HD failed on laptop, want to install SSD

[lippi]

My daughter knocked my Asus aspire 5750 off the table and since then it wont boot to windows. At first I got an error message about "no bootable device". It didnt see the HD in the bios and I tried checking the connection, taking the HD out and putting back in etc with no luck.

For some reason I then tryed booting using a windows DVD (which crashed before getting anywhere). The laptop now just states that "A disk read error occurred, press ctrl alt + delete to restart" and that's as far as I can get, other than getting into the bios, which now actually sees the HD. I assume it is pretty much dead.

I have ordered an SSD as a replacement, so just have a couple of questions please:

1) I assume there is nothing else I can do to try and access the old drive and that all the data is lost?

2) When the new SSD, do I simply replace the old HD with it, boot with a windows DVD and fresh install? Is there anything else I need to consider with using an SSD?

Thanks

 

[essenbe]

You may try to put the hard drive in an external enclosure and connect it to another PC to see if it can be read. If so, I would immediately copy all personal files off of it. most of your files can be located in C:/users/youruser name/. You can also try this http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/93347-copy-paste-windows-recovery-console.html with the drive still installed. It works well as long as windows can read the disk at all. You can also try a recovery using a Linux Live CD or USB, with the drive still installed. It runs in ram only and can read the other hard drive as long as it is readable.

As far as the SSD, install as usual. The Windows 7 installer will format and align it correctly as well as turn off the disk defragmenter for the SSD. You should have no problems at all.

The only thing that concerns me is you said you booted into the Windows DVD and crashed immediately. That really should not have happened and makes me at least curious if there are not some other problems from the laptop fall. You should be able to completely remove the hard drive and boot into the Windows DVD without issue if the crash was caused by the Hard drive. Of course there is little you can do, but it could ease your concerns that something else is damaged. You could also boot into a Linux Live CD or USB and see if they run OK.

When you get everything installed, come back and let us know how everything works. You are going to be very happy about the SSD. They are fantastic.

 

[lippi]

Thanks for your reply essenbe!

When I said the Windows DVD crashed, it got to the stage when I could select to install windows, but seemed to struggle after that, with the HD plugged in, so hopefully its nothing else. I will try that recovery console option you have linked to.

Other than that, great I will install windows 7 tomorrow when the SSD arrives and post back once its done