I have a maxtor 6Y160M0 hard drive installed in a dell dimension5000 which has blue screened!!!!!

Error code7 knackered, need new one, take out throw away, will never work again etc etc, all things found on interweb when looking for answers...

anyway, managed to bring it back to life, with no losses but its on its way out, clicking on occassion and freezing up, maybe every few days,(if that).... so need new one.

Question time,

Would adding a slave be enough to solve my problem? use the existing to load windows (still xp) then slave for all other actions?

Would it be best to just replace with a new one? if so, is it just a case of copying everything over to it and is it an easy job?

Would an external drive be an easier answer, using as in question one maybe?

Would as and when the existing drive goes caput, I be able to start the computer from an external drive ok or would there be problems.

I have backed up regulary all files of importance and have all programme disks to start from scratch if necessary.

any suggestions/answers greatly appreciated, oh and budget is not great atm, so as much as i would love an all bells and whistles solution, it aint gonna happen.

 

For the sake of a Hard drive, buying a new isn't worth the bother of messing about with the old one.

Cost is peanuts: £30 will get you a 200gig drive On-line.

Firstly you need to assertain if it IS the drive that is dead "code 7" what the hell told you that? Although rhythmic clunking and spinning up/down is a sure sign.

You need to run something that reads the hard drive's "smart" status. Or run a diagnostic on the drive - such as Maxtor's own diagnostic software to confirm this.


If the drive is playing up, backup everything important and bin it - which you have

You can setup the new drive as the primary boot drive (will need to install windows etc - or use whatever poxy restore disk Dell gave you), and then recconect the old drive as a slave to copy any remaining data (make sure it boots off the new drive).

Once your done taking any remaining files off teh old drive, disconnect and remove it, crack it open and get your free shiny drink mats and paper clip storage magnet

If it remains connected as a slave. Everytime the drive plays up, it will cause the system to hang when it tries to access it. So its best to bin it.