Posted: 6/4/2013 12:31:03 PM EDT
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I am a computer idiot, I also learned a huge lesson and will never let this happen again. My Sony Vaio was fine one day and the next I went to log on and there was a strange image on the screen. I couldn't make out the screen it was on, it certainly wasn't anything that was common. I have taken it to four people I know who know about computers. They say the screen was damaged but what is strange is their is no damage to the rest of the computer that will be there if the computer was dropped or stepped on, neither of these happened as far as I know. I keep it by my recliner and it hasn't left the house since I bought it. I am disabled and spend a fair amount of time online and don't have a lot of money for this sort of thing. I am told the partitions are all corrupted and it will take someone with special software and know how to recover the items that I need. Since I know little about computers I am worried about getting ripped off by someone. Can anyone give me any recommendations as to where to take it or send it that might be able to help me. I would like the files in the document folder, my bookmarks, photos and music if possible. I appreciate any help you might be able to provide, any idea what this might cost me? Thanks again for the help.
God Bless NCHornet |
| I'm in the process of recovering data from a WD external hard drive that went bad on me. Im using Easus data recovery wizard. There is also an Easus partion recovery program that you might need if your partitions really are bad. You will have to get another computer to run the program and find a way to hook up the bad hard drive to it. I hope that helps you. |
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have you simply tried pulling the hard drive from your laptop and slaving it into another machine? if the hard drive still works, and it was something else like your screen or graphics card going out, you can easily recover every bit of data. This. If you can, post a picture of the screen. Might give us a little more insight into the problem. Who is telling you the partitions are corrupt and what steps did they take to determine this? |
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I don't have the money for a replacement computer just yet so I am sorry for the late reply. My son has a fiend who's mom is head of the computer dept at our community college. At first she tried to hook up her laptop to mine to basically use hers as a exterior monitor I guess? But this wouldn't work, exactly why I don't know. She took it to work to try something she had use of there and still could not retrieve anything. She then took it to a few others that she knows and none of them could access it either. I don't know the details of what they did jst that the partitions are corrupted. The lady brought a special cable that was suppose to allow us to see my hard drive on her computer, but as I said she couldn't get it to work. I have another Sony Vaio that I bought for my wife at the same time I bought mine. I asked if they could simply swap hard drives and get the info that way? But never got a solid answer and they never tried it. I won't think twice about tearing apart engines, firearms etc...... but computers, let's just say I don't have a clue and am afraid I will screw something up worse. I was in the city last week and stopped by BestBuy and talked to them. They said first thing to do is to pull the hard drive and see if they can rip the files off of it. If they can't, it will have to be sent out, and that quickly get's to be more than I can afford. I have heard bad things about Geek Squad, but at this point I don't know what else to do. I am willing to pay someone to do this if it is reasonable, I will even ship it, unless y'all think taking it to best buy is my best bet. Below is what the screen looks like when I try and turn the computer on. I really do appreciate all you're help. If anyone wants to email me my email is [email protected]
God Bless NCH 
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definitely looks like the screen was stepped on. harddrive contents should be easily accesible by anyone that knows what they are doing... geek squad should be able to knock it out for a low price. im surprised the tech lady wasn't able to do it for you. I'm leaning toward this as the correct answer. Email in bound. |
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Yes, the screen is physically damaged. IF your hard drive was TRULY damaged as well, data recovery is dependent upon the skill of the tech as much as what the drive's problem is. The screen can be fixed; maybe $150.00 labor included. There's lots of reasons an external monitor won't work, but eventually it should pick up. I think the best way to access a hard drive that's questionable is to remove it completely, make the physical connection with various adapters and copy everything over to a little Western Digital using a Linux live disk on a separate computer.
