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Carolina · 22 May 2009, 04:13 AM

Hi guys,

This is a huge THANK YOU to Frank, Jocke, Peter, Richard, Lisa, Steve, and everyone else who offered help to fix my ailing computer last night. You all are the best, and you'll soon see why...

This morning, hubby asked the main IT guy (I'll call his Jack) at at his company for a recommendation for a local company to service my computer. Instead, Jack told hubby to have me bring my laptop in to him, and he'd check it over for me. What luck!! Happily, I brought the laptop in.

About a half hour later, Jack brought back my laptop, and told me my hard drive was toast. I was stunned, and he showed hubby and I how he came to this conclusion. He started th computer up, and noted the machine said "no bootable devices". He then ran diagnostics, and showed hubby where it said "no drive found". For those of you who remember my post last night, these were exactly the things I (a computer dummy) did last night. Recalling that I had done these simple checks myself, I mentioned the scenarios you all brought to my attention last night. Jack sort of glanced sideways at me, and explained that when a laptop falls, that's usually the end of the hard drive. He then commenced into a long conversation with hubby regarding the latest new computer deals.

I may not know the inside of a computer, but I do have a brain, and generally feel compelled to ask questions until I understand something, so I again brought up the issues you guys mentioned last night. This time, Jack didn't bother to even look at me, and instead wished us well. I thanked him for his time, and felt devestated due to the loss of all those photos, and the cost involved to replace the computer.

When I got home, since my computer was now nothing but a lrge paper weight, I figured I had nothing to lose by at least taking the hard drive out and checking the connections myself (um, not that I even knew where it was located

). When I turned the laptop over, I noticed that what I assumed was the hard drive looked like it was slight "ajar". In fact, it looked loose - I slowly pulled it out, looked it over, and carefully slid it back in all the way. Then, I turned on the computer and held my breath - and imagine my surprise when I saw "Welcome" from Windows!!!

Next, I backed up ALL my photos on our external hard drive.

Yes, that's right - my laptop is completely fine! It appears that the fall knocked the hard drive loose, and slipping it back in place did the trick! Exactly as you all said it would.

I called hubby, and he was incredulous.

If this had happened during the day, and I was unable to consult with TRF? I would have probably brought my laptop in to that guy, and would have believed him when he told me it was junk. Thanks to you all, I was able to fix the thing myself, despite the highly paid professional who told me otherwise. On the ride home, I was beating myself up for asking too many questions, and doubting myself. Never again.

Thanks, guys!!

ps - should my hard drive be screwed in place? It looks like it is missing screws (not sure) and can be pulled out at will.

Dan Pierce · 22 May 2009, 04:23 AM

Gotta love that.

My computer crashed while in Guam and I lost everything.

Glad you're back and running.

dP

Carolina · 22 May 2009, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Pierce

Gotta love that.

My computer crashed while in Guam and I lost everything.

Glad you're back and running.

dP

Oh no!

Thanks, Dan.

diablojota · 22 May 2009, 04:32 AM

That's great news and I am happy to hear it was nothing serious. I just wanted to make sure no damage was done to the drive in the event of a head failure. Obviously this IT guy is a joke and doesn't know jack.

There should be a screw holding the plate in place. You may want to go to Geek Squad or something of that nature to get the screw. If you have some form of big-box computer/electronics store with a tech center, they should have these screws in stock and should be a really cheap fix.

Again, I'm very happy that you were able to recover everything and that it was something not more severe! Best news ever, considering how important and irreplaceable the data on your hard drive can be.

My next suggestion would be to look for some backup software that will provide you with incremental backups to an external hard drive. This way you won't need to do it yourself, and you'll always have a relatively fresh backup of everything on your computer.

Awesome!

Jocke · 22 May 2009, 04:44 AM

Great news my friend.

Now run and buy a external HDD to back up your pics on.

How will it looks if I haven't back up all JJ pics? Then the fun is over.

Jocke

Carolina · 22 May 2009, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jocke

Great news my friend.

Now run and buy a external HDD to back up your pics on.

How will it looks if I haven't back up all JJ pics? Then the fun is over.

Jocke

Yes - I already own a nice 120 GB drive - I was just being lazy about using it. This morning, I put copies of all my pictures in it.

Jocke, we would be in sad shape if you didn't have all those crazy JJ photos....

