Tosh' update - dead HD

Sorry to be so late getting back to let you all know what happened with the
Toshiba. The connector came and the HD could not be seen in Window's
explorer. I tried on 2 other W7 computers here. Nothing.

I made a Rescue CD from the old W7 desktop and it loaded in the Tosh but
there was nothing from the HD.

So the Tosh sits here until I decide what to do with it. We're thinking of
taking it to a tech' to replace the HD and OS with W7. Is that possible
does anyone know, or does MS control what they can install? Forcing the
sale of W10? My youngest doesn't want this Notebook with W10 because her
favorite game will not run properly on it. It runs for about 5 minutes then
freezes. We tried all the compatibility settings and none worked.

Now we know for sure what the Toshiba's problem was. That scrutch sound I
heard that night was the dying gasp of it's HD.

HB wrote:
Sorry to be so late getting back to let you all know what happened with the
Toshiba. The connector came and the HD could not be seen in Window's
explorer. I tried on 2 other W7 computers here. Nothing.

I made a Rescue CD from the old W7 desktop and it loaded in the Tosh but
there was nothing from the HD.

So the Tosh sits here until I decide what to do with it. We're thinking of
taking it to a tech' to replace the HD and OS with W7. Is that possible
does anyone know, or does MS control what they can install? Forcing the
sale of W10? My youngest doesn't want this Notebook with W10 because her
favorite game will not run properly on it. It runs for about 5 minutes then
freezes. We tried all the compatibility settings and none worked.

Now we know for sure what the Toshiba's problem was. That scrutch sound I
heard that night was the dying gasp of it's HD.



Heidoc has Win7 downloads working again, but the rate of URL
generation is throttled, due to the new method being used.

The "requirements" are the modernity of the runtime environment
when using the downloader. It "needs" IE8 because the TechBench
site the Heidoc downloader visits, uses ActiveX.

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/techno...-download-tool

Download: Windows ISO Downloader.exe
Version: 6.01
Release Date: 15 April 2018
Requirements: Windows 7 or newer, .NET Framework 4.x,
Internet Explorer 8 or newer.

Make sure you know what SKU of Windows 7 you've got, before
getting your download. For example, a typical home user
receives a laptop with "Windows 7 Home Premium x64".
Make sure you know what the laptop COA sticker is good
for, before you start a download.

(I have reinstalled a retail Windows 7 Home Premium x64 in
place of the Acer version of OS on my laptop, using these methods.)

Once you have the 3.5GB downloaded ISO and made a DVD of it,
you can purchase a new blank hard drive, to do the
install, and install the OS yourself. The OS will request
phone activation, which is an automated service with no
human. You need a touch tone phone to work it. The laptop
screen will present a 56 digit number. You type that
number on the touch tone phone pad. The activation server
will "speak" a 56 digit number in response. Type the returned
number into the laptop, and it should activate.

If for some reason, you buy the replacement laptop hard
drive, and are unable to install the OS, a place like Geek Squad
will "charge $200" for an OS installation procedure. There is
money to be saved by doing it yourself.

If you take the laptop to a computer store, tell them
the drive is dead, and you'd like to buy a new one,
they can help you with selecting a SATA or IDE. On my
laptop, removing two screws exposes the hard drive.
You can either remove the hard drive and show them,
or expose the bottom of the laptop so they can see
what type it is.

When they ask "what size do you want", tell them "small one".
Today, a 500GB uses one side of a single platter, and
it just might be marginally more reliable than a 7mm high
2TB drive. Your drive is probably 9.5mm and should be
replaced with a 9.5mm drive. Historically, 9.5mm is the
go-to size in the last ten years or so, and should still be
available. Don't fall for any "for $10 more, we can give
you a 2TB drive" bull****. Stick with a small one.

On my laptop, it's pretty easy to get the drive out.
Two screws removes the drive bay cover. I can use
jewelers Philips for that, or use my smallest
hex driver Philips (which has a sharp enough point).
The SATA drive tray slides backwards, and once the
connector is clear, you can lift the drive tray out.
Using your jewelers screwdrivers (definitely jewelers
for these screws), you remove the four drive retainer
screws to get it out of the tray. Don't over-tighten
the screws. Make them finger tight, but don't strip
the aluminum drive body by "cranking".

Paul

"Paul" wrote in message
news
HB wrote:
Sorry to be so late getting back to let you all know what happened with
the Toshiba. The connector came and the HD could not be seen in Window's
explorer. I tried on 2 other W7 computers here. Nothing.

I made a Rescue CD from the old W7 desktop and it loaded in the Tosh but
there was nothing from the HD.

So the Tosh sits here until I decide what to do with it. We're thinking
of taking it to a tech' to replace the HD and OS with W7. Is that
possible does anyone know, or does MS control what they can install?
Forcing the sale of W10? My youngest doesn't want this Notebook with W10
because her favorite game will not run properly on it. It runs for about
5 minutes then freezes. We tried all the compatibility settings and none
worked.

