HELP, bad sectors found

thanks mate..

doomed.... DOS long test still didn't work. guess its down to warranties now. Thanks for the help guys.

Sorry to hear you're still having issues, Ryan. If your machine is still under warranty I'd definitely agree with Bill2's earlier post to see if you can get a replacement. If not, hard drives have come way down in price. I checked a couple of online stores and 500GB drives are about $60. Hopefully you'll have similar prices where you are.

Newegg.com - 500 gb 2.5

Or maybe even replace the HDD with a SSD for the operating system and use an external hard drive for programs, data, etc. All depends on your finances.

yeah, I'm planning to replace it with an SSD. I am currently based in saudi arabia right now. I wonder If SSD's are available here already. I really love the SAMSUNG RECOVERY SOLUTION program that came with my laptop. I wonder if I can still have it when I change to SSD later on. By the way, how much does SSD's cost atm?

SSD prices are still on the high side compared to HDDs. I recently read that HDD prices are about 10¢ per gigabyte (1TB HDD = $100.) while SSDs can be around $1.50 - $2.00/GB. Some representative pricing can be found at Newegg and TigerDirect.

Newegg.com - SSD

Search Results for ssd hard drives at TigerDirect.com

If you were able to image your apparently failing hard drive you should be able to restore that image to a new drive. (The caveat here is some imaging tools won't let you go from a larger drive to a smaller drive.) The image would include everything, even the Samsung Recovery Solution. Or I'd guess you'd be able to get it from Samsung's support site since it's a free untility offered by 3rd party download sites like Softpedia.

Download Samsung Recovery Solution 5.0.0.7 Free - This program restores the hard disk drive when a serous problem occurs in the system or backs up the contents of the hard disk drive - Softpedia

I think a program caused my drive to have bad sectors. There's this game that I always play and when I'm done and about to exit the program It just gets stuck and I would have to force shutdown my laptop this happens 7 out of 10 times when I use the game. I'll just get 2 500 GB then. Download SRS 5.0 now. Thanks a lot mate.

By the way mars, how about my operating system? how could I boot my new drive with the image that I created from my previous drive? Would it not compromise the integrity of the new drive due to the image created was erroneous from the beginning?

Zyrandiel said:

I think a program caused my drive to have bad sectors. There's this game that I always play and when I'm done and about to exit the program It just gets stuck and I would have to force shutdown my laptop this happens 7 out of 10 times when I use the game. I'll just get 2 500 GB then. Download SRS 5.0 now. Thanks a lot mate.

By the way mars, how about my operating system? how could I boot my new drive with the image that I created from my previous drive? Would it not compromise the integrity of the new drive due to the image created was erroneous from the beginning?

Couple more warnings about those new 500GB discs. If they are "bare" you would need to follow these instructions and partition first, format second. Ordinarily I'd suggest using a System Repair Disk to boot into the new hard drive and then install the previous system image to the drive. But under your circumstances I would not want to take a chance. I'd rather go through the added hassle of doing a Clean Install. If you're still planning on contacting Samsung about the hard drive warranty, you might also ask them if they would sell you a set of recovery disks for your machine. If not you could probably borrow the exact install media (version and bitness) from somebody else (maybe your IT guys, a local computer club, etc) and use your laptop's COA/Product Key for reactivation.

doomed again. Clean install? When I bought my laptop, it didn't come with any Installers for the OS and all the other programs. They just told me to make a complete backup through the RECOVERY SOLUTION that the unit came with so when any problem arise I could just restore from there. COA/Product Key? I'm kinda lost mate. I don't have any idea about this drive changing thing. what did you mean by borrow the exact media? forget about the IT guys here... they're non-existent in my workplace. they just get called on when there's a problem in the office. I've been troubleshooting any problems that I get eversince with the great help of this site.

No problems, Ryan. :)

First question, did you make a complete backup (system image) when you first got your machine? If yes, where did you store the image? On a different (external) hard drive or on the same hard drive that appears to be failing? If on the failing HD it might be a problem retrieving/using that image. Can't say for sure, especially if some of those bad sectors are where the image was saved.

The COA/Product Key is usually found on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop. It would be 5 sets of 5 alpha/numeric digits. Like A123B-345CD-XYZAA-567HG-QRST9. If you had to use an actual installation DVD (which you don't have) you'd be prompted to enter that 25 digit string as your authentication code to activate Windows 7. It's an anti-piracy thing.

Since you don't have your own installation DVD, you could borrow someone elses as long as it matches the Windows 7 installed on your machine. I believe you have Home Premium 32-bit. That's what you'd have to use. Not Windows 7 Pro, not Windows 7 Ultimate, and not any 64-bit version. As long as you use HP 32-bit you could Clean Install the operating system and use your COA/Product Key. Unfortunately, a Clean Install won't help at all for any other programs that might have been installed at the factory. That's why it might be best to try to order a set of recovery disks from Samsung. Those disks would return your machine to the exact same condition it was in when it left the factory.

Yes I made an Initial Backup Image the first time I booted my laptop. I think it's located in a separate area inside the drive. I think it's a hidden drive, is there such a thing? I think there was a 15GB separate area. But it's not visible. I think I just just glimpsed it that time when I first booted my laptop and I was on the stage where I should make partitions on the HDD. How about the BIOS and stuff? When i buy a new HDD and replace the old HDD in my laptop, what should be done next? I didn't Imagine it would be this early. my unit just turned 1 year old last JUNE 16. But it's still working now. I'm just worried about the implications of having some bad sectors in the HDD and just ignore it.