My computer died :(

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Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 8:13 am

^^^ Just take everything out first, as many things inside can be quite caustic. I suggest replacing it with wood.

Oh, and save the hard drive. Take it to a friends' home who knows computers and see if they can get it to read with their computer as a second drive. At least that way you will know for sure that (hopefully) you still have all your information.

Master Baiter Joined: 18 Dec 2006 Posts: 123 Location: UK

Not that you can read this right now, but...

I've got a partially dead laptop that does exactly the same as yours, SP, and its DEFINITELY the video card on it. So thats my vote! If your new one is still a pain in the rear let me know, I have a friend who repairs computers for a living and who is a real soft touch for fluttering eyelashes when asking for help!

Posted: Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:37 am

It all depends on the BIOS. On an AMI BIOS, 1 long followed by 3 short beeps signals a memory fault. 1 long followed by 2 short beeps would signify a video error. That's the most common type nowadays.

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 12:32 am

Since there seems to be a wealth of information on this thread I have a question, and I am sorry if I should have posted this elsewhere. I have a 3 year old computer (spare) that started shutting down for no reason. The power supply was putting out a bad smell, like burning wires, so I replaced it. Then it only booted once or twice, acted terribly, then the whole thing died. Now when I turn it on nothing at all happens, no lights....nothing. I have checked the hard drive in another computer, and it seems fine. My question is this. Does it sound like the motherboard crapped out? If so, is it worth installing another one, or just trashing the whole thing? It is an Emachine T2542 with an Intel celeron 2.5 ghz processor. I know that it isn't a "high end" machine, but it was one of my favorites when it worked. I need to add that I am not the most tech savvy person in the world either.

** SUSPENDED ** Joined: 26 Mar 2005 Posts: 1267

editing some of my post!

Quote:

that started shutting down for no reason

from my experience that's usually due to over heating (aka fans were not doing their job).. however, there is so many things you should check.

Quote:

Does it sound like the motherboard crapped out?

Yes.. It probably got so hot inside the case that it over heated the motherboard and boom! the burning you smelled was from the motherboard (almost guaranteed).

Quote:

If so, is it worth installing another one,

If you know how! motherboards are easy to install as long as you read the intructions, however, you'll need to find one that fits the sockets for the processor chip. Combo motherboard/processor is what i usually go with.

This is only a online diagnostic so it could be something else.

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 12:58 am

Motherboard is dead.

Whether it is worth replacing is up to you. Is the case a standard ATX type and have enough room to upgrade? Cases are about $80, you have a power supply, a new motherboard about $120, memory about $80 per gig if you can't use the existing memory. Motherboard replacement is not hard but you will have to reinstall the OS unless you want to try to upgrade the OS to the new motherboard. It isn't hard but is sort of hit or miss.

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:06 am

SP fixed his machine with Superglue, wipes and a hoovering.

It's impossible to say what is wrong with your machine but I would venture to guess that a transient high voltage may have been sent down stream by the shorting power supply. Thats as good a load of crap as any. I'll leave out the part about the flux capacitors.

I've been slaving the old hard drives into the new machines and going from there. Its up to you and your financial situation. Remember, if you can throw money at it and it goes away, its not a problem, just an expense.

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:07 am

^^^ Thank you. One last thing.......the computer came with "recovery disc's" not a OS disc. Can I load the OS(WinXP) with these discs?

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 1:47 am

I believe so. Some 'recovery' disks are keyed to your system. I don't know what happens if you change the motherboard. I got a 'recovery' disk with a dell and moved the OS to a different computer and everything worked fine.

Thank the M$ overlord for the recovery disk idea. Keeps honest people from owning their system as what would seem to be the right thing to do. All hell emperor bill.

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:08 pm

I know I am new here, so if anyone answers , well, it would be nice. I am on my partners comp. lately. cos my comp has been f'd for a few months.
There is some strange Error msg, which we cannot figure out. And it will not allow internet access.
I am probably asking too much here. If anyone can bother, then I will start up my bad comp and see the stupid msg again.
It is just such a hassle, so at the mo, I am on when he is watching sport on tv, and then I get drunk and go to bed.

So, it would be nice if I could get my comp back up, but I guess it is up to me to find out what or why my comp will not get its act together.

Thanks for letting me interrupt , sorry for being a pain. Just a little advice would be nice.

Love, Aunt Dahlia

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:18 pm

Hi Aunty

What's the error message

Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 4:47 pm

Dr. Who is correct again. But in this case if all HB did was change his motherboard and left in his old hard disk it should boot off the old drive and everything would be fine. In the worst case he would be prompted to insert a disk or key in a number from the back of his tower. If the number cannot be fed in, there are still legitimate workarounds.

@Aunt Dahlia- CCleaner (accept no substitutes; do not download anything close) can be had for free at Download.com. Not only does it sweep all traces of where you have been but it also fixes registry issues.

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

^^^ New motherboards (unless a genuine replacement part) need new drivers. I'd be happier if they weren't "recovery" CDs he's got, but there's a good chance it will work. If it doesn't, then download Linux and try it out - it's a spare machine anyway.

A 2.5GHz is not too old to be worth repairing. My old 500MHz Athlon would have been - everything in that machine was obsolete. The only things that I transplanted to the new box were a DVD drive and the floppy drive.

Posted: Mon Jan 22, 2007 12:59 am

@Connie,Thud,Dr. Who, and Radden,
Thanks for you input. I think I will try the new motherboard. It is a "spare", but it would cost more to replace it I think than trying to fix it. Besides that, I always wanted to build a comp, and this would be a cheap attempt at it. Thanks again for all the help here. Unless I electrocute myself doing this, I will let you know how it came out with the "recovery" disks. Laughing