My hard drive crashed

[david6789]

My hard drive crashed.  And there is no recovering from it.  What are my best courses or action?

A Disk Error Occurred

Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart

(I cant even get to the Safe Mode option)

I purchased this computer from Dell about a year ago (if memory is correct).  Everything is fine with the computer except the hard drive.

Could I purchase a Hard Drive preloaded with the Mother board software and Windows Vista Home Premium from Dell, use the product key from my computer?

Or is there an easier way, I really do not want to purchase another computer.

[husky0894]

If the system is in warranty, you can request a pre-imaged drive.  If it's out of warranty you cannot - you'll need to buy a  drive and load Windows yourself.  If you don't have the disc, you can get that from Dell (again, if you're under warranty).  If you're out of warranty you may be out of luck and need to purchase a copy of Windows yourself.

[RobinBredin]

Hi david6789, What you can do is to run Dell diagnostic by pressing  F12 at bootup. If you cant do that, boot off your CD/DVD, and use the diagnostic on the disc. Dell will not supply you with an Hard Drive with the operating on it.

[RChris]

You might want to read up on SpinRite, a disk recovery software tool, at GRC.com.  Has an amazing record for disk recovery (not mechanical failures, however).