What the hell happened here?

[ZYouL8R]

Let me start off by saying I'm making a vow to never work on computers again. Every time I do, something gets f'd up.

I have a laptop that's been screwed up for a while and I'm 99% sure it's the HD. To see if I can even get any data off the HD, I bought an IDE adapter to connect the laptop HD to my desktop. So tonight I hook up the HD using the IDE cable to one of my CD-Roms. No dice. The computer doesn't recognize it. So I shut down the computer, unplug one of my HDs, and use it's IDE cable for the laptop HD. Well, it doesn't boot. I swapped the HDs (since I have 2 in my desktop) and same result.

So I came to the conclusion that the laptop HD is official fubar and cut my losses. So I shut down the computer, plug my 2 desktop HDs back in, and the damn thing won't boot. It says the "config/system" file is corrupt or missing. Huh? All I did was swap around a couple cables trying to get an HD to work. How the hell could I have corrupted any files? It says to run the XP recovery CD to repair Windows. So I do, but it sends me to a DOS prompt and asks me for an admin password. Well, I don't have one. So I restart, and the same thing happens. So I say F it.

Hour later, I turn on the computer just hoping by some miracle it'll boot, and it does. WTFO? But now it's making me update to XP SP2 so I guess the recovery worked without me even enabling it.

So here's the $1M question: How the hell could I have corrupted any files by unplugging HDs? Could the laptop HD have screwed up my computer in any way?

Sorry for the novel, but I'm stumped and severely beaten down.

[Hunt4m3x]

Wow, we got a RedHornet JR over here.

Too bad you are in north ft worth

[elzoro]

hard drives are the most finicky part of a computer because they use so many moving parts. they can do strange things like this daily. some times just moving it wrong while its on or off can mess things up. just accept it as gremlins like the rest of us techies do

[Hunt4m3x]

When windows was trying to load, it prob fucked something.

[ZYouL8R]

[QUOTE=Hunt4m3x]Wow, we got a RedHornet JR over here.

Too bad you are in north ft worth[/QUOTE]

I'm guessing that's not a good thing.

Oh well, it works now and I'm not fucking with anymore shit. I still need to try to get data off that laptop HD but it's not going near my desktop.

Now I get to enjoy days worth of Windows automatic updates http://www.dfwstangs.net/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif

[Hunt4m3x]

[QUOTE=ZYouL8R]I'm guessing that's not a good thing.

Oh well, it works now and I'm not fucking with anymore shit. I still need to try to get data off that laptop HD but it's not going near my desktop.

Now I get to enjoy days worth of Windows automatic updates http://www.dfwstangs.net/forums/images/icons/icon14.gif[/QUOTE]



One day he decided he wanted to update his bios. He uses the mobo upgrade whatever, and it updates it. Reboots, and his raptor cannot be found. so he decides to pull the cmos battery and reset the bios settings. then all kinds of errors got throwed out. took me 10 minutes to fix, but he had to drive from 35e/635 to 635/30. haha, it happened more than once... :P

[Osiris]

[QUOTE=Hunt4m3x]One day he decided he wanted to update his bios. He uses the mobo upgrade whatever, and it updates it. Reboots, and his raptor cannot be found. so he decides to pull the cmos battery and reset the bios settings. then all kinds of errors got throwed out. took me 10 minutes to fix, but he had to drive from 35e/635 to 635/30. haha, it happened more than once... :P[/QUOTE]




Negative. The mobo fried after the BIOS update. That was determined after i reset the CMOS. Windows would NOT boot up what so ever. Hell, you should remember that. I then went and dropped ~$250 on a nice MOBO.
[size=2][/size]
[size=2]On a side note, I can fix my shit now. [/size]

[Hunt4m3x]

[QUOTE=RedHornet]Negative. The mobo fried after the BIOS update. That was determined after i reset the CMOS. Windows would NOT boot up what so ever. Hell, you should remember that. I then went and dropped ~$250 on a nice MOBO.
[size=2][/size]
[size=2]On a side note, I can fix my shit now. [/size][/QUOTE]



I am talking about the time before that, when it wouldn't boot up period. then the mobo fucked it self.

[White_lightning]

[QUOTE=Hunt4m3x]Wow, we got a RedHornet JR over here.

Too bad you are in north ft worth[/QUOTE]
oh shit.. buuuuuuuuuurn

[Osiris]

[QUOTE=Hunt4m3x]I am talking about the time before that, when it wouldn't boot up period. then the mobo fucked it self.[/QUOTE]

When I reset the CMOS is when the mobo fried. The time before that the mobo was being picky, and didn't want to install shit. You also had a shitty time getting everything to work. :)

[The Big Matt]

sounds like you didn't reset the cmos, but rather jumpered something that shouldn't have been. Good times

[Osiris]

[QUOTE=The Big Matt]sounds like you didn't reset the cmos, but rather jumpered something that shouldn't have been. Good times[/QUOTE]


Well, not really. The computer blue screened on me, and on reboot windows would not load. we tried everything. The C: drive loaded fine on another machine.

I reset the CMOS and there was no change. We ended up getting another mobo and scrapped the other POS.

[Hunt4m3x]

[QUOTE=RedHornet]Well, not really. The computer blue screened on me, and on reboot windows would not load. we tried everything. The C: drive loaded fine on another machine.

I reset the CMOS and there was no change. We ended up getting another mobo and scrapped the other POS.[/QUOTE]


Its all good. since you didn't "pay" for the new mobo.

[cltgt]

for future reference if you have to do this again, use a usb drive enclosure to recover data with. don't connect it to m/b

[ZYouL8R]

[QUOTE=cltgt]for future reference if you have to do this again, use a usb drive enclosure to recover data with. don't connect it to m/b[/QUOTE]

Yes, I learned my lesson. I'm just going to find another laptop to try the HD in. If it doesn't work, trash it I guess.

[cltgt]

you can pick up an enclosure for cheap

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?pfp=cat3&product_code=306130