door they sometimes need a bit of an extra push, especially at times of high
humidity or after an extended period without use.
Don’t panic. The next thing to do is see that the hard drive is properly con-
nected to the laptop. Most modern portable computers install the hard drive
in a bay or similar opening, much like the way the battery is attached.
Disconnect the AC adapter and remove the battery to remove the chances of
an electrical surge. Make certain the computer is sitting on a sturdy table.
Ground yourself, and then open the latch that holds the drive in place and
gently slide the drive out. Look for any signs of corrosion, dirt, or damage to
the connectors. If all seems in order, slide the drive back into its holder and
make sure it clicks into place. Reinstall the battery and then the AC adapter.
If the hard drive comes back to life after a momentary death (Do hard disks
see a flash of blinding light at the end?) you may want to consider this a
warning that a real ending is near. Make sure that you make backups of all
critical data files.
You may go weeks or months between intermittent failures, which you may
find tolerable. But if the stoppages begin to come more frequently, I advise
you to invest in a replacement hard drive and install it yourself; prices are so
low that there is little excuse not to have a machine that is ready to roll any
time you need it. (If your machine is still under warranty, you may have a hard
time convincing the manufacturer to replace the hard drive because of an
intermittent problem; keep at it, though, and insist on your right to compute.)
Another type of hard drive problem is the result of system boot track corrup-
tion. This can be caused by a momentary electrical problem or a computer
virus. Your hard drive will start to spin, your LCD will display the ordinary
System Setup information, and then you will see an onscreen message such
as this all-time favorite: “BOOT DISK FAILURE. Please insert a system disk and
reboot.”
Once again, the first thing to do is shut down the machine and then restart it
to see if this was a one-in-a-million error. If the computer comes to life and
Windows starts, the first thing you should do is run a system check utility
such as Norton SystemWorks or System Mechanic. If either of these programs
gives your machine a clean bill of health, the next step is to conduct a full
antivirus scan. Once that is completed, you can proceed with work; I suggest
updating your backups of essential data files.
You can use the original distribution disk for Windows (as supplied by the
maker of your laptop or as purchased from Microsoft) or a special system
restore disk you created using a program such as Norton Utilities to boot the
system from the CD drive.
Chapter 20: Ten Quick Solutions 309