Carolina · 22 May 2009, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diablojota

That's great news and I am happy to hear it was nothing serious. I just wanted to make sure no damage was done to the drive in the event of a head failure. Obviously this IT guy is a joke and doesn't know jack.

There should be a screw holding the plate in place. You may want to go to Geek Squad or something of that nature to get the screw. If you have some form of big-box computer/electronics store with a tech center, they should have these screws in stock and should be a really cheap fix.

Again, I'm very happy that you were able to recover everything and that it was something not more severe! Best news ever, considering how important and irreplaceable the data on your hard drive can be.

My next suggestion would be to look for some backup software that will provide you with incremental backups to an external hard drive. This way you won't need to do it yourself, and you'll always have a relatively fresh backup of everything on your computer.

Awesome!

Frank, there is one screw, and a couple of holes as well. Maybe that one screw is loose or something. It must be loose, considering I was able to slide the drive out so easily!

You've already hit upon my next question - if you can recommend backup software, because I know I am not doing nearly enough to protect myself.

jdc · 22 May 2009, 04:56 AM

great news and well done for being dogged

Lisa · 22 May 2009, 05:03 AM

Caroline, that's great news! And that's a woman using her noggin! But darn it, when Dave read through the thread last night, he said, "hey, do you know Caroline's phone number?" We were THAT CLOSE to getting to visit a bit!

It was getting a little late, though!

All is well that ends well.

Carolina · 22 May 2009, 05:16 AM

Oh, man Lisa - we probably would have ended up gabbing for an hour!

Plus, I'll bet Dave would have gotten it fixed.

diablojota · 22 May 2009, 05:33 AM

Here is one that may work (depending on which OS you're using):

This first one seems to be highly recommended and easy to use, and 30 bucks not too expensive: http://download.cnet.com/Second-Copy...-10006600.html

Here is another site that provides 5 of their top choices:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/14876..._programs.html

The article is a year old, but typically these software suites stay on top for a while...

2careless · 22 May 2009, 05:54 AM

Usually it takes a bit more efforts to kill a laptop. I'm glad you got it fixed easily.
Well done!

P.S. This also says a lot about Jack, your hubby's company IT guy. He sucks

Lisa · 22 May 2009, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2careless

Usually it takes a bit more efforts to kill a laptop. I'm glad you got it fixed easily.
Well done!

P.S. This also says a lot about Jack, your hubby's company IT guy. He sucks

Jack don't know Jack!

(is that only funny in the South?)

Carolina · 22 May 2009, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lisa

Jack don't know Jack!

(is that only funny in the South?)

Unless my Yankee humor has faded, I think it's funny anywhere!

KJacques · 22 May 2009, 06:17 AM

The loss of a hard drive can be devastating. Congratulations on being able to troubleshoot it and fix the problem. I've found the IT guys I've worked with make snap judgments with out checking the most simplistic solution (which often is exactly what the problem is) Many years ago, I watched a team of them fret over a slow running machine, taking it apart and swapping parts when the solution was found simply by pushing in a button on the front case marked, Turbo. All errors and speed problems magically vanished.

KKB · 22 May 2009, 08:07 AM

Glad to hear it turned out OK.

Unless the IT guy was just giving you and your hubby the brush-off, then he is completely incompetent. I've worked in IT for over 20 years and any HW tech would always open up the laptop and pop the drive into another laptop or enclosure to see if it's the drive or something in the laptop that's the problem. Very often the problem is a bent pin or a loose cable. I wouldn't want Jack and his defeatist attitude anywhere near me or my computer equipment!

And keep on using your brain the way you did here. Much of IT is just some intelligence and common sense.

Tony-GB · 22 May 2009, 08:31 AM

Well done Caroline!

That "Jack" sounds like a right ol' MCP.

Good for you for having sheer determination.

Gerry · 22 May 2009, 10:19 AM

I'm happy for you! The IT guy sounds like a Jack a$$

Lol-x · 22 May 2009, 11:18 AM

Girl power

Should be some good currency for you to use for the next couple of years when some guy tries to tell you what's what

Except me of course.

Some hard drives have screw attachments, but the computers don't have anywhere to screw the HD in to utilise those screw attachments on the HD. In that case you just have to make sure that the HD is properly connected in place.

Now might be a good time to back up your important photographs and documents to a DVD or another backup device. (Oh you've done that already

).

Glad it worked out for you

unclesallie · 22 May 2009, 01:15 PM

Steve: hmm, no end of strangeness on your newest avatar. for some strange reason, i like it....

