I think my hard drive is dying. Need some advice.

First off, I know NOTHING about computers. I have read previous threads about bad hard drives and every single post might as well be in a foreign language. I thought that maybe I could do this myself, but after looking at those threads, no way.

So, my hard drive is making clicking and grinding noises. This computer (Dell, NEVER again) was a lemon from the get go. The motherboard had to be replaced two and half months after I got the computer. Sometimes the fans sound like a 747, other times the machine is very quiet. Right now, no noises. Next time I start it up, who knows. I'm guessing I need a new hard drive from the noises and the fact that the computer slows down like crazy when the noises are acting up.

I don't have a clue as to where to look for a new hard drive, let alone someone to take out the old one, put the new one in and copy over what is on the old drive. I don't have any back up system on this computer as I haven't trusted it from day one and I don't have anything on here that I care about. Yet, the basic things, the software that makes this thing run, I wouldn't even know how to put that on a new drive. In other words HELP! How do I find someone I can trust to do this work and not rip me off $$$$. I have very little money to work with. I'm in the San Diego area if anyone knows of someone in particular that they could recommend to me.

Thank you!

You could call a big store like Best Buy or CompUSA and see what they'd charge. Maybe even pick up a local (SDSU?) college paper and look for ads in there. But I'd stop using the computer until I got it fixed, because the more you use the drive, the closer it gets to completely failing.

data. Do it now. If there is no CompUSA, find someone to do it for you. There are a lot of computer stores that will change them out and transfer data.


Do it ASAP.

shut that mother down now. A failing drive gets worse every time you use it.