Compaq Laptop Hard Drive (Presario to nx6110)

[subnoize]

I have an older laptop (Presario 2750... or something like that) that had a mother-board issue. My friend just gave me an HP/Compaq nx6110 without a hard drive in it. I swapped hard drives and the new laptop won't boot from the new hard drive. Is it a drivers or BIOS issue? I am not 100% up on my hard drive issues, so please be patient with me. I'm sure this is a simple solution.

I tried running the Computer Set HDD Test and it came back with a read-error on the hard drive, if that helps. Thank you!

 

[ski]

Is the HD recognized in BIOS?
If not, then make sure all cables are securely connected.
If they're ok, then the HD may be bad.

If the HD is recognized in BIOS, then reformat and reinstall the O/S. Installing a HD into a different system without reformatting it and reinstalling the O/S will cause problems because the HD contains the previous system's hardware data, and it gets confused when it sees the current system's new hardware data.

 

[subnoize]

What do I do if I want all of the software, pictures, music, etc. off my old HD and I do not have a backup of it? How much does it cost to have a backup of a laptop hard drive made?

 

[kjv1611]

You might could also try booting from the Windows CD, and choosing Repair (not the first time you see Repair, but the second time). The first "repair" option takes you to a DOS prompt. The second one sort of reinstalls Windows, but leaves all your other files intact. you may have a program or two you'll need to redo, but at least you'll still have your files.

Or, you can get a bootable OS such as the Gnoppix distribution of Linux, and boot up the computer, and burn the files to a CD/DVD, or back them up to another computer accross a network (if you have any of that available).

 

[ski]

You may also be able to install the HD as a Slave drive in another system, and back up files from there.

 

[subnoize]

Thank you all for the great insight! I actually found a DVD backup that was made of my hard-drive, so I believe I have all my pictures and such. Next question... my friend who gave me the nx6110 has not had the Startup CD for some time. Where can I get one for that model laptop? Do I need to buy it, or do I need to buy new software for Windows xp? Thanks, again!

 

[wahnula]

If you don't have an XP disc you will have to buy one. The rest of the software, chipset drivers etc, are probably available online. Good luck.

Tony

 

[kjv1611]

As far as needing the startup disk, if you still have the original Windows CD from your other machine, you may can just use that. So long as it doesn't have a bunch of other stuff on it, it should work fine, just use the product ID from the laptop you're installing it onto.