ok, so here’s my issue: I bought my laptop in 2004. It had heating issues a few months ago; I took it to Staples. Diagnosis: fan was dead (which I figured as much) & the thermal paste was, according to the tech guy, quite a mess. I got it back 3/13/13, paid $249 for the diagnosis, new security software, & the fix. Probably a bit much, but I was desperate as all my music & pictures are on that HP (meanwhile I bought a Gateway on ebay, which I’m using again now, but I digress)..All was well with the HP..until last Tues. I used it Monday nite, shut down, and turned it on again Tues morning and got…nothing.
When I turn it on, I can hear the fan BUT the screen is black & the keyboard doesn’t respond. The dvd drive responds (well, the drawer opens & closes, but it’s still not playing the dvd). The “touch” buttons on the upper row are lit, but when I type, there is no response. I’ve tried almost EVERYTHING (I’m not about to “bake” my laptop) — I discharged it; I removed the adapter & left it on in its non cooperative state to drain the battery; My next plan is to discharge overnite & try again in the morning.
I’m dreading another trip to Staples (they charge $90 to even LOOK at it); I know a new laptop is in my future (again), but I still want the contents from the HP hard drive. I saw a USB dual hard drive dock on ebay..if I invest in that, can I use it to back up the HP hard drive to an external one (I have a new 1 TB for that purpose, just never got around to it).
http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-Dual-Hard-Dirve-HDD-Docking-Station-2-5-3-5-SATA-IDE-Hard-Disk-Dock-/331028620239?pt=US_Drive_Enclosures_Docks&hash=item4d12d7e3cf
Aside from that, is there any other option I may be missing where I can retrieve the hard drive? Many thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer…