Unfortunately I think I have a hard drive error, but am looking for advice.
The short version is that my laptop started freezing and when it does this the ONLY way to get it to restart is to hold down the power key. Ctrl alt delete does nothing. Nothing on the keyboard responds. It makes no difference what applications are open, or even if nothing is open. Twice now it has done a very lengthy fix and repair as a result of this. When it initially started I did a system refresh which was successful for a couple of weeks.
Now, I can't use it at all because it freezes too frequently. I ran the HP support options and some tests. It failed the start up test and the run-in test. It said that the cause was "hard disk 1" and gave me the following reference code (for both):
6c1kjk-6a276t-qfpk1f-60c703
I can't find anything that will tell me what that error means (other than that it's the hard drive).
These problems do appear to have started soon after a major windows update, which it seems to download automatically. Any advice? Anyone know what that error code means? Is it doomed or is there hope of repair?
Thanks!