Now we know for sure what the Toshiba's problem was. That scrutch sound I
heard that night was the dying gasp of it's HD.

Heidoc has Win7 downloads working again, but the rate of URL
generation is throttled, due to the new method being used.

The "requirements" are the modernity of the runtime environment
when using the downloader. It "needs" IE8 because the TechBench
site the Heidoc downloader visits, uses ActiveX.

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/techno...-download-tool

Download: Windows ISO Downloader.exe
Version: 6.01
Release Date: 15 April 2018
Requirements: Windows 7 or newer, .NET Framework 4.x,
Internet Explorer 8 or newer.

Make sure you know what SKU of Windows 7 you've got, before
getting your download. For example, a typical home user
receives a laptop with "Windows 7 Home Premium x64".
Make sure you know what the laptop COA sticker is good
for, before you start a download.

(I have reinstalled a retail Windows 7 Home Premium x64 in
place of the Acer version of OS on my laptop, using these methods.)

Once you have the 3.5GB downloaded ISO and made a DVD of it,
you can purchase a new blank hard drive, to do the
install, and install the OS yourself. The OS will request
phone activation, which is an automated service with no
human. You need a touch tone phone to work it. The laptop
screen will present a 56 digit number. You type that
number on the touch tone phone pad. The activation server
will "speak" a 56 digit number in response. Type the returned
number into the laptop, and it should activate.

If for some reason, you buy the replacement laptop hard
drive, and are unable to install the OS, a place like Geek Squad
will "charge $200" for an OS installation procedure. There is
money to be saved by doing it yourself.

If you take the laptop to a computer store, tell them
the drive is dead, and you'd like to buy a new one,
they can help you with selecting a SATA or IDE. On my
laptop, removing two screws exposes the hard drive.
You can either remove the hard drive and show them,
or expose the bottom of the laptop so they can see
what type it is.

When they ask "what size do you want", tell them "small one".
Today, a 500GB uses one side of a single platter, and
it just might be marginally more reliable than a 7mm high
2TB drive. Your drive is probably 9.5mm and should be
replaced with a 9.5mm drive. Historically, 9.5mm is the
go-to size in the last ten years or so, and should still be
available. Don't fall for any "for $10 more, we can give
you a 2TB drive" bull****. Stick with a small one.

On my laptop, it's pretty easy to get the drive out.
Two screws removes the drive bay cover. I can use
jewelers Philips for that, or use my smallest
hex driver Philips (which has a sharp enough point).
The SATA drive tray slides backwards, and once the
connector is clear, you can lift the drive tray out.
Using your jewelers screwdrivers (definitely jewelers
for these screws), you remove the four drive retainer
screws to get it out of the tray. Don't over-tightenor the screws. Make
them finger tight, but don't strip
the aluminum drive body by "cranking".

Paul

Thank you for this info. It really is helpful.

In message , Paul
writes:
HB wrote:
Sorry to be so late getting back to let you all know what happened

Thanks for coming back anyway!

with the Toshiba. The connector came and the HD could not be seen in
Window's explorer. I tried on 2 other W7 computers here. Nothing.

Agreed, pretty definite that the drive is dead. Hang on to the "cable"
though. (Depending on your level of paranoia, you can always wonder if
the "cable" is a dud - it was cheap, after all; have you tried other
drives on it? Could you hear/feel the drive spin up on it? But let's
assume it is the drive that was dud. Doesn't matter anyway; what follows
is assuming that.)

I made a Rescue CD from the old W7 desktop and it loaded in the Tosh

Excellent, so you've now made two bootable optical discs - the FatDog
Linux one, and that one - that boot on the laptop. (Though I think both
CDs; I presume the drive can actually read DVDs. But I think that's
likely; I don't think a W7-era laptop would have a drive that couldn't
at least _read_ DVDs.)

but there was nothing from the HD.

Not surprising. And does tend to support that it is the HD that's gone,
rather than the cable being dud.

So the Tosh sits here until I decide what to do with it. We're
thinking of taking it to a tech' to replace the HD and OS with W7. Is
that possible does anyone know, or does MS control what they can
install? Forcing the sale of W10? My youngest doesn't want this

I'd say, whatever M$ order, you should be able to find someone who will
do it - but I'd do it yourself, as otherwise the cost will still be a
lot. Now we've more or less decided that you're not going to get
_anything_ off the old drive, the decision has been made for us - it's
going to be a clean install of W7. Now that Paul says the Heidoc site it
working again, which will enable you to get a legal install DVD for free
(other than the price of the DVD blank) from Microsoft, I'd go that way;
installing Windows from a CD to "bare metal" - i. e. a new drive - is
pretty trivial (though takes a while), and then activating it is again
trivial.

Notebook with W10 because her favorite game will not run properly on
it. It runs for about 5 minutes then freezes. We tried all the
compatibility settings and none worked.

(Care to tell us what the game is?)

Now we know for sure what the Toshiba's problem was. That scrutch
sound I heard that night was the dying gasp of it's HD.

