[pugs]

Got home from work last night and noticed my computer was still on after I shut it down before going to work.  I could not get any image on the monitor.  The indicator lights on both the computer and monitor were yellow/orange instead of the normal green.  The computer would not turn off when I pressed down on the power button for the normal 5 or so seconds.  When I unplugged the monitor from the computer, the indicator light on the monitor turned green and saw an image on the screen saying "no signal, check connection".  When I plugged it back into the computer the light on the monitor turned yellow/orange again.  The CD and DVD drives on the computer will not open and the indicator lights on them do not work.  I don't know much about computers, but have a couple theories:

1)  Computer overheated.  I bought a new computer desk with a tower compartment.  I have noticed that the computer gets pretty hot.  I would think that it would have some sort of overheat protection though.

2)  I had pretty much no space left on my hard drive.  I'm not sure what happens when a computer crashes, but myabe it crashed?

The computer sounds like it is still running (i.e. the stills runs).  Is my computer toast?  Any ideas?  Obviously, I am not writing this from that computer.

[tdangelo]

Sounds like the motherboard got fried by a spike or maybe the power supply.  Unplug everything(mouse, keyboard etc..) except for the monitor and see what happens.

[pugs]

Sounds like the motherboard got fried by a spike or maybe the power supply.  Unplug everything(mouse, keyboard etc..) except for the monitor and see what happens.

That doesn't sound good.  I looked inside the computer, but didn't notice anything weird.  Is there anything I can check inside?

I won't be able to try diconnecting everything until I get off work late tonight.  If that is the problem would it even be worth it to fix it?  The computer is about 4 years old.  It's a Hewlet Packard using Windows XP.

What do you think about the overheating or hard drive theories?

Thanks

[ScottMayo]

Turn computer off and unplug, allow to cool overnight. Then plug it back in and try a boot.

If it doesn't come back, kiss it goodbye and leave it on the curb with a sign saying "some parts may still be usable".

You could try getting it repaired, but I've been that route and unless it was brand new/under warranty, it's better to buy a cheap replacement. Of course, if there was anything on there you really, really cared about... well, you can get the data back, but it's rarely cheap.

Having the disk be full won't cause a crash in any recent operating system and it definitely won't prevent a boot.

Never allow a computer to get hot. Heat=death for any component.

[tdangelo]

not worth it to fix ;(  If the HD is bad you would atleast be able to see the BIOS post on the screen.  It could also be a bad video card.  Listen for beeps when you turn it on.  I don't remember exactly but a certain # of beeps mean different problem like, 2 beeps = memory,  3 video etc..

[Cacophonix]

Now before labelling this PC as "junk", try a few of things.
- Like someone mentioned, listen to any beeping noise when the PC tries to boot up. Short 2 beeps usually means that the video card is not seated right. Or it would be that the RAM modules are not seated right.
- Do you hear any hard drive access sound?
- Remove the PC cover, and see if the CPU fan comes on when u try to boot it up.
- And this is a audio group ... you'll have much better chance at trouble shooting ur PC if u post ur problems at forums like anandtech.com.

Let us know what happens.

[pugs]

Turn computer off and unplug, allow to cool overnight. Then plug it back in and try a boot.

If it doesn't come back, kiss it goodbye and leave it on the curb with a sign saying "some parts may still be usable".

You could try getting it repaired, but I've been that route and unless it was brand new/under warranty, it's better to buy a cheap replacement. Of course, if there was anything on there you really, really cared about... well, you can get the data back, but it's rarely cheap.

Having the disk  ...

Will I be able to pull out the hard drive and transfer everything to my new computer?

I don't understand why they make those tower cabinets the way they do if it's going to kill the computer.  My mom and my wife's parents have the same kind of cabinet and they said they have to leave the cabinet door open all the time so the computer doesn't overheat .   I wish I didn't buy that particular desk now   .  

I had the computer turned off all night last night, but didn't unplug everything.  I'll try that tonight.  

Thanks for the help.

[pugs]

Now before labelling this PC as "junk", try a few of things.
- Like someone mentioned, listen to any beeping noise when the PC tries to boot up. Short 2 beeps usually means that the video card is not seated right. Or it would be that the RAM modules are not seated right.
- Do you hear any hard drive access sound?
- Remove the PC cover, and see if the CPU fan comes on when u try to boot it up.
- And this is a audio group ... you'll have much better chance at trouble shooting ur PC if u post ur problems at forums like anandtech.com.

Let us know what happens.

What does a "hard drive access sound" sound like?

I did turn it on with the cover off, but wasn't really listening for beeps.  The fan did turn on.  I'll try it again and listen for beeps tonight or tomorrow.

