Computer Conundrum

AnGuRuSO

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2006
Messages
1,295
Location
Sydney, Astraya
I have one of those mini computers, basically it's a normal computer in smaller than normal case. It was pretty cool for a little while but because all the components were so close together everything heated everything else up and I got really really bad performance from really quite OK specs.

P4 3.0 GHz
128 MB Graphics Card
2x 512 MB RAM

It couldn't handle music and starcraft simultaneously running. So I put the hard disk, RAM and Graphics card into an older computer that had always been a bit suspicious. It hadn't worked and I thought it was a RAM fault so I thought it would be fine with the new RAM.

The new "arrangement" didn't work out and I got a strange smell from my computer, the smell you smell when you walk past welders.

So I gave up and put everything back into the old small cramp computer case. It couldn't boot from the hard disc.

Did I damage the hard drive?

So I decided to format the computer and reinstall windows. Everything ran very very slowly. It took about 15 minutes to get to the first step of setup, IE the blue screen with some windows welcome message. It formatted successfully, and then copied the windows set up files successsfully. When the computer restarted, it couldn't read from the hard drive, it wouldn't go through the setting up stage, the hard drive wasn't recognised as a bootable device. So now I go through a neverending loop of formatting then copying the windows file, then formatting then copying...

Any ideas? I really appreciate this. I've also tried using a number of different hard drives but not a brand new one.

I really appreciate any help, even if it may seem obvious. (I'm a noob).

Thanks, Angus
 
Did I damage the hard drive?
Simply not being able to boot doesn't seem to indicate physical damage to me. Although, you could have damaged the software configuration by booting up the hard drive with other different hardware.

So I decided to format the computer and reinstall windows. Everything ran very very slowly. It took about 15 minutes to get to the first step of setup, IE the blue screen with some windows welcome message. It formatted successfully, and then copied the windows set up files successsfully. When the computer restarted, it couldn't read from the hard drive, it wouldn't go through the setting up stage, the hard drive wasn't recognised as a bootable device. So now I go through a neverending loop of formatting then copying the windows file, then formatting then copying...

Are you keeping the CD in the drive? Try taking it out. It may be trying to boot the CD before the hard drive every time you power up.
 
10 Bucks says when you put the case back together you have something stopping the cpu fan...
 
Simply not being able to boot doesn't seem to indicate physical damage to me. Although, you could have damaged the software configuration by booting up the hard drive with other different hardware.

I think the software damage is pretty possible. Is there anyway I can reverse this software damage to the hard drive?


Are you keeping the CD in the drive? Try taking it out. It may be trying to boot the CD before the hard drive every time you power up.

I take the CD out of the drive after windows resets the computer.

Would you say my best option is to buy a new hard drive?
 
10 Bucks says when you put the case back together you have something stopping the cpu fan...

LOL! That might just be it, but opening that case is a real bitch. Before you can even LOOK at the processor you have to unscrew the CD-ROM drive cradle. It's a pretty efficient use of space but a real bitch to maintain. It can only have one HD and one CD-ROM drive and 2 PCI slots. Don't even think about SLI...
 
i would never be able to have a case like that. i bought biggest i could find and filled it with lights and fans

sounds like you may have confused the BIOS by moving the HDDs around. you could try clearing the CMOS memory (see manuals for this information) or go into BIOS setupa and clear settings there.

could just be cables tho. when i built my new PC, 2 cables went down straight away. the Asaka SATA cable broke after installing XP, and the floppy cable never worked.

i doubt you have damaged the HDD, unless you were careless and prodded the board underneath. but i doubt you'd do that ;)

failing all that, get your XP disc out (you did get one, right?) and go into the recovery console. when you're there, type 'fixmbr'. this fixes the master boot record (MBR) which controls boot options.

sorry if i talk like you don't know, i don't know how experienced you are with computers. my motherboard is still at the menders waiting to be replaced :(

good luck and keep us posted
 
Thanks Matt, I'll get right on it. How do I get into the recovery console? Do I click the repair option when windows setup starts?

Computer is now powered and going into XP setup, this takes about 10 minutes.
 
i think you just press R when the disk boots up. you get asked for an admin password. if you haven't set it, press enter.

[edit] 10mins to get into the disc, that doesn't sound good
 
I think the software damage is pretty possible. Is there anyway I can reverse this software damage to the hard drive?
Um...do you make regular backups? :D
 
Ok update time,

I loaded up the comp waited about 15 minutes then got into setup, only to realise my Keyboard wasn't plugged in. Major bummer.

Another 15 minutes and I get a strange error that I have never encountered before "setuptxt.inf cannot be read, may be corrupted or damaged".

This I think is the cause of my very very long waits to enter XP setup. It had been a mystery to me up until now. I think the CD is damaged (it has a few light scratches and abrasions) and is pretty difficult to read. I know it's a long shot but I still can't figure out why it takes so long to enter setup.


Another 15 minutes later I enter the recovery console, typed in "fixmbr" as matt2000 suggested, and exited.

Now I'm waiting for round 3 of the set up stage.
 
Quick Question:

After the Setup files have been copied. Is it ok for the computer to be shut down instead of restarted?

After the 15 second countdown timer, instead of restarting my computer just shut down. I don't know why it shut down, I think the processor was too hot. It reached a temperature of 105 C, when I last checked at BIOS.
 
Quick Question:

After the Setup files have been copied. Is it ok for the computer to be shut down instead of restarted?

After the 15 second countdown timer, instead of restarting my computer just shut down. I don't know why it shut down, I think the processor was too hot. It reached a temperature of 105 C, when I last checked at BIOS.

105C as in 105 degrees Centigrate? Are you sure your fans are working properly? A processor shouldn't be running hotter than 65/75 C, no matter how small the case is. And usually it should just shut down before reaching that temp. Open up the case and check everything is as it should. High temps can cause slowdowns and crashes. Of course, it's also possible that your HD is damaged, specially if you had some strange smell from the other comp. Most likely that was some electronic component melting. Number one rule is never put working/valuable components into a "suspicious" computer. Usually your suspicions will be confirmed in the worst possible way.
 
I think you should get one of those mini-fridges that every college dorm room has to keep the beer cool. Just put the case in there, and you can drill a few holes in the door to run the wires out. Now you even have a convenient place to keep beer (right) next to the computer, no need to go to the kitchen!

Just need a bucket for the 'urges'...
 
At one point, I was seriously considering buying a small fridge in which to place my PC's tower. Cheap phase-change cooling! :lol:
 
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