# Save My Rebooting Tablet D:



## GoodEats (Mar 25, 2009)

Okay... So the deal is, my mom gave this tablet PC to my sisters and they seem to have got viruses on it or something? Not sure exactly what happened but it worked yesterday then yesterday night it just stopped working when my sister brought it to me. It wouldn't stop rebooting over and over. After a lot of observing, I took note that it would load up to the booting then it pulled up the "windows was shut down improperly last time" Safe mode.. Etc.. Last good config... Boot normally...

So. I tried all of them and I watched closely. In all cases, it would try to boot and the screen would flash blue then restart itself. After that point you couldn't change any options or anything unless you shut it down and booted it up again. And it would just keep rebooting if you let it go.

Advice? I can provide as much info as needed if I can get it

It's a tablet PC from Intel, Windows XP.
LE1600
...
Need anything else? o.o


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## Runefox (Mar 25, 2009)

When you receive that message, hit the F8 key, and you should get a larger menu. Choose "Disable Automatic Reboot on System Failure", and let the computer boot. Instead of rebooting, it should give you a blue screen with some information on it; Can you relay that information here?

Chances are good that it could be a virus, but it could also be that the tablet PC is on its way out. Either way, it might be time for a reinstall of Windows, but first, is it possible to boot up into Safe Mode from that menu?


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## GoodEats (Mar 25, 2009)

Runefox said:


> When you receive that message, hit the F8 key, and you should get a larger menu. Choose "Disable Automatic Reboot on System Failure", and let the computer boot. Instead of rebooting, it should give you a blue screen with some information on it; Can you relay that information here?
> 
> Chances are good that it could be a virus, but it could also be that the tablet PC is on its way out. Either way, it might be time for a reinstall of Windows, but first, is it possible to boot up into Safe Mode from that menu?



So yeah...
I couldn't get the larger menu... I pressed f8 all the way up to the choose your boot... Safe.. Last known... Normal... Well.. It didn't work when I pushed it there either. So... I kept pressing it even when I click Last known good.... And it froze on a black screen ._.


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## Runefox (Mar 26, 2009)

Hmm... That sounds a lot like it could be bad memory. You obviously have a second computer; Do you have any blank CD's? It might be worth burning a memtest86+ disc and booting from it, and let it go through a couple of passes. If you see any errors (red) on the bottom of the screen, you've got bad RAM.


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## GoodEats (Mar 26, 2009)

I'll try that in the morning


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## ToeClaws (Mar 26, 2009)

Further to RuneFox's advice, if the Memtest passes okay, then you may just have a fubar Windows install.  That could just be the result of 101 different variables that messed Windows up, or could also be a failing hard drive.  Either way, you can boot up the system using a LiveCD OS to see if it will get all the way to a usable state and be stable.  I recommend something like Linux Mint or Ubuntu, since they will use a good chunk of the RAM and both of their Live CD's also provide you the Memtest86+ tool to check the memory.  

After booting into those (or whatever you choose) if the system seems to work pretty normally, you'll have to go after the Windows install.  But rather than get into that, we'll just leave it at this for now - let us know what the results are.


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## GoodEats (Mar 26, 2009)

Umm... Turns out the computer has no CD rom drive o.o

Only floppy... And USBs... I have a flash drive.. Should I try it?


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## GoodEats (Mar 26, 2009)

So... I tried it and stuff.... I don't really know how to install the boot thing? And I think the tablet stopped reading usb >.> Maybe.. or maybe I did it wrong... Um... >.<!


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## Runefox (Mar 26, 2009)

It has a floppy drive? In that case, use this package instead and follow the instructions in the README.txt to put it on a blank floppy.


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## GoodEats (Mar 27, 2009)

Runefox said:


> It has a floppy drive? In that case, use this package instead and follow the instructions in the README.txt to put it on a blank floppy.



Ummm.... -looks for a floppy- I think those things went extinct years ago D:

Damn D;

I mean.. I mind be able to find one... Somewhere.... Like at my dad's house. xD

Um... Hey... What about a flash drive?


