Re: Replace Hard Drive After 3.5 Years

Hi Elle,

I had two hdds fail so far. I will never depend on a hdd to "keep" important files permanently. Instead, I use an external TDK CD burner, which I can move from one computer to another for the purpose of backing up important data. Note: I have more than one CD with the same data.

Brad

Before you type your password, credit card number, etc., be sure there is no active key logger (spyware) in your PC.

I walked away from my computer for a couple of hours, tops, yesterday. I >came back to it and the display and mouse were frozen. > >It's a 3.5 year old personal computer (Gateway, with a 20 Gigabyte, 5M Ultra >ATA hard drive). I ended up powering down, when starting up received error >messages and then a failure to reach the Windows display. I ultimately >struggled through a Scanddisk from a Dos prompt and was able to recover >most, but not all, my personal files, copying them to floppy diskettes (3.5 >inch type). I shoulda been backing up at least once a month, but wasn't. >Anyone else procrastinating: Man, don't do it. Stop now. Back up your files. > >A tech support person at Gateway said hard drives don't usually last beyond >five years. Some die at three years. I've found support on Usenet for this. > >My computer's running again, but to thwart another massive crash, is it >worth putting in a new hard drive? I've got $80 to spend, and I figure a >nice one will run about that. > >I installed a new power supply (that is, transformer) last summer. It's >power and so heat output aren't that different from the old one. It seems to >be working out fine. Otherwise, all else is original equipment. > >My last computer was a Hewlett Packard. It "died" irrecoverably after only >thee years. The shop couldn't fix it, though maybe I took it to a lousy >shop. So this is very discouraging. Throwing away $800 every three years >ain't gonna cut it anymore. So I've had it with these big brand names. I'm >ready to build my own, and think at this point I have enough expertise to do >so. I'm certainly not going to throw money away on a shop trying to fix my >computer again. It seems to me much of the expertise involved in a >successful computer repair involves simply patience and persistence. > >How about the CPU? Should I investigate replacing it, too? > >All suggestions about whether a new hard drive is worth the investment and >the CPU are welcome. > >TIA >
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Brad
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