Help me sort my laptop!

[g1]

The download can go straight onto the USB flashdrive, it doesn't have to go onto your computer first.
But let me be terribly blunt. This can not be made to be as simple as you would like it to be. You can either spend the cash, or a lot of effort. If you are not willing to expend a lot of effort, please spare us from expending our time.
Consider also that once you are successful, you will have the equivalent of the computer when new. Any programs etc. that were added will have to be added again. More work.
How many hours are you up for putting into this thing?

[Sea Chief]

g1 if you dont feel like helping my 'thing'- dont worry/ leave it to others maybe? thanks.

I'll try and get the 7 onto a usb thing 1st now I know which cpoota Im putting it into. Im sure I can follow my nose & insert it on the toshiba > get it on, once I get a new HDD. As said Ive done before with 3x cds in the days when XP into a 750Mb cpoota was surely far more of an effort than a 10 year younger OS onto a 6 yr old 250Gb toshiba with a new empty 100Gb HDD.

There were few 'programs' if any: Ma not interested (or more likely not capable to have put any on, let alone even understanding what they are) to have needed extra programs. I dont think I have any myself, bar a 12 yr old cam software prog. My Ma doesnt even use a cam.

Thanks

[big_teee]

The old cliche, "A picture is worth a thousand words"?
There are many Tutorials on YouTube.
Here are a few.
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...ows+7+from+usb
https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...ve+in+a+laptop
Don't get hung up on the specifics, but the general knowledge that can be learned from watching the videos.
I do the same thing when I work on my truck.
I search on Youtube, and then learn how to remove and install the new part.
We all wish you the best, it is just the multitude of steps, & questions it seems to you take you to do, what most of us see as simple tasks.
Also another good Cliche to learn from is, "Know your Limitations".
That means, if you know something is not within your power, or skill set to achieve, then you have to go to someone with those skill sets.
Good Luck,
T

[Sea Chief]

We found the Windows 7 System Recovery cd that came with the toshiba. So for a test (in case the pc shop werent being honest with appraisal "the Hardrive has failed" diagnosis, or to see evidence of the harddrive not working) I shoved the cd in the toshiba cpoota & followed my nose as far as I could:

It went fine for about 20 mins, doing various install procedures afaict needing me innitially to click continue or any key to get it off & going.. but it came to a halt with the following mssg:

[Unable to copy from HDD to C drive].

Does this imply that the hardrive is actually ok, and the C-drive (I think thats inside & fixed part of the cpoota) is the problem? I dodnt think the C-drive was anything to do with putting on the OS software into the hardrive.

Thanks, SC

[big_teee]

Take the CD out, and try a power cycle.
Try turning it back on.
It may be ready to boot up?

[Sea Chief]

And does the OS live on the HDD hard drive, taking up as I noticed it said, 119Gb of space permanently on the HDD?

Im trying to establish, if the HDD is indeed the prob as shop said, whether its worth buying a 180Gb one (for £15) or a 250 Gb one (£25) IE if it all goes tits up were only £15 down.

If the OS is downloaded onto the HDD then the 2nd part of the OS installation process is shifting it from there to the cputa's C-drive.. my Ma uses so relatively little Gb space that 180 Gb (if OS has buggered off from it) is more than enough.

thanks SC

[Sea Chief]

Take the CD out, and try a power cycle.
Try turning it back on.
It may be ready to boot up?

Power cycle? what go round the block on a bike?.. ok but I dont see how thats going to help.

[big_teee]

Turn it off, then on.
I'm done, I think you are beyond help!
You're on your own.

[Dave H]

[Unable to copy from HDD to C drive].

Does this imply that the hardrive is actually ok, and the C-drive (I think thats inside & fixed part of the cpoota) is the problem? I dodnt think the C-drive was anything to do with putting on the OS software into the hardrive.

Are you confusing HDD with D drive? The D drive is usually your optical (CD) drive. The C drive is a partition on the internal hard drive where the operating system lives and also all your programs and data will be on the C drive if that's the only partition. If it won't copy from the D drive to the C drive it could be because the hard drive is toast (or it wants you to insert the second CD perhaps?)

Edit: If you don't need a lot of storage the smaller hard drive will be big enough. Window7 only uses 20GB.

[Steve A.]

Turn it off, then on.
I'm done, I think you are beyond help!
You're on your own.

.
People who know absolutely nothing about computers really need to have a friend who does to avoid outrageous shop repair bills. But then again for some reason totally beyond their comprehension some people just don't ever have any friends...

Steve A.

[big_teee]

Like a friend of mine said!
We would like to see him succeed, but it don't seem to come easy!
Maybe he will figure it out.
Use my Motto, and hope, "persistence prevails".
T

[Sea Chief]

Are you confusing HDD with D drive? The D drive is usually your optical (CD) drive. The C drive is a partition on the internal hard drive where the operating system lives and also all your programs and data will be on the C drive if that's the only partition. If it won't copy from the D drive to the C drive it could be because the hard drive is toast (or it wants you to insert the second CD perhaps?)

Edit: If you don't need a lot of storage the smaller hard drive will be big enough. Window7 only uses 20GB.

Ah ok, no I wasnt confusing the HDD with D drive. I just didnt know the C drive was a partition within the HDD.

Ok now I got further with retrying the recover cd (so i could jot down the exact error mssg). An error mssg "PXE-E61: Media test failure check cable" is seen, then goes & the normal small windows logo appears, then a normal looking windows start-up blue screen (not BSOD), then into a set-up finalising page with a typical bar in/ denoting some ongoing process. Then it goes to shut down > restarts > and same process all over.. IE it never changes out of this cycle.

I had to unplug the power cable then battery to make it stop already.

Lord knows how it seems to have downloaded the recover cd onto somewhere else.. if the HDD is toast, as it seems indeed to be. So shall I just get in a new hard drive, and do the recovery cd process again?

[Sea Chief]

Like a friend of mine said!
We would like to see him succeed, but it don't seem to come easy!
Maybe he will figure it out.
Use my Motto, and hope, "persistence prevails".
T

If you and Steve A want to giggle away about "him" big-teee, have the politeness to do it privately? if you feel the need that is (you do seem like you have to time & again on threads). OK?

Not on my thread thanks. Ive enough to figure out without wasting time having to read childish schoolyard posts intended to do fkall to help like Steve A's rather pathetic post.

thanks for your help/ but why not jsut stick to PM's I suggest now.

[Dave H]

An error mssg "PXE-E61: Media test failure check cable" is seen

You should try Google on your XP PC

"That message means there is no network cable connected. It also means it's trying to boot from the Network, so either the network card is listed before the hard drive in the boot order in the BIOS, or the hard drive is dead/has a bad cable, or is disabled in the BIOS."

I'm guessing the hard drive is dead. Do you know how to get to the BIOS to check the boot order or is that more Russian? I have a Toshiba laptop but can't remember which magic keys to press. I'll check.

[big_teee]

Oh I'm not giggling, I'm rooting for you.
I would like to see you win one for a change.
You appear to be down to one helper.
Whatever you do, don't run Dave off!
As far as me posting here, I post where I please.
Read it or don't.
T