my 500gb is fucked up?

[gh0st]

the other day Ive been playing too much hours video games and my computer just crashed then I tried to install another OS but it doesnt find the HD so I suppose that my HD is fucked up does somebody know if it can be fixed? or do I have to replace it? 

[iTpHo3NiX]

the other day Ive been playing too much hours video games and my computer just crashed then I tried to install another OS but it doesnt find the HD so I suppose that my HD is fucked up does somebody know if it can be fixed? or do I have to replace it? 

Need some more information. Mainly being is it a Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive and your trying to load XP on it? (If that's the case, then you need to slipstream the sata drivers into the xp installation)

Also your HD could be dead. But I really need more information to help you further.

Mainly:
What OS are you trying to install?
What type of hard drive do you have (PATA[IDE]/SATA)?

[gh0st]

Need some more information. Mainly being is it a Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive and your trying to load XP on it? (If that's the case, then you need to slipstream the sata drivers into the xp installation)

Also your HD could be dead. But I really need more information to help you further.

Mainly:
What OS are you trying to install?
What type of hard drive do you have (PATA[IDE]/SATA)?

well its windows 7 ultimate
and its SATA HD
Ive found that If u cannot find the HD while reinstalling the OS it means that its dead, however need to wait for 3 weeks to buy another HD but once I install the new HD everything will run normally right?

[nft99]

Hi

What make of drive? Just had 2 ! Seagate 500gb die on me same way just dissappear in xp and Ubuntu have to send them to seagate to get replaced.

[Kulverstukas]

Yeah, if it's a SATA drive and you are trying to install XP than you need SATA drivers, not always slipstreamed. If you have a floppy drive than it would do the trick (did for me). Windows 7 should identify the HDD even if it's SATA, so does ubuntu.
Why don't you boot a LiveCD and check the HDD. If a normal LiveCD, like Ubuntu would detect it, then load Hiren's boot CD and check for bad sectors using "HD Tune". If any bad sectors are found - congratulations, you need a new HDD

[FuyuKitsune]

Check the cables; unplug the drive and plug it back it. I've had ribbon cables come loose inside the computer before.

[ande]

Check the cables; unplug the drive and plug it back it. I've had ribbon cables come loose inside the computer before.

This. HDD cables are a pain in the ass, my computer crashes like once a month or so because the cables get loose. Plug out, plug in. Make sure they are in there tightly.

Also, are you able to hear any sounds from the HDD's? This can be a very clear indicator if its dead or not. If it makes like a ticking sound once about 3-4 seconds after poweron, you are pretty much fucked. (tick of death)

[iTpHo3NiX]

Here's what I would do if I was your PC tech troubleshooting your hard drive.

1. Unplug all cables and then plug them back in
2. Go into BIOS, if BIOS reads your drive, then it might just have bad sectors, or your cables were not connected properly and you should be read to go. If not, read on.
3. If BIOS didn't read your drive, or it spit out some weird characters your drive is dead if not, proceed
4. Try booting a live CD (depending on the model of your drive, something like Seagate or Western Digital Lifegaurd tools) Another option that will have some other nice tools to use is the Geek Squad MRI disk (Has a lot of good HD test tools)
5. After a scan and a fix, give it another go, if it works congratulations, if not, time for a new hard drive.

That's what I would do

@Kulverstukas
Yes a floppy would work as long as the drivers are on it, but how often do you see floppy drives in the standard users computer