Ran the Preboot system asessment again and it came up with

Error Code 2000-0142

Validation 30176

MSG Hard drive 0- S/N 5WS35ANE

Self test unsuccesfull

I had a new mother board and USB daughter board replaced under the warranty last year. Would that have anything to do with it

Hi Plugcoupler,

Sorry to hear about that. You'll need a standard SATA laptop (2.5") hard drive. The replacement instructions are in your service manual, which can be found here. I have a link to a Windows installation guide below, which will help you reinstall the operating system.

Let us know if you need more help.

It's unlikely.  The system is likely in the 3 year old range - right about the point where hard drives start to fail en masse.  If you get 3 years out of any notebook drive, you're doing well.  Fortunately, hard drives are inexpensive.  Unfortunately, on this model, replacing the drive requires a complete system tear-down:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0OM7cothHU

Ok, thanks for that.

3 years!, Iv'e only had 18 months since receiving it.

I still have my old Dell with XP, it's slow but still works after 6 years

Is it worth trying to reseat the Hard drive.

If that doesnt work, can I and how do I retrieve my stuff that was on the hard drive before installing the new.

Erm "inexpensive", recommended part from Dell

900GB SAS 6Gbps 10k 6cm (2.5") Hybrid HD Hot Plug Fully Assembled in 9cm (3.5") Carrier £416.39

That is not the correct replacement but an SAS drive. Your laptop requires a standard SATA laptop (2.5") hard drive, which are pretty cheap.

As for retrieving the data, it depends on the nature of the failure. The general strategy is to put the drive in an external USB enclosure and try to access the files. If that doesn't work, you'll need to try a data recovery service, which is very expensive, at least as compared to a data backup solution.

Given the amount of work it takes to access the hard drive in this model, you're likely better off just replacing it -- it's just as much work to reseat the drive as to replace it, and the 0142 error points to a bad hard drive.

Does the system run abnormally warm?  Heat is the second worst enemy of hard drives (after shock and vibration).

Tried reseating and it worked, everything came back until I tried downloading files onto an external hard drive and it crashed after a minute or so.

The system doesn't seem to be running hot, fan works.

Will any SATA laptop (2.5") hard drive do, eg

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hitachi-500gb-Inch-Drive-Laptop/dp/B003ZFLOD4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392092289&sr=8-1&keywords=SATA+laptop+%282.5%22%29+hard+drive

http://www.amazon.co.uk/HITACHI-0J22423-Travelstar-7K1000-Drive/dp/B00B4QESVQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392093090&sr=8-1&keywords=SATA+laptop+%282.5%22%29+hard+drive+7200rpm

Dell note "3 year warranty"

Hi,

If the data you have lost is critical to you, then the least you do the better for a good end result. From what you have posted it does appear that the hard drive itself may be the problem. If the hard drive has bad physical sectors, then this would cause the problems you are experiencing. The only possible way forward would be to remove the drive from your laptop and try putting it into an external USB caddy. You may have a chance of gaining access to your data that way. If not and you need help recovering your data then please let me know.

Hello Dataq, thanks for the offer, i have ordered a caddy.

So any of the hardrives mentioned earlier will do

plugcoupler

To reinstall Win 7, yes, you will need the reinstallation DVD.

 Dell Backup and Recovery Media Request Form (For US and CA Only)

  http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/en/backupcd_form?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&redirect=1

 If you don't reside in the US, contact Dell's Support that's located in your country

 Bev.

Ok, so i have manged to get the data of the knackered hard drive that i wanted, photos etc and fitted the new Hard drive and all is well, diagnosically.

I tried booting the laptop from the knackered hard disk in the caddy, which didn't work, I assume because the OS is on this part of the disk  that is knckd.

Which brings me to my next question, I assume I will I need a disk from Dell with Windows 7 on it.