| Author |
Message |
professor_scissors
Posts: 1033
|
 Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:05 am Post subject: Is there a computer doctor in the house? |
|
My month-old computer is in a coma.
Ahem. Providing background.
About a week ago, it started to run... slowly. It would occasionally lock up for a few seconds, then frantically try to catch up. This started happening more and more often, for longer periods of time, until I came to the concluion: VIRUS! AAAAAH!
I tried some antivirus stuff, found nothing, got ready to reformat, then I tried an experiment.
The cooling fan was on low. I timed how long it held out before dying. 4 minutes. Then, I set the fan on high, tried again. 13 minutes.
A ha.
It was overheating. I talked to a friend about it, he said to get new thermal paste. I did. Got the heatsink out, got rid of the old paste, put the new paste on, put it back together, plugged it all in. Turned it on.
It gets to the startup logo screen, which usually flashes by for 5 seconds. Elapsed time: 75 seconds.
Then it goes to a screen saying "Verifying DMI Pool Data..." Elapsed Time: 60 seconds.
Then, I get a new message:
DISK BOOT FALIURE.
I take out the CD in the CD drive, tighten the HD plug, play around with the BIOS a bit. Restart, try again.
DISK BOOT FALIURE.
What the fuck is wrong with my computer? Please? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
thatbox
Posts: 816
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:11 am Post subject: |
|
| Could you have slightly unplugged an IDE cable from the hard drive or motherboard while you were putzing around with the CPU? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
professor_scissors
Posts: 1033
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:19 am Post subject: |
|
thatbox wrote:
Could you have slightly unplugged an IDE cable from the hard drive or motherboard while you were putzing around with the CPU?
I had, but I fixed that, and it didn't fix my problem. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dhex
Posts: 2963
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 11:12 am Post subject: |
|
| sounds like the hd is dead or dying. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
thatbox
Posts: 816
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 11:21 am Post subject: |
|
dhex wrote:
sounds like the hd is dead or dying.
Agreed. If you have a spare (and apparently you're using one right now!), swap it with the troubled one and see if it boots then. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DonMarco
Posts: 565
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 4:22 pm Post subject: |
|
Upgrade the BIOS!
The BIOS is the key! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Takashi
Posts: 820
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 7:53 pm Post subject: |
|
Seems to me like the BIOS set the machine to a "safe" mode. Maybe it changed the definitions of the discs in the BIOS. I'd run the Detect Hard Drive menu choise.
If it isn't working, try and find a boot disc for whatever system you're running. Windows XP has something called a Recovery Console in the instalation CD, when you press F8 or somthing during the process, that might let you check up on the Hard Drive. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
thatbox
Posts: 816
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 8:18 pm Post subject: |
|
The only thing BIOS-wise I can think of would be to make sure you've still got the correct hard drive in the boot sequence somewhere, but that shouldn't have changed drastically unless you did it on purpose.
But yeah, you could also try booting from a floppy or a CD (Knoppix or whathaveyou) just to make sure that the problem component is likely your hard drive. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
professor_scissors
Posts: 1033
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2005 8:20 pm Post subject: |
|
Takashi wrote:
Seems to me like the BIOS set the machine to a "safe" mode. Maybe it changed the definitions of the discs in the BIOS. I'd run the Detect Hard Drive menu choise.
If it isn't working, try and find a boot disc for whatever system you're running. Windows XP has something called a Recovery Console in the instalation CD, when you press F8 or somthing during the process, that might let you check up on the Hard Drive.
I reset the BIOS using the clear CMOS thing. No dice. I choose "Detect Hard Drive". It fluctuates between nothing, detecting it and not booting up, or detecting a completely different hard drive that does not, in fact, exist.
I put a CD in and tell it to boot from CD first. It doesn't.
Really, this leads me to think something is up with my IDE cable. I'll poke around a bit more. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
dhex
Posts: 2963
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:11 am Post subject: |
|
| did you try swapping the cables yet? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|