Lol-x · 22 May 2009, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unclesallie

Steve: hmm, no end of strangeness on your newest avatar. for some strange reason, i like it....

Thanks Dan

LocoNBroko · 22 May 2009, 02:57 PM

Im very glad to hear that everything worked out for you. I cannot tell you how often the assumption has been made that the hard drive was toast when in fact it was nothing more than a loose connection.
I have to say that if it had been an HP, Sony or Apple I would have thought the hard drive was toast. But Dells have very poor hard drive cradles and come loose very easily.
Congrats!

Imtiaz · 22 May 2009, 04:41 PM

Carloina

I am an IT engineer myself. Did my MSCE in 1999 and my IBM AS400 in 2002.

Let me tell you the number of dingbats who run computer systems is incredibly high.

Reminds me of the adage, "In the land of the blind, one eye is king".

Bill Gates once said the 95% of IT experts were idiots.

So sad that they can sit there as IT managers etc. and actually degrade the company.

To me, what you did is fantastic. Fixed it yourself. That's what we need.

JJ Irani · 22 May 2009, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jocke

Great news my friend.

Now run and buy a external HDD to back up your pics on.

How will it looks if I haven't back up all JJ pics? Then the fun is over.

Jocke

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carolina

Yes - I already own a nice 120 GB drive - I was just being lazy about using it. This morning, I put copies of all my pictures in it.

Jocke, we would be in sad shape if you didn't have all those crazy JJ photos....

Now how the hell did I get dragged into this thread?

Carolina · 22 May 2009, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Now how the hell did I get dragged into this thread?

Carolina · 22 May 2009, 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imtiaz

Carloina

I am an IT engineer myself. Did my MSCE in 1999 and my IBM AS400 in 2002.

Let me tell you the number of dingbats who run computer systems is incredibly high.

Reminds me of the adage, "In the land of the blind, one eye is king".

Bill Gates once said the 95% of IT experts were idiots.

So sad that they can sit there as IT managers etc. and actually degrade the company.

To me, what you did is fantastic. Fixed it yourself. That's what we need.

Yes, I was shocked, to say the least!

2careless · 22 May 2009, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Imtiaz

Carloina

I am an IT engineer myself. Did my MSCE in 1999 and my IBM AS400 in 2002.

Let me tell you the number of dingbats who run computer systems is incredibly high.

Reminds me of the adage, "In the land of the blind, one eye is king".

Bill Gates once said the 95% of IT experts were idiots.

So sad that they can sit there as IT managers etc. and actually degrade the company.

To me, what you did is fantastic. Fixed it yourself. That's what we need.

No pun intended, when a machine has issues, 90% of the MCSEs I met would press the reset button within 1 minute. Just don't understand how they think.

I was trained to read the logs, analyse the issue and find a fix. These people don't - apparently a reboot would fix everything...

The other kind of MCSEs are those who insists on calling MS premium support, as if they would fix your problems.

Anyway, don't get me started on M$

22 May 2009, 04:13 AM	#1
Carolina "TRF" Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: North Carolina Watch: it, Bubba! Posts: 6,271	Interesting story and THANKS! Hi guys, This is a huge THANK YOU to Frank, Jocke, Peter, Richard, Lisa, Steve, and everyone else who offered help to fix my ailing computer last night. You all are the best, and you'll soon see why... This morning, hubby asked the main IT guy (I'll call his Jack) at at his company for a recommendation for a local company to service my computer. Instead, Jack told hubby to have me bring my laptop in to him, and he'd check it over for me. What luck!! Happily, I brought the laptop in. About a half hour later, Jack brought back my laptop, and told me my hard drive was toast. I was stunned, and he showed hubby and I how he came to this conclusion. He started th computer up, and noted the machine said "no bootable devices". He then ran diagnostics, and showed hubby where it said "no drive found". For those of you who remember my post last night, these were exactly the things I (a computer dummy) did last night. Recalling that I had done these simple checks myself, I mentioned the scenarios you all brought to my attention last night. Jack sort of glanced sideways at me, and explained that when a laptop falls, that's usually the end of the hard drive. He then commenced into a long conversation with hubby regarding the latest new computer deals. I may not know the inside of a computer, but I do have a brain, and generally feel compelled to ask questions until I understand something, so I again brought up the issues you guys mentioned last night. This time, Jack didn't bother to even look at me, and instead wished us well. I thanked him for his time, and felt devestated due to the loss of all those photos, and the cost involved to replace the computer. When I got home, since my computer was now nothing but a lrge paper weight, I figured I had nothing to lose by at least taking the hard drive out and checking the connections myself (um, not that I even knew where it was located ). When I turned the laptop over, I noticed that what I assumed was the hard drive looked like it was slight "ajar". In fact, it looked loose - I slowly pulled it out, looked it over, and carefully slid it back in all the way. Then, I turned on the computer and held my breath - and imagine my surprise when I saw "Welcome" from Windows!!! Next, I backed up ALL my photos on our external hard drive. Yes, that's right - my laptop is completely fine! It appears that the fall knocked the hard drive loose, and slipping it back in place did the trick! Exactly as you all said it would. I called hubby, and he was incredulous. If this had happened during the day, and I was unable to consult with TRF? I would have probably brought my laptop in to that guy, and would have believed him when he told me it was junk. Thanks to you all, I was able to fix the thing myself, despite the highly paid professional who told me otherwise. On the ride home, I was beating myself up for asking too many questions, and doubting myself. Never again. Thanks, guys!! ps - should my hard drive be screwed in place? It looks like it is missing screws (not sure) and can be pulled out at will. __________________ . .Member #5380 .

