PC in a coma - wish me luck

[GotGarlic]

Hi, all. My PC seems to be in a coma - it doesn't seem to be getting power all of a sudden. I put a thumb drive in a USB port (there are three) and it froze up. I couldn't get it to respond, so I cut the power, waited a few minutes, and turned it back on. There was nothing but a blinking cursor in the upper left corner. So I turned it off and back on again - and this time, nothing. No light, no spinning hard drive, nothing at all. DH is taking it to a computer store this afternoon. I'm hoping it's just a bad power supply, but we'll see.

So in the meantime, no posting pix or recipes for me. Wish me luck.

 

[Mama]

Bummer GG. I hope you get it fixed soon. Good luck!

 

[Doc]

Good luck. It does sound like a power supply issue. Lets hope that's it.

I have my brothers computer here with a virus. Big bad mean ole virus. I cannot cleanse it from the laptop. It's format and reinstall the OS time. Otherwise the laptop is just a doorstop.

 

[Adillo303]

Doc - Did you try putting the drive as a slave in another computer an scanning it that way?

 

[Doc]

Doc - Did you try putting the drive as a slave in another computer an scanning it that way?

Naaa, I booted in safe mode and copied the personal files to an external drive. Formatted the internal laptop drive and installed the OS, copied the files back and it's good to go. He'll have to install his software again but otherwise it's good to go.

All that seems easier to me than removing the drive from the laptop and chance infecting the OS on the machine I plug the drive into. Since I was able to save the personal data I don't feel bad at all about doing it this way.

 

[buckytom]

good luck, gg.

do you hear anything when you power it up? fans, drives starting? is there a beep after a few seconds?

if not, it sounds like the power supply or an onboard fuse.

those are pretty easy to fix, fortunately.

 

[GotGarlic]

The guy at the computer store says the power supply is blown, as well as three capacitors on the motherboard. He estimates $300-$400 to fix, so I'm getting a new PC rather than invest in a 4-year(or so)-old machine I'm thinking about getting a laptop this time, so I'm not stuck in my home office when the weather's nice but I have computer stuff I want to do (like posting recipes on NCT!) Who has a laptop they love (not a Mac)? What do you love about it?

 

[goatherder]

I have a several year old Toshiba. What do I love about it? It works, LOL

dh is a computer nerd and he picked it out. I use it as a secondary computer only. I have very few photos or recipes on it. I mainly have my genealogy stuff on it and use it for travel. But it resides on the dining room table, easily accessible for googling recipes. My desktop is my workhorse computer.

 

[Doc]

I recently bought a Gateway from tigerdirect.com and would highly recommend them. You can buy multiple makes form Tigerdirect for some of the lowest prices around.

Here is a link to what they have in overstock now.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...slc.asp?CatId=17&category=Laptops & Notebooks
Some of them are off lease or have been refurbished. I've bought refurbished stuff from them and will do it again. No problems.

I am fond of the mini notebooks also. Easy to carry around if need-be but at home I'll plug them into my flat screen monitor and my keyboard and it's just like having a workstation. Works for me. Most of the mini's will have a faster processor and more disk space than your old desktop. And they are under 250. full size laptops are just over 300. Worth consideration for sure.

 

[lifesaver91958]

I have a Dell and I love the fact that it works and I can take it almost anywhere I want to.

 

[Keltin]

I have a Dell and I love the fact that it works and I can take it almost anywhere I want to.

WHEW! You've lost a quarter of your screen with all those IE toolbars! Personally, I'd kill all of those toolbars, and stick with the standard IE bar and a homepage of Google or Bing.

 

[buckytom]

300 to 400 dollars!!! marone a mi!

gg, is your hubby handy with electronics at all?

if he is and you really would like it fixed, send your busted motherboard and power supply to me. they're remarkably easy to take out of a desktop case.

i'll replace the caps, and see what can be done in the power supply. if it's shot, i can get you an identical one to reinstall. all it'll cost you is shipping, and maybe the cost of a new supply. i can get all the other parts for free, and maybe even the supply.

we have lots of old systems at my job that are waiting to be cannibalized.