I have run through all the diagnostics, problem{s) show up as SATA DISK S/N=WX20E59C4974

Anybody recognize this one - dop I need a new hard drive and, can I save my photos ?

XXX

Is the disk still accessible by plugging it into an external source? like a usb hdd hub? or hooking it into another system and access it that way?

The dell 1545 is well known for hard drive failure. I suspect that there is a design flaw in the sata controller. I very much suspect that you will need to replace the hard drive.

To try and save your data, go out and buy a sata to USB adapter kit. Costs about $15.00 and comes in very handy. You can connect the drive using the kit to another PC's usb and the drive will read like a usb drive. You can then just browse the disk and copy files.

If the disk is fubar'd, then , of course, this won't work.

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