Will Geek Squad do this for you? Maybe, but I really wouldn't trust them- either to be not snoopy or competent. I'd suggest calling around to some mom and pop PC stores, or (if you're comfortable wi8th the idea) putting an ad on Craigslist, in the Jobs-Computers-Gigs section. You can have them come over and do the transfer under your watchful eye. Should take just a couple of hours, if that... Depends on how much stuff you can access, and how much you want to save. Me? I've done this quite a few times. I generally charge $50.00 flat fee, plus whatever the storage medium cost. |
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I don't have the money for a replacement computer just yet so I am sorry for the late reply. My son has a fiend who's mom is head of the computer dept at our community college. At first she tried to hook up her laptop to mine to basically use hers as a exterior monitor I guess? But this wouldn't work, exactly why I don't know. She took it to work to try something she had use of there and still could not retrieve anything. She then took it to a few others that she knows and none of them could access it either. I don't know the details of what they did jst that the partitions are corrupted. The lady brought a special cable that was suppose to allow us to see my hard drive on her computer, but as I said she couldn't get it to work. I have another Sony Vaio that I bought for my wife at the same time I bought mine. I asked if they could simply swap hard drives and get the info that way? But never got a solid answer and they never tried it. I won't think twice about tearing apart engines, firearms etc...... but computers, let's just say I don't have a clue and am afraid I will screw something up worse. I was in the city last week and stopped by BestBuy and talked to them. They said first thing to do is to pull the hard drive and see if they can rip the files off of it. If they can't, it will have to be sent out, and that quickly get's to be more than I can afford. I have heard bad things about Geek Squad, but at this point I don't know what else to do. I am willing to pay someone to do this if it is reasonable, I will even ship it, unless y'all think taking it to best buy is my best bet. Below is what the screen looks like when I try and turn the computer on. I really do appreciate all you're help. If anyone wants to email me my email is [email protected] God Bless NCH <a href="http://s132.photobucket.com/user/NCHornet/media/photo_zps288d6c17.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/NCHornet/photo_zps288d6c17.jpg</a> Somebody stepped on it. Literally the only thing you need to do is get an external hard drive, copy your data over (you can hook that laptop up to an external monitor and there's no reason for it not to work), and get either a new screen or a new computer. It's probably more cost effective to get a new laptop, you can get one for three or four hundred bucks at best buy or wherever -- they will also transfer your data over for a fee if you ask, and they should have the tools to do it without any trouble. |
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Yes, the screen is physically damaged. IF your hard drive was TRULY damaged as well, data recovery is dependent upon the skill of the tech as much as what the drive's problem is. The screen can be fixed; maybe $150.00 labor included. There's lots of reasons an external monitor won't work, but eventually it should pick up. I think the best way to access a hard drive that's questionable is to remove it completely, make the physical connection with various adapters and copy everything over to a little Western Digital using a Linux live disk on a separate computer. Will Geek Squad do this for you? Maybe, but I really wouldn't trust them- either to be not snoopy or competent. I'd suggest calling around to some mom and pop PC stores, or (if you're comfortable wi8th the idea) putting an ad on Craigslist, in the Jobs-Computers-Gigs section. You can have them come over and do the transfer under your watchful eye. Should take just a couple of hours, if that... Depends on how much stuff you can access, and how much you want to save. Me? I've done this quite a few times. I generally charge $50.00 flat fee, plus whatever the storage medium cost. The screen will likely be a lot more than the cost of a new laptop. laptop screens are the single most expensive component of the laptop, and they're significantly more than 150 bucks. |
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First check that after power on your laptop the hard drive is spinning or not, if the hard drive is spinning then detach your hard drive from your laptop and using a connector connect it to some other desktop or laptop computer. Go to my computer and check the drive you attached, if it is not accessible then go to disk management and check the partitions, if they are raw or corrupted there then you can using an efficient data recovery software retrieve your data back by yourself. For the data recovery of your hard drive you can use Kernel for Windows Data Recovery Software.