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## ToeClaws (Mar 27, 2009)

You could create a bootable flash drive manually, like this:

http://supergroverohp.joeuser.com/article/325913/HOW_TO_Making_a_USB_Thumbdrive_Bootable

Or you can copy a diagnostics and rescue-centric OS like System Rescue to a USB stick:

http://www.sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_How_to_install_SystemRescueCd_on_an_USB-stick

Hopefully, the tablet's BIOS is set to allow boots from the USB port.  If not, you will have to enter the BIOS and set it to do so.


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## GoodEats (Mar 27, 2009)

Okay.... Basically what I'm at is.. I JUST NEED A BOOT FILE D:< Dos based?

I don't know.... -sighs-

Look... >.<.. Um... I need the windows xp boot file so I can boot from usb...

Um.. That memtest thing? Yeah.. Utterly confused..

Other boot site things... It worked up to the point where I extracted.... It didn't give me a file that was in the follow along... the usbimage folder and it's suppose to have a DOS file in it. ANYWAYS. It makes me sad


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## Aurali (Mar 27, 2009)

hmm.. a lot of things could of happened to cause that..

what version of windows are you using? Can you try to repair it using the original OS disk?


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## Wolfsmate (Mar 27, 2009)

Hey if you are trying to get the USB flash drive to be bootable give this a shot, 
Method 2 I have used this utility for a while, works well. 
http://www.bootdisk.com/pendrive.htm


Method 2 - Try these 2 HP/Compaq USB Flash Drive Utilities. They work with many other brands of flash drives as well. 
HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool Version 2.0.6
HP Drive Key Boot Utility Version 7.41
Download

Also forgot to mention Damn Small Linux works well on USB drive.


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## GoodEats (Mar 27, 2009)

>.< My mom got this computer from work. No CD drive. Only a floppy. And usb.

There's no CDs that came with it. It's just the computer. ._.

My working computer does NOT have a floppy drive.

I am forced to do this all by USB flash drive.

I need the a windows xp file so that the computer can boot from my flash drive.


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## Wolfsmate (Mar 27, 2009)

These are all for using USB. The utility mentioned above does all the formatting for the key, so backup anything on it you want to save. 

Damn Small Linux has tutorials on their page for how to install to usb as well. 
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/all-in-one-usb-dsl/

DSL is a full OS and well if the Tablet can boot to it and runs well then like others have said might be a bad install of Windoze.


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## GoodEats (Mar 27, 2009)

I don't know xD I think the USB is fried... Apparently my mom has a few items in the closet like a CD drive and floppy drive attachments o.o...

What's retarded is that even if I do fix it.. I don't get to keep it -.-''


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## Runefox (Mar 27, 2009)

> I don't know xD I think the USB is fried... Apparently my mom has a few items in the closet like a CD drive and floppy drive attachments o.o...


Try and find the CD drive attachment! That would be required for any sort of troubleshooting you're going to have to do, and also would be required for any kind of repair of the operating system (which is probably necessary now).

Anyway, looking up the model number, looks like the manufacturer of the computer is called Motion.

Here are the product specs for your reference and for anyone else trying to figure this out:



> Processors/Cache
> 
> Â·         IntelÂ® CentrinoÂ® Mobile Technology with the IntelÂ® PentiumÂ® M Processor Low Voltage 758 (2MB of L2 cache, 1.50GHz, 400MHz FSB)
> Â·         IntelÂ® CeleronÂ® M Processor Ultra Low Voltage 383 (1MB L2 cache, 1GHz, 400MHz FSB)
> ...


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## GoodEats (Mar 27, 2009)

Erm.. The model number is T004 and product key do you need?


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## Aurali (Mar 28, 2009)

umm.. how does a computer with those specs not have a CD rom drive?


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## GoodEats (Mar 28, 2009)

Eli said:


> umm.. how does a computer with those specs not have a CD rom drive?



It's a pc tablet. It has them... They come off...


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## Runefox (Mar 28, 2009)

Product key is probably something you should hold onto.


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## Aurali (Mar 28, 2009)

Chyuukuchi said:


> It's a pc tablet. It has them... They come off...



then yeah.. can you find an OS disk for your version of windows?


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## GoodEats (Mar 28, 2009)

Eli said:


> then yeah.. can you find an OS disk for your version of windows?