[pm314]

It sounds like the exact same thing that happened to me about a year ago. I had a HP Pavillion about 4-5 years old. We got back from vacation and had forgotten to power it down. If I remember correctly there were some beeps at startup and the fans would run, but basically the motherboard was toast.  I was able to buy a new case, MB, processor, memory (my old was incompatible) and move everything over. It did require a few days of troubleshooting etc, but eventually everthing turned out okay and I had a much faster PC in the end.  Im not sure I ended up saving very much money over just buying a new low end PC but I was able to keep my setup pretty much the same (only faster) and enjoyed the process of building the new PC. If thats not your thing then you may want to go with the new PC and look into having someone recover any important data that you have.  Hopefully yours is not the MB, but it sure sounds like the problem I had.

[ScottMayo]

What does a "hard drive access sound" sound like?

I did turn it on with the cover off, but wasn't really listening for beeps.  The fan did turn on.  I'll try it again and listen for beeps tonight or tomorrow.

The beeps are generally pretty loud and not something you notmally hear during system startup, you've have noticed if it started beeping.

Hard drives (small metal boxes abut the size of an overgrown deck of playing cards) make a faint whrrring when they start up - put your ear near the disk because it can be hard to hear over the fans otherwise. Then, as the computer begins to use the disk, it makes quiet clicks and thunks. It will do this a lot if Windows is booting, and once or not at all if the machine is too fried to start Windows.

From the sounds of things, you aren't the sort that goes exploring inside your PC, so I don't think it's very likely that you knocked the video card loose somehow. So if the screen stays completely blank, that means your system is too hosed to do any of the initial startup stuff - that would put at least some words on the screen. So either the video card overheated and died, or the motherboard did. My money's on the MB, especially if nothing beeps or thunks when you start the machine.

If you're strapped for cash, new motherboards run 100-200$ and should still be available for a 4 year old machine, and labor to replace it should run under $100 at a decent repair shop. But for $300 you can start to look at new computers (you probably don't need a new monitor, which saves some money) and you'll end up with something faster, that hasn't been heat stressed. If there's stuff you want on the old disk, the old disk can be connected up to the new machine and you can get your files moved.

Get a surge protector for the new machine. Heat and power surges are what kill machines. If you can guard against those, a computer ought to last a decade.

[Thump553]

pugs, please don't take these questions as insulting, but your first post didn't mention doing anything to turn the computer back on except plugging it in.  Are you sure you pushed the on/off button?  Also, check to see if your computer has a power switch on the back near where the plug goes.  If so, that switch should be pushed so that the "I" is down and the "O" is up.  Finally, check your powerstrip to make sure it is turned on, and check your outlet-plug a light in it to make sure it works.

From your first post, it sounds like the computer isn't powering up at all.  You're not hearing any beeps at all, right?

I'd never throw away a computer without removing the hard drive first, for privacy reasons.  If you can't transfer the data from the hard drive to a new computer there are pay services that can help.  If you must throw out the hard drive, take a hammer and smash it up first.  That insures your privacy and feels good, too.

[ScottMayo]

'd never throw away a computer without removing the hard drive first, for privacy reasons. If you can't transfer the data from the hard drive to a new computer there are pay services that can help. If you must throw out the hard drive, take a hammer and smash it up first. That insures your privacy and feels good, too.

Better: don't store personal information on the hard drive. This is what thumb drives are for. Because I keep customer information, I'm very sensitive to this. Never put anything you want to keep private on a main drive. And after updating information on a thumb drive, run a utility that cleans free space on your main drive, because windows, in it's inifinite wisdom, puts temporary copies of edited files on main drives. Unplug the thumb drive when you go online, and your information is as reasonably safe as you can hope for.

Assume everything on main drives is permanently viewable by world+dog, because someday you'll be virused, have your computer stolen, or give it away, and it will be.

[pugs]

The beeps are generally pretty loud and not something you notmally hear during system startup, you've have noticed if it started beeping.

Hard drives (small metal boxes abut the size of an overgrown deck of playing cards) make a faint whrrring when they start up - put your ear near the disk because it can be hard to hear over the fans otherwise. Then, as the computer begins to use the disk, it makes quiet clicks and thunks. It will do this a lot if Windows is booting, and once or not at all if the machin ...

I'll check and see if the hard drive makes any noise.  I didn't hear any beeps when I opened it and started it up.  Any chance it's the power supply?  The indicator lights on my CD and DVD drives don't turn on.  Is it possible that part of the power supply is fried, but can still turn on the computer?

