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G73JH Hard Drive failure?

Retired
Not applicable

‎08-14-2011 04:12 PM - last edited on ‎03-06-2024 09:16 PM by Community Admin

Hi Everyone! Lurker here. Registered when I finally ran into a problem with my G73. I've had my laptop for just about a year, don't know the exact date or if i'm still eligible for RMA (hopefully :s )

So, It's been cranking away great as usual, when I boot up today to find that it isn't reading my secondary drive partitions, 😧 and F: on my computer.
I checked System Properties, not there.
Checked HWInfo32, not there.
Rebooted into my Ubuntu partition, not there.

Simply... the software end is not seeing its existence at all. This leaves me to believe that the hard drive isn't working, but I ran into no problems at all with it before it stopped, no warnings or odd sounds or anything out of the ordinary.

Has this happened to anyone else? It seems bizarre that it simply wouldn't show up. I tried a system restore, and it still didn't find anything.
If my warranty is expired, is it worth it to open it up and have a look? I've built computers before but i'm still nervous about cracking this open if I need to get to the HDD to see if it came unplugged or something. If it is dead, is there a way to recover the info or is it just gone? The secondary drive was all of my media/games. Steam can cover the games but my movies are probably gone.
If my warranty is still good (doubtful iirc), is this something that I could rma since its internal and not caused by any user fault?


Thanks so much for your help!
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Retired
Not applicable

‎08-14-2011 04:27 PM

Opening it for the hard drives won't void the warranty (if you read the warranty text thoroughly, there is a section saying you are allowed to service the RAM and HDDs without voiding the warranty).

First, check the BIOS setup to make sure that the drive really isn't detected. Then, you can open it up (HDDs are easily accessible, simply open the big plastic cover in the underside where the four triangular rubber feets are; you have 2 screws, the rest unclips). Test the HDD on a desktop if you have access to that. If it doesn't work, then, it's the HDD. If it does, try sliding the HDD back in the enclosure. If it still doesn't work, you have a bigger problem on your end.
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Retired
Not applicable
In response to Retired

‎08-14-2011 05:34 PM

Now where exactly would I find it in the BIOS? I poked around, and the only place I really saw references would be the boot settings, where it listed my primary HDD and then the CD/DVD drive, no sign of the secondary.
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xeromist
Moderator

‎08-15-2011 12:18 PM

I thought I'd address your specific questions about data recovery. If the drive *is* dead then RMA would not do anything in terms of recovery. If your model came with the 2nd drive then they would likely replace it with a fresh one and call it done. Dead drives can sometimes be recovered by taking the control board from a working drive and installing it on the broken one. If the platters and mechanical components are still good then it would work like new. If there was some sort of mechanical failure then you are probably out of luck because transplanting the platters is not something even hardcore hobbyists do. That's the kind of work that expensive data recovery places do.
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NeOsTiM
Level 7
In response to xeromist

‎04-23-2013 10:26 PM

Update your BIOS to 213, I had the same problem for the last two years and the only reason I wouldn't update my BIOS is for the problems with the gpu which I fixed when I flashed the vBIOS. Maybe by now you have figured this out, but if not hope this works for you like it did me.
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gilbertramirezp
Level 8

‎04-29-2013 05:09 PM

I've had this problem before. Now I have a 250 GB SSD installed. I did go to the BIOS and the SSD wasn't being shown. I changed the setting for the IDE vs achd something or other and restarted going back to the bios. the drive appeared. I deleted the option for the second hard drive. My configuration was two 500 GB HD"s so I got rid of the second hard drive as a startup option and moved the SSD to the top choice and all was OK. Sorry that I don't remember the correct words for what I did but don't take the computer apart. remove the battery and the power source. Wait for tomorrow. and do the Bios thing. It will reappear there at it's own sweet time. good luck
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