Heidoc has Win7 downloads working again, but the rate of URL
generation is throttled, due to the new method being used.

The "requirements" are the modernity of the runtime environment
when using the downloader. It "needs" IE8 because the TechBench
site the Heidoc downloader visits, uses ActiveX.

What this means is you basically get the Heidoc downloader, on one of
your W7 machines with IE8, and run it, specify which sort of Windows the
sticker is for, type in the code from your Microsoft sticker, and it
will download an ISO of the W7 install DVD from Microsoft for you. You
then burn that, and you have a DVD which will boot on the affected PC,
and would install W7 onto a new HD you buy for it. (I wouldn't try
messing with a USB stick - just go straight to DVD.) [Remember, use the
burn-from-ISO-image method in whichever burn software you use, not just
a plain burn; when you look as the DVD you've made afterwards, in
Explorer, you should see lots of files on it - if you just see one .iso
file, you've done it wrong.]

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/techno.../67-microsoft-
windows-iso-download-tool

Download: Windows ISO Downloader.exe
Version: 6.01
Release Date: 15 April 2018
Requirements: Windows 7 or newer, .NET Framework 4.x,
Internet Explorer 8 or newer.

Make sure you know what SKU of Windows 7 you've got, before
getting your download. For example, a typical home user
receives a laptop with "Windows 7 Home Premium x64".

That's what I'd expect to see too. A _few_ machines were sold with Pro
instead of Home Premium, but not many. (From the spec. of the machine,
it won't be Basic.)

Make sure you know what the laptop COA sticker is good
for, before you start a download.
[]
Once you have the 3.5GB downloaded ISO and made a DVD of it,
you can purchase a new blank hard drive, to do the
install, and install the OS yourself. The OS will request
phone activation, which is an automated service with no
human. You need a touch tone phone to work it. The laptop
screen will present a 56 digit number. You type that
number on the touch tone phone pad. The activation server
will "speak" a 56 digit number in response. Type the returned
number into the laptop, and it should activate.

Sounds scary, but isn't. It will repeat things for you. Do have a pen
and paper to hand, obviously!

If for some reason, you buy the replacement laptop hard
drive, and are unable to install the OS, a place like Geek Squad
will "charge $200" for an OS installation procedure. There is
money to be saved by doing it yourself.

Plus great satisfaction, and experience to be gained.

If you take the laptop to a computer store, tell them
the drive is dead, and you'd like to buy a new one,
they can help you with selecting a SATA or IDE. On my
[snip]
I'm pretty sure he has already got the drive out, and established that
it's a SATA, since he's been trying it - on his other computers - using
the "cable" that he bought.

When they ask "what size do you want", tell them "small one".
Today, a 500GB uses one side of a single platter, and

(Wow, I hadn't realised that!)

it just might be marginally more reliable than a 7mm high
2TB drive. Your drive is probably 9.5mm and should be
replaced with a 9.5mm drive. Historically, 9.5mm is the
go-to size in the last ten years or so, and should still be
available. Don't fall for any "for $10 more, we can give
you a 2TB drive" bull****. Stick with a small one.

When I bought a new one recently, I went for a 1 TB, but then it was for
this my main machine; I'd about half filled the 250G drive on the XP
machine that died (taking several years to do so), and was thinking of
getting 500G, but the price difference to a 1 TB wasn't great; to a 2 TB
was getting out of the sweet spot pricewise, plus like Paul I thought it
might be _slightly_ less reliable. You might do fine with a 500G.
Although I hope that you end up with a machine that's much more usable
(i. e. faster) than it was - the slowness probably having been due to
the drive - so you might actually use it more. (Though unless you
download a lot of video, even 500G will take a while to fill!)

On my laptop, it's pretty easy to get the drive out.
Two screws removes the drive bay cover. I can use
jewelers Philips for that, or use my smallest
hex driver Philips (which has a sharp enough point).
The SATA drive tray slides backwards, and once the
connector is clear, you can lift the drive tray out.

As I said above, I think he's already got it out, as he's been using it
(or trying to) on his other computers via the USB-to-SATA "cable" he
bought. (One with two USB plugs,)

Using your jewelers screwdrivers (definitely jewelers
for these screws), you remove the four drive retainer
screws to get it out of the tray. Don't over-tighten
the screws. Make them finger tight, but don't strip
the aluminum drive body by "cranking".

Paul

Once you've got the machine back up and running (and, perhaps, split the
drive into two partitions - shrink C: to say 100G, then make a new
partition D: in the released space) - MAKE A BOOT CD AND AN IMAGE so you
don't have to go through this palaver again if the new drive dies in the
future! I think Paul, and certainly I, would use Macrium boot CD and
image, but anything is better than nothing, even the facility built into
Windows. The image should fit onto your Seagate drive, and probably
leave room for images of some other machines too.
AND DO THE SAME FOR YOUR OTHER COMPUTERS TOO! (If you use Macrium, one
boot CD will do for all of them [though having two copies wouldn't
hurt]; I _think_ the same is true of the Microsoft imager.)

