dead pc arghhh!

Well if any has ever had this happen or have any advice it would be great. i havent got enough money for a new pc before anyone says anything like that.

well my problem is that my pc boots up and then at a random point it will just give a big clunk like the harddrive has stopped dead then 5 seconds later windows freezes. i thought it was my dvd drive because it used to freeze after reading from a cd but i removed the drive and it still does it.

well until i get it sorted im stuck on my old laptop which has intergrated graphics and doesnt run blitz3d at over 2 fps, so as you can understand i need to get it sorted.

Pete

Sounds to me like the hard-drive has gone.

Prior to the 'random point' it does this - right click your C: drive (basically, whatever drive letter has Windows on it) - use Properties/Tools and basically run Error Checking as quickly as you can. Windows should prompt for a reboot, so reboot before you get to the 'random point'. Then reboot and Windows will Error Check the drive prior to booting into Windows.

Ps, you may have to be quick at doing the above.

Also try enabling SMART, if you have a compatible drive/BIOS, that may give you some hints about the state of the HD.

Also, check the molex power connecter on the drive. It could be a power issue aswell.

I would see if I could borrow a mates spare HD and/or PSU, and mix and match until I got a working configuration. It's an okay way to troubleshoot.

thanks i thought it maybe a power issue but i have to find someone with a spare? i may take my 9800 out and put my old geforce in see if that makes the power a bit more stable, i have a cheap psu that came with the case but its been ok its rated at 400watts. ive been running this cofig for about 6 months with no problems.

the motherboards never been quite right either the usb ports seem to lose whats connected to them now and again. also could be a power issue?

Pete

Cheap PSU's really can be quite deadly. I've never had a problem with included PSU's, but I know many people who have.

I found that choosing the right PSU took far more due diligence than choosing any other components when building my last 2 PC's.

If it is your PSU at fault, you may find that it has damaged or reduced the lifespan of certain of your components.

You have my utmost sympathies. Grab a Seasonic if you want a replacement (though most named-brand are fairly good). I only mention Seasonic because that's what I have in mine, and my PC is very stable (spec in my sig).

So, any news?

The problem is that ratings can be misleading. If your PSU is running at, or close to it's maximum throughput on one line, it's going to put alot of strain on it, that will eventually degrade performance.

As for finding someone with a spare PSU, if you don't know anyone, you're probably out of luck. Even replacing the graphicsboard may not isolate the problem, as it may draw power from a different line than the elements that are failing.

With the config he mentions (Athy 3000, 1HD, radeon 9800) he shouldn't be pulling many Amps at all on any line. The most load is going to be from the Athy 3000, but they really don't pull a lot of juice!

I'd be surprised if that entire system was using 100W. His PSU has obviously only got 1x12v and 1x5v output. If his HD is blowing chunks then there's something screwy with the 12v (assuming I'm correctly remembering how these things work).

Even a cheap nasty 400W supply should have enough real juice to power such a basic system. It's not too many moons ago I was on a 235W PSU running an Athlon 1200, GeForce 3 Ti500 and 5 hard drives. 12v was running close to capacity but it held on for 2+ years ;)

ive ordered a new psu and harddrive because the main drive is now making lots of noise. thought id play it safe and get a psu at the same time as my old one is a bit cheap anyway. thanks for your help guys!

Pete

Good luck Pete!

Let us konw how you get on - make sure you are careful when you are working inside your PC.

IPete2.

the joke is i used to own my own shop fixing and upgrading pcs so if it was a couple of years ago i would have had loads of spare parts i could swap in and out to find out exactly what was wrong before i spent any money. ive not got any spares left as we sold them all on when the business was shut down.

Pete

I blew my friends PSU :P It took about 3 hours of gaming to do it. PC didn't just shut down, it completely turned off. Then when I start the PC back up, all that would it do is show the LED lights, nothing else.