Is it your E1505 laptop or your Desktop system that has the problem.

Either way you can remove the harddrive and insert it into a USB enclosure, and plug the USB port into another computer to backup files.

Hey taking out your hardrive from your E1505 is really easy.

Turn it upside down, remove AC and battery. Beside the PCMCIA cars slot, just under where the speakers are there are 2 screws.

Then just slide out. There will be 2 screws holding the black piece of plastic onto the harddrive aswell.

This may do you:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150299747820

Sorry it posted 3 times

Sorry it posted 3 times.

It's the E1505 laptop. Is this difficult to do? The most hardware installation or re-tooling that I've ever done is install new memory. Will I need special tools? I'm guessing with the laptop, it might be a little more difficult than doing it with a desktop hard drive.

Do you have any reliable weblinks that tell you how to remove the hard drive? I found this - http://www.fonerbooks.com/laptop_1.htm - for replacing the hard drive, and also found this - http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2007/04/17/access-hard-drive-using-usb-enclosure/ - for putting it in the USB enclosure.

Yeah I guess so. If you replace harddrive you will need to put windows on the new one.

If you remove the existing one and replace it, your computer will be the same as before but you will need to wipe windows off the harddrive (Media direct disc and option to format in the XP set-up wll do this) and reinstall windows to get rid of your problem.

Sorry if I confused things and it posted 3 times.

Well I have an inspiron 6400 which is the E1505 with a different name.

I have a spare drive for it, and on the label it says:

160Gb

5400RPM

SATA

Its also a 2.5" laptop harddrive.

Also you are going need to install Xp on your E1505 soon, heres instructions for a full reinstall, make sure you back up first as this will wipe your system clean, note can do this on a new larger storage capacity 2.5" laptp SATA harddrive if you wish:

Insert media direct disc and switch off your 6400 press and hold F12 whilst powering up and select selection 1 or 2 (1 is recommended unless you want to create another partition)

Now when the discs finished and prompts you to change for your XP disc do so and as it reboots hold down F12 and start reinstalling windows:

Meanwhile... Download the following onto another machine and copy to a CD/DVD flash drive or external hard drive:

Copy the following to a CD or DVD or external hard drive.

1. Download XP Service Pack 3:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4&DisplayLang=en

Download the following drivers from here:

http://support.euro.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=uk&l=en&s=gen&ServiceTag=&SystemID=INSPIRONI6400/E1505&os=WW1&osl=en&catid=&impid=

2. Dell System Notebook Software Under System Utilities

3. Both the Chipset drivers

4. Then the Intel Video Driver (or ATI or NVIDEA depending what you have) 

5. Then the two Conexant Drivers Under Communications

6. Then the two Broadcom Drivers Under Network

7. Then depending what you have Dell Wireless Card or Intel PROSET Wireless under Network

8. Then the Sigmatel Driver under Audio

9. Then Synaptics Touchpad under Input Devices

10. Then the Dell Quickset under Applications

11. Bluetooth Driver under network if you have Bluetooth, will be a Blue Light if switched on if you have a bluetooth card.

12. Install the two Dell Diagnostic Drivers

13. Go here: http://www.istartedsomething.com/20061029/royale-noir/ and you can download a Black XP and XP Media Centre Edition Colours.

14. If using msn messenger download from here: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Chat/Instant-Messaging/MSN-Messenger-8.shtml and download this http://www.apatch.org/ to customise the messenger and get rid of adverts.

15. Download and install windows media player 11 and the Klite Codec Pack:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=1d224714-e238-4e45-8668-5166114010ca&DisplayLang=en

http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/KLite-Codec-Pack-Download-16475.html

16. Also recommend you download and install Adobe Reader 9 and PDF Creator here in order to read and print PDFs:

http://www.adobe.com/

http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=57796

Ok now install all the drivers in the order I specified. (13. - 16. Optional) Restart and load up windows, now insert you dell media direct disc and it should prompt you to install if not go to my computer and double click the disc to install note install while on the windows desktop or you'll format your harddrive again.

Once thats done press the dell media direct button, note do not do so before this stage. Set it up for configuration and go to update note you will have to go to update 2 -3 times to get the latest version which I believe is 4.7. Once thats dome power down your computer and press the media direct button and smile since it should be working.

Then go to xp and install all other such as antivirus and office programs copy music and documents over etc. Be sure to go to windows update to get internet explorer 7 aswell.