My computer is dead.
I am at work now.
Help.
Here's the scenario:
- I moved. No big deal, no jarring motions, no throwing of things around.
- The day after I move I plug the system in, everything is fine.
- Ten minutes later the system restarts itself, only not really. I hear the hard-disks, and the cd-rom light comes on briefly, but nothing else. There isn't even anything appearing on my monitor.
- I reset a few times. Voila!
- Boots straight to BIOS, tells me that my CPU settings were wrong, which is dumb, because I've not touched them. I exit and boot to windows.
- Ten minutes later, it restarts itself again, with the same results, only this time I can't get it to boot at all, no matter how many hundreds of times I reset the system.
- I proceed to remove hardware and check cables etc... everything seems fine. All fans are running. No burnding smell.
This is not a good thing. I just moved and I have no tv. My books and guitar are all at my parents house for now. The Nintendo is getting old really fast. I am about to start scraping at my skin because I have nothing better to do.
Help me Olbie Wan Kanewbies, you're my only hope!
Ouch..
I feel your pain. That happened to me about a year ago. Still not exactly sure what happened, but at the time I thought it was heat damage to the CPU..
So, you may be, in technical terms, screwed..
:'(
That brings back memories.
Just kick and scream a lot and act like you're about to die. That's the universal signal for superhero's. It worked for me, anyway...
Sorry I can't be a bit more... erm... helpfull?
PC misteries... Sometimes the comp do nasty things :P... Well, Rode, good luck! :-[
Can you still get into BIOS or will the computer just not start at all? Is the fan on the CPU loose? Even just a little bit? Some processors are really sensitive, some burn out, some just shut themselves off. You on AMD or Intel? Is the RAM loose? Do you know the outlet you're plugged into is stable? If you can't get into bios try unplugging your IDE stuff and then trying so you can narrow it down to something in the mb/ram/proc vicinity.
Of course it could have been some tiny random thing that will be impossible to identify, but I hope things get solved.
Few ideas:
a) Maybe the battery is dead, which could explain the booting to BIOS thing.
b) You probably moved into a house with dodgey electricals, which would explain the random rebooting.
c) Maybe your compter is just stuffed!
My bro had somewhat of the same problem.. I think it ended up being the Power Supply.. So you might wanna look into that.. Or it could be faulty electrical outlets like DG said..
Try setting the comp somewhere else.. If it does the same thing, then try the power supply.. if that doesn't work, you'll need a new mobo/processor
Good luck my Rodey friend
Question... Was it partiularly cold or did the machine spend any extended amount of time in the cold (don't count moving from inside to a warmed vehicle, but if it was in the warm vehicle for awhile then that does count)?
Scenerio.... Computer goes in moving vehicle, computer gets cold, computer moves indoors, computer has cold interior, computer plugged in, turned on, internals heat up, condensation is formed... and as we should all know, electical items and water don't mix... I've seen it happen a couple of times in the field (which is why we tell people to not turn on their computers until the heating system is put up in the tents and the machines have time to come to the right temp and the thread of frying the machine subsides)...
It's a reach, but it is possible.
Also, have you posted at a forum meant for technical computer questions? It seems like something obscure, you may be more likely to find someone who's had the same problem that way.
Don't mess with it. It's a blessing in disguise. Go take a walk through the cemetary, breathe the fetid air and eat some brains.
You mentioned removing hardware but I'll assume it was sort of cursory. I've had this happen a couple times after a move, even when the thing hasn't been bounced about much. Here's what I'd try if I had the problem:
1) I'd make sure the outlet was good, probably by trying the PC at a couple different ones.
2) I'd reset the BIOS. There's often a reset jumper. Failing that, you can disconnect the PC from power, and remove the coin-battery for a bit to reset it.
3) I'd dismantle it as much as possible. Then, I'd put stuff in carefully and thoroughly, starting with the bare essentials: Videocard, HD, PSU, RAM (the motherboard I'd have left connected). If it still didn't boot, I'd go back to step 2. If still nothing, I'd start swapping out parts with known good ones.
