HELP! my computer had a heartattack!

[callen]

Hey guys, I know that this is one of the best places to come for advice when I have a computer problem since there are so many very knowledgable ppl here on JW... so here goes.
Today we had a short power outtage. When i went downstairs to go and turn my comp back on it would start, but i wouldnt hear those familiar beeps when it starts.....once, and only once i got the beeps and it started up but it only got to the windows XP load screen and then the monitor shut off. so the power is on the fans are turning but no visual. So when i turn it on to begin with i get the flashing read light (which i assume says it is thinking) but this only happens for about 3 seconds then nothing. The comp continues to run, but nothing is happening and I see nothing on the screen. Now i asked a friend and already had a look at the capacitors(or whatever you call em) on the motherboard to see if they were shot, and they look ok. Now i cant understand how it might be the power supply becuase the computer runs, but it just doesnt 'think''...... so I am kinda lost right now.. I still need to try a different monitor tomorrow, but that should not be the problem cause i have been using this one without a hitch for months now... I also need to try and get a windows XP cd in which i can try and repair files (which the girl i spoke with suggested as a course of action) but I had a DELL reinstall disk of a roomies in which i put in my comp and didnt get NETHING. (btw my comp is not a dell) any advice would be great guys as I am stuck in the middle of exams without a computer. Thanks a million in advance
:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[crazidude]

Are your capcitors bloated? Like they're buldging out from the sides and the tops? If so the mobos pretty much screwed.

You can't use a restore disk of some oem company on anything other than the model its specifically tailored to.

I suggest you put your HD into your roomates and get whatever information you need from it because I'm pretty sure you mobos dead.

[SFDMALEX]

Originally Posted by crazidude Are your capcitors bloated? Like they're buldging out from the sides and the tops? If so the mobos pretty much screwed.

Nah man, you can get those caps changed and it will work 70% of the time. So he can just drop it by a repair shop and ask them to replace the poped capacitors

[spanky]

Nah man, you can get those caps changed and it will work 70% of the time. So he can just drop it by a repair shop and ask them to replace the poped capacitors

Yeah we have a pretty decent success rate of fixing the caps on mobo's these days and they are quite often at fault little bastards!

[AlienDB7]

I wouldn't jump into conclusion and say the capacitors are the prob. There're many possible sources of problem. Could be one of the following:

1. powersupply that can no longer supply the required amount of power (but enough to power the fans)
2. fried cpu
3. bad vid card / monitor

To see if powersupply is the problem, try to unplug all the unnecessary things such as HD or cd/dvdroms. That'll reduce the power usage and if the powersupply really is dying, it'll probably be able to give the cpu enough power to boot up. I've had cheap powersupplies that just die (more like degrade) all of a sudden so it's not impossible.

[nthfinity]

definately go with aliens' route
unplug all the pci-slots and hdds, cd-roms and leave in the video card...power up
sometimes its as simple as a driver failure that needs to be uninstalled, then re-installed. otherwise, its a partial hardware failure.

you can remove your powersupply, take it to a shop and have them test its wattage/volts for cheap/free depending on where.

my philosophy with my pc... if something fails, replace it with something that is the best i can afford

[callen]

hey guys thanks for all the advice.... The next morning i gave it another try and ever since it has been working... I already checked the capacitors and they arent leaking or bloated.. so rule that out... i have a feeling that my vid card is kinda on its last legs... it wont play ne of my video games nemore (nhl 05 Mafia etc) and it used to play them flawlessly.....this summer id like to replace some things in my comp... prob get a new motherboard and AMD chip as well as a 128Mb card.. or maybe a 256 depending... so some upgrading is in order.... I had a power failure this summer and had a new box put in there so i wouldnt think that to be the issue.... BUT i do have one problem... my internet explorer is hacked and i dont use it nemore but i cant delete it! everytime i try it just repopulates it in windows explorer immediately after i delete it! it keeps telling me i have script errors and it runs itself in the background.... how do i get IE off my comp!?? thanks for the advice guys there were some helpful things in there i had not tried if it had still been broken.. i think its basically just time to upgrade some things... my comp is going to be 4 yrs old this summer so it needs a little tuning i think!

[AlienDB7]

Run spyware scan like Adaware or Spybot. You probably have some spyware installed

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by AlienDB7 Run spyware scan like Adaware or Spybot. You probably have some spyware installed

i think its a tad more then 'some' lol

software to run:
links would all be in www.download.com
Spybot
Ad aware
Spyware Blaster
Webroot spy sweeper
anti-virus

hopefully that ought to fix your IE problems

[callen]

hey guys thanks for the advice.. I already have Ad aware so i am running it now as we speak... i run it every so often and this pesky IE still fucks up... is there anyway to remove it from my computer? I dont use it at all since i prefer Firefox.

[nthfinity]

http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/howto-03.html

its not recomended to uninstall unless you are going to re-install... and fix a problem.

the problem is windows and IE are embeded...