Help--pc will not boot up.

atro1

GlynD wrote: »

If your connectors are secure enough check what name is on your hard drive. If it's a Seagate Barracuda, I know exactly what is wrong with it and am 99% certain I can save all your data.

Many thanks. All i can tell you its a Dell vostro. I would not know how to check connections either.
This is 3/4 years old so it may be time to get a new/refurb. I am a silver server doing emails surfing and general use comparining play hearts!!!!
So perhaps a £250/£300 new / refurb is needed. Any suggestions welcome.

GlynD

I have to go eat now but if someone else hasn't told you what to do by the time I come back, I will. Your computer is still very young btw, no need to change.

macman

atro1 wrote: »

Many thanks. All i can tell you its a Dell vostro. I would not know how to check connections either.
This is 3/4 years old so it may be time to get a new/refurb. I am a silver server doing emails surfing and general use comparining play hearts!!!!
So perhaps a £250/£300 new / refurb is needed. Any suggestions welcome.

You have absolutely no need for a new PC. However your hard drive may well be on it's way out, so what you will need is a replacement, and a back up system if not already in place. All hard drive dies eventually-it's not if, but when.
If you can get it to boot again, back up your data immediately. If you can't get it to boot, then remove the drive, place it in a USB caddy and try to get your data off that way.
Replace with a new drive and reinstall your OS.

Sublime_2

That happened to my current PB. Ended up rebooting only when warm. Ended up having to use a warm hairdryer to blast it, so assume some micro circuit had gone. I ended up buying an overclocked motherboard bundle (this one), new psu, and new hard drive, but was a lot cheaper than buying a new system. Also bought a new graphics card as onboard were screwed.

My windows experience has dramatically increased from spending a little over £200 on a refurb.

GlynD

I'm sure Dell PC's have an easy access for hard drives. If you can get the hard-drive out and check if it's a Seagate Barracuda then it's a 99% chance that the drive is "bricked" (given the young age of your PC). Seagate will repair this drive at no cost to you and you will lose no data. Your PC will not even recognise it a lot of the time if it is bricked. It may or may not show in your boot-up. It's essential to get a look at the label on the hard drive itself or else find it through services.

scheming_gypsy

Dell is usually opening the lid (either a couple of thumb screws of push buttons and unclip), then the drives are just held in on rails which slide out

GlynD

OP are you taking note of this? I'm sure this is within your capabilities, silver surfer or not.

atro1

GlynD wrote: »

OP are you taking note of this? I'm sure this is within your capabilities, silver surfer or not.

Yes I am with a smile!! I am going to have a friend over,[he's older than me, and its quite comical seeing us trying to bend] and I've said if I mess up I was going to buy a new one anyway!!!!
Gonna try and become a pc on the W/E.

GlynD

It's a doddle mate. Just find the catches on the side which give access to its innards. They're arranged so that the main chassis and motherboard form one complete side of the inside (normally). You'll be surprised just how little is in there. At ther front of the machine you will notice shelves and at least two of them will have drives in them. It's the drives you're interested in. The hard drive is usually the lowest one and looks a bit like an old 8 track car cassette in silver. It has three plugs in it. The one with the flat cable is the Sata connection, about 1cm wide. The smallest one is the power connection. Just wiggle everything and make sure it is firmly located. While you're at it have a look at what make the disk is. You might be able to see it with a torch as it'll be on one of the surfaces inside. Usually on Dell machines there is a little plastic cradle which the drive sits in and you can easily slide it out to have a look anyway but if it's held in by screws there'll be four, two on each side. Just undo them and slide the disk out after unplugging all the gubbins.

The main thing is: don't be afraid of it. It's a machine, that's all. There are no adjustments you have to make. Everything you see is plugged in one way or another so it's either in or not in.

If the drive is a Seagate Barracuda then it's likely it has become "bricked" that is unusable because the software is flawed. Seagate (Holland) will repair this free of charge and return the disk to you with all your data intact and you just reverse the process to slot it back in again. If it's not a Barracuda then logic dicates it must be faulty in some way. This does not mean your entire machine is duff. It's only a three year old machine and really you should get a good ten years out of it. If it's duff just buy a new Sata drive (must be Sata) and install it the same way you took the old one out (in reverse). You can buy a blank disk of a good size for £30 upwards, average is probably about £50. From memory I'm sure you can buy some with windows already programmed onto them. If not, or you want the adventure of a re-install, then just put in your new drive, switch on and slot your windows CD into the CD drive and off we go.

If it's any consolation I went through all of this recently and I'm not exactly a computer technician. Just got enough of an enquiring mind and the confidence to do open heart surgery on a PC, which really is a doddle.

Have fun.

atro1

Done that --no joy!
Hard drive is, according to device manager
WDC WD2500AAJS-75B4A0 ATA DEVICE.
Replacements seem to be about £156, is it worth it? and can i get a drive with windows preinstalled.And can I transfer files on old hard drive to new one.?
Cheers