I would leave it the fuck alone and take it to a professional, instead of trusting the advice of people who don't necessarily know what the hell they're doing. We may be pretty computer-savvy people, but I doubt anyone here knows enough to be able to help you properly.
Definitely sounds like either the Power Supply or the power outlets in your house. I don't think it's the battery on you MoBo - that wouldn't explain random resets. Your motherboard probably has heat and fan sensors - and they usually throw bleepy fits and ugly messages on your screen about non functioning fans or overheating components, so that's probably not it either...
Tough break man!
AGA's somewhat correct. Without actually seeing/mucking with your PC, even the most knowledgable person could end up screwing it up. If you don't know what you're doin' with it or don't have a friend that does, it's probably best to seek professional help. On a different note, some of us have work/hobby experience of nearly 2 decades, AGA. ;)
Quote from: AGA on Fri 09/01/2004 08:31:31
I would leave it the fuck alone and take it to a professional, instead of trusting the advice of people who don't necessarily know what the hell they're doing. We may be pretty computer-savvy people, but I doubt anyone here knows enough to be able to help you properly.
Speak for yourself! Here's my advice:
Fling the ploppy, fiddle with the gizmo, reset the glooble twice
switch the bits, open the fibre and make the mojo rise
potter about in that grey big box
worry not if the whole thing locks
if the apparatus still itches, it's prolly a virus...or maybe lice?Melody: That oldie you know
That sorta happened to me. I left it for a few months and used a different computer and then tried it again after about half a year or so and it worked... :P
Thanks everyone.
Last night I turned the thing on and then... smells like burning... and then... looks like smoking...
Thank god it was only a RAM chip, but still, it leads me to believe that my problems are worse than I hoped. Unfortunately I can't afford a new system at the moment.
The thing about this that annoys me the most is that I avoided bringing the tv and stuff to the new place specifically so I could have some time to work on my games.
Maybe it's a sign.
I realized how lame I was when I read this and thought "Just use your back-up computer"
This happened sort of with my new computer. It worked fine for a few weeks, but slowly things were corrupting. I would get error messages for no reason, and then one day it just completely locked me out so I had to format C drive and reinstall windows. This happened about five times before I was diagnosed with a faulty Hard Drive and got a new one. Hey presto problem solved.
Er, so maybe something is wrong with one of those there parts in that there pc.
Quote from: YakSpit on Fri 09/01/2004 09:14:36On a different note, some of us have work/hobby experience of nearly 2 decades, AGA. ;)
That's as maybe, but rode might not. You suggesting things when you're not physically there to assess the situation yourself could easily lead to further problems.
Quote from: AGA on Sat 10/01/2004 02:00:35
That's as maybe, but rode might not. You suggesting things when you're not physically there to assess the situation yourself could easily lead to further problems.
Selective-reader are we? "Without actually seeing/mucking with your PC, even the most knowledgable person could end up screwing it up." :P Rode, if you figure out it's just the RAM, post somethin' I may have some replacement stuff sitting around, depending upon what generation equipment you're using.
/me points at AGA and laughs
Yes, it's a skill I developed from an early age. I'm also deaf to all insults.
Au contrare, I see you flinch every time the sheep jokes come up!
Hey all.
My system is still dead, but I've managed to borrow a Mac from someone.
So yeah, I still can't do anything.
Ok, not true. I can do some graphics work and some writing I've been meaning to get into.
My internet connection at home will also be down for the forseeable future, so that's some more poobungies right there.
Anyways, thanks to everyone for their suggestions.
Anyone with free computers can email me and we'll work something out. ::)
Hey rode, I seriously have 3 or 4 old computers kicking around, if you could find out what went bad I could prolly donate enough parts to make it better.
email me or something man.
decoy50@hotmail.com
C.