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When you say that the Hard Drive makes a clicking noise, is it the quiet click that hard drives tend to make when they are working? (It'd sound like you're riding a bike and ahve a rock in the tire.) Or, is the clicking noise louder and more distinct?
If the noise is louder, the hard drive is probably dead, but there are ways we may be able to test this.
What is the make and model of your laptop? From there, I can give you the steps to load the onboard diagnostics, if your laptop has that capability, and we can determine the cause of the issue.
Sr. Network Engineer
A+, MCP, MCSE, 15 years of experience
For future notice, you do not have to accept the first answer...you only have to accept the answer that finally answers your question. That said, I'm still happy to help you out here.
Can you address the questions I asked in my first respnose? From there, we can move forward in figuring out exactly what is wrong and what needs to be done to fix it.
I'm sorry! The make and model?
It's a Dell Latitude Laptop. Also, on the face inside it says Designed For
Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows NT & Windows 98 but, it is
loaded w/ Windows XP Prof. I don't know if that matters or not.
Don't worry about the Designed for sticker...that just tells me that is an older laptop, but that just means that, at that time, it was designed for those operating systems. Most older systems can run newer operating systems and work just fine. As for this causing the issue, if the Hard Drive is knocking, this is probably a hardware issue and wouldn't be affected by what operating system you are running.
Per my last reply, can you give me a better idea of what the clicking noise sounds like?
On the front or top, it would be something like a Dell Latitude D610...it might be up by the power button.
That said, knowing it is a Dell helps quite a bit. Try this:
Let me know what the diagnosic reports back or if this doesn't work.
If this doesn't work, having the exact model number of your laptop would also help.
Okay, the onboard diagnostics weren't standard issue until later on so your laptop doesn't have that capability. That said, from what you're telling me about the sound that you're hearing, it sounds like your hard drive is dead. The solution would be to get a new drive or replace your laptop.
If you would like some help with knowing what kind of drive to get, let me know and i can get you some information.
I know this probably isn't what you wanted, but there's not much we can do when hardware starts to fail and this laptop is quite a bit older so this kind of thing is to be expected.
Please let me know if I can help anymore.
Your right, that's not what I wanted to hear but, the facts are all that's really helpful, right?
Yes, I would like to know what kind of Hard Drive and/or whatever else I need to know to get it up and running.
First, note that replaing the Hard Drive will fix the hard drive issue. There could be more issues but we can't know that without running diagnostics of your laptop. Because your laptop does not have onboard diagnosics, this is a detailed process and is beyond the scope of this site as it requires someone to physically work wtih the system.
For a Hard Drive, you would need a 2.5" IDE drive, also known as a Notebook Drive. I have provided a link to some drives that should work with your laptop...to view it, click here.
That said, installing a new hard drive and Installing Windows is a bit complex and has a lot of steps involved in it. If you are not familiar with the process, I'd suggest that you have a local person handle the work for you. It will be more expensive than doing it yourself, but will ensure that the job is done well.
I am very satisfied with your help and would rate it as very positive (100%). I will definately use your services again. Thank you.
A. Tucker
Thank you very much. If it is not inconvenient, could you edit your feedback to reflect this? Many people read the feedback to determine the expert they are going to deal with and we try to make sure that it is as informative as possible.
Have a great day!