Ummm... I hope so xD


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## Runefox (Mar 28, 2009)

Chyuukuchi said:


> Ummm... I hope so xD



If not, you can download them online. As long as you have the product key, it should be perfectly legal (if against Microsoft's EULA, which isn't a legal document). Technically, you're supposed to buy replacements from Microsoft, but that's hardly the ideal solution if the disc has nothing to do with your license. That "Product Key" is what you buy when you buy Windows - Not the disc.


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## GoodEats (Mar 28, 2009)

Runefox said:


> If not, you can download them online. As long as you have the product key, it should be perfectly legal (if against Microsoft's EULA, which isn't a legal document). Technically, you're supposed to buy replacements from Microsoft, but that's hardly the ideal solution if the disc has nothing to do with your license. That "Product Key" is what you buy when you buy Windows - Not the disc.



o.o! That's helpful <333


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

Yes.... I got the CD drive and I also found a usb port on it that WORKS! 

I don't think I got any CDs.


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## ToeClaws (Mar 29, 2009)

If you do download the OS from online (as per Runefox's suggestion) just mind the version - if the original install was an OEM version, that's the one you need to download.  The other more normal box version won't work with OEM codes (at least that's what I've run into in the past few years).


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

ToeClaws said:


> If you do download the OS from online (as per Runefox's suggestion) just mind the version - if the original install was an OEM version, that's the one you need to download.  The other more normal box version won't work with OEM codes (at least that's what I've run into in the past few years).



OEM? erm... Okay.. o.o
I'll see Rf's suggestion.


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## ArielMT (Mar 29, 2009)

OEM == Original Equipment Manufacturer.  In plain English, the folks who made your PC.

According to the user guide [PDF], this is the way to reinstall Windows:



			
				Motion Computing LE-Series and LS-Series Tablet PCs User Guide said:
			
		

> *SYSTEM REPAIR/RECOVERY PROCEDURE*
> 
> You may never need to perform this procedure, but in the event that your system shows signs of instability or corruption, it may become necessary. In most cases, once initiated, this procedure lets you repair the Tablet PC hard disk drive and retain the original system data, applications, passwords, and settings with no data loss.
> 
> ...



I take it, since this is a hand-me-down PC, you don't have these disks?

If you stay with Windows and can't use the XP repair option, then you'll also want to download the drivers and applications you'll need.  I'd suggest doing that first (or at least keeping this link handy) and putting them on a CD or USB stick.  At the very least, keep the network driver(s) handy in case you can't get it back online without it.


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

ArielMT said:


> OEM == Original Equipment Manufacturer.  In plain English, the folks who made your PC.
> 
> According to the user guide [PDF], this is the way to reinstall Windows:
> 
> ...



Umm... This helps 

But I need an OS download D:

A windows XP download? o.o The erm... I need the actually thing so I can boot from the usb... If someone has a good walkthrough? I might retry some of the previous links to see how they run.


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

OKAY! Good news and bad news.

We FOUND! (We actually had them!) the Recovery CDs! All of them!
I found the right cords for the CD drive as well! 
I followed the walkthrough and everything and then!

Nothing happened. It didn't enter setup... I mean.. Wtf D:

I tried booting from CD... and Removeable drive... Nothing! I tried letting it boot itself. It keeps going back to the "We're sorry.. Windows crashed.." Thing.. Then it boots blue screen... I'm going to try having both the flash drive AND the cd in xD
..
I bet it'll fail.

Edit: It failed.
Should I try burning the CD onto my flash drive?


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## Aurali (Mar 29, 2009)

look in your bios settings.. Maybe your harddisk drive is set to boot first.. in that case.. make your CD/USB boot before it.


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

Eli said:


> look in your bios settings.. Maybe your harddisk drive is set to boot first.. in that case.. make your CD/USB boot before it.



I tried. It won't stay confirmed... And when I hit the other way, you click the screen and hit Boot Choices... I click the CD drive boot and hit okay... Nothing happens.


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

Well! I found the issue. After rearranging the boot priority...

It's skipping CD and floppy.. It was going straight to HDD.


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## ArielMT (Mar 29, 2009)

You have to be quick with the "Press a key to boot from CD-ROM" option.  IIRC, there's less than a three-second window for you to hit it.  (Easy thing to overlook.)


