I think my trusty old machine has finally shuffled off this mortal coil. Maybe it can be fixed, but I was planning an upgrade soon anyway.
I left the machine on. I primarily use it as an internet box (since it can't be used for much anything else anymore), and I was downloading some files.
When I returned a couple of hours later, the monitor was off (no big deal; it's set to go into sleep mode normally) but the hard drive light was red. Not the sort of on-off red you would expect when writing, but a solid, angry red.
Finally, I reset the machine. Or tried to. The reset button wouldn't work.
So I killed power completely, and waited a bit. I checked all my cables, poked around in the case a bit. Then I turned it on.
Same thing. Angry red light. And now, the machine won't post.
I know that the power supply is running its fan and the cpu fan. I can see the lights on the keyboard flash. But there's no BIOS screen at all. No RAM test. Nothing. It doesn't even show my Geforce ti4200 video card when I turn on the computer.
I tried unplugging the hard drive from its power and IDE cables to see if it was actually some sort of problem with the drive. The light STILL stayed on even when the drive was unplugged.
So, now, I'm stuck.
I did upgrade the power supply recently, so my first thought is that the PS has gone bad. I may try and put my old one (which I kept) in to see if that helps, but beyond that I'm starting to be at a loss. It seems it could be literally anything beyond that.
My specs (don't laugh, it's paid for):
Athlon 900 mhz
384k pc 133mhz ram
Geforce Ti4200 video card
SB Live! 5.1
30 gigabyte Western Digital Hard drive
Windows XP Pro
Generic ethernet card ($10 at Officemax)
As I said, perfectly servicable for what it was -- an Internet/word processor workstation. But now, I fear it's dead and I may be forced (ha) to spend real cash to get that uber-gaming system of my dreams.
The horror.
I would like to get the thing up and running, though, because A) right now, at least, I'm out of a computer and B) I did promise that I would give this one to my fiancee's sister for her kid.
Any help would be most appreciated.
I left the machine on. I primarily use it as an internet box (since it can't be used for much anything else anymore), and I was downloading some files.
When I returned a couple of hours later, the monitor was off (no big deal; it's set to go into sleep mode normally) but the hard drive light was red. Not the sort of on-off red you would expect when writing, but a solid, angry red.
Finally, I reset the machine. Or tried to. The reset button wouldn't work.
So I killed power completely, and waited a bit. I checked all my cables, poked around in the case a bit. Then I turned it on.
Same thing. Angry red light. And now, the machine won't post.
I know that the power supply is running its fan and the cpu fan. I can see the lights on the keyboard flash. But there's no BIOS screen at all. No RAM test. Nothing. It doesn't even show my Geforce ti4200 video card when I turn on the computer.
I tried unplugging the hard drive from its power and IDE cables to see if it was actually some sort of problem with the drive. The light STILL stayed on even when the drive was unplugged.
So, now, I'm stuck.
I did upgrade the power supply recently, so my first thought is that the PS has gone bad. I may try and put my old one (which I kept) in to see if that helps, but beyond that I'm starting to be at a loss. It seems it could be literally anything beyond that.
My specs (don't laugh, it's paid for):
Athlon 900 mhz
384k pc 133mhz ram
Geforce Ti4200 video card
SB Live! 5.1
30 gigabyte Western Digital Hard drive
Windows XP Pro
Generic ethernet card ($10 at Officemax)
As I said, perfectly servicable for what it was -- an Internet/word processor workstation. But now, I fear it's dead and I may be forced (ha) to spend real cash to get that uber-gaming system of my dreams.
The horror.
I would like to get the thing up and running, though, because A) right now, at least, I'm out of a computer and B) I did promise that I would give this one to my fiancee's sister for her kid.
Any help would be most appreciated.
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