22 May 2009, 04:23 AM	#2
Dan Pierce 2024 Pledge Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Real Name: D'OH! Location: Kentucky Watch: Rolex-1 Tudor-3 Posts: 36,216	Gotta love that. My computer crashed while in Guam and I lost everything. Glad you're back and running. dP __________________ TRF Member# 1668 Bass Player in TRF "AFTER DARK" Bar & NightClub Band Commander-in-Chief of The Nylon Nation The Crown & Shield Club Honorary Member of P-Club

22 May 2009, 04:32 AM	#4
diablojota "TRF" Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Real Name: Frank Location: Chattanooga, TN Watch: SS Submariner Date Posts: 4,042	That's great news and I am happy to hear it was nothing serious. I just wanted to make sure no damage was done to the drive in the event of a head failure. Obviously this IT guy is a joke and doesn't know jack. There should be a screw holding the plate in place. You may want to go to Geek Squad or something of that nature to get the screw. If you have some form of big-box computer/electronics store with a tech center, they should have these screws in stock and should be a really cheap fix. Again, I'm very happy that you were able to recover everything and that it was something not more severe! Best news ever, considering how important and irreplaceable the data on your hard drive can be. My next suggestion would be to look for some backup software that will provide you with incremental backups to an external hard drive. This way you won't need to do it yourself, and you'll always have a relatively fresh backup of everything on your computer. Awesome! __________________ RTFT - Read The Friggin' Thread FcB

22 May 2009, 04:44 AM	#5
Jocke 2024 SubLV41 Pledge Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Real Name: Jocke Location: Sweden Watch: A dozen of Rolex's Posts: 22,541	Great news my friend. Now run and buy a external HDD to back up your pics on. How will it looks if I haven't back up all JJ pics? Then the fun is over. Jocke __________________ This message is written in perfect swenglish. What is best a custom Rolex or a Rolex that is stuck in custom? Buy a professional camera and you´re a professional photographer, buy a flute and you own a flute.

22 May 2009, 05:16 AM	#10
Carolina "TRF" Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: North Carolina Watch: it, Bubba! Posts: 6,271	Oh, man Lisa - we probably would have ended up gabbing for an hour! Plus, I'll bet Dave would have gotten it fixed. __________________ . .Member #5380 .

22 May 2009, 04:56 AM	#8
jdc "TRF" Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Real Name: Martin Location: UK Posts: 7,023	great news and well done for being dogged

22 May 2009, 05:03 AM	#9
Lisa "TRF" Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: oklahoma city Posts: 15,741	Caroline, that's great news! And that's a woman using her noggin! But darn it, when Dave read through the thread last night, he said, "hey, do you know Caroline's phone number?" We were THAT CLOSE to getting to visit a bit! It was getting a little late, though! All is well that ends well.