[pugs]

pugs, please don't take these questions as insulting, but your first post didn't mention doing anything to turn the computer back on except plugging it in.  Are you sure you pushed the on/off button?  Also, check to see if your computer has a power switch on the back near where the plug goes.  If so, that switch should be pushed so that the "I" is down and the "O" is up.  Finally, check your powerstrip to make sure it is turned on, and check your outlet-plug a light in it to make sure it works.

From your ...

It turns on, but it won't turn off unless I unplug it or turn off the surge protector (yes, it was plugged into a surge protector).

If it is fried, I'm going to play with a little, and maybe keep some parts.

My last hope is the power supply.  Since the computer turns on, that's probably not the problem though.  The only reason that I think it could be the problem is because the DVD and CD drives don't appear to have power to them at all.

[pugs]

BTW- If I do need a new computer, which PC's are recommended?  A few people have recommended HP which is what I have now.

[Thump553]

pugs:  I'm just a hobbyist, but I've had computers fail for lots of different reasons over the years.  It could be the power supply but it could be a number of other things too.  For example, nearly all motherboards have built in CPU overheat protection now-if you turn them on without the proper heatsink on the CPU you will probably get the exact same symptoms you have.

Not hearing the beeps is probably a good sign.  It may rule out any problems with your motherboard.  I'm guessing a CPU problem, dead hard drive or bad powersupply as the likely sources.  If you overheated the CPU (your desk may have done this) odds are it's new computer time.

If you are confident doing it, open the case and make sure everything is plugged in solidly where it is supposed to be.  If it still doesn't boot, do you have a local place (or skilled high school age relative) that can take a look at it for you?  A new power supply, or a new hard drive, are cheaper than a whole new box.

As for a new computer, I'm more partial to Dells than HPs (this is being written on a HP).  Dells are generally quieter and more elegantly assembled inside.  My HP looks like an average computer inside-cables all over the place, etc.  The Dells I've opened (about five or so) have been models of simplicity inside-the cables are just long enough to reach, and routed out of the way, etc.  Check out the Hot Deals sections at fatwallet.com or anandtech.com for computer deals.  Dell runs great deals near the end of each financial quarter generally (end of Jan. 06 is the next quarter end, I think).

Good luck with it.

[ctviggen]

Do you have access to another computer?  If so, connect your monitor to that computer.  If your monitor works, the problem's with your PC.  Take the video card out of the good PC and plug it into your PC and plug your monitor into the new video card (take out your old video card).  Turn on your PC and see what happens.  If nothing, then you could take the old video card and put it into the new computer.  If the old video card works, you've ruled out one more thing.  From here on out, it gets a bit harder.  One thing you could do, though, is take the hard drive from the good computer and put it in yours (unplug yours and replace it).  Resart.  If you get anything on the screen, the hard drive went down.  You can also test by taking your hard drive and putting it into the new computer in a second spot (as "slave").  You should be able to access your hard drive.  If so, you can get your data; if not, suspect the drive.  If you hold onto the drive during power up (or just put a finger on the metal of the drive), you should be able to feel vibration caused by the moving heads.  Note that your drive will likely be set as "master" and you should set it as "slave" if you connect it along with the new drive in the new computer.  

At this point, you've ruled out the monitor, video card, and hard drive.  To rule out the power supply (or at least help rule it out), connect one output of your power supply to something you know works -- the CD player of the good/new computer.  Does the CD player work?  If so, there's a good bet that the power supply isn't bad.  You're now down to the board.  What about memory?  Can you take memory from the new computer and put in your computer?  If so, you're down basically to the board.  After this, it gets testy and you'll need at least a voltmeter, and honestly it'll be cheaper to buy a new motherboard/computer.

[pugs]

Do you have access to another computer?  If so, connect your monitor to that computer.  If your monitor works, the problem's with your PC.  Take the video card out of the good PC and plug it into your PC and plug your monitor into the new video card (take out your old video card).  Turn on your PC and see what happens.  If nothing, then you could take the old video card and put it into the new computer.  If the old video card works, you've ruled out one more thing.  From here on out, it gets a bit harder.   ...

Thanks a lot for the troubleshooting tips.  I ordered a new computer today, but still plan on troubleshooting the other.  If I can finally fix it, I might send back the new one.

[EchiDna]

pugs did you check the surge protector? I've fried two fo them before and neither survived... I also went out and bought a new power supply for the PC... nope that didn't fix it... new motherboard.... nope... HDD? also nope....

 the #@!$%^%^ surge protector was so fried NOTHING got through it once it reached operating temp for the thermistors...  I threw out the old surge protector and got a new one... and hey presto the original "fried" PC worked fine...

3 re-stocking fees later, I learnt to always check from the source first!

I hope your story has a better ending!