| "The blue screen of death" loomed in my mind as I | | | | be a connector, such as a USB cable to connect from |
| turned on my laptop only to find that it would not start. | | | | the defective hard drive to the good computer; (2) a |
| Visons of the consequence of being unable to finish a | | | | power cord to hook up to a connector that attaches |
| rush job before its looming deadline quickly followed as | | | | to the defective drive to make it run. If you have |
| I franticly tried to re-boot the machine. Nothing! Nada! | | | | some computer moxie and are not afraid to try this, it |
| Not even a hint of life. | | | | is a very reasonable way to solve most drive |
| The Yellow Pages pointed me to several dealers. I | | | | problems. By the way, be sure the working computer |
| started dialing. It wasn't long until I found that there | | | | has lots of empty space to manage the data. |
| were no standard answers nor standard prices. | | | | Now if this is a flight recorder, or if you have a drive |
| "It depends on how sick it is," one tecnician said. I | | | | that has been physically damaged, you need |
| didn't have a thermometer to check it's temperature, | | | | professional help. Don't try this at home. These are |
| so I shouted, "It will not start, that is ALL I know!" | | | | the most expensive jobs and require a clean facility to |
| Years have passed now and I am much wiser. I know, | | | | open up the drive and work with the inside plates. |
| for instance, that for about $40.00 I can go online (on | | | | Recovery in these cases may cost you thousands of |
| another computer, of course) and find software that | | | | dollars, depending on how much information is on the |
| restores files for most situations. It is best to take the | | | | drive. Some companies will charge you by the |
| drive out of the computer. For another $30.00 or so, | | | | gigabyte or the terabyte. For instance, if we have a |
| you can purchase a a piece of equipment that has (1) | | | | 160 gigabyte hard drive that is half-full, that would be |
| a connector bring electrical power to the drive; (2) | | | | 80 gigabytes. So at $20.00 per gigabyte, that would |
| another connector that on one side will attach to the | | | | be $160 plus a base fee for the work, maybe $100 or |
| data plug (you must be sure to have the right size to | | | | $500 (or more), depending on the physical damage, if |
| fit the drive); and, (3) at the other end of that cable will | | | | any. |