Now for the screen you attached here, looks that it has physical damage so that screen seems so, for which the option is to replace your screen or use external monitor. |
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definitely looks like the screen was stepped on. harddrive contents should be easily accesible by anyone that knows what they are doing... geek squad should be able to knock it out for a low price. im surprised the tech lady wasn't able to do it for you. This... |
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Thank you all so much. As I said before I have no problems tearing apart a motor or firearm or just about anything, but not a computer. The people that have already looked at it all said the same that it looks like it was crushed, strange thing is there isn't a mark on the case that you would expect if this were the case. But it really doesn't matter, I just need to get the files off of it, not really important to me what actually happened. I also agree a new laptop is the best choice rather than dumping money into one that is 5 years old. I don't need anything super powerful, just to email, store photos and to Skype with my son in the USAF and of course to cruise this forum, so a cheap laptop will suit my needs just fine. I was finally able to retrieve all my music through ITunes and ICloud back up, so all I need now is contacts ( maybe 100 ), bookmarks ( 200 or so ) and most important photos and document files ( maybe 75 photos and 45 files, most of which are Word documents under 5 pages). Not concerned about anyone seeing what I have on there, most of it are Bible Studies, so I would encourage it, lol!!!!!!! Several have contacted me and asked why the lady could not hook it up to another computer or monitor and I don't know the answer except the OS couldn't be found and the partitions are corrupted and I don't even know what this means. When I went to BB the dude I spoke with in Geek Squad said if they could do it in house it would be $125 and that includes a 500GB external hard drive. This sounds very reasonable and fair since I need a external hard drive any way. If it has to be sent out it gets real expensive real quick, I simply cannot afford to have this done and will simply have to live without the info on it, heck of a way to learn a lesson, lol!!!!! I live in a small town, so it's not like I can pick up the phone book and call a dozen places. That is why I said I am willing to ship it to somebody or some place. Again, I am sorry for the delayed response, but I really appreciate everyone's help, I knew my friends on AR15 would help me out. Hope everyone has a great day.
NCHornet |
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Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE IT TO THE GEEK SQUAD. No matter how convenient it may be....just trust me on this one. New screen will cost between $150-$270 http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/ Just look at the model number of your computer, etc, fill it in, find your monitor, order it and boom. Getting it installed is a breeze. If you can take apart an AR15, you can take apart a laptop. A simple youtube video for your particular brand of computer can most likely easily be found for disassembly. The screen is probably *the easiest* component to replace other than hard drives or RAM or battery (which are just a single screw). To replace the screen on most laptops, you just push it all the way back. Then you find a little cutout notch above the keyboard area usually, put a flathead screwdriver in there, and gently pull up the panel. Once the panel is off, you have 2 keyboard screws. Unscrew those, and you can slide the keyboard up a little, and out. There is a small cable plugged into the board from the keyboard, easily pulled and removed. Now, depending on how your monitor is installed, usually it's just a couple of screws and another cable to detach. a little intuition goes a long way...but it's nothing to be afraid of. It will pop right out, pop the new one in...attach cable to board, screw it in, attach keyboard cable, 2 more screws, and then put the paneling back on. all in all, maybe 10-15 minutes to do as a first timer. 5 minutes for someone who knows what they are doing.
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DV8 IM sent,
ShockZ, Thanks for the link, but this is more than just screen damage, at least this is what everyone is telling me so far. If it was a newer laptop I would replace the screen, but for one 5 plus years old it just isn't worth it, at least to me. I hope I can find one of the members above to help me out, I would trust one of you before BB right now. I just went to BB website and the prices they show there are not even close to what the dude told me. So hopefully one of the members above will be able to help me out, either in person, or I can mail it. I can't thank y'all enough for all the help. If you need to get in touch with me quicker, email me, it is to hard for me to do the forum on a stupid phone, lol!!!!! Thanks Again NCH |
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take up dv8 on his offer if he is close by.
if not it sounds like all your stuff would fit on a thumb drive or it could be emailed back to you. pretty sure I have all the gear at home. if you can't find a away to do it cheap enough, ship the drive to me. I will get you your files back if it can be done. if you don't feel comfortable getting the drive out ship the whole thing if you don't care about getting it back. I can email you the files back, or burn it to cd/dvd. if you ship just the drive get a static bag from the it lady bubble wrap it and put it in the flat rate box for 5 bucks. if you throw 5 bucks in the box, I will ship it back to you if you care. |
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Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE IT TO THE GEEK SQUAD. No matter how convenient it may be....just trust me on this one. New screen will cost between $150-$270 http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/ Just look at the model number of your computer, etc, fill it in, find your monitor, order it and boom. Getting it installed is a breeze. If you can take apart an AR15, you can take apart a laptop. A simple youtube video for your particular brand of computer can most likely easily be found for disassembly. The screen is probably *the easiest* component to replace other than hard drives or RAM or battery (which are just a single screw). To replace the screen on most laptops, you just push it all the way back. Then you find a little cutout notch above the keyboard area usually, put a flathead screwdriver in there, and gently pull up the panel. Once the panel is off, you have 2 keyboard screws. Unscrew those, and you can slide the keyboard up a little, and out. There is a small cable plugged into the board from the keyboard, easily pulled and removed. Now, depending on how your monitor is installed, usually it's just a couple of screws and another cable to detach. a little intuition goes a long way...but it's nothing to be afraid of. It will pop right out, pop the new one in...attach cable to board, screw it in, attach keyboard cable, 2 more screws, and then put the paneling back on. all in all, maybe 10-15 minutes to do as a first timer. 5 minutes for someone who knows what they are doing. Have you ever actually done this? I've taken apart about 15 different types of laptop, and I have never yet seen one that was anywhere near as easy as you are trying to make it sound. |
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DV8 is a couple hours away and I am willing to drive. We are going to try and get together in a couple weeks when he has time. If that doesn't work out I would be willing to ship you the hard drive or heck the complete computer. You can keep it for parts or whatever when you get done. First let me try DV8. I can't thank everyone enough for all the help and information.
