Advice on replacing hard drive.

[happypanda]

We have been having problems with our desktop for the past few months. It will freeze/beep on startup and when large programs are being run. Sometimes it will even turn itself off and reboot.

I investigated and found (in the event logger) an error that said there was a bad block of memory and if this event was logged regularly to replace the hard disk drive. There are so many events logged there that I didn't have time to count.

SO, I want to replace the hard drive. But I don't know what kind to purchase, nor the size that would be compatible with my PC. Here are my specs:

Gateway
Intel Celeron processor
Windows XP 2002 service pack 1
399 mhz
128 mb ram
8 GB (with 1.34 GB available for useage)
ACPI

Obviously, I would like to buy a bigger hard drive.

I can't think of anything else to include. Let me know what I'm missing or if you have any questions about my post. I would really like to resolve this problem soon.

Thanks for your patience and assistance.

[jdc2000]

Before replaceing the hard drive, you may want to performa a few more tests to see if it is actually the hard drive or the memory that is at fault. You can download a hard drive test program from the manufacturer's web site. You can also download memory test programs as well.

Links:

Everest - will tell you make and model of your hard drive:
http://www.cybertechhelp.com/downloa...t-home-edition

Memory test program:
http://www.memtest86.com/

[happypanda]

Thanks for responding!

I downloaded Everest but I'm not sure what to do with it. Is it like a map of my computer?

Also, I went to download the memory test, but didn't know which one I should download...

[happypanda]

I tried to use the Memtest, but I'm not sure I'm downloading the right files. I couldn't get it to work...

[jdc2000]

Everest will tell you the make and model of your hard drive. Once you know that, you can go to the manufacturer's web site and download their diagnostic utility software to test the drive.

The Memtest site has instructions for creating a bootable floppy disk or CD-ROM with the Memtest program on it. Memtest runs as a standalone application - you can't run it under Windows.

[happypanda]

I'm sorry. I've been trying for the past hour to make Memtest work. I don't know what I'm doing. Any other tests that I can use to check my memory of hard drive for the problem?

Thanks for your patience.

Tanda

[jdc2000]

Questions:

Does your PC have a floppy drive that you can boot from? If so, you need to download the memt32.zip file to create the test diskette. You need a blank floppy diskette for this. Unzip the memt32.zip file, and double click on the install.bat file with a blank floppy in the drive to create the bootable floppy. Then, re-boot the PC with the floppy diskette still in the drive. If your PC is not set to boot from the floppy drive, you may need to go into the BIOS setup and change the boot device order. Post back if you need to nkow how to do that.

If your PC does not have a floppy drive, you need to download the CD ISO image .zip file and use that to create a bootable CD-ROM. POst back if you need help with that.