SOS!!!

SpecOps87 SG

Alright lads, this is mighty stupid and unlucky of me. I dropped a magnetic money clip on my IBM T43 laptop's HDD area and now am getting a blue screen and windows refuse to start up. Am doing a recovery using the CDs provided when I got my T43. Can anyone tell me if its possible for me to recover my pictures and MP3s and other work documents there?

Thanks!

ndmmxiaomayi SG

You dropped a magnet on a hard disk area - it's one of the most hated things in the industry.

Hard disks are extremely sensitive to magnetism, any change will destroy the hard disk totally, if not partially.

Since you have BSOD and Windows refuses to boot, you've seen the effects.

My suggestion is to try repairing Windows and see if it works. If it doesn't say bye bye to your hard disk.

Since you want to recover files, you may want to try this method instead. Original XP installation disc is needed, not recovery discs.

See this thread for creating an installation disc.

Edit: Typo errors.

manyu882 SG

the method u said for recovering files doesn't work for laptops as OS is being preinstalled instead of using disc.

to TS: if u want to secure 100% information in your hdd, u have to connect the other computer as a secondary hdd or a ext hard disk and retrieve the files

but if u dont mind having your recovery files to be overwritten to some of your files, you may try this program after restore factory defaults

http://www.handyrecovery.com/

ndmmxiaomayi SG

It does... it's meant specifically for non-DIY PCs. I have copies of them. Mr. Green

But the method for reinstalling without reformatting, it doesn't. It needs you to have a proper XP CD, not recovery discs, as said written in my answer.

manyu882 SG

aiya.. laptop most likely use recovery disc ma..

SpecOps87 SG

Okay,spent the whole night till 0400hrs reformatting the laptop with the provided recovery cd. Am gonna try to recover all if not some of my files using some recovery software. Top on my list of stuff to be recovered is actually School Documents, Pictures, MP3s. The games all that, I don’t give a hoot. Prays hard for a miracle

alexkusu SG

sent it to the data recovery experts.

SpecOps87 SG

But i formatted already,still gt help?

SpecOps87 SG

Is there anybody whom can teach me how to recover back?

Thanks

chanff8 SG

http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm

SpecOps87 SG

Hi all, given that I've recovered anything, would it be advisable for me to get a new HDD and clone the new HDD with everything from my present HDD and swap out the old HDD with the newly cloned one just to make sure everything works fine? Also, how do I know I should be getting an IDE or SATA HDD for my laptop?

Because quite frankly I'm quite wary that the current HDD might be unstable after that magnet episode

SpecOps87 SG

Okay,just called up IBM. They are sending me a replacement 80GB HDD, now I need to noe how to completely "erase" the old HDD such that nothing from it can ever ever be used again.

Thanks. **Also, does anybody know what type of RAM does the T43 uses? I'm considering doing a RAM upgrade**

ndmmxiaomayi SG

Just do what you did before, place a magnet near it. This time, let it stick to the hard disk.

As for the RAM that T43 is using... it's being discontinued by IBM, so I can't tell what it's using. You need to get a third-party software to find out what type of RAM it's using. That software is CPU-Z.

Download it, unzip, select the Memory tab. Everything is written there.