Omg, my pc just went all weird, made funny noises then told me it was dumping it's memory and it had shut down to prevent further damage! I wanted to get some stuff off it, what am I going to do?? Nooo :( I need it, this is so mean! How could it do this to me!?!? Is it gone for good do you think? Surely...surely someone can save it?... please?.... :(

Have you tried turning it back on yet?

Even if there's a fault with the motherboard then everything on the hard drive should be fine.

Have you tried switching it off and on again?

This is no time for IT jokes Roy!!! :(:(:(:(

For the record, no it wouldn't switch back on :(

Just a black screen with something about inserting something? I dunno :( it just couldn't boot.

It has had problems before but ColGod fixed it, it was the bios apparently. God knows what this is, and I can't get hold of Col!

Just a black screen with something about inserting something?

Insert system disk?

Rob.

Could very well have been, I can't bring myself to try it again :(

Why would it tell me to do that then?

Because it either can't see the hard drive , or some of the files on there are missing or corrupt.

One's a hardware problem that will need money spending.

The other is a software problem that can probably be fixed with just a bit of time.

Tbh I'm not so bothered about fixing it, it's my old one, I have my proper one here, it's just I don't want to lose all the stuff on there. The grating noise is what worried me :(

Oh, and now it wont even go as far as the message, it just sticks on the Packard Bell screen. Yes, I know they are sh!t lol!! Anything I've ever had made by them has broken, even a walkman ffs.

Erk - that sounds like it could be the hard drive itself that's died which isn't good.

*sobs*

At least you have a recent backup of your data, don't you?

From a pc I bought about 7 years ago? No. It was my 2nd pc, but it broke a year after I got it, so I got another which I ran for about 3 years until it started to give up the ghost. I gave them both to Colin, just on the off chance he could fix the Packard Bell really, but he did, so then I had my main pc fixed and my old one as a backup and something my parents could use for internet useage etc. I have a backup of what WAS my main pc (ie my 3rd pc) as now I'm on my 4th, the one I got last year. So no, because it's always been an 'inbetweener' that doesn't have an external drive constantly connected to it, it's not really backed up.

It's just some photos that I uploaded to it because I dont think my photoshop was working on this one, so I just never ended up with them on this PC. They were for my A level and there were just some I wanted to get (which is what I turned the pc on for when it broke!) Also little bits and pieces that I have saved here and there off the net, or been sent. Stuff not really worthy of 'backing up' so to speak.

Yup - classic symptoms of a dead HDD.

Replacements now are dirt cheap - 160GB around £25

You may be able to recover some of the data using a Linux live disk and burning it to a CD / DVD, but if the HDD has gone to silicon heaven and can't be seen in the BIOS your chances are pretty slim.

Have you tried mouth to mouth?

... or a defibrillator?

Stop with the jokes :( I'm not so arsed about replacing it really, but would like to try and get something off it if at all possible

(which is what I turned the pc on for when it broke!)

If it's been off for a while the HD may be 'stuck'. We have often got round this in work by removing the HD & giving it a sharp tap and/or shaking it back & forth in the hand (kind of waving movement), then refitting it & trying again. Might be worth a try if you think the HD's dead & the data is important to you.

If it's been off for a while the HD may be 'stuck'. We have often got round this in work by removing the HD & giving it a sharp tap and/or shaking it back & forth in the hand (kind of waving movement), then refitting it & trying again. Might be worth a try if you think the HD's dead & the data is important to you.

What he said. let the hard drive cool down, 30 mins or so, then give it a good bang. If it is a mechanical issue this may give you enough time to recover and retrieve the data.

90% of pc issues in my experience are hard drive related.

you could try installing the HD in another machine and, with a bit of luck, you may be able to read and copy data off it.

you could try installing the HD in another machine and, with a bit of luck, you may be able to read and copy data off it.

I would agree with this - It's worth trying this before you go and splash out on a new HDD.

Look in the boot-up options and see if the pc is also picking up your HDD. If it's not picking it up then that explains why it's not going past the Welcome screen.

Thus in the long run meaning - Dead HDD. - Sorry Loz. :(

:rofl:

Loz the computer breaker

Remove ALL USB devices, and CD's as well.

If the BIOS has crashed, then this will stop it booting on many motherboards.

What he said. let the hard drive cool down, 30 mins or so, then give it a good bang. If it is a mechanical issue this may give you enough time to recover and retrieve the data.

90% of pc issues in my experience are hard drive related.

The other option is put the hard drive in the fridge for an hour. I've had that work enough to get the data off.

The other option is put the hard drive in the fridge for an hour. I've had that work enough to get the data off.

That's a very good tip there. helped me get the data off a laptop once.

IIRC, you'll only get one shot with this technique on NTFS drives - sure read that somewhere