Others may disagree with me, but I'd say don't stop making System
Restore points - but that (as you've found!) is NOT a substitute for a
proper boot-CD-plus-image! (You should make a new image from time to
time - you can overwrite old ones when you run out of space. Though it
might be worth buying a bigger empty drive, maybe at the same time as
you buy this one; you just need a bare drive, not one made up into a box
like the Seagate, as you can use your "cable" with it.) System Restore
is a quick and rather opaque way (meaning you don't quite know what it
is doing) of undoing changes you've recently made, such as a software
install or Windows "up"grade, when you find something's not working as
it was and you're fairly sure what you did that caused it; it still
relies on Windows booting to the point where you can _do_ a restore,
which won't boot at all if the HD has died.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn't the work he is supposed to
be doing at the moment. -Robert Benchley, humorist, drama critic, and actor
(1889-1945)

On 16/04/2018 07:15, HB wrote:
The connector came and the HD could not be seen in Window's
explorer. I tried on 2 other W7 computers here. Nothing.

Did you look for the HDD in 'Disk Manager'?

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
In message , Paul
writes:
HB wrote:
Sorry to be so late getting back to let you all know what happened

Thanks for coming back anyway!

with the Toshiba. The connector came and the HD could not be seen in
Window's explorer. I tried on 2 other W7 computers here. Nothing.

Agreed, pretty definite that the drive is dead. Hang on to the "cable"
though. (Depending on your level of paranoia, you can always wonder if the
"cable" is a dud - it was cheap, after all; have you tried other drives on
it? Could you hear/feel the drive spin up on it? But let's assume it is
the drive that was dud. Doesn't matter anyway; what follows is assuming
that.)

I made a Rescue CD from the old W7 desktop and it loaded in the Tosh

Excellent, so you've now made two bootable optical discs - the FatDog
Linux one, and that one - that boot on the laptop. (Though I think both
CDs; I presume the drive can actually read DVDs. But I think that's
likely; I don't think a W7-era laptop would have a drive that couldn't at
least _read_ DVDs.)

but there was nothing from the HD.

Not surprising. And does tend to support that it is the HD that's gone,
rather than the cable being dud.

I'm convinced the HD is dead. I priced a new stolid state HD at Best Buy.
Very reasonable at $49. They don't sell or install W-7, only W-10. The
guy said there's too many problems with activating W-7. I took that for BS.
It would cost $200 to have them install a new HD and W-10. That covers
labor, the HD and the W-10 OS. Seems kind of high when new laptops and
notebooks are going for as little as $249 at the WalMart stores.


So the Tosh sits here until I decide what to do with it. We're thinking
of taking it to a tech' to replace the HD and OS with W7. Is that
possible does anyone know, or does MS control what they can install?
Forcing the sale of W10? My youngest doesn't want this


I'd say, whatever M$ order, you should be able to find someone who will do
it - but I'd do it yourself, as otherwise the cost will still be a lot.
Now we've more or less decided that you're not going to get _anything_ off
the old drive, the decision has been made for us - it's going to be a
clean install of W7. Now that Paul says the Heidoc site it working again,
which will enable you to get a legal install DVD for free (other than the
price of the DVD blank) from Microsoft, I'd go that way; installing
Windows from a CD to "bare metal" - i. e. a new drive - is pretty trivial
(though takes a while), and then activating it is again trivial.

I downloaded the "download tool" from there and have no idea what the next
step is. I don't know where to go from here.


Notebook with W10 because her favorite game will not run properly on it.
It runs for about 5 minutes then freezes. We tried all the compatibility
settings and none worked.

(Care to tell us what the game is?)

That issue has been handled. Exiting Malwarebytes before she opened the game
stopped the errors and freezes. The name is Fishdom-3.


Now we know for sure what the Toshiba's problem was. That scrutch sound
I heard that night was the dying gasp of it's HD.

Heidoc has Win7 downloads working again, but the rate of URL
generation is throttled, due to the new method being used.

Except for the first computer made for me by a friend, all the PCs I ever
bought had the OS already installed. He installed that one from a disc and
gave me the disc. That was W-95. I never downloaded an OS from the net to
install on a PC.


The "requirements" are the modernity of the runtime environment
when using the downloader. It "needs" IE8 because the TechBench
site the Heidoc downloader visits, uses ActiveX.

What this means is you basically get the Heidoc downloader, on one of your
W7 machines with IE8, and run it, specify which sort of Windows the
sticker is for, type in the code from your Microsoft sticker, and it will
download an ISO of the W7 install DVD from Microsoft for you. You then
burn that, and you have a DVD which will boot on the affected PC, and
would install W7 onto a new HD you buy for it. (I wouldn't try messing
with a USB stick - just go straight to DVD.) [Remember, use the
burn-from-ISO-image method in whichever burn software you use, not just a
plain burn; when you look as the DVD you've made afterwards, in Explorer,
you should see lots of files on it - if you just see one .iso file, you've
done it wrong.]

