Author Topic: Computer seems to have died (Read 74 times)

EdTheKet · « **on:** August 05, 2005, 12:41:00 am »

This is just a quick in-and-out message from me, as I am at work and visiting forums is not allowed.
My 15-month old computer seems to have died on me when I turned it on this morning, it hangs when loading the BIOS.

I’ll be going sailing for 3 days after work, so I won’t be able to take the computer apart and look what’s wrong until Sunday night/Monday, so I won’t be around to read the forums, post, and reply to PMs or emails.

I hope it’s just some wire that’s gotten loose…

lunchboxkilla · « **Reply #1 on:** August 05, 2005, 01:27:00 am »

I need a boot disk and 200CCs of Bawls! It's going into shock! *gives Ed's PC CPR* don't die on me now!

lonnarin · « **Reply #2 on:** August 05, 2005, 02:04:00 am »

Many condolensces. I know how frustrating thermally detonated computer can be.

Marswipp · « **Reply #3 on:** August 05, 2005, 06:33:00 am »

Hangs at the BIOS? It might be program related.... I suggest you try running the main disk on another computer, and see if the problem still exists.

Filatus · « **Reply #4 on:** August 05, 2005, 06:54:00 am »

You haven't by any chance bought your PC from Acer, did you? The year and two months till breaking down sounds frightfully familiar.

freemen2 · « **Reply #5 on:** August 05, 2005, 07:22:00 am »

Heh heh have fun Ed

Zhofe · « **Reply #6 on:** August 05, 2005, 12:45:00 pm »

You ..... do realize he ... can't read your posts .... right?

Diamondedge · « **Reply #7 on:** August 05, 2005, 01:20:00 pm »

Don't take away our happy, Zhofe! *Bonk*

EdTheKet · « **Reply #8 on:** August 07, 2005, 06:56:00 am »

Allright, foul weather so sailing was very cold and wet. I took my computer apart, took off some of the accumulated dust and put it back together again and now it works.
Whatever it was, it's gone (for the moment

)
And no, I bought it at Mycom, Filatus.

lonnarin · « **Reply #9 on:** August 09, 2005, 04:41:00 pm »

Check your startup Bios options to see if the temperature is abnormally high. Most boards have a safety auto-shutoff mechanism when it gets dangerously hot, and that dust you pulled out of it was likely obstructing the airflow and triggering this. This is a big hassle if you're overclocking too, I've fried so many boards...

Also suggest inspecting the main power source fan and the cpu fan and cleaning them a little with some air in a can. Luckily if the bearings look too grimey to keep, new heatsink fans sell pretty cheap these days. I went obsessively paranoid with my new PC after it had its last meltdown, so now I have 1 fan mounted to the tower panel beneath the motherboard, the standard one in the power supply, an external strap on freon one that mounts over the power supply vent, and my video card has its own fan too.

Yeah, ah suppose you could call me a "fan"atic

Diamondedge · « **Reply #10 on:** August 09, 2005, 04:53:00 pm »

You're a fan fan. *nods*

LoganGrimnar · « **Reply #11 on:** August 09, 2005, 06:00:00 pm »

Quote

lonnarin - 8/9/2005 4:41 PM

Yeah, ah suppose you could call me a "fan"atic

lol your lame

EdTheKet · « **Reply #12 on:** August 09, 2005, 11:32:00 pm »

I removed as much dust as I could (and it was quite dusty!) when I put it together again, but now it no longer recognizes my CDROM and DVD drives...
ARGH!

Talan Va'lash · « **Reply #13 on:** August 10, 2005, 02:18:00 am »

Lal had the "hang at bios" problem on her machine a while back, so I booted it and held whatever key it is that gets you into the setup thinggy (blue screen made of ascii characters with yellow text) and found out that apparently there was no hard drive.

The hard drive connector had come loose, I just opened it up and unplugged and replugged the ribbon wire and the power supply cables going to the hard drive and it booted fine.

Perhaps you had the same problem since taking it apart and putting it back together fixed it.

Try opening it up again and replugging the cables to the disc drives. maybe they arent seated properly.

-TV

EdTheKet · « **Reply #14 on:** August 10, 2005, 01:18:00 pm »

Well, they're still not functioning, even with disconnecting-reconnecting...
Going to get a new cable on Saturday.

Talan Va'lash · « **Reply #15 on:** August 10, 2005, 08:20:00 pm »

Is your hardware profiler thing (forget what its called) aknowledge their existance?

If its pretending they dont exist, it very well could be the cables.

If it sees them, but they just wont work, its more likely a software/driver issue (or the drives died)

I think the cables are more likely given the circumstances of their failure.

-TV

EdTheKet · « **Reply #16 on:** August 10, 2005, 11:41:00 pm »

Nope, the only one who's acknowledging their existence is me, they don't show up in the BIOS IDE part and also not in 'hardware' in windows.

Diamondedge · « **Reply #17 on:** August 11, 2005, 01:02:00 am »

Excellent... it is all going as I have forseen...

freemen2 · « **Reply #18 on:** August 11, 2005, 07:51:00 am »

Dumb question Ed but when you repluged everything ye didn't ferget the power cords to the dvd/cd-rom players?
In the same optic, since yer Hardrive power-cord is working, just boot-up the computer with the power-cords inter-changed, load-up the BIOS and see if ye have the the HD or DVD/CD Drives.
As well, if it was that bad inside the tower, guess what, inside the power-supply box, it's the same...did you take it apart and clean that also?
You have two IDE slots on your MB, right? Tried inter-changing those as well?

Druke · « **Reply #19 on:** August 11, 2005, 07:58:00 am »

this is about the time i'd do a backup of important stuff and format :p