Not a Geek

Hello...I got this error message "HD521-2W" from my HP Pavilion 2105. It happened after a power outage. I read on a thread that I should "image" my drive after putting in a new hard drive. I read on another post that a recovery disk might allow me to get into the drive. I don't know how to "image" and I am not sure what new disk to buy or where to buy it. Sorry to be so primitive, but I just don't know much about this. : Now that the computer crashed, I see that HP didn't send a recovery disk and that I should have created my own. Okay, I should have read it before, I know. But what do I do now? Most of my information is backed up, but I am a writer and losing anything is traumatic . Thanks in advance for anyone who helps.

 

I far as I know that is a hard disk error and you are going to have to replace your HD. You are going to have to get a set of installation disks to reinstall your system. Is your laptop still under guarantee. OH and Welcome

 

Hi and welcome to Major Geeks! :major

I had that happen on my last computer after a brownout, and it was the HD that had failed. I would guess that chaimjim is correct.

 

Thanks, Horsey and Chair - This is my desktop HP and I don't believe it came with installation disks. I don't want to reformat my hard drive because I will lose all my data. If I buy another HD will HP force me to buy another operating system? (I might as well buy a new computer.)

The computer is out of warranty, of course. It's about 1 1/2 years old. I'm not buying another HP. rolleyes

 

Hey!
This happend to me a while ago (at least something similar).
It looks like HD521-2W means hard drive failure. I would test it first. Download any LiveCD Distrobution of linux (this is a type of linux (an os) that doesn't need to install.) www.linux.com
Burn it to disc. After, put it in your computer. Make sure your computer is set to run cd\dvd first. Open up your BIOS (when you startup, it will say press ** to open setup or something like that) Then go down to boot order, and change it so that cd drive comes before hard drive.
After it loads, see if it can access your hard drive. If it can, and you can see your files, call HP and ask for a recovery disc(or ask a friend for a CD with the SAME OS, i.e. XP). When it says press R to recover, do that. There should be an option to run diagnostics. If it doesn't, try rewriting the boot descriptors. That's what fixed mine.
Good luck. I'll be on the computer periodiclly tonight. (I'm only 13. I go on when my parents let me :-D) If you need any more help, please just post.
Zack