I'd have to download IE8 because I use MozillaFFox. When I burned the
Rescue Disc on the old desktop it automatically burned the disc as the
correct kind of file. I didn't have to chose what kind or type it was. I
don't know what software it used to burn the disc. Something that came on
the PC I assume.


https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/techno.../67-microsoft-
windows-iso-download-tool

Download: Windows ISO Downloader.exe
Version: 6.01
Release Date: 15 April 2018
Requirements: Windows 7 or newer, .NET Framework 4.x,
Internet Explorer 8 or newer.

Make sure you know what SKU of Windows 7 you've got, before
getting your download. For example, a typical home user
receives a laptop with "Windows 7 Home Premium x64".

That's what I'd expect to see too. A _few_ machines were sold with Pro
instead of Home Premium, but not many. (From the spec. of the machine, it
won't be Basic.)

That's what the Tosh' is.


The activation server
will "speak" a 56 digit number in response. Type the returned
number into the laptop, and it should activate.

Sounds scary, but isn't. It will repeat things for you. Do have a pen and
paper to hand, obviously!

But what is the MS number that must be called to enter the 56 digit number?
There must be a special number to call.


If for some reason, you buy the replacement laptop hard
drive, and are unable to install the OS, a place like Geek Squad
will "charge $200" for an OS installation procedure. There is
money to be saved by doing it yourself.

Plus great satisfaction, and experience to be gained.

Any loss would be the cost of the HD - right? There is no charge for W-7
download?

When I bought a new one recently, I went for a 1 TB, but then it was for
this my main machine; I'd about half filled the 250G drive on the XP
machine that died (taking several years to do so), and was thinking of
getting 500G, but the price difference to a 1 TB wasn't great; to a 2 TB
was getting out of the sweet spot pricewise, plus like Paul I thought it
might be _slightly_ less reliable. You might do fine with a 500G.

That would be plenty for games for the girls. By they time they outgrow it
they'll be into smart phones and boys.

Although I hope that you end up with a machine that's much more usable (i.
e. faster) than it was - the slowness probably having been due to the
drive - so you might actually use it more. (Though unless you download a
lot of video, even 500G will take a while to fill!)

500G would be more than enough. True, if it was faster it would have gotten
a lot more use.

I, would use Macrium boot CD and image, but anything is better than
nothing, even the facility built into Windows. The image should fit onto
your Seagate drive, and probably leave room for images of some other
machines too.

On thing at a time. :^)

AND DO THE SAME FOR YOUR OTHER COMPUTERS TOO! (If you use Macrium, one
boot CD will do for all of them [though having two copies wouldn't hurt];
I _think_ the same is true of the Microsoft imager.)

Which Macrium do I download? There appears to be more than a few choices.
Which would be the best and easiest for a non-techie type like me to use?
Do they all make boot discs? I have to read more at the site when I have
time.

......... such as a software
install or Windows "up"grade, when you find something's not working as it
was and you're fairly sure what you did that caused it; it still relies on
Windows booting to the point where you can _do_ a restore, which won't
boot at all if the HD has died.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf


--
Microsoft motto "if it ain't broke keep fixing it till it is."

"Patrick" wrote in message
news
On 16/04/2018 07:15, HB wrote:
The connector came and the HD could not be seen in Window's
explorer. I tried on 2 other W7 computers here. Nothing.

Did you look for the HDD in 'Disk Manager'?


Never heard of that. I always looked at the bottom of the tree in
WindowsExplorer. That's where I would always find anything plugged into the
USB ports. They show up under the DVD/CD drive.

I just looked for "disk manager". Agent ransack didn't find it. Search
didn't find it. Run didn't find it. I have no idea how to locate it.

On Tue, 17 Apr 2018 22:48:23 -0400, "HB" wrote:


"Patrick" wrote in message
news
On 16/04/2018 07:15, HB wrote:
The connector came and the HD could not be seen in Window's
explorer. I tried on 2 other W7 computers here. Nothing.

Did you look for the HDD in 'Disk Manager'?


Never heard of that. I always looked at the bottom of the tree in
WindowsExplorer. That's where I would always find anything plugged into the
USB ports. They show up under the DVD/CD drive.

I just looked for "disk manager". Agent ransack didn't find it. Search
didn't find it. Run didn't find it. I have no idea how to locate it.

You could have clicked on the Start button and searched for
Device Manager.

On 18/04/2018 03:48, HB wrote:
"Patrick" wrote in message
news
On 16/04/2018 07:15, HB wrote:
The connector came and the HD could not be seen in Window's
explorer. I tried on 2 other W7 computers here. Nothing.

Did you look for the HDD in 'Disk Manager'?


Never heard of that. I always looked at the bottom of the tree in
WindowsExplorer. That's where I would always find anything plugged into the
USB ports. They show up under the DVD/CD drive.
If the Drive is corrupted, it may not have a drive letter and not show
in Windows Explorer, it may hohever show in Disk Management, in which
case any Partitions could be deleted and a new one created.

