Hard drive crashed on my Dell laptop

06BUSA

BlackBird rider, lol
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What would you recommend? New computer or rebuild?
I have a Inspiron 8000 with a 700 meg chip. 256 ram and a hard drive is garbage. DVD, CD burner.
I was looking around and it looks like a 60 or 80 gig hard drive would run well under $200. And I could upgrade the ram to 1G for $200. For $400 I would have my laptop running.
I paid $2500 years ago for this. Hate to spend another 2G's. Is it worth doing this to a computer with a 700 chip?
 
It may be worth it to repair what you have, but there would be no reason to spend $2,000 again if you choose to get a new machine. Check out tigerdirect.com and look at their laptops. For around $700 you can get a nice Acer laptop that should suit your needs for the next few years if you're not doing serious gaming.
 
i would get a new one, like tsbusa05le said they are some good ones now for around 500. new is better.
 
Get a new one. Sadly, it's more bang for your bux.

Electronics is the product category that gets cheaper and better faster than any other product in the world. Take advantage of it whenever you can.

--Wag--
 
All it needs is the hard drive. I found better then what is in it for under $100. Even down to 60 delievered.
But I also want to upgrade the ram.
What is the diff from sdram and ddr memory?
 
(06BUSA @ Sep. 22 2006,09:30) All it needs is the hard drive. I found better then what is in it for under $100. Even down to 60 delievered.
But I also want to upgrade the ram.
What is the diff from sdram and ddr memory?
DDR and SDRAM don't fit into the same sockets so if you're running one you'll have to stick w/ it or upgrade the sockets.

Simple terms....DDR is faster and more efficient.
 
OK, thanks. It has sdram in it now. All the stuff I been finding say just ram. That is the same right?
 
(06BUSA @ Sep. 22 2006,10:53) OK, thanks. It has sdram in it now. All the stuff I been finding say just ram. That is the same right?
It could be the same but you need to check. Before there was SDRAM there was RAM which are different.

Some people list RAM when it's really SDRAM so be safe and get clarification.
 
(06BUSA @ Sep. 22 2006,00:32) What would you recommend? New computer or rebuild?
I have a Inspiron 8000 with a 700 meg chip. 256 ram and a hard drive is garbage. DVD, CD burner.
I was looking around and it looks like a 60 or 80 gig hard drive would run well under $200. And I could upgrade the ram to 1G for $200. For $400 I would have my laptop running.
 I paid $2500 years ago for this. Hate to spend another 2G's. Is it worth doing this to a computer with a 700 chip?
give me a call after 5pm I do computers for a living and probablly have what you need collecting dust.
864.547.0016
 
(06BUSA @ Sep. 22 2006,07:53) OK, thanks. It has sdram in it now. All the stuff I been finding say just ram. That is the same right?
SDRAM is expensive and computer companies have gone to DDR RAM which is a lot cheaper. If you keep that machine your going to spend a lot to put in SDRAM.

I just bought a new Dell and I got 2 GB of DDR ram. I can't remember what it cost but it was cheap compared to SDRAM.
For $1500 I got a 3GHz dual core Pentium, the ram, a fast graphics card, 5.1 sound, 19" flat screen, MS Office 2003 pro, XP pro, etc. I would think before spending much on a 700MHz machine.
 
Hey,
I have an Inspiron 9300 with all the bells and whistles. I chose the 60gig 7200 rpm for speed but will be looking for an external large capacity drive for future use in Video Post Production. Let us know how the search goes for you...
Have you interracted with DELL PC support very much? I hear it is a PITA!
 
Question for you. Does your laptop have an internal cooling fan? Reason I ask is that my company buys mostly Dell laptops and we are having hard drive crashes in them all of the time. This is due to their not having the cooling fan and the drives get so hot, they burn up. I have the IBM with the fan now and there is a huge difference. My Dell used to get so hot sitting on my lap that it was uncomfortable! People tend to overlook this and get overcooked as a result!
 
I have a dell 8600 that is 2 years old, all working fine but damn does it get hot. I bought one of those usb laptop cooler deals, it sits under the laptop and has a couple fans, works well. Fix it, go to tigerdirect and get a new hard drive. they are VERY easy to change in most laptops, Dells are extremely easy.
 
Just get a new one for cheap from tigerdirect.com They have a store up in Orland. At least go up there and check them out. If you decide not to buy one there, you can get the parts you need to repair there.
 
You didn't mention if you lost data when your drive crashed. If you have some files you need off of it, I have something you could try. It's worked a number of times for me.

Take the hard drive out of the computer, and put it in two ziploc baggies. Put it in the freezer for a few hours. Take it out, and let it get to room temp, and re-install.

I swear it's worked for me. I did that on this very computer. Use it to get any data off (via network, USB, or whatever).
 
(Projekt @ Sep. 22 2006,15:53) Hey,
I have an Inspiron 9300 with all the bells and whistles. I chose the 60gig 7200 rpm for speed but will be looking for an external large capacity drive for future use in Video Post Production. Let us know how the search goes for you...
Have you interracted with DELL PC support very much? I hear it is a PITA!
I would agree with Dell's support as being a load of crap. I tried to get an answer from one of them, and never made it through all the transfers. They are known for their poor support. I picked them because they have the highest reliability of any mfg. I'm pretty good at hands on tinkering with these things.
 
I will be up and running in a day or so. New 60 gig 7200rpm for $117 Shipped.
Sorry such a slow thank you for the info. Been busy at work and the daughters 1st B-day party. I will upgrade the memory for a few dollars more. All less then $200. Will buy new or a used with a better processor next time.
 
(Juggler @ Sep. 24 2006,18:19) You didn't mention if you lost data when your drive crashed.  If you have some files you need off of it, I have something you could try.  It's worked a number of times for me.

Take the hard drive out of the computer, and put it in two ziploc baggies.  Put it in the freezer for a few hours.  Take it out, and let it get to room temp, and re-install.

I swear it's worked for me.  I did that on this very computer.  Use it to get any data off (via network, USB, or whatever).
Kool. I will try this. I think, I have about all the pics off it on a jump drive. I was planning on doing a clean install. Format the thing you know. So I might not have lost all pics but if this works, I will copy all again. To busy to look at the jump drive.

Even got to go now. Later.
 
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