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

ArielMT said:


> You have to be quick with the "Press a key to boot from CD-ROM" option.  IIRC, there's less than a three-second window for you to hit it.  (Easy thing to overlook.)



Is there a certain BUTTON or Can I just tell it to boot from it?


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## ArielMT (Mar 29, 2009)

Chyuukuchi said:


> Is there a certain BUTTON or Can I just tell it to boot from it?



I usually hit the space bar because it's most convenient for me, but any letter or number or function key will do as well.

I just realized...  Does your tablet have a keyboard?


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

ArielMT said:


> I usually hit the space bar because it's most convenient for me, but any letter or number or function key will do as well.
> 
> I just realized...  Does your tablet have a keyboard?



Yes. Its a tablet PC.. And now that I think about... The bios might be outdated! Cause the boot options and the bios boot options have different choices


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## ArielMT (Mar 29, 2009)

I'd imagine updating the BIOS is a low-priority item at this point.  It still seems to be doing the job it's designed to do.

The BIOS boot options are usually limited to choosing devices to try booting from.  Normally, the hard disk is first.  (I guess OEMs got tired of taking "Non-system disk or disk error" support calls when folks left floppies in their drives by mistake.)  However, in your case, you want the CD-ROM or USB devices to be chosen before the hard disk.

Most PC BIOSes use the F10 key to mean "Save changes" and the ESC key to mean "Don't even think of saving changes."  Does yours react when you press the F10 key after changing the boot order?


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

ArielMT said:


> I'd imagine updating the BIOS is a low-priority item at this point.  It still seems to be doing the job it's designed to do.
> 
> The BIOS boot options are usually limited to choosing devices to try booting from.  Normally, the hard disk is first.  (I guess OEMs got tired of taking "Non-system disk or disk error" support calls when folks left floppies in their drives by mistake.)  However, in your case, you want the CD-ROM or USB devices to be chosen before the hard disk.
> 
> Most PC BIOSes use the F10 key to mean "Save changes" and the ESC key to mean "Don't even think of saving changes."  Does yours react when you press the F10 key after changing the boot order?



The booting order is fine.. It just wont boot from CD or usb! It goes to the next priority


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## ArielMT (Mar 29, 2009)

Chyuukuchi said:


> The booting order is fine.. It just wont boot from CD or usb! It goes to the next priority



If you can pardon me for asking such an obvious question...

Does the CD drive spin up when the PC reboots?  If not, then either the PC isn't sensing that the CD drive is attached or the drive's tray isn't closed all the way.


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

ArielMT said:


> If you can pardon me for asking such an obvious question...
> 
> Does the CD drive spin up when the PC reboots?  If not, then either the PC isn't sensing that the CD drive is attached or the drive's tray isn't closed all the way.



It spins, it's connected... My computer can read it and in Nonquiet boot it says it is connected


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## ArielMT (Mar 29, 2009)

I'm out of ideas for now, I'm afraid.  Keep poking around and trying stuff until you see "Press any key to boot from CD..." on the screen, even if it's only for a few seconds.  Check back to see if anyone else posts any ideas.


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

ArielMT said:


> I'm out of ideas for now, I'm afraid.  Keep poking around and trying stuff until you see "Press any key to boot from CD..." on the screen, even if it's only for a few seconds.  Check back to see if anyone else posts any ideas.



If I had my camera... I could record it...


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## Aurali (Mar 29, 2009)

Chyuukuchi said:


> If I had my camera... I could record it...



I'm wondering if the CD is messed up. Can you get it to run in your other computer? (DON'T INSTALL IT)


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## GoodEats (Mar 29, 2009)

Eli said:


> I'm wondering if the CD is messed up. Can you get it to run in your other computer? (DON'T INSTALL IT)



Just found it today... Still in plastic wrap and when I tested the drive on my computer, it tried to autorun windows recovery

On the bright side I have a working drive and windows recovery CD for my comp xD


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## GoodEats (Apr 2, 2009)

Anyone have any advice? e.e


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## ArielMT (Apr 2, 2009)

Since the disk works when you pop it into another drive, I'm wondering if the drive plugged in to your tablet really is working.


