Dead hdd?

[Meeklo062704]

A friend asked me to help him save his laptop, and I just wanted a second opinion before delivering the bad news. He was watching a movie the other night, and it turned off on him out of nowhere. When he tried turning it back on, it said "windows is loading files" like the screen that comes up when you turn your machine off without powering down, but then it gives this error messageWindows has encountered a problem communicating with a device connected

to your computer.

This error can be caused by unplugging a removable storage device such as an external USB drive while the device is in use, or by faulty hardware such as a hard drive or CD-ROM drive that is failing.

Make sure any removable storage is properly connected and then restart your computer.

File: \windows\system32\boot\winload.exe

Status: 0xc00000e9

Info: An unexpected i/o error has occurred

The problem is that its not showing the post, there's no opportunity to get into bios,or f8 into safe kode or windows repair. Its a Toshiba laptop, purchased about a year ago from Best Buy, and it doesn't have a physical recovery disc. It's running win7 x64. I tried reseating the ram, and pulled the hdd and put in my rig. Its not reading the hdd, and my system wouldn't load with it in. So I did the no no and connected it after windows booted, and couldn't power down with it connected. I'm going with dead hdd drive on this one. Any 2nd opinions?

[OuchMyFaceyHole]

Yea im going to say the same here.

[Godlygamer23]

Most likely dead hard drive.

[Electroz]

I'm a Toshiba Certified repair tech. If it's not picking up in another machine, almost certainly the drive has failed. Is it making a clicking or clunking sound when it's powered up? If so, it's 100% dead. If not, let me know as I have something strange for you to try that could make the drive work for a short amount of time for data recovery purposes.

[Meeklo062704]

I'm a Toshiba Certified repair tech. If it's not picking up in another machine, almost certainly the drive has failed. Is it making a clicking or clunking sound when it's powered up? If so, it's 100% dead. If not, let me know as I have something strange for you to try that could make the drive work for a short amount of time for data recovery purposes.

It seems pretty silent. It sounds like it tries once to spin then does nothing.

[Electroz]

It seems pretty silent. It sounds like it tries once to spin then does nothing.

 

OK, this will sound strange. But put it in a zip-lock bag and get as much air out as possible. Put it in the freezer for a few hours. Once the drive is really cold, try attaching it to your computer. keep paper towel close to wipe any condensation that may form. I've gotten data from drives this way before. 

 

If this doesn't work, your only option would be to send it away to a data-retrieval company.  

[Meeklo062704]

OK, this will sound strange. But put it in a zip-lock bag and get as much air out as possible. Put it in the freezer for a few hours. Once the drive is really cold, try attaching it to your computer. keep paper towel close to wipe any condensation that may form. I've gotten data from drives this way before.

If this doesn't work, your only option would be to send it away to a data-retrieval company.

He just did a backup a few days ago, and said he frequently backs up photos, music, etc.... So I think data retrieval is ok. I don't remember exactly when he bought it, but I know it was in the last 2 years. Would Toshiba warranty cover that, or is it time to just buy a new drive?

[Electroz]

He just did a backup a few days ago, and said he frequently backs up photos, music, etc.... So I think data retrieval is ok. I don't remember exactly when he bought it, but I know it was in the last 2 years. Would Toshiba warranty cover that, or is it time to just buy a new drive?

 

Toshiba offers a standard 1 year warranty. He would have had to have purchased an extended warranty for it to be covered right now. Laptop drives are pretty cheap these days. As for the windows recovery partition, he's out of luck. Toshiba will charge $50+ to send him a copy of the discs. His best bet is to install windows with a matching OEM disc (the iso's can legally be found online) and use the cd key that's on the laptop's COA. You can find all the needed drivers on the Toshiba support site.