I've been trying to start up an ancient computer of mine, but it doesn't go beyond the start-up screen. It's the same story when I try safe-mode or MS-DOS in safe-mode. The computer doesn't freeze though and I can restart with Ctrl-Alt-Del.
[strike]I've tried booting it from the Windows 98 installation CD to run check-disk but I'm not succeeding with that. I thought I just had to start up the computer with the CD in the tray, but that doesn't work and neither does hitting F8. Maybe I'm missing something?[/strike] [right, you had to change the boot sequence in BIOS to boot from the CD]
I've also opened up the computer to see if anything was loose but that doesn't seem to be the case. I did notice that the fan for the HDD (yes, it has one) doesn't run when I start the computer. When I unplug the power wire for that fan (which was plugged in between the HDD connector and the wire to the PSU), so that power goes straight from the PSU to the HDD, the screen stays dark when I start the computer and I'm not getting a beep. That seems curious because that HDD fan isn't strictly needed as far as I know.
Is it as bad as I fear it is and is the HDD broken, or do I have an excuse to hope it's fixable? Maybe something with the power wires?
[edit]ow, probably important to mention, I did initially have a burning smell. Figured it was dust and I didn't have it again when I blew the fans out. Both the PSU and the CPU fans seem to be working properly.
[edit2]I booted from the Windows 98 CD and scandisk gave me a "data error while reading the FAT" message. Guess that answers it.
[strike]I've tried booting it from the Windows 98 installation CD to run check-disk but I'm not succeeding with that. I thought I just had to start up the computer with the CD in the tray, but that doesn't work and neither does hitting F8. Maybe I'm missing something?[/strike] [right, you had to change the boot sequence in BIOS to boot from the CD]
I've also opened up the computer to see if anything was loose but that doesn't seem to be the case. I did notice that the fan for the HDD (yes, it has one) doesn't run when I start the computer. When I unplug the power wire for that fan (which was plugged in between the HDD connector and the wire to the PSU), so that power goes straight from the PSU to the HDD, the screen stays dark when I start the computer and I'm not getting a beep. That seems curious because that HDD fan isn't strictly needed as far as I know.
Is it as bad as I fear it is and is the HDD broken, or do I have an excuse to hope it's fixable? Maybe something with the power wires?
[edit]ow, probably important to mention, I did initially have a burning smell. Figured it was dust and I didn't have it again when I blew the fans out. Both the PSU and the CPU fans seem to be working properly.
[edit2]I booted from the Windows 98 CD and scandisk gave me a "data error while reading the FAT" message. Guess that answers it.
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