Helene wrote:

I want to thank everyone for the time you've spend on my computer glitch.
And believe it or not I even appreciate the reprimands because they help me
learn more about these groups. (Although--and I'm not being at all defensive
here LOL--I did notice that the guys have not been scolded for top posting).
I will continue to check in to see if anyone comes up with something new,
but just wanted you to know I appreciate all the answers I'm getting. It may
be that my friend will have to bite the bullet for some computer service.

People of all genders get violently abused for top-posting; stick
around and you'll see.

Meanwhile... I may have missed this, but have you:

... checked jumper settings?
... disconnected and reconnected all cables?
... swapped primary and secondary IDE cables (if you have both of those)?

Has your friend backed up whatever is on those disk(s)?

Louis Krupp