God Bless NCH |
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DV8 is a couple hours away and I am willing to drive. We are going to try and get together in a couple weeks when he has time. If that doesn't work out I would be willing to ship you the hard drive or heck the complete computer. You can keep it for parts or whatever when you get done. First let me try DV8. I can't thank everyone enough for all the help and information. God Bless NCH sure, just im or email me. |
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Whatever you do, DO NOT TAKE IT TO THE GEEK SQUAD. No matter how convenient it may be....just trust me on this one. New screen will cost between $150-$270 http://www.sparepartswarehouse.com/ Just look at the model number of your computer, etc, fill it in, find your monitor, order it and boom. Getting it installed is a breeze. If you can take apart an AR15, you can take apart a laptop. A simple youtube video for your particular brand of computer can most likely easily be found for disassembly. The screen is probably *the easiest* component to replace other than hard drives or RAM or battery (which are just a single screw). To replace the screen on most laptops, you just push it all the way back. Then you find a little cutout notch above the keyboard area usually, put a flathead screwdriver in there, and gently pull up the panel. Once the panel is off, you have 2 keyboard screws. Unscrew those, and you can slide the keyboard up a little, and out. There is a small cable plugged into the board from the keyboard, easily pulled and removed. Now, depending on how your monitor is installed, usually it's just a couple of screws and another cable to detach. a little intuition goes a long way...but it's nothing to be afraid of. It will pop right out, pop the new one in...attach cable to board, screw it in, attach keyboard cable, 2 more screws, and then put the paneling back on. all in all, maybe 10-15 minutes to do as a first timer. 5 minutes for someone who knows what they are doing. Have you ever actually done this? I've taken apart about 15 different types of laptop, and I have never yet seen one that was anywhere near as easy as you are trying to make it sound. absolutely. these are not spot on specific instructions, just a general concept of what one would encounter on a typical screen replacement. imho, most laptops are not difficult to deal with. i'd have to say though, the most difficult laptops i've dealt with were panasonic toughbooks. the first time i saw a suspended hard drive case, i was like  wtf do i do with this?! but i do know that some screens need the entire motherboard removed...and that can get painful...but i've only encountered 1 laptop like that out of all the screens i've repaired in my time.
@NCHornet- You honestly might not even need to ship the laptop or drive anywhere. Find a monitor to hook up to it, install TeamViewer7 i believe, and then give one of us your teamviewer # so we can control your computer remotely. If you don't have much stuff to backup, you could probably back it up to a free online service such as dropbox. Then replace computer, and restore data from dropbox. |
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Sorry it has been so long since I replied, I have had a rough go lately. Finally made it down to Best Buy, they took the HD out and tried to get the info off of it. No Go, they said it could not be read and the solution was to send it out to a place that can physically take the HD apart and then retrieve the info wanted. The price was way more than this old boy can afford. Going to get in touch with the members that contacted me earlier and see if they still think this is something they can tackle. If not this will be a lesson learned the hard way!!! Thanks to everyone for the help. If you were one of the members who offered to help and think you can still get the info please contact me again. Have a great day.
NCH We have tried hooking up a monitor to it with no success. The girl at BB said it appeared that it had been crushed inside, but what is strange is the outside isn't cracker or damaged. For now I just bought a 16GB flash drive and it easily holds all my info and still have over half of it left open. I knew it wasn't going to be much, at least I have a back up now. I still hope I can find someone who can retrieve the countless hours of Bible study that I lost, that is the hardest to replace, if not impossible. Thanks again to everyone. God Bless NCH |