MPG1770 May 30, 2013 Share MPG1770 GC Server Admin May 30, 2013 Built in 2007 at a cost of £690 ($1,000 approx) computer has finally given up the ghost. For that price, I would have thought it still had a few years left, but apparently not - It will turn on, lights and fans working as normal, but will not boot-up. Fortunately for me, I do regular back-ups of work, but have lost several hundred hours of music and video/film production - the university I work for (part-time) are not happy to say the least - I'm grateful for that, but having spent so much on the computer and literally a few thousand on software, i don't know where to begin to find the funds to replace it all. I just hope that when I do get another one, the software will be compatible with whatever OS I decide on - looking at Win7, still not convinced that Win8 is any good. I have a vista laptop (even worse than Millennium Edition), but it works, however, playing L4D2 on it is not so good, it's depressing playing it with poor control of movement (visuals, graphics etc are good though) but it is detrimental to the team I am on. I can cope being on infected, but if no one new me here, I probably would be banned for what would seem like griefing when playing as a survivor. If there is a spark of hope anyone can offer, I will be eternally grateful as I would like to try and save my 8th Symphony, 3rd Piano Concerto, 2 Operas and a few other ditties. I will pay you with a dedication, that's all I can offer at the moment, as the place I am living in is taking up virtually every single penny and with the new contract (zero hours) I signed with the university which begins from the 9th June (coincidentally, that's the start of the summer holiday, I will no longer be paid during holiday periods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baloosh May 31, 2013 Share Baloosh Member May 31, 2013 The good news is that your hard drive (where the data is actually stored) is probably not bad. Or even if it is, a majority of the data is salvageable. First thing: remove the hard drive(s) from your current PC. Set them aside to include as secondary drives in your new machine. Once you do get a new machine built, simply plug in the old hard drive(s) as second/third/fourth/etc drives, after the first (new OS) drive, and bam - all your data is there under D: or E: or F:, etc. (crossing fingers this works for you). If the hard drive is actually bad, there are decent software utilities that can scan a drive and attempt to recover as much data as possible. I know how much it sucks to lose a lot of work - good luck in getting as much as possible saved! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glgl May 31, 2013 Share glgl Member May 31, 2013 (edited) Did you make sure your CMOS battery isn't just dead? Do you get any beeps at all when you turn the comp on? Edited May 31, 2013 by glgl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHairyHungarian May 31, 2013 Share TheHairyHungarian Member May 31, 2013 (edited) A CMOS battery dying in a computer from 2007 is highly unlikely. Your data is not lost as mentioned above unless the reason for your computer's failure is the HDD crashing (you had issues with that earlier but it was a loose cable if I remember correctly). As stated above plug them into your new computer as secondary (slave) devices and once you have your new HDD with a operating system installation on it you can simply access the HDD in the file explorer and move your files over. When you say your computer won't boot up is it giving you that "INSERT BOOT DEVICE" message it was giving you earlier? Edited May 31, 2013 by TheHairyHungarian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPG1770 May 31, 2013 Author Share MPG1770 GC Server Admin May 31, 2013 Just won't boot, nothing happens, except lights go on, fans work, but no more beep, monitor says there is no signal and yes I re-checked all cables etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looneypumpkin May 31, 2013 Share looneypumpkin GC Board Member May 31, 2013 My guess it's the motherboard or CPU that has failed. You'd get some sort of beep if it was the video card or RAM. But Baloosh is right, you can salvage your HD data just by plugging it into another computer and copy/pasting the files. I wouldn't worry too much about losing anything. I hope you get it resolved soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercman May 31, 2013 Share Mercman GC Server Admin May 31, 2013 not to be a downer but what kind of connecters are on the HD. new ones are SATA and old IDE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerkoff May 31, 2013 Share Jerkoff Member May 31, 2013 (edited) In your other topic you said your computer shutdown prematurely, chances is either your CPU or the motherboard. Your HDD can't be the problem as nothing is showing up at all on the monitor but still boots...(right?) meaning the boot sequence couldn't even reach to that process. A fail HDD would always show some sign of deterioating life cycle. To make sure, hook up that HDD to another computer and see if it shows up. Tell us your computers specs Maestro. Your computer being 6 years old, it's probably due for a upgrade. We can provide you better help if we know what we're working with. The only safe way to preserve your software is to make a whole image backup of the HDD and then putting it back in the same hardware. EDIT - Alright just read through your other topics and your HDD is failing at the moment. Grab a different HDD, put your orginal image backup into it and boot it up from your computer. Hopefully your old HDD is not fill with bad sectors. Edited May 31, 2013 by Jerkoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boiler May 31, 2013 Share boiler Member May 31, 2013 (edited) Picking up a cheap external hard drive enclosure (make sure it is compatible with your old drive IDE or SATA) would be a quick and easy way to try to salvage your files. You can just plug the enclosure in to the USB port on your laptop then copy/paste to your heart's content. As for the software, I'm assuming you have either installation media or executables or something? Shouldn't be a problem to reinstall those on a replacement system. If they have restrictive licensing, calling the purveyor of said software can usually clear it up quickly (had to do this with Adobe CS4 before). Anytime I do work on someone's computer that won't boot, my SOP is to pull the drive, put it in an enclosure, then back everything up before doing anything else. Haven't lost anything yet! Edited May 31, 2013 by boiler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madvillain May 31, 2013 Share Madvillain Member May 31, 2013 Anytime I do work on someone's computer that won't boot, my SOP is to pull the drive, put it in an enclosure, then back everything up before doing anything else. Haven't lost anything yet! +1 / Do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPG1770 May 31, 2013 Author Share MPG1770 GC Server Admin May 31, 2013 Turned computer on hoping it would feel better, but there was a loud bang from the PSU, it's now in the hands of the insurance company. Will be a couple of weeks until it gets resolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
looneypumpkin May 31, 2013 Share looneypumpkin GC Board Member May 31, 2013 uh oh. A loud bang?! That's interesting.... I once caught a PC on fire by crossing some bare wires. I don't remember how they got to be bare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHairyHungarian May 31, 2013 Share TheHairyHungarian Member May 31, 2013 Hmmm. Your computer might be fine besides the power supply. I had a graphics card blow a PSU once with the same symptoms. If you're letting your computer insurance (I didn't even know there was such a thing) handle it that's fine. But the fix might be under 200 bucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroDamage June 1, 2013 Share ZeroDamage Member June 1, 2013 Just won't boot, nothing happens, except lights go on, fans work, but no more beep, monitor says there is no signal and yes I re-checked all cables etc. Most likely motherboard or Power supply problem. Hard to say with the information provided and without any spare parts to troubleshoot with. On another note: BACK UP YOUR SHIZ! If you have stuff that is that important, get an online backup solution that does unlimited and backup important stuff like that. I have very little and small stuff so it goes into my Google Drive or Dropbox. Or you can pay for the space from Google Drive and back it up there. Either way. BACK IT UP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeroDamage June 1, 2013 Share ZeroDamage Member June 1, 2013 Turned computer on hoping it would feel better, but there was a loud bang from the PSU, it's now in the hands of the insurance company. Will be a couple of weeks until it gets resolved. Read this after my other response about it being your PSU or motherboard. That system is 6 years old and it's impressive it lasted this long without any issues considering how much you use it. Consider it a sign of some mystical origin and put together a new computer. Start a new thread with what your budget is and we'll help you out. I do have an older Core 2 Duo system just sitting right now that I can send your way if you need something fast. It's motherboard, CPU, and RAM and that's it. Let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggs June 1, 2013 Share Biggs GC Alumni June 1, 2013 Agreed. Don't think PSUs normally last that long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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