I just looked for "disk manager". Agent ransack didn't find it. Search
didn't find it. Run didn't find it. I have no idea how to locate it.
My fault, the required file is called 'diskmgmt.msc'. If you try AR
again with this, it will find 8 of the mentioned file.



A way to 'Disk Manager' (diskmgmt.msc) is to;
Goto the Control Panel, (Change the 'View by:' to 'Large icons' or
'Small icons'.
Click on 'Administrative Tools', In the righthand pain.
Double click on 'Computer Management'.
In the left pane click on 'Disk Management'

_Alternately_, you can navigate to (and 'Run') the required file he

C:\Windows\system32\diskmgmt.msc

********
If you want to make a link to this file (for future use perhaps), then
you can right-click on the file, move the cursor down to 'Send to' then
move-to and click on 'Desktop (create shortcut)'.

On 18/04/2018 03:57, Good Guy wrote:
On 16/04/2018 07:15, HB wrote:
So the Tosh sits here until I decide what to do with it. We're thinking of
taking it to a tech' to replace the HD and OS with W7. Is that possible
does anyone know, or does MS control what they can install?
Why can't you do yourself?Â* It's pretty easy to change a HD on Toshiba.
See these videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE27jXKi2Ww

After inserting the new Drive, you can then clone your old drive on to
the new drive and you are done.
The old drive is thought to be Kaput (Norwegian Blue etc.),
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vuW6tQ0218
So; in which case it couldn't be cloned.

Â* Nothing to ask Microsoft and it is all
legit.
Agreed


To clone a HD, you'll find many videos on youtube.

In message , HB writes:
[]
I'm convinced the HD is dead. I priced a new stolid state HD at Best Buy.
Very reasonable at $49. They don't sell or install W-7, only W-10. The
guy said there's too many problems with activating W-7. I took that for BS.
It would cost $200 to have them install a new HD and W-10. That covers
labor, the HD and the W-10 OS. Seems kind of high when new laptops and
notebooks are going for as little as $249 at the WalMart stores.

Yes. The price of a Windows licence, when sold separately rather than as
part of a PC, definitely discourages - in fact IMO killed (from around
XP onwards), apart from for real enthusiasts - home assembly of a PC
(even a desktop one). But $49 definitely sounds worthwhile to get what
sounds like a reasonable machine back going. (Just one thing to check -
whether the dead drive was 7 or 9 mm thick. If 7, make sure the
replacement is, or if not that the space for it is deep enough; if 9,
then I think either thickness of replacement will fit.)
[]
I downloaded the "download tool" from there and have no idea what the next
step is. I don't know where to go from here.

I'm not sure what you're referring to there. If you mean the Heidoc tool
for downloading a Windows 7 installation DVD image, my understanding is
that you now run that tool, and you will be presented with a list of
Windows variants (Basic, Home, Pro, etc., 32 or 64 bit), from which you
select the appropriate one, then enter your
XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX key from the Microsoft sticker, and it
will then download - from Microsoft, not from Heidoc, so it's genuine
and legal - a .iso image of the appropriate installation disc. But I've
not actually used the Heidoc tool myself, so check with Paul's
instructions in case I'm in error about some aspect - or just try it,
you won't lose anything by doing so.
[]
(Care to tell us what the game is?)

That issue has been handled. Exiting Malwarebytes before she opened the game
stopped the errors and freezes. The name is Fishdom-3.

Glad you've got it sorted.

Now we know for sure what the Toshiba's problem was. That scrutch sound
I heard that night was the dying gasp of it's HD.

There's the remote possibility that it might just have its partition
table, boot sector, or similar, corrupted, which might stop it showing
up as extra letters in Explorer: this is what the suggestion of using
diskmgmt.msc ("Create and format hard disc partitions") is about. But
let's assume it is dud for now - we'll maybe look into that (much)
later. (Even if it's OK hardware-wise, it's probably corrupted enough
that we're not going to recover the Windows installation that was on it,
so let's proceed with installing on a new HD.)


Heidoc has Win7 downloads working again, but the rate of URL
generation is throttled, due to the new method being used.

Except for the first computer made for me by a friend, all the PCs I ever
bought had the OS already installed. He installed that one from a disc and

That is indeed the way the vast majority of machines are sold nowadays.

gave me the disc. That was W-95. I never downloaded an OS from the net to
install on a PC.

(Well, actually, you have: the FatDog Linux! I'm pretty sure it would
have been possible to install that onto a working HD if there had been
one.) The Heidoc system will, AIUI, enable you to download an image of a
disc that should work, though I think it's specific to that PC.
[]
I'd have to download IE8 because I use MozillaFFox. When I burned the

If you've got Windows 7, you've got IE, even if you don't use it. It'll
be in Start Programs somewhere, if not on your desktop or even pinned to
your taskbar (a blue "e" icon). Fire it up, then click Help (Alt-H if
you can't see Help), then A (for About), and it'll show you what version
you've got. FWIW I too use Firefox (or Chrome), but I seem to have IE11.
(I _think_ IE8 _or later_ will do - I don't think it has to be
specifically 8; Paul, does it?)