22 May 2009, 05:33 AM	#11
diablojota "TRF" Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Real Name: Frank Location: Chattanooga, TN Watch: SS Submariner Date Posts: 4,042	Here is one that may work (depending on which OS you're using): This first one seems to be highly recommended and easy to use, and 30 bucks not too expensive: http://download.cnet.com/Second-Copy...-10006600.html Here is another site that provides 5 of their top choices: http://www.pcworld.com/article/14876..._programs.html The article is a year old, but typically these software suites stay on top for a while... __________________ RTFT - Read The Friggin' Thread FcB

22 May 2009, 05:54 AM	#12
2careless "TRF" Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Melbourne, AU Watch: Pepsi Posts: 4,370	Usually it takes a bit more efforts to kill a laptop. I'm glad you got it fixed easily. Well done! P.S. This also says a lot about Jack, your hubby's company IT guy. He sucks

22 May 2009, 06:17 AM	#15
KJacques "TRF" Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Real Name: Kevin Location: USA Watch: the skies Posts: 1,250	The loss of a hard drive can be devastating. Congratulations on being able to troubleshoot it and fix the problem. I've found the IT guys I've worked with make snap judgments with out checking the most simplistic solution (which often is exactly what the problem is) Many years ago, I watched a team of them fret over a slow running machine, taking it apart and swapping parts when the solution was found simply by pushing in a button on the front case marked, Turbo. All errors and speed problems magically vanished.

22 May 2009, 08:07 AM	#16
KKB "TRF" Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Real Name: Eric Location: San Diego, CA Watch: GMTIIC Posts: 605	Glad to hear it turned out OK. Unless the IT guy was just giving you and your hubby the brush-off, then he is completely incompetent. I've worked in IT for over 20 years and any HW tech would always open up the laptop and pop the drive into another laptop or enclosure to see if it's the drive or something in the laptop that's the problem. Very often the problem is a bent pin or a loose cable. I wouldn't want Jack and his defeatist attitude anywhere near me or my computer equipment! And keep on using your brain the way you did here. Much of IT is just some intelligence and common sense. __________________ 116234 \| 116710 \| OMEGA 2551.80 \| Reverso GMT

22 May 2009, 08:31 AM	#17
Tony-GB "TRF" Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Real Name: Tony Location: Oxfordshire, UK Watch: 116680 & 116622 Posts: 3,953	Well done Caroline! That "Jack" sounds like a right ol' MCP. Good for you for having sheer determination. __________________ "...why oh why, didn't I take the blue pill...?" http://www.helenanddouglas.org.uk/ www.cheetah.org

22 May 2009, 10:19 AM	#18
Gerry "TRF" Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Melbourne, Aus. Watch: Z Series 16613 Posts: 887	I'm happy for you! The IT guy sounds like a Jack a$$ __________________

22 May 2009, 11:18 AM	#19
Lol-x Facilitator Join Date: Nov 2005 Real Name: Steve Location: Omnipresent Posts: 33,588	Girl power Should be some good currency for you to use for the next couple of years when some guy tries to tell you what's what Except me of course. Some hard drives have screw attachments, but the computers don't have anywhere to screw the HD in to utilise those screw attachments on the HD. In that case you just have to make sure that the HD is properly connected in place. Now might be a good time to back up your important photographs and documents to a DVD or another backup device. (Oh you've done that already ). Glad it worked out for you __________________ *Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.* ~Abraham Lincoln Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride. ~John F. Kennedy ROLEXploitation - yeah I'm a victim

22 May 2009, 01:15 PM	#20
unclesallie 2024 ROLEX SUBMARINER 41 Pledge Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Real Name: dan Location: Pennsylvania Watch: keystone pocket Posts: 5,917	Steve: hmm, no end of strangeness on your newest avatar. for some strange reason, i like it....

22 May 2009, 02:57 PM	#22
LocoNBroko Banned Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: California Watch: GMTIIcSUBUBFDSDDS Posts: 334	Im very glad to hear that everything worked out for you. I cannot tell you how often the assumption has been made that the hard drive was toast when in fact it was nothing more than a loose connection. I have to say that if it had been an HP, Sony or Apple I would have thought the hard drive was toast. But Dells have very poor hard drive cradles and come loose very easily. Congrats!

22 May 2009, 04:41 PM	#23
Imtiaz Banned Join Date: Aug 2008 Real Name: De Location: Tokyo Watch: Daytona, Sub, DS, Posts: 1,046	Carloina I am an IT engineer myself. Did my MSCE in 1999 and my IBM AS400 in 2002. Let me tell you the number of dingbats who run computer systems is incredibly high. Reminds me of the adage, "In the land of the blind, one eye is king". Bill Gates once said the 95% of IT experts were idiots. So sad that they can sit there as IT managers etc. and actually degrade the company. To me, what you did is fantastic. Fixed it yourself. That's what we need.

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