Tev's Comp Problms... AgAIN

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2006-06-22 09:20pm

Tevar:

Is it a bad thing then the comp won't boot in safe mode and when you open the box the harddrive smells bad?

A friend brought up Knoppix (sp), and it wouldn't boot either, until we disconnected the harddrive.

DarkSilver · Post by **DarkSilver** » 2006-06-22 09:23pm

HDD is fried

get a new one.

Ar-Adunakhor · Post by **Ar-Adunakhor** » 2006-06-22 09:38pm

Yeah uhh... that's never a good thing. Without more information though, it's difficult to reccomend anything.

If you are sure it's the harddrive and not just the smell they exude when warm/hot, you might be looking at a complete loss of everything you had on it.

If you are unsure, you could try booting from the Windows CD and feeling the problem out. While booting up, you might as well and go ahead with checking your BIOS settings too. If you don't know much about fixing the problems manually, though, you can try using the "repair" option on Windows.

If it *still* won't boot, well, you will probably have to try reinstalling Windows. Depending on what version you have, it might be possible to save the other files if you just reinstall the OS and tell it not to format the drive. Before taking this drastic step you should consult techie relatives or a computer shop, though.

If none of that works and you can't get any more information on the problem, the only thing I can recommend is either taking it to a computer repair shop or completely Fdisking the thing and doing a ground-up install.

If it won't boot period, yeah, probably the HD.

Addendum: You have no fucking way of knowing if their hardrive is fried or not. It could be any number of things, and harddrives often smell funny after they have been running in a closed box for a long time. It *points* towards HD failure, but if there is any chance of saving the files it should be at least attempted.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2006-06-22 09:44pm

Tev:

The drive works perfectly in friend's comp as slave. Does not work in mine, will not even boot.

Friend asks about Motherboard, since power box is Brand new.

Ar-Adunakhor · Post by **Ar-Adunakhor** » 2006-06-22 09:51pm

SirNitram wrote:Tev:

The drive works perfectly in friend's comp as slave. Does not work in mine, will not even boot.

Friend asks about Motherboard, since power box is Brand new.

Ah, much much much better then.

Try strapping the drive for master on his computer and seeing if it boots there. If so, you are looking at a hardware failure and probably should take it to a shop. If friend/SNit have experience repairing computers they might could go ahead and diagnose it for you right there.

It is entirely possible for a card or specific element to short out and keep the entire computer from booting. While the motherboard is a distinct possibility, it's best not to jump to conclusions.

Edit: If it does not boot when strapped as master, try the steps in my previous post.

DoubleEdit: Since you can save the files by slaving it off and transferring them to another drive, a Windows reinstall or complete reformat are not nearly as "drastic" as before. They still should be avoided if at all possible, but since the files are safe you can probably do it yourself instead of taking it to a shop. Probably. Exhaust every other means possible first, though. Reformats are not fun and joy.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-06-22 11:42pm

Well... I found an older harddrive from a former box that I could use to test the computer. OMG, Win ME!! And the screen's stuck on 600x800!! But the old drive booted. The WinXP drive is not.

I've yet to try to slave it, but the computer geek downstairs said it ran as a slave. Does that mean it booted as a slave? Don't ask me, I didn't understand the explanation he gave

Suggestions? Other than putting the WinME out of its (my) misery?

Elessar · Post by **Elessar** » 2006-06-22 11:49pm

Slaves don't boot, Masters do.

It sounds like your hard drive will no longer function as a Master. Fortunately, that means that you won't lose all the data on your current drive. Unfortunately, you'll need to do a full reinstall on another drive...

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-06-23 12:09am

Great. Just... great.

I wonder if slaving to it will get this damn screen upgraded back to normal instead of this shitty 600X800

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-06-23 12:25am

Problem: Cannot find Install Disk, or the Restore Disk for XP.

Post by **Beowulf** » 2006-06-23 01:06am

LadyTevar wrote:Problem: Cannot find Install Disk, or the Restore Disk for XP.

Find a computer geek. He should be able to lend you one of the two.

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2006-06-23 01:32am

As I said on LA, asumming you have a burner I can upload a minimum-style WinXP image.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-06-23 09:10am

Ace Pace wrote:As I said on LA, asumming you have a burner I can upload a minimum-style WinXP image.

Nit's got one.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2006-06-23 09:56am

LadyTevar wrote:Great. Just... great.

