Problem with 6124W hard drive

I will explain from the start what has happened:

On tuesday I was uing my laptop as normal and suddenly it crashed. The entire thing froze and I had to hold down the power button to switch it off. I started it up again and it got a BSOD every time Vista tried to load up.

Luckily I had backups of 90% of my stuff, and nothing majorly important on there anyway, so I decided that the only way to go was to re-install vista from scratch (because a repair install failed). I did this and it worked. I had to install some software again, but no big deal.

Then this afternoon my laptop started to get very slow and freeze a lot. When I restarted the laptop it took a hour to get to the log on screen, instead of the normal 30 seconds. I then restarted again and I got the message "Error Loading Operating System". When I tried to load the vista DVD on boot, it loaded the files and then hung on a black screen. Nothing.

I guess my hard drive must be dying. I don't know whether it is possible to either obtain a new 6124W hard drive from Zepto, or to send it off any have it fixed, because the laptop has been out of production for a while. What can I do?

 

By the way, does anyone know the exact specs of the 6124W hard drive? That would be useful. I know its Hitachi running at 7200RPM (100GB) but I need to know exactly, and whether Hitachi or Zepto still make them.

 

The HDDs are standard units. You do not need to get a specific model. The one thing to check is whether the HDD is PATA (44-pin connector) or SATA (a plate connector). The BIOS should give the HDD model number and then Google will give the specs.

The first step is to download the Hitachi Drive Fitness Test software (the ISO version to create a bootable CD is probably the most convenient). Then run DFT to find out what it thinks.

Then, if appropriate, follow Hitachi's warranty instructions. There's no need to trouble Zepto. If DFT shows no problems then reinstallation of Vista should fix the problem.

I don't know how fast the warranty replacement process works.

John

 

Thanks I will try those things in due course. I have already installed Vista once so I would be surprised if DFT came up clean.

 

I have ran the DFT and the result was defective drive. I appear to be a week inside the warranty (phew) and am sending the drive off ASAP. However I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the hard drive out. Does anyone have any experience of removing these drives?

 

Is there a cover on the bottom of the computer, probably near the front?

If so remove the screws and take the cover off. You should then be able to slide the HDD sideways (carefully use a screwdriver as a lever) until it comes off the connector.

This advice is based on the slightly newer 6024W. The HDD was also wrapped in metal foil which you will need to remove before sending to Hitachi.

If you still can't figure out what to do, please provide a photo or two.

John

 

You are lucky today, because I am in a good mood:

1. Remove the charger and the battery (it's not on the pictures I know)

2. Put the laptop on it's front:

The red circled thing is the HDD-cover

3. Remove the two little screws:


4. Push the HDD in the right direction:


And put a new one in, attach the screws, put the battery and charger back in and install Windows

 

Thanks very much guys, got it out now!

The packaging rules are so stringent.

 

You're welcome! G'luck!