HD question

[Dave H]

Over the last few weeks when switching on my pc it seems to crash on start up...when the black screen shows the white lettering. Today l had to turn it on and off about 20 times until it started correctly.It runs okay when running though. A few years ago this happened to another pc l had and then it died and a friend who's a computer programmer (he's very good) told me it was dead and to get a new pc...which l did.

So my question is can l just buy a decent HD with windows Vista on and just remove the old HD and fit the new? I'm no pc expert but l know how to install basic items from web sites such as Cnet

Cheers

 

[Adam]

If you get a new HD then you would have to install Windows yourself once it has been connected to your system.

 

[Dave H]

If you get a new HD then you would have to install Windows yourself once it has been connected to your system.

Is that easy? And l guess l would have to buy a windows disc..?

 

[shadowsun]

Very easy. Swap out the hard drives, insert a windows cd which is bootable, it should detect the cd is in the drive and ask you to press a key to boot from it. The rest is pretty straight forward, just follow the steps. PM me if you need help mate.

 

[Adam]

Well yeah if you haven't already got a version of Windows then you will need one to install on your new HD.

You may have to change the boot sequence via your BIOS so that it runs the CD/DVD drive before the HD so you can run the Windows installer.

 

[Dave H]

Well yeah if you haven't already got a version of Windows then you will need one to install on your new HD.

You may have to change the boot sequence via your BIOS so that it runs the CD/DVD drive before the HD so you can run the Windows installer.

Okay...l think l follow.So l need to buy a HD and a windows disc (Is Vista the best one?) and where is the best place to buy or should l ask on here if anyone is selling?

 

[Adam]

Well its up to you, is your system capable of running Vista comfortably

This will give you an idea...

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/

I get all of my parts from scan.co.uk

 

[shadowsun]

I use overclockers.co.uk and also aria.co.uk - both very very good. If you're going to run vista 2gb of ram is the MINIMUM you should be looking at to run it comfortably. It will run on 1gb but you may find it a little bit chuggy if your processor is not up to it. Dual core helps too.

And to answer your question - you need:

1x replacement hard drive of the same type (IDE or SATA are the most popular with SATA being the more recent - the way to tell is IDE has a large ribon cable and a power cable connected to it. SATA has a thin cable and a power cable going to it).

1x Windows XP or Windows Vista which you should be able to buy the OEM version (cheaper) because you'll be buying a hard drive at the same time.

 

[Dave H]

Any idea of cost for that...2gb as a minimum?

 

[KDF]

Normally I would be all for helping your and giving you advice, but from your posts.. personally, I think you should take it to someone who knows what they're doing. It will probably save you time and money.

 

[Adam]

I would gladly fit the HDD and install Windows for you if you could get the machine to me.

Do you know what current spec your system is now?

 

[Dave H]

No idea. I think theres a program on the net that tells you.

Today it started fine in the morning and this afternoon after five attempts !

 

[KDF]

sisoft sandra give you your hardware spec.