up procedure that can't be changed, and removing the drive would be very much like removing a light bulb off a Christmas garland: won't work anymore.

Could that be the case?

Hell, it's a computer - I wouldn't wonder if they'd make you sacrifice a chicken or a virgin in order to boot up - so yes, I can imagine she simply wont boot without HDD.

What you might try is to change boot order in the BIOS, unless you already did that - I'd guess if the sequence is HDD first (what any good boot sequence should be, unless you explicitly need to boot from CD/DVD) and she doesn't find any, she might get pissed and ignore you - if you put DVD or external first she might accept the missing HDD.

On the other hand if the HDD was IDE Master and the secondary drive slave (should be similar with SATA?) she might be generally pissed if there's no primary master. I this case you could (perhaps) try to set the secondary drive to master?

If anything else fails try a sacrifice, perhaps a chicken and if that doesn't work go all the way up to the virgin Twisted Evil

Why don't you get a new HDD btw? Sounds like it wouldn't be too hard to either buy a new one or scavenge one from some other dead laptop - and no I won't give you mine, I couldn't desacrate my lappies corpse in such a way, plus you probably don't have SATA anyway. Hmm which reminds me that I have another dead one which should have IDE. How many formats do safely delete data? Or do I need that CIA tool Neutral
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UndeadLord



Joined: 05 Jul 2008
Posts: 12

PostPosted: 2008-12-29 23:04:33    Post subject: Reply with quote

My laptop finally died. That is: screen's dead. Can't use anylonger and I need a replacement.

I was looking around and got confused with everything that's available out there. My main concern is battery life.

I read that Centrino packages are the ones to go for in that case. Now what really troubled me is that there's different ones like Core Duo, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Duo extreme... and that some sites refer to them as Intel Dual Core, etc...

I understand that Centrino Duo is actually Core Duo and some other Intel jewels; but what's better with respect to the battery? Centrino package or just the Intel processor and other components?

I hear Celerons are useless and Pentium 4s suck the life out of the batteries.

I was looking at a Sony Vaio; I quite like the looks of it, but read that the battery life was short. I hear Lenovos are good. Apparently so are Toshibas Sattelites. Acers seem to be good, but since that was my last one, I'd like to try something different.

Since I'd like to stick to Windows, I stay away from Apples.

I was curious what you guys use and what you would recommend.

P.S.: Merry Christmas. Best wishes to all out there.
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Carpetsmoker



Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 381
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands

PostPosted: 2008-12-30 02:06:12    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quick summary:

For quality, I would go for either a Lenovo Thinkpad (I have a T61) or a Dell Latitude.

HP Notebooks are OK sometimes, other models are so-so.
Acer is cheap junk, don't buy acer.
Toshiba is so-so.
Asus is also so-so.
Apple Macbooks are crap.
I don't have a lot of experience with Sony Vaio, so no comments.
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{GD}siredmond



Joined: 01 Mar 2008
Posts: 2

PostPosted: 2008-12-30 02:36:01    Post subject: Reply with quote

I will explain Intel's marketing scheme to the best of my knowledge

Centrino is a platform launched by intel,
to be Centrino you need certain parts.

There are different implementations of Centrino based on year and each has their own name and different sticker

The 2007 implementation is called Santa Rosa
the sticker should say something like Centrino Pro

The 2008 implementation is called Montevina
the sticker should say something like Centrino 2 vPro

These two implementations only allow for CPUs with the Core 2 Duo brand

The Processor brands are as follows

Core Duo, circa 2006 made obsolete by Core 2 Duo chips, a dual core processor
their stickers have Intel Core Duo on them

Core 2 Duo, mainstream architecture, a dual core processor
their stickers have Intel Core 2 Duo on them

Core 2 Extreme, performance/enthusiast architecture, either dual or quad core processors depending on model
their stickers have Intel Core 2 Extreme on them.

Pentium Dual-Core, budget architecture based of of Core Duo chips, generally inferior to the above, a step up from Celeron.

Power consumption wise, all of the Core 2 Duo are pretty power efficient. The newest processors being faster, and I suppose are more efficient for their computation power.
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Snakeye



Joined: 22 Jan 2008
Posts: 461
Location: Graz, Styria, Austria

PostPosted: 2008-12-30 08:43:41    Post subject: Reply with quote

Since battery life is basically the scrap-feature on any laptop I ever owned (I probably wouldn't notice if they had none inside) I'm probably the wrong person to provide any advice here.

But that doesn't stop me..

Processor wise the difference between Core Duo and Core 2 Duo is the architecture, Core 2 being newer and more powerful - I think also more power efficient, but not 100% sure. The best would be to check common hardware test internet sites once you're found a model you intend to buy; they usually have some tests concerning battery life and overall performance.

Company wise I've by now bought 4 laptops from Dell with only one having grave problems within the warranty period, which were resolved very nicely by Dell costumer support. On average I wouldn't expect any computer to survive more than 3 years - my first did about this period, the second still works fine (4 or 5 years?) and the third died before its age due to my lack of attention to the cooling vents (Note: if your GPU reaches the shutdown limits, you're doing it wrong..). So if you're in Europe Dell should be safe to buy from (I heard some horror stories from overseas though). I also would advise against Acer, since I know a few people who had problems with theirs.

Inf wise I would at least recommend a dedicated GPU (integrated is crap) - unless you have a gaming desktop system..
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