Before answering any questions this week I'd like to impart a piece of advice for those of you who will be replacing your old computer this Christmas.

If you take your old PC to the dump be sure to first remove or destroy the hard drive inside the computer.

Even if the computer no longer seems to be working as far as you are concerned, be aware that unless the damaged or failed component is the hard drive itself, inside the computer all of your personal data, Internet connection details, e-mails, photographs, bank balances, credit card numbers and all or many of the other items of information that has passed through the computer may still be accessible to those who know how to go about it, by simply by removing the hard drive and reading its contents using another computer.

Would anybody be bothered retrieving your computer from the dump and opening it up? It could happen.

To techie types there are often valuable components contained in the computers that people dispose of. I am frequently given old computers and I always at least attempt to salvage the hard drive(s), there can be two, and the memory modules. Hard drives can be completely wiped clean and reused.

In a previous column I wrote extensively about programs that are designed to completely destroy the data on computer hard drives and you can read about how to make certain of this on my website at www.computerworksbermuda.com

I hate to encourage waste but if you were to remove and strike the hard drive with a hammer before dumping it this would effectively prevent any access by scavengers.

The trouble is that you may not know which component of the computer is the actual hard drive! If you think this is going to be a problem for you, call me up at the number listed at end of this column and we can talk about what to do.

QUESTION: I was updating my Sony laptop the other day, adding Service Pack One when I noticed that after proceeding normally for awhile it seemed to be stuck and the installation hadn't progressed for about an hour.

The only option I had was reboot the computer but now I can't get back to a desktop. I can't get to the desktop using safe mode either or any of the other recovery options accessed by pressing the F8 key.

My first thought was to try and repair the Windows installation by reinstalling XP. When I tried this I soon found out that the only option available to me using the system restore disks that came with the computer was to return the computer to its original configuration.

I spoke to Sony and they confirmed that the system disks contain only an image of the system hard drive as it was when new and that I cannot simply repair the installation with Sony's version of Windows XP.

My question to you is, how can I retrieve my extensive photograph collection that was on this laptop? I never expected the computer to crash in the middle of routine maintenance and I had made no provision for backup. Help!

ANSWER: I've heard of this happening before. Many OEM installations of operating system's are customised by the computer manufacturer and are not the same as the versions of Windows XP that you can buy off-the-shelf.

The retail upgrade version of Windows XP Pro or Home allows the use of the operating system repair option which is invaluable when you need it.

By the way, it would have been prudent before attempting a such a major revision to the operating system, to look on the Sony VAIO support site and download the BIOS updates for your model of laptop before adding SP1.

Don't worry though, it is extremely likely that your data files are intact and hiding behind the unreachable operating system.

I spoke to Leonard Grant at PC Parts on Church Street and this is how he suggested that the problem should be solved.

The hard drive will have to be removed from the laptop, this is not anywhere nearly as easy to do as it is on a full-size desktop PC and will entail lifting off the laptop keyboard and various panels.

Don't attempt this if you haven't taken apart a laptop before, so you might consider getting a technician to carry out this part of the repair for you.

Once the tiny two-and-a-half inch laptop hard drive is removed it can be temporarily attached to and read as a slave drive by any XP desktop computer using a special IDE bridging cable or by placing it inside an external USB laptop drive case. In this temporary configuration the corrupt laptop operating system can be circumvented and the data files retrieved and copied to removable media such as CD-R's.

After this has been done the laptop hard drive can be replaced in your computer. You can then proceed with re-imaging the drive using the Sony system restore CDs that came with the laptop after which you will end up with a fresh installation of your operating system and all of your applications, in fact the computer will be exactly as it was when you first turned it on.

Of course, you'll also have to replace any applications that you had added and also set up your Internet connection again.

This time go online and get all the Sony Vaio updates and install them.

Download and install all the applicable Microsoft Windows Updates that are applicable, there will be 40 or more of these, and be sure to install a good anti-virus software program with all the relevant updates. Finally transfer your photographs back from the removable media which can afterwards act as a separate archival backup.

Merry Christmas from ComputerWorks!

James W. Lapsley of ComputerWorks, specialises in PC repairs, upgrades and advice for the home and small office user. ComputerWorks welcomes your questions and comments. Send your PC questions by e-mail to computerworks@logic.bm or by phone to 293-0992