booting failure

[denisaf]

Thank you BC_Programmer for that summary of the situation. I tried to follow the lifetracker procedure but the screens that came up were unlike those mentioned. On pressing the start button, a white on black screen came momentarily and then was replaced by the white on black screen with the Disk I/O error, Replace the disk, and then press any key. This is a repeat of what I reported in previous post. However, "HDD S.M.A.R.T capability......Disabled" was also on this screen. Does this mean that the drive is completely hooped and nothing more can be done?

[patio]

Try a new data cable on the HDD...if no joy-joy run chkdsk /r on it...let it run to completion.

[Geek-9pm]

However, "HDD S.M.A.R.T capability......Disabled" was also on this screen. Does this mean that the drive is completely hooped and nothing more can be done?

Not at all. Most of  it is still working, but it is no longer reliable for general use. The drive can be repaired by a long process, but the results are uncertain. The prudent thing is to replace the drive and donate it to some recycle charity.
OR
If you are a hobbyist, fiddle with  it and and find some use for it. Something g not very important. Like use it for an old Windows 98 PC you keep to play old games.

[denisaf]

Thank you Geek. I am not a hobbyist, just an aged user of a PC for writing, running Excel and using the internet. I will try and find someone who will take it off my hands because they can fix and use it.