I wonder if slaving to it will get this damn screen upgraded back to normal instead of this shitty 600X800

You can change the screen resolution in the Control Panel, under Display Properties, and Settings. That should boost it up to 1024x768, no matter the hdd.

Prozac the Robert · Post by **Prozac the Robert** » 2006-06-23 10:43am

General Zod wrote: You can change the screen resolution in the Control Panel, under Display Properties, and Settings. That should boost it up to 1024x768, no matter the hdd.

Unless the drivers are wrong/for the wrong thing, which they may be considering this is an old hard drive.

Post by **The Yosemite Bear** » 2006-06-23 12:34pm

LadyTevar wrote:Well... I found an older harddrive from a former box that I could use to test the computer. OMG, Win ME!! And the screen's stuck on 600x800!! But the old drive booted. The WinXP drive is not.

I've yet to try to slave it, but the computer geek downstairs said it ran as a slave. Does that mean it booted as a slave? Don't ask me, I didn't understand the explanation he gave

Suggestions? Other than putting the WinME out of its (my) misery?

that's just software, install the new OS on the older drive.

since it can run as a slave, but won't boot, it means that there's either physical damage, or an error in the lowest teir of the HDD (it always insists on installing the OS on the innermost part of the HDD.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-06-23 01:45pm

General Zod wrote:
LadyTevar wrote:Great. Just... great.

I wonder if slaving to it will get this damn screen upgraded back to normal instead of this shitty 600X800
You can change the screen resolution in the Control Panel, under Display Properties, and Settings. That should boost it up to 1024x768, no matter the hdd.

Gee Zod, you think I didn't try that?

It'd work, if the fuckin' Settings would offer that option. When I got there, it doesn't even LIST other options outside of 16bit color, and as for the resolution there's "low" and "high"... and it won't accept the change to "high".

Best guess is there's a driver problem somewhere

Ace Pace · Post by **Ace Pace** » 2006-06-23 01:49pm

Drivers definetly.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2006-06-23 02:07pm

LadyTevar wrote:
General Zod wrote:
LadyTevar wrote:Great. Just... great.

I wonder if slaving to it will get this damn screen upgraded back to normal instead of this shitty 600X800
You can change the screen resolution in the Control Panel, under Display Properties, and Settings. That should boost it up to 1024x768, no matter the hdd.
Gee Zod, you think I didn't try that?

It'd work, if the fuckin' Settings would offer that option. When I got there, it doesn't even LIST other options outside of 16bit color, and as for the resolution there's "low" and "high"... and it won't accept the change to "high".

Best guess is there's a driver problem somewhere

Well . . . considering some people on here you'd figure for fairly computer savvy sometimes miss the most obvious things, it never hurts to check. . .

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-06-23 04:16pm

That's why I have Nitram as a backup, Zod.

I'm sorry I got snippity... I'm just upset because it breaks down just as Nit gets sick and we don't have the money to doctor either one.

General Zod · Post by **General Zod** » 2006-06-23 04:35pm

LadyTevar wrote:That's why I have Nitram as a backup, Zod.

I'm sorry I got snippity... I'm just upset because it breaks down just as Nit gets sick and we don't have the money to doctor either one.

Eh, not worried about it. Just checking that all the other obvoius bases got covered first. But, yeah, definitely sounds like a buggy OS from all of that.

SirNitram · Post by **SirNitram** » 2006-06-23 11:10pm

The techie installed the WinXP hardrive as a slave, with NO MASTER DRIVE.. and it booted.

He's running scan disk now

Instant Sunrise · Post by **Instant Sunrise** » 2006-06-24 02:58am

Okay, try putting it on its own IDE cable as Cable Select. I have a feeling that the jumpers might be at fault here.

Netko · Post by **Netko** » 2006-06-24 06:29am

SirNitram wrote:The techie installed the WinXP hardrive as a slave, with NO MASTER DRIVE.. and it booted.

He's running scan disk now

Why is that a shock? The whole master/slave thing is just a terminology. It really doesn't mean anything besides there only being one of each possible on a ide channel without problems. See here for a more techincal description.

Post by **LadyTevar** » 2006-06-27 05:33pm

Thanks to DarkSilver/DarkSteele, we now have a new Harddrive. I finally found the Restore disk for the computer, and it had WinXP, so we're golden.

Thanks for all the help, folks.