Rescue Disc on the old desktop it automatically burned the disc as the
correct kind of file. I didn't have to chose what kind or type it was. I
don't know what software it used to burn the disc. Something that came on
the PC I assume.

Yes, it used something built into Windows.

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/techno.../67-microsoft-
windows-iso-download-tool

Download: Windows ISO Downloader.exe
Version: 6.01
Release Date: 15 April 2018
Requirements: Windows 7 or newer, .NET Framework 4.x,
Internet Explorer 8 or newer.

Make sure you know what SKU of Windows 7 you've got, before
getting your download. For example, a typical home user
receives a laptop with "Windows 7 Home Premium x64".

That's what I'd expect to see too. A _few_ machines were sold with Pro
instead of Home Premium, but not many. (From the spec. of the machine, it
won't be Basic.)

That's what the Tosh' is.

What, "Basic"? I'm surprised! Or did you mean it's "Home Premium x64"?

The activation server
will "speak" a 56 digit number in response. Type the returned
number into the laptop, and it should activate.

Sounds scary, but isn't. It will repeat things for you. Do have a pen and
paper to hand, obviously!

But what is the MS number that must be called to enter the 56 digit number?
There must be a special number to call.

I think it tells you on screen what the number is, when it gets to that
point during the installation/activation process.

If for some reason, you buy the replacement laptop hard
drive, and are unable to install the OS, a place like Geek Squad
will "charge $200" for an OS installation procedure. There is
money to be saved by doing it yourself.

Plus great satisfaction, and experience to be gained.

Any loss would be the cost of the HD - right? There is no charge for W-7
download?

Correct that there is no charge for the download; the HD would not be
damaged by the attempt even if unsuccessful, so you would not really
have wasted its cost: you could still use it, either to install a Linux
on on the laptop, or for use (with the USB cable you've acquired) as a
further backup/imaging drive, in the way you use your Seagate.
[]
might be _slightly_ less reliable. You might do fine with a 500G.

That would be plenty for games for the girls. By they time they outgrow it
they'll be into smart phones and boys.

Ah, and the rate of upgrade/replacement/downgrade of _those_ will make
your head whirl, compared to Windows! (Actually I was thinking of
boyfriends, but it probably applies to smartphones too!)

Although I hope that you end up with a machine that's much more usable (i.
e. faster) than it was - the slowness probably having been due to the
drive - so you might actually use it more. (Though unless you download a
lot of video, even 500G will take a while to fill!)

500G would be more than enough. True, if it was faster it would have gotten
a lot more use.

I'm hoping it will be, and that its slowness was due to the drive dying
- possibly from before you had it.

I, would use Macrium boot CD and image, but anything is better than
nothing, even the facility built into Windows. The image should fit onto
your Seagate drive, and probably leave room for images of some other
machines too.

On thing at a time. :^)

Indeed. Let's get Windows back running on the Tosh'. Though when we
have, _do_ make boot-CD-and-image _before_ giving it back to your girls!


AND DO THE SAME FOR YOUR OTHER COMPUTERS TOO! (If you use Macrium, one
boot CD will do for all of them [though having two copies wouldn't hurt];
I _think_ the same is true of the Microsoft imager.)

Which Macrium do I download? There appears to be more than a few choices.
Which would be the best and easiest for a non-techie type like me to use?
Do they all make boot discs? I have to read more at the site when I have
time.

Let's get you back up and running with the Tosh' first. Maybe call us
back when you've got the Windows .iso downloaded.
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual
rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities. - Ayn Rand, quoted by Deb
Shinder 2012-3-30

On 16/04/2018 07:15, HB wrote:
So the Tosh sits here until I decide what to do with it. We're thinking of
taking it to a tech' to replace the HD and OS with W7. Is that possible
does anyone know, or does MS control what they can install? Forcing the
sale of W10?

You appear to be quite able to remove the HDD so you can easily install
a/the new one (though you would need to transfer the Tosh's HDD) case to
the neww one.
You allready have a license for W7 via the OEM (Toshiba), said license
is in the form of the set of numbers (5 groups of five digits) that is
on the label underneath the machine,
(?????-?????-?????-?????).


My youngest doesn't want this Notebook with W10 because her
favorite game will not run properly on it. It runs for about 5 minutes then
freezes. We tried all the compatibility settings and none worked.

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
In message , HB writes:
..... Seems kind of high when new laptops and
notebooks are going for as little as $249 at the WalMart stores.

.. (Just one thing to check -
whether the dead drive was 7 or 9 mm thick. If 7, make sure the
replacement is, or if not that the space for it is deep enough; if 9, then
I think either thickness of replacement will fit.)