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## SnowFox (Apr 2, 2009)

Are you able to change the boot priority to USB? If you haven't already, download this from here. Get a blank USB stick, format it to FAT if it isn't already, then extract that zip file directly onto the USB stick and run the makeboot.bat file like it says in the article, then reboot with it plugged in and see if it boots into memtest.

If that works and your memory is ok then you can move onto the next stage, if not then I'm out of ideas too for the moment


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## Shino (Apr 4, 2009)

*Sniffs the air*
Hmm, I smell a rebuild coming.

Sorry, without reading the other posts, cause I'm sleep deprived and post happy, I would reccommend getting a copy of Knoppix for USB key to backup your data, then throw a clean copy of XP pro or Win7 beta on there.

Ok, I'll stop interrupting now. *Wanders over to the Writer's Bloc*


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## GoodEats (Apr 15, 2009)

So... I talked to my tech teachers at my school and none of them could figure anything out... One said something about ghosting the system and the other booting from norton? Or something? o.o Isn't that a virus remover program? But they said other than that, they were stumped.


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## SnowFox (Apr 15, 2009)

Chyuukuchi said:


> So... I talked to my tech teachers at my school and none of them could figure anything out... One said something about ghosting the system and the other booting from norton? Or something? o.o Isn't that a virus remover program? But they said other than that, they were stumped.



Maybe they were referring to some kind of rescue disk version of norton that's designed for you to boot from if your computer is so badly infected that it wont boot into windows. But if you're unable to boot from anything in the first place it isn't really going to help. Did you try my suggestion from a few posts ago^ ?


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## Runefox (Apr 15, 2009)

Chyuukuchi said:


> So... I talked to my tech teachers at my school and none of them could figure anything out... One said something about ghosting the system and the other booting from norton? Or something? o.o Isn't that a virus remover program? But they said other than that, they were stumped.



Ah, they're referring to Norton Ghost, another product by Symantec that takes perfect images of your hard drive and gives you the ability to restore your hard drive to the state it was in when the ghost happened. So... It's like a snapshot, sort of, or more specifically, what Windows' System Restore sounds like it should do.

So, that being said, it's totally possible to set up your computer with Ghost (use a similarly setup system, swap the drive before any drivers get installed), but you need to be able to boot from a CD to begin with, unless you're feeling like removing the hard drive and popping it in another computer to do it.


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## GoodEats (Apr 15, 2009)

I was talking to another of my friends and they pointed out my hard drive is fried. I have to have a full wipe done on it or a hack.


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## Runefox (Apr 15, 2009)

Chyuukuchi said:


> I was talking to another of my friends and they pointed out my hard drive is fried. I have to have a full wipe done on it or a hack.



If your hard drive IS dysfunctional, you'll need a new one - Just wiping it won't do much of anything to help. You'll be hard-pressed to buy 1.8" hard drives, though, unfortunately...


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## GoodEats (Apr 15, 2009)

Runefox said:


> If your hard drive IS dysfunctional, you'll need a new one - Just wiping it won't do much of anything to help. You'll be hard-pressed to buy 1.8" hard drives, though, unfortunately...



Nooooo >.<


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## Runefox (Apr 16, 2009)

I'm sorry I haven't really been much help here, but if you can't get a CD/floppy/USB to boot, there really isn't much that can really be suggested. x_x If it really _is_ true that your hard drive is dying, then there's even less that can be done, aside from replacing it. Unfortunately, you don't exactly have any way of making any kind of utility that could tell you whether or not that's the case work, so that's really difficult to call. Unless they actually did manage to get some sort of diagnostics tool running, I'm not confident that that would be the case, but then again, there are other signs (clicking, abnormally slow response time, etc)


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## GoodEats (Apr 16, 2009)

Runefox said:


> I'm sorry I haven't really been much help here, but if you can't get a CD/floppy/USB to boot, there really isn't much that can really be suggested. x_x If it really _is_ true that your hard drive is dying, then there's even less that can be done, aside from replacing it. Unfortunately, you don't exactly have any way of making any kind of utility that could tell you whether or not that's the case work, so that's really difficult to call. Unless they actually did manage to get some sort of diagnostics tool running, I'm not confident that that would be the case, but then again, there are other signs (clicking, abnormally slow response time, etc)



Wanna send me a new hard drive? xD


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