| Author |
Computer Died |
Kanman
Grand Admiral
Pitch Black
Joined: August 26, 2005
Posts: 1017
From: Virginia, United States
|  Posted: 2007-12-20 12:40
So, I finally get through Finals, get home and my computer is dead. This is not entirely unexpected. It has been a little buggy for a couple months now. So, anyway, I am consulting those of you that know more about computers than I do.
I found that I THINK it is my harddrive. The danged computer just sits there and 'chirps' at me, after getting through the BIOS and usually gets to a point where it asks for a boot disk. I took my harddrive out of its little spot and turned it over and even held it in my hands. It CAN get all the way though startup if I hold it in my hand and facing a certain way, but cannot open much of anything after that. I did thankfully get all my important files copied on to my flash drive, so I am in good shape. If I set the harddrive down, or if it just feels the need, it starts chirping again and the computer is locked up. Might is be the wide, thin cable connecting the harddrive to the motherboard?
2 Questions: Does this sound like I am correct in thinking it to be the harddrive? And, if I am, could I just by a new harddrive rather than a whole computer?
Bonus Question: I have a cable that connects my motherboard to the harddrive that has both a master and slave plug ends. Is there an easy method of copying all the contends of my hold harddrive to my new one with this plug? I have done similar things regarding a few files from my roommates old computer but wonder if the entire harddrive (games, saves, settings, the whole donut) can be done in a similar manner.
Thanks for your input guys. I realize those of you with more computer knowledge could understand the problem so much better if only you could see the computer yourself. As any questions that would help you and I will do my best to find out the answers for you.
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Fattierob
Vice Admiral
Joined: April 25, 2003
Posts: 4059
| Posted: 2007-12-20 13:46
Quote:
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On 2007-12-20 12:40, Kanman *FC* wrote:
Might is be the wide, thin cable connecting the harddrive to the motherboard?
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Sounds like the IDE (wide thin cable) is either loose or damaged. Try pulling it out (not by the cable, by the plastic piece itself) and re-inserting it into the HDD. You could also try the MOBO side, but I doubt that is the loose part if moving your HDD affects if the hard drive is detected or not
Quote:
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Bonus Question: I have a cable that connects my motherboard to the harddrive that has both a master and slave plug ends. Is there an easy method of copying all the contends of my hold harddrive to my new one with this plug? I have done similar things regarding a few files from my roommates old computer but wonder if the entire harddrive (games, saves, settings, the whole donut) can be done in a similar manner.
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Yes. You can easily slap another Hard Drive into the slave IDE slot, (making sure to set the IDE to slave mode with its jumper on the back) and your computer will recgonize it and you can use it as any kind of storage device (might need to format it first). Also, if for some reason your computer just *won't* boot after plugging in the slave drive, make sure the first HDD is set to "master" and not to "select" if it has that option. Just play around with it, you won't break anything but having the jumpers incorrectly set, the computer just won't boot.
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Kanman
Grand Admiral
Pitch Black
Joined: August 26, 2005
Posts: 1017
From: Virginia, United States
| Posted: 2007-12-20 14:51
Fattie is my new friend! That cord may well have been the problem. I adjusted it, unplugged it and plugged it back in on both sides, and put my harddrive back in its proper place and it started without chirping and everything appears to be working normally. Thank you so much!
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Death Motif
Captain
Joined: December 07, 2002
Posts: 2
| Posted: 2007-12-20 21:07
I'm glad to hear that everything is back up and running, but, FYI, I had a similar thing happen to me not too long ago. I did the same steps you did, and had the same results you had...for a while. It turned out that the drive was going bad and I had to replace it. Thankfully it was a client's computer and I was at work where I had plenty of spares. My suggestion to you would be to get a new drive just in case...at least you already have everything backed up. Good luck and I hope this doesn't happen to you.
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KanaDIEn ^_^
Marshal
Galactic Navy
Joined: March 20, 2004
Posts: 294
| Posted: 2007-12-20 22:05
well look who it is....
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