I'll take the HD I removed with me if we decide to go that route. The wife
also remined me about the memory issue. Since I don't spend much time on
Facebook it was an ussue for me. I think we're tilting to donating the
Tosh and just replacing it altogether. Anyone who wants to take it for free
and replace the HD/OS and possibly the Memory can have it. I'm sure some
techie where I live would love to have it, rather than recycle it.

I'm not sure what you're referring to there. If you mean the Heidoc tool
for downloading a Windows 7 installation DVD image, my understanding is
that you now run that tool, and you will be presented with a list of
Windows variants (Basic, Home, Pro, etc., 32 or 64 bit), from which you
select the appropriate one, then enter your XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
key from the Microsoft sticker, and it will then download - from
Microsoft, not from Heidoc, so it's genuine and legal - a .iso image of
the appropriate installation disc. But I've not actually used the Heidoc
tool myself, so check with Paul's instructions in case I'm in error about
some aspect - or just try it, you won't lose anything by doing so.

This is true. I'll try it for the experience alone. :^)

Glad you've got it sorted.

So am I but now there's another game that wont install on W-10. I sent the
company an email and am waiting to hear back.


..... But
let's assume it is dud for now - we'll maybe look into that (much) later.
(Even if it's OK hardware-wise, it's probably corrupted enough that we're
not going to recover the Windows installation that was on it, so let's
proceed with installing on a new HD.)

There's that memory issue too the wife reminded me of. She would check task
manager when the PC slowed to a dead crawl to find loads of past pages from
FB she was no longer on, necessitating a reboot or manually closing them.
She wants to donate it to someone who has the time and money to have it
checked out and it's "issues" as she calls them - fixed.

I'd have to download IE8 because I use MozillaFFox. When I burned the

If you've got Windows 7, you've got IE, ... Found it under Programs in
WindowsExplorer.

Yes, it used something built into Windows.

It did the right job!


That's what the Tosh' is.

What, "Basic"? I'm surprised! Or did you mean it's "Home Premium x64"?

I have the Home Pernium X64.

I think it tells you on screen what the number is, when it gets to that
point during the installation/activation process.

That would be plenty for games for the girls. By they time they outgrow
it
they'll be into smart phones and boys.

Ah, and the rate of upgrade/replacement/downgrade of _those_ will make
your head whirl, compared to Windows! (Actually I was thinking of
boyfriends, but it probably applies to smartphones too!)

LOL!

500G would be more than enough. True, if it was faster it would have
gotten
a lot more use.

I'm hoping it will be, and that its slowness was due to the drive dying -
possibly from before you had it.

My wife's stuck on the memory proplem now. I wish she would have mentioned
it before. I'm sure she has but....

She just laid down the law. She wants the Tosh to go. She's adamant I spent
enough time on it. She's ready to give the girls her W-7 and buy a new PC
for her work. She'll just copy her files to the new PC. She said her
software will work on W-10. The girls software, their games will wotk on
her old W-7. Maybe she just wants a new PC for herself. :^)

We're both off today so I guess it's a trip to town to look at a new PC for
her.

--
"The hands that help are better far
than lips that pray."

-= Robert Green Ingersoll=-

"Monty" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 17 Apr 2018 22:48:23 -0400, "HB" wrote:

I just looked for "disk manager". Agent ransack didn't find it. Search
didn't find it. Run didn't find it. I have no idea how to locate it.

You could have clicked on the Start button and searched for
Device Manager.


It's not there.

We decided to buy a new laptop for my wife's work and give the girls the W-7
she's using now. I have no idea if I'd ever get the Tosh to work again, or
when.

The girls can't get some of thier games to load on the new W-10. IOWs we'll
swap around until we all have what we need and donate the Tosh locally to
anyone who wants to fix or have it fixed. I did learn a lot about computers
from you all. I do appreciate all the help you guys were. And gals if any. I
can't always tell by names.
--
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?"

Epicurus - Greek philosopher BC 341-270

"Patrick" wrote in message
news
On 18/04/2018 03:48, HB wrote:
I just looked for "disk manager". Agent ransack didn't find it. Search
didn't find it. Run didn't find it. I have no idea how to locate it.

My fault, the required file is called 'diskmgmt.msc'. If you try AR again
with this, it will find 8 of the mentioned file.



A way to 'Disk Manager' (diskmgmt.msc) is to;
Goto the Control Panel, (Change the 'View by:' to 'Large icons' or 'Small
icons'.
Click on 'Administrative Tools', In the righthand pain.
Double click on 'Computer Management'.
In the left pane click on 'Disk Management'

_Alternately_, you can navigate to (and 'Run') the required file he

C:\Windows\system32\diskmgmt.msc

********
If you want to make a link to this file (for future use perhaps), then you
can right-click on the file, move the cursor down to 'Send to' then
move-to and click on 'Desktop (create shortcut)'.

Thank you. I saved it for next time.
--

"You can fool all of the people some of the time,
and some of the people all of the time,
but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."
--Abraham Lincoln--