[Teresa Tanner]

Okay so I did a chkdsk and my laptop is runing. I think i had some corupt files from removing the battery from the back. But now when i turn on my laptop i get a black screensaying...
SMART failure predicted on Hardisk O:HTS42128OH9AT00(PM)

Warning: immiatly back up your data and replace your hard drive. A failure may be imminent.

But my laptop is running normally

is that a standern msg maybe that comes on after you do chkdsk off msdos?

or could my harddrive really be shot???

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My bet is the hard drive really does have problems.

If you system is under warranty, contact technical as quickly as possible.

[piper]

My bet is the hard drive really does have problems.

If you system is under warranty, contact technical as quickly as possible.

[Teresa Tanner]

is there any way to find out for sure like programs in my computer to cheak?

or opening it up and look orsomething


idk it soweird cuz my laptop im onit rightnowand its working fine ......

[piper]

What brand/model is your laptop? Some vendors ship diagnostics with their systems (Dell), and some have diagnostics on their website that you can download.

[Teresa Tanner]

i have a 2005 gateway laptop mx6441

windows xp



alsohow do i back up my stuff also?

[piper]

Here is a link to Gateway's hard drive diagnostic utility download. Download and run this utility to verify your hard drive.

See this Gateway link for information on creating a recovery disk for factory installed software.

While the laptop is functioning, you need to back up all your files. You can zip and burn them to CD, or move them to an external hard drive. It really depends on how much data you have.

Any software you have installed will have to be installed on the new hard drive. Open Add/Remove Programs, make a list of the software and start gathering all the installation disks.

[Teresa Tanner]

im having problems trying to figure out how to test my harddrive i downloaded tha thing but do i have to do it in msdos?? idk how to start it...

[piper]

From this page click "How to Install". It will explain exactly what to do with the file once you've downloaded it. Basically you create a bootable floppy disk or CD, reboot the computer to the media (either floppy disk or CD), and the utility runs.

[Teresa Tanner]

thank u

and one more question wow i seem stupid but i have some dvd-rs im trying to save my stuff on now i dont erally care much about the programs gateway came with because ican just put xp on the new harddrive i care alot about my pics and songs and interent explorer favorite will it take alot of disks to save thoses? should i care alot more about the programs that came with my new laptop already on it?

[piper]

1. How many disks are required to backup your data, files, musics, etc. I can't tell you that. You'll just have to take a look at all the folders you want to keep, add the sizes together, then divide by the amount that can fit on one disk. This will give you a pretty good idea. You could install a zip/compression utility (like Zip Genius - download it here - choose Mirror 1). This will combine and compress your files so that more will fit on each disk.

2. Factory-installed software. You do need to be concerned, because of the way Gateway handles it. They put the files on a hidden partition of your hard drive. If the hard drive dies, you've lost everything. Unless you follow the instructions from the Gateway link I provided in post #6 to create a Recovery CD or DVD.