.

The last thing on earth I would ever suggest using in a PC is a vacuum. They can create static electricity, which can fry components. To clean your PC, a can of compressed air is the preferred method, or an air compressor (if it has a oil/water trap).

I couldn't agree more!

whats a better way to break every PC component than using a non anti-static vac?

The best advice I would say is

1) back up the drive first - before you further damage it using your "vacuum", then at least you'll have your information for a new hard drive.

2) don't take it to the garage where moisture accumulates in mass quantities, but rather use a desk inside your house where its room temperature to open the PC

*note some computers dont use screws like Dells*

When the PC is open, DONT TOUCH NUFFIN!

Turn it on too see if you can identify which piece is making the noise.

power off again then use an Anti-static vacuum *or compressed air* to remove any dust (which accumulates in mass quantities) but don't touch any parts.

close it up and if the problem persists, well it was bound to happen. All computer parts fail at some point in their life.

If you defragmate your hard drive after you complete the above steps, it may simplify its allocation (where it places files) and fix the problem since the read/write head (the thing that makes the ticking noises) isn't bouncing back and fourth as much to find a file.

Does anyone know if I can replace a hard drive in a Sony Computer? Can I use an aftermarket HD?
I think I remember the sales guy saying something about this computer not being "upgradeable" when I bought it.

You should be able to, as drives are either PATA or SATA...you would need to find out which you have. Also, you should have a system restore disk that came with your PC, you will need this to reinstall Windows, as your motherboard will be proprietary (which can cause problems) and thus you may have problems installing Windows from a regular install disk. Also, that disk will have all of the drivers necessary for the peripherals on your PC. If you are not computer fluent, it may be best to take it in to a local shop and let them do the repair for you.

Hey Grizz Dude, JFK is right... you may be able to buy a replacement HD and install it, using your setup disc...

Hopefully all the setup files are on that setup CD and if they are not, they were probly on a special partition of the HD...

How old is the machine? If over 3 yrs old, hunt for a new one... Pc Power & storage has gone up, while price has come down...

If it were me, I wouldn't try repairing something thats too old, and therefor out dated...

A little update for anyone who cares..........
My computer is officially busted. It won't even boot up anymore.
The only computer I have access to right now is my work computer.
Hopefully, I will be able to afford a new one soon and get back to Sosaria. I miss it so.

Just to give anyone out there another option if experiencing the same problem, what I'm in the process of doing right now. My work comp is losing its harddrive I cant just back it all up as its networked with pos systems which run out front. So what im doing is adding a new harddrive as a slave, ghosting an image of primary to slave, then taking both out and making the slave the master

Hey Grizz,

Mine did the samething. I downloaded and started to play KR...it worked great for about 10 days and then my laptop "busted". I can't get it to turn on now. I am not sure and i don;t think it is KR (or atleast I hope not) I get a bad checksum error on a blue screen. So I reinstall windows and it still won't work. Does anyone out there know what I can do?

try this link to fix check sum error http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/booterrGBER08-c.html

Here's another option to consider...

RAID set ups are wonderful, this is where two drvs of the same size/model are used to "mirror" all the data of the entire drive onto both of the drives, boot sectors and everything is copied... This is the safest set up for data recovery, and lost time... as the computer operates, it automaticly makes two copies...

Very simular to Software mirring programs, but at the hardware level...

Many Mobos I've seen that have Sarial ATA controllers on them, also have support for RAID 0/1... If I remember right RAID 0 is striping (for performance) and RAID 1 is Mirriring (for safety)...

I myself am running a 3x 160g drive(s) striping array, which is not so good for safety, but it fly's when reading/writing files...

aye UOGuy is correct and Ive run with that exact setup in the past only to lose several harddrives thinking they were bad when in reality the raid card was the problem. If i had the time and the extra cash i would definitely go back to the raid card.