Very sick Dell PC

datk

It's a Dimensions 9200 and well it's dead really!! Won't turn on dead as a dohdoh! I've been on to Dell and was talked through taking bits in and out and they're sending out a technician to replace the motherboard and Power Supply Unit and something else. So far going through the warranty process is going very well.

My question is. Does anyone know what the chances are they they won't have to wipe the whole computer? The hard drive was 2 x 320gb. To be honest I have no idea how the drives are split up.

Over the phone they said they may have to re-install the operating system. My main concern is photos and documents which are backed up so that's fine. I suppose the rest is just a nuisance but things like itunes, digiguide and other stuff that was too big to back up. I have a system restore saved, does this get wiped if the OP is re-installed.

D

NullZer0

To the best of my knowledge they will reformat and reinstall XP if they "feel" its "required"

Anyway you can take the drives out and take an image just in case?

gamer

if theres 2 hds ,they,ll install win os on drive c,the boot drive, they MAY or may not leave data on the drive d.tape a note to the pc pease leave data on drive c and D there ,dont delete documents,or data if possible,as friend or sum1 on boards,to take out the drives, change hd jumper to save mode,connect to his pc, copy data,photos etc to a folder or usb drive,buy a usb external drive peats 500gig 75,100gig 130euro backup to that.chances are they, restore os,and delete everything ,restore option formats the hardrive .if you as some1 on boards wi do this 4 you,taKes 2o minutes approx,deLLs job is fix pc ,instaLL an os,THATS IT,every1 shoud backup data once a month,hardrives fail after 3 years approx.

Biggins

When are they sending out the dell techie?
Would you have time to take out the hard drive and bring it to a friend who could copy over (even in dos mode) the files/folders you require?
Then if you manage to get that done, re-insert the hard-drive before the techie get's there.

or

If he is able to restore power to the hard drive, and even get into safe mode, ask him to create even a small particion and copy your stuff to maybe "e:\temp" ("e" or what ever drive letter he wishes to make it) so that when the drive ("c") is formatted, your stuff should still be there.

Adder1

datk wrote: »

It's a Dimensions 9200 and well it's dead really!! Won't turn on dead as a dohdoh! I've been on to Dell and was talked through taking bits in and out and they're sending out a technician to replace the motherboard and Power Supply Unit and something else. So far going through the warranty process is going very well.

My question is. Does anyone know what the chances are they they won't have to wipe the whole computer? The hard drive was 2 x 320gb. To be honest I have no idea how the drives are split up.

Over the phone they said they may have to re-install the operating system. My main concern is photos and documents which are backed up so that's fine. I suppose the rest is just a nuisance but things like itunes, digiguide and other stuff that was too big to back up. I have a system restore saved, does this get wiped if the OP is re-installed.

D

If its eaxctly the same motherboard then they should not have to reformat and install the OS as all the required drivers for the board should be the same
ask them if they can install updated drivers if needed after replacement parts are fitted rather than reinstall the OS. If they do have to insatll the OS then it is a good idea after you have reinstalled everything including mircosoft updates to take a drive image of the hard disks using an application such as acronis and save them to external media (dvd`s external HD ect.) Don`t forget to make a boot cd this enables you to restore your system even if windows won`t start
then in the event of system failure you should be able to restore the system to the date the last image was made

don`t forget to clearly label the backup especialy if it is made on dvds so it is easy to find when you need it

datk

Many thanks for the advice. I have a few days before their technician comes out so I should be able to get a hand know I know what to ask!!

Thanks again.

The Guvnor

We had a similar problem with an XPS430.
It was only 2 months old if even. Basically MOBO and Graphics were fried and they replaced them whilst leaving HDD and OS intact.

I think re-installation of OS and wiping of user data is the last thing they do, they try to avoid this at all costs but you need to acknowledge that they may be required to do so in their diagnostic duties!

The advice re taking out HDD's and downloading data elsewhere makes a lot of sense.

datk

Thanks again for all your advice.

PC is now all better without losing a single file!