Can anyone help me??? Windows Vista???

[adamm]

If you can, get hold of a copy of seatools and burn it to a disk. Boot the computer using that and run the hard drive tool. Possibly save it enough to get stuff off it. Saved my 1tb drive ;).

[bacillus]

If he doesn't have a seagate hdd then I think sea tools won't be of any use.

[monte]

So if I buy a hard drive how easy is it to get up and running again with windows on.
Will I still be able to use vista with the product key under the laptop.
Do I need to buy a vista disc?

Where is the best place to buy the things I need?

Really sorry for all the newb questions.    again.

Physically swapping it is simple enough.

When the new one is back in; re enter bios > set primary boot device to DVD drive > start computer with windows disc in > follow installation instructions on windows setup.

You should be able to use the vista disc that came with it (have I got you right?) and the key on the computer. 

 
No mike it didn't come with a disc

Can I just get a copy from someone or does it need to be original???

[stealthwolf]

Any Vista disc should be fine.

[StephenED30]

Little guide here to help.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/help/install-reinstall-uninstall

 

[bacillus]

If you're willing to try win 7 again, you can download the appropiate iso  from here then burn it to dvd and use the key your friend used beforehand.
http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/

As always, you do so at your own risk if the key is pirated.

[monte]

I sorta think it's 64 bit but I will check when I get in later. Also I'll check the bios for the HDD.

I popped into a local pc shop and the guy said £45 to fix and he will give me the discs but they won't be original discs.

I would want an original MS disc and licence as he may be offering you a cracked version that he's burned himself.

If it's 32 bit then I have an unused ultimate version copy and licence hanging about somewhere...

Will you let me know how much you want for this buddy?

Is it a 2.5" Sata HDD that I need?

(just having a look on eBay)

 

[MarkMarked]

Is it a 2.5" Sata HDD that I need?

(just having a look on eBay)

 

Need to double check, post the extact HP model up and get it confirmed that its SATA and yes it will be a 2.5" drive

[Johnny_tro]

The discs are simple to get, well pretty much. Some could burn you a copy, or get you a copy.

When you purchase a Vista or Windows 7 etc. the £££ is for the product key! If I remember correctly, you can't EVER update your PC online if you use a different product key or the same one twice.....

Copied software etc. you can get away with (cracks can be obtained) but the main operating system is different. For obvious reason they make it harder and harder for you to upgrade for free.Doing it to MAKE you buy it.

If you are looking to re-boot the PC back to how it was originally you WILL need a boot disc. Keeping data, tricky bur can be done (hard work)

[bacillus]

Will you let me know how much you want for this buddy?

Let me have a root around to find it before I give you a price.

Not trying to do myself out of a sale but I would first check the hp website to see if there are specific 32bit vista hardware drivers available for your specific laptop as you will need them.

If hp only offers 64 bit drivers then finding suitable for a 32 bit OS may need lots of browsing time. It's usually doable but your really need to know exactly what hardware is installed as you will need to install video, audio, network (wireless and lan), touchpad, dial up modem (if you have one installed) and card reader drivers.  

[skard]

Just a word of warning with these HP DV's...I've fixed computers for friends over the years and found that these are susceptible to overheating, thus it's known for components to overheat and die.
One of the biggest failures with them is the graphics chip gets so hot it desolders itself from the board. I once followed a guide to use a hair dryer to heat the solder up so much that the screen came back on long enough to grab data before wiping it all.
If you search you'll see HP offered extended warranty on certain serial numbers due to mass warranty claims.

Your hard drive may have just died naturally, but personally speaking, I would count my losses and look at getting another laptop if you're going to have to buy licenses and a hard drive as other stuff may go wrong with it in time.

Then again, you could cheaply get it back up and running with the help from this thread 

[monte]

Really sorry for all the questions guys 
I am just about ready to throw in the towel and get a new lappy....money I could do without spending!

I have got a new hard drive on the way now 

I wanted to know how hard it will be to recover my old files,photos,music etc from my old HDD?

Anyone know anything about Slax? It's an OS that u can download onto a USB stick and boot from, then if lucky recover some files.

I really don't know what to do now 

One consolation is that if I don't use the 320gb WD Scorpio Blue HDD I just bought (£17 new) for the laptop, I can use it in my 60gb ps3 

Any advice?

Thanks in advance....again.

[skard]

Search for a 2.5" SATA enclosure on eBay (get one delivered for about a fiver). Put your current hard drive in it and use it as an external hard drive on another computer if possible - you might be able to see all files and whip them over.

If there's a physical problem with the disc you'll be lucky getting any sort of access to it.

ps. Where did you get the hard drive? Just bought a netbook with a clicking drive so might put a new one in.