HD died
 

OK, one of my harddisks went bad. I know it did because it makes extremely odd clicking noises and then a huge screech! Then on the screen, it says that it cannot boot from the device. So, I had an XP OS with some info I need to get off there if possible.

If I have to get a new HD, can I get the copy of XP (home) on there again without paying for a whole new one?

Thanks!

Double Post:
Here is what the thing sounds like:
http://www.misn.com/~wreale/noise.wav

I'd say odds are that you are screwed. I would get all the stuff you value off it first before dicking around with the OS, since each minute of use could cost you. Put it into an external case and pray you can copy your stuff to a new drive.

Do you have a CD for XP? Although it is a pain in the ass, you can always call Microsoft and see if they will issue you a new key.

In all honesty I'd be more concerned about my data than the operating system.

If the home edition is a legitimate copy, and you still have the installation CD, you should be able to re-use your product key.

Simply copying over an existing installation of XP onto another harddisk doesn't even work, anyway.

Get a new drive, do a fresh install off the setup CD and see what you can salvage from your "dead" drive.

Works without any problem. Done this many times. Simply dd the entire source drive to the destination drive. To use the new space simply create another partition.

For data rescue you could try the freezer technique (put the drive into a freezer for some hours), but using some isolation bag (to avoid condensation problems). Then quickly connect the drive and save the data. Sometimes this works.

cya
liquid