Out of Warranty Error Smart 301

[chilicasa]

I have a Compaq Presario CQ62

Out of warranty by 3 days when I first got an error of a Smart 301

This is when it boots up and advises that it has some kind of error about immeniate disk failure, the utility in the bios SMART says that the hard drive is bad and should be replaced.
Because it was out of warranty that weekend I did not get any assistance from Compaq or HP.

Since then I do not use this computer much.

Now I need to.

So this is what I have done.

I have purchased a Toshiba 500 GB hard drive to replace the 250GB

I also purchased a USB Drive Mate to run the new hard drive so that I may clone it.

I tried formatting it but get errors.

Questions are...

Do I need to Format the hard drive in windows 7?

Do I need to partition it the same as the old failing drive?

I have copied a set of recovery discs but not sure if they are working properly. How do I get another set.

I just want to clone the new hard drive and get on with life. I have a little comp knowledge but not enough to get me out of this.

Any thoughts or suggestions???

Im one click away from disaster!

Thanks

Terry

[DavidPK]

Hi Terry,

I would suggest trying the following to at least get you up and running with an operating system.

Before trying this, make sure you can still read the 25 alpha/numeric code from the Windows COA label underneath your notebook.  As long as you can, carry on with the procedure below.

First, use another PC to create a Retail Windows 7 installation disc yourself  - you must download the correct version, ie if your notebook originally came with Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit this is the exact version you would need to download.

Download the correct Disc Image from the link below and use an application such as ImgBurn to burn the ISO correctly to a blank DVD - a guide on using ImgBurn to write an ISO to a disc is Here.  These Images are clean and from a well-respected source, however there are only limited versions available.

Windows-7 sp1-iso-official-32-bit-and-64-bit

Use the disc to perform the installation, enter the Windows activation key found on the underside of your notebook when requested and when the installation has completed, use the 'Phone Method' detailed in the link below to activate the OS - this method supported by Microsoft and is popular with people who just want a clean installation of Windows 7 without the additional software load normally bundled with OEM installations.

http://www.kodyaz.com/articles/how-to-activate-windows-7-by-phone.aspx

Any additional drivers you may need can be found starting Here.

Provided this works OK, you may well find you will be able to retrieve files from the failed HDD using the external caddy.

Regards,

DP-K