Is my pc dead?

J0YCIE · 08-26-2007, 01:36 PM

Ok. So I'm browsing youtube, when all of a sudden, my pc freezes. A rare occurrance, to say it's an old machine. But I've made it half workable, so its been good to me.

I restart the thing. And when it normally beeps once, (when it shows up the Tiny logo on screen) it doesnt do it this time. Also the screen doesnt turn on by its self. So i turned it on manually, and I had the no signal input sign sat in the middle of it.

I hope its not broken for good. But ive been told it might be either the hard drive is dead, or the motherboard!

Any suggestions/confirmations about this?

solman · 08-26-2007, 03:49 PM

Or your power supply...Why don't you tell us all the specs on your machine and about how old it is.

**TheMatt** · 08-26-2007, 03:51 PM

If it was the hard drive or power supply it probably would have just shut down, so I think we can rule those out for now. My bet is on the RAM now.

I would start by swapping out the RAM. First re-seat each stick. Then, try running with one stick, then the other.

J0YCIE · 08-26-2007, 03:54 PM

i'll try the ram first. as i dont have the specs readily available.
It was a ***** when i put my 512mb stick in. the hard drive wires are in the way, and i dont know how to take them out of the hard drive.

J0YCIE · 08-26-2007, 04:29 PM

Nothing doing. Ive done all of the suggestions with the ram and tried swapping the slots too...Still does nothing. Im starting to suspect the HDD myself. as when i turn it on, i hear a small creak from the hard drive, and then its silent
and wouldnt it normally make a noise if its loading the OS from it?

**TheMatt** · 08-26-2007, 04:35 PM

Unplug the hard drive interface and power cables and boot. See what happens.

J0YCIE · 08-26-2007, 04:43 PM

Exactly the same thing happens when i take out the hard drive cables

**TheMatt** · 08-26-2007, 05:34 PM

Then its not the hard drive. Do you have a multimeter that you can use to test the power supply?

J0YCIE · 08-26-2007, 05:36 PM

Nien, no multimeter. Hmm.
Glad it's not the hard drive. I was only a quarter of the way through backing up valuables!

**TheMatt** · 08-26-2007, 06:44 PM

Pull out all the PCI cards that are installed. If you have a motherboard without onboard video, leave the video card in.

Unplug any disk and optical drives from the motherboard. Also unplug the power from these devices. Power up and see what happens.

Do you have a motherboard speaker plugged in?

J0YCIE · 08-26-2007, 06:53 PM

Ok. I've bookmarked the thread. I'm in England, so its around 3am right now, and i'm about to go to bed :P

I'll do what you suggested tomorrow and will get back to you either by this thread or through PM. Thanks for the help so far!

08-26-2007, 01:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
J0YCIE Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 7 OS: XP	Is my pc dead? Ok. So I'm browsing youtube, when all of a sudden, my pc freezes. A rare occurrance, to say it's an old machine. But I've made it half workable, so its been good to me. I restart the thing. And when it normally beeps once, (when it shows up the Tiny logo on screen) it doesnt do it this time. Also the screen doesnt turn on by its self. So i turned it on manually, and I had the no signal input sign sat in the middle of it. I hope its not broken for good. But ive been told it might be either the hard drive is dead, or the motherboard! Any suggestions/confirmations about this?

08-26-2007, 03:49 PM	#2 (permalink)
solman Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Houston Posts: 193 OS: xp pro My System	Re: Is my pc dead? Or your power supply...Why don't you tell us all the specs on your machine and about how old it is.

08-26-2007, 03:51 PM	#3 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,702 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Is my pc dead? If it was the hard drive or power supply it probably would have just shut down, so I think we can rule those out for now. My bet is on the RAM now. I would start by swapping out the RAM. First re-seat each stick. Then, try running with one stick, then the other. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

08-26-2007, 03:54 PM	#4 (permalink)
J0YCIE Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 7 OS: XP	Re: Is my pc dead? i'll try the ram first. as i dont have the specs readily available. It was a ***** when i put my 512mb stick in. the hard drive wires are in the way, and i dont know how to take them out of the hard drive.

08-26-2007, 04:29 PM	#5 (permalink)
J0YCIE Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 7 OS: XP	Re: Is my pc dead? Nothing doing. Ive done all of the suggestions with the ram and tried swapping the slots too...Still does nothing. Im starting to suspect the HDD myself. as when i turn it on, i hear a small creak from the hard drive, and then its silent and wouldnt it normally make a noise if its loading the OS from it?

08-26-2007, 04:35 PM	#6 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,702 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Is my pc dead? Unplug the hard drive interface and power cables and boot. See what happens. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

08-26-2007, 04:43 PM	#7 (permalink)
J0YCIE Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 7 OS: XP	Re: Is my pc dead? Exactly the same thing happens when i take out the hard drive cables

08-26-2007, 05:34 PM	#8 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,702 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Is my pc dead? Then its not the hard drive. Do you have a multimeter that you can use to test the power supply? __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

08-26-2007, 05:36 PM	#9 (permalink)
J0YCIE Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 7 OS: XP	Re: Is my pc dead? Nien, no multimeter. Hmm. Glad it's not the hard drive. I was only a quarter of the way through backing up valuables! Last edited by J0YCIE; 08-26-2007 at 05:37 PM.

08-26-2007, 06:44 PM	#10 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,702 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Is my pc dead? Pull out all the PCI cards that are installed. If you have a motherboard without onboard video, leave the video card in. Unplug any disk and optical drives from the motherboard. Also unplug the power from these devices. Power up and see what happens. Do you have a motherboard speaker plugged in? __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

08-26-2007, 06:53 PM	#11 (permalink)
J0YCIE Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 7 OS: XP	Re: Is my pc dead? Ok. I've bookmarked the thread. I'm in England, so its around 3am right now, and i'm about to go to bed :P I'll do what you suggested tomorrow and will get back to you either by this thread or through PM. Thanks for the help so far!