Ok so my laptop started making clicking sounds like something was loose and thumping around inside the computer tonight randomly and then it went to a blue screen and immediately turned off. since then i have tried to start the computer several times. in all 3 types of safe modes, with last known settings and normally. each time it goes nearly to the point where it would ask me to log on and then flashes a blue screen and then restarts giving me the same usual options after an abnormal shutdown. i have taken out the battery and messed with the RAM making sure it was not loose etc.

the blue screen flashes extremely fast so its hard to read what it says, but just now this last time i saw it said: "unmountable_boot_volume" so obviously i suddenly got some extremely bad harddrive error.

anyone have any suggestions before i drop it off at the bookstore tommorrow? its still got a year under the warranty at least but im not sure what they will do

8/28/2005 11:26:59 PM

take it to the bookstore. its hosed

8/28/2005 11:48:22 PM

^^ call 1800 IBM SERV before taking it to the bookstore or they won't really be able to take it from you. you need to generate a case number with IBM before they can give you a loaner or send it off to be repaired. It's possible they can use their copies of the recovery cd's (a 7 disc set) to restore your computer, but what you're describing sounds like an actual hardware failure and will likely require it being sent off to be repaired.

8/29/2005 12:00:47 AM

Does it actually load the operating system? Does it get to the "Windows XP" screen or beyond?

8/29/2005 12:12:02 AM

^if it got far enough to select the different safe modes then obviouosly it got to the point of trying to load the OS

8/29/2005 12:22:59 AM

yea i got a case number last night, thanks for informing me ahead of time. im taking it today. im assuming i might need a whole new drive or it could just be a bad sector of windows.

you might know i was planning on backing a lot of stuff up to my external really soon :-/

luckily my games, and songs, and all the important stuff is on the non OS drive

8/29/2005 1:19:14 PM

PS thank god for loaner computers at least

8/29/2005 8:54:10 PM

I am alllllllllllllllllllll too familiar with the clicking sound of death.
Your hard drive just died.

8/30/2005 1:29:31 AM

yea. i wish i had time to see if someone could help me extract stuff from the drive before i turned it in since ill be losing everything on there but oh well nothing i can do about it now. at least the computer should be faster hah

8/30/2005 1:39:05 AM

Getting data from a dead HD is EXPENSIVE!!!

Best thing..(I know that this does not help now)..keep backups of all the data burned on disc.

8/30/2005 1:42:33 AM

yea...i was just getting ready to back up my disk this weekend too...or at least copy more stuff to my external HD..i had just been putting it off. died on me a LOT sooner than i thought it would

8/30/2005 1:52:40 AM

I had the same problems and it only got worst. It was my hard drive that was clunking. Luckily it booted up one last time after I went out and bought an external hard drive. After that it completely died.

8/30/2005 6:52:02 PM