Computer help needed please.

tom._2

When turning the computer on in the morning it doesn't boot up. The fan is whirring and the floppy drive light is lit but the light next to the 'On' button is not lit up. I can get it to boot up by either turning the electric on and off repeatedly (had to do this 40 times the other day) or leaving it switched on for 5 or 10 minutes then rebooting. So it seems to boot up more easily when warmed up.

I have bought a new battery and have bought a new hard drive but the booting up problem persists. Once it does boot up it runs smoothly all day without further problem.

Can anyone give me an idea as to what the fault is please? Many thanks.

Dforbes

Is the floppy light flashing or solid. It sounds like check the connections. Turning it off from the power can damage a hard drive. Make sure that you do not have any cd's or usb's plugged in as these can be set to boot before hard drive.

debitcardmayhem

It sounds like the PSU is failing , A friend had a HP tower unit where the power light on the PSU was on solid , and the PC would not boot. What is the PC make and model , is there a power light on the back next to the PSU ?

Strider590

Ok, stop right there......

Honestly, for the price of a new PSU, you could buy a refurbished tower of a higher spec than the one you currently have. If the HDD is new, pull it out and use it as a 2nd hard drive in another PC or turn it into an external backup drive.

It's not worth the trouble.

If your PC has a Windows CD key sticker, pull that off and keep it safe in case you ever need it for another PC in future.

maas

tom. wrote: »

The computer is a Fujitsu Scaleo L

CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 1917 MHz (11.5 x 167) 2600+

I cannot see any lights on the back - only on the front next to the 'on' button and also one by the floppy drive.

I wonder if it is possible to change the PSU (I know nothing about this kind of thing) and how much a new unit would cost?

You can get a PSU for as cheap as £20. They can be a pain to change depending on the size of the case/tower. Sometimes you have to remove the whole motherboard to then be able to access and remove the PSU. Other times you can just slide the PSU out and slide the new one in.

It does sound like PSU, but it could also be a faulty motherboard which is the danger in buying a PSU.

I'm inclined to agree with Strider with regards to just buying a whole new tower unit. Your machine is so old theres a risk of just throwing money at it and you could be back here again in 6 months needing a new motherboard. You're already throwing money at it upgrading bits and pieces.

PC's are so cheap now (especially at the budget end of the market) and you get towers now for £150 which for basic desktop/internet will be more than good enough and a huge upgrade on what you have. Then you just keep your keyboard/mouse and monitor.

gjchester

Strider590 wrote: »

If your PC has a Windows CD key sticker, pull that off and keep it safe in case you ever need it for another PC in future.

Is the wrong answer, money saving should not involve illegal activity....

The OP said it was a Fujitsu system which means that the Windows key is a OEM key and dies with the system.

The processor mentioned would suggest its an older system, possibly 2004/2005 vintage, which means its an XP key(probably XP Home) , While people may dislike Vista, W7, and W8 suggesting you keep a key for XP for a future PC is just asking for trouble later on. Some new system won't run XP and its never going to get any security patches.

Back on topic my guess is its almost certainly PSU, and getting the right PSU may be expensive and many of the big PC firms use company specific sized units, and a new one (or rather new old stock one) may cost more than refurbished system.

PSU's start at £10 for generic ones but without knowing the one that you have its hard to say if it will fit, it may be the same size as a generic PSU but have different screw holes, or may be a custom sized, or have off mounting brackets / rails to match.

Could be BIOS, but its more likely a BIOS error would cause the system to boot but give lots of errors, rather than not boot.


You need to decide how much you want to spend. Spending £20 or more on a basic PSU may be poor economy long term.

Morgan computers will sell you a refurb Windows 7 systems for £50 upwards, but the £50 IBM isn't really that good. You need at least 2GB or RAM, and while your issue may be solved with a new PSU its still an old system , and if my guess on processor age it right 10 years is not a bad life for a PC.

Strider590

gjchester wrote: »

Is the wrong answer, money saving should not involve illegal activity....

The OP said it was a Fujitsu system which means that the Windows key is a OEM key and dies with the system.

That's a ridiculous statement.

What about upgrades?
Are you saying it'd be ok to upgrade every single part of the PC, as long as you didn't do it all at the same time?

This year the GFX card, next year the motherboard/RAM, a year later the case, the following year the PSU.
How is that different to building a new one?

Otherwise which part of the PC do you consider to be the part to which the OS is "legally" tied?

The OS does not die with the system, the OS belongs to the owner.
MS might not want people reusing OS cd keys, but that's purely about making money.

tronator

gjchester wrote: »

Is the wrong answer, money saving should not involve illegal activity....

The OP said it was a Fujitsu system which means that the Windows key is a OEM key and dies with the system.

Here we go again...

It's not illegal to resell software in the EU. If it's written in the EULA, then it's not enforceable in the EU.

http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2012-07/cp120094en.pdf

gjchester

Strider590 wrote: »

What about upgrades?
Are you saying it'd be ok to upgrade every single part of the PC, as long as you didn't do it all at the same time?

This year the GFX card, next year the motherboard/RAM, a year later the case, the following year the PSU.
How is that different to building a new one?

Otherwise which part of the PC do you consider to be the part to which the OS is "legally" tied?

The OS does not die with the system, the OS belongs to the owner.
MS might not want people reusing OS cd keys, but that's purely about making money.

Unfortunatly thats not the case. The OS is LICENSED, never sold to the owner. What you or I think is irrelevant, Microsoft have clear rules on the issue, and you can upgrade anything except the motherboard to stay within the license terms the motherboard is the "master" component and cannot be replaced except for a like for like swap.

Remember this is a OEM licence, the buyer gets a discount as its supplied with a new PC. If you paid full retail price then a different licence applies, and that DOES let you upgrade any component, including the motherboard, or move the license to a new PC.


http://www.microsoft.com/oem/en/licensing/sblicensing/Pages/licensing_faq.aspx#fbid=3UeIc5dfuOx


Q. Can a PC with an OEM Windows operating system have its motherboard upgraded and keep the same license? What if it was replaced because it was defective?
A. Generally, an end user can upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on a computer—except the motherboard—and still retain the license for the original Microsoft OEM operating system software.



If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created. Microsoft OEM operating system software cannot be transferred to the new computer, and the license of new operating system software is required.



If the motherboard is replaced because it is defective, you do not need to acquire a new operating system license for the PC as long as the replacement motherboard is the same make/model or the same manufacturer's replacement/equivalent, as defined by the manufacturer's warranty.



and

Q. My customer bought a new PC and wants to move the OEM software from the old PC to the new one. Can't users do whatever they want with their software?


A. No, the OEM software is licensed with the computer system on which it was originally installed and is tied to that original machine. OEM licenses are single-use licenses that cannot be installed on more than one computer system, even if the original machine is no longer in use

Strider590

Windows 10 will be free for personal use, I really don't think they give a flying one about a 10+ year old product that they no longer support (although they do still supply security updates).

gjchester

tronator wrote: »

Here we go again...

It's not illegal to resell software in the EU. If it's written in the EULA, then it's not enforceable in the EU.

http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2012-07/cp120094en.pdf

Not relevant, this is a OEM copy, NOT a retail copy. It lives and dies with the PC. You can only sell it if you sell the PC with the license.

That specific ruling was on a German company, in German courts, Germany has different laws to the UK. Could it apply here, possibly, but EU guidance is not UK law until the UK courts rule and so ratified it into UK law.