PC died!!

babsx

Hi
My PC has recently been make some strange noises..I thought it might be the fan starting to play up...but it's now not even firing up when i switch on...I was reading it could be a hard disk failure... before i take it to a repaired..is that something one can repair? ...or would it be cheaper to buy a new PC in the long run??

I'm currently in an internet cafe, so might not be able to reply today :-(
Thanks for any info in advance.

startrekker

You can have a go yourself. Take the old drive out and put the new one in. The hard bit is the software, drivers etc, but it is fun, a hard drive is very cheap so i would definitely suggest DIY

johnmc

Agreed. Make sure you have all the software ready to hand.

Remove the old HD and make sure that the jumpers on the back of the new one are set for "Master". The strip cable (IDE cable) goes with the red edge closest to the power socket.

Power the PC up with a boot disc and then use Fdisk to enable the drive. Out of Fdisc, restart and again boot from the disc.

Format the new HD and then start installing.

It sounds difficult but it really isn't.

Jnelhams

Before you rush out to buy a new hard drive, it would be sensible to establish if it is the power supply that is dead!

To do this, unplug the hard drive, depending on the age of your machine you will see either a thin, wide grey cable and a small collection of wires with a white small flat plug on the end going into the hard drive or if it is a SATA drive then there will be a small cable and probably just that one only, pull all of these out be firm but gentle, noting which way round they were, as they fix in one way only. Then switch on the machine, it does not power up, then it is the power unit and not the hard drive. This too can be fixed, by you. Send me a PM if it is.

If it is the Hard drive, switch the machine off and unscrew the hard drive, and send me a Private Message, and I will walk you through the installation and purchase of the appropriate hard drive.

skim

you'd get a POST screen regardless of whether the H/Disk is dead or not.

Could be PSU or motherboard

DeadHead_4

It could just be the power supply.
Have you checked the really obvious stuff like the fuse in the plug ??
If the hard drive was making funny noises for a while before this happened then that is likely.

It is surprisingly easy to build your own PC - get all the bits from ebuyer (cashback from quidco) and go for it.
I did it, with no previous knowledge or experience.
If your machine is not too old then it may be worth taking it to a local computer shop to diagnose the problem and replace the part, but if it is getting on a bit anyway, now might be a good time for that system upgrade!
good luck

Jnelhams

skim wrote:

you'd get a POST screen regardless of whether the H/Disk is dead or not.

Could be PSU or motherboard

No, some motherboards have circuits which will trip and refuse to power up to prevent posible damage. My Gigabyte board has this feature, and a number of others do to.