Re : You can start by providing more info
In order to help you, we'll need to know the details of your hardware and operating system. Make & model of the computer, what is the boot order set to in the BIOS, what are you booting from, what happens when you power up, etc. Do you get any messages? If so what? Do you see at least the manufacturers logo when powering up? Have you tried booting from a CD or DVD? Have you tried booting to Safe Mode? You can see that you left out a lot of relevant info, and I'm afraid my dog broke my crystal ball.
Myself :
Thanks for the reply.....
In order to help you, we'll need to know the details of your hardware and operating system. Make & model of the computer, what is the boot order set to in the BIOS, what are you booting from, what happens when you power up, etc. Do you get any messages? If so what? Do you see at least the manufacturers logo when powering up? Have you tried booting from a CD or DVD? Have you tried booting to Safe Mode? You can see that you left out a lot of relevant info, and I'm afraid my dog broke my crystal ball.
Myself :
Thanks for the reply.....
Before the breakdown I was running Win 98 on an old Pentium - 166 MHz I believe. It's a steady office word processor and it was running very well as not too long ago I set it up afresh from an original back up restore. The system tailors well with the computer and has always given good service.
I was trying to add a different HD on the second IDE connector through auto-detect configurations in the BIOS, but I just couldn't make the new HD show in Windows even with manually configurating the setup programme; I had never had this problem before. So after days of trying I decided to reset the BIOS to default settings to get a fresh start and now I have nothing!
With power on the main HD makes a few start up sounds for a few seconds and after that all is silent with a blank screen and no sign of any activity at all. The computer just sits there waiting with just the CPU fan humming away.
I didn't provide any detail about the computer because it didn't seem relevant as the fault seems so fundamental, however I would like to get the system back. So if you can help I would be very grateful.
I was trying to add a different HD on the second IDE connector through auto-detect configurations in the BIOS, but I just couldn't make the new HD show in Windows even with manually configurating the setup programme; I had never had this problem before. So after days of trying I decided to reset the BIOS to default settings to get a fresh start and now I have nothing!
With power on the main HD makes a few start up sounds for a few seconds and after that all is silent with a blank screen and no sign of any activity at all. The computer just sits there waiting with just the CPU fan humming away.
I didn't provide any detail about the computer because it didn't seem relevant as the fault seems so fundamental, however I would like to get the system back. So if you can help I would be very grateful.
Re : Do you get ANYTHING on the screen or any beeps?
Also look in the BIOS and see what the boot order is. While in the BIOS setup, check to see if it's recognizing both hard drives because if the BIOS doesn't recognize them, there's no way Windows is going to boot. Does the boot order match the hard drive with Windows on it? And are you sure you set the master/slave jumpers correctly? I usually use the cable select jumper settings, but you need to make SURE they're set correctly. Have you tried booting from a CD or DVD? If your motherboard and processor are OK, that should work.
Do you not get ANYTHING on your monitor screen, not even a logo when you boot? Do you get beeps? You're still pretty short on these details I'm afraid.
Do you not get ANYTHING on your monitor screen, not even a logo when you boot? Do you get beeps? You're still pretty short on these details I'm afraid.
Myself : Nothing at all!
There is just a blank screen and no sounds from the speaker. Apart from the hum of a fan and the whirr of the HD on idle nothing happens. Though I'm not stating this as fact, it doesn't sound as if the CPU enacts the BIOS programme so the computer never gets to the Boot stage.
Before the problem occured the boot sequence was always: A-drive, CD-drive, HD-drive. The single HD that is now on the computer is set as a master, as it always has been. The problem with the secondary HD, which as I mentioned the computer never recognised anyway, is irrelevant now as I have removed it. The screen message for this event, which would follow (naturally!) all the system tests that the BIOS ran, was, 'Failure fixed disk 1, press F1 to resume, F2 to enter set-up'. I saw this message so many times last week that it's practically burned onto my retina.
I don't want to prejudice anyone's contributions, but if I was asked to give an opinion I would guess that the BIOS programme isn't present so the CPU has nothing to tell it what to do on start-up. This is just speculation, as I have no experience of fundamental faults like this.
Just to confirm the monitor works fine and everything else has the appearance of operating like it always did, with the obvious exceptions of course. What I did before the fault occurred implies it's probably the BIOS program that has changed profoundly.
Before the problem occured the boot sequence was always: A-drive, CD-drive, HD-drive. The single HD that is now on the computer is set as a master, as it always has been. The problem with the secondary HD, which as I mentioned the computer never recognised anyway, is irrelevant now as I have removed it. The screen message for this event, which would follow (naturally!) all the system tests that the BIOS ran, was, 'Failure fixed disk 1, press F1 to resume, F2 to enter set-up'. I saw this message so many times last week that it's practically burned onto my retina.
I don't want to prejudice anyone's contributions, but if I was asked to give an opinion I would guess that the BIOS programme isn't present so the CPU has nothing to tell it what to do on start-up. This is just speculation, as I have no experience of fundamental faults like this.
Just to confirm the monitor works fine and everything else has the appearance of operating like it always did, with the obvious exceptions of course. What I did before the fault occurred implies it's probably the BIOS program that has changed profoundly.
Re :
So you were having hard drive failures?
Have you tried booting from a CD or DVD? If your hard drive is the problem, booting from a CD or DVD should at least boot. I usually use Ubuntu which you can download from
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop and burn to a DVD-R. If you need a program to burn the disc, you can use the free Imgburn one.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop and burn to a DVD-R. If you need a program to burn the disc, you can use the free Imgburn one.
myself :
There was never a HD failure... as such
However for about a week I couldn't get the computer to accept an additional hard drive on IDE2 and so this system component was not recognised by Windows. Getting the BIOS to register it was the likely source of the problem.
I have just tried to boot up the computer from a Windows operating system / boot CD which I have. I hope this was in line with your suggesting. I had no sucess.
The problem seems to lie far beyond, or rather ahead of the computer booting an operating system. The CPU doesn't complete (or even undertake?) any of the POST procedures in advance of the boot stage, so not unsurprisingly it never reaches a point where it wants to boot an operating system.
I have just tried to boot up the computer from a Windows operating system / boot CD which I have. I hope this was in line with your suggesting. I had no sucess.
The problem seems to lie far beyond, or rather ahead of the computer booting an operating system. The CPU doesn't complete (or even undertake?) any of the POST procedures in advance of the boot stage, so not unsurprisingly it never reaches a point where it wants to boot an operating system.
Re :
That means serious hardware problems
I'd say that narrows it down to power supply, mobo, CPU, or RAM. You could take it to a repair shop, but the expense would probably exceed the value of the computer. Maybe it's time to buy a new one?
If you have data on the hard drive you want to save, you could remove it, put it in an enclosure, and plug it into the USB port on another computer.
`
Good luck.
If you have data on the hard drive you want to save, you could remove it, put it in an enclosure, and plug it into the USB port on another computer.
`
Good luck.
myself :
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You're right about what you say..... - New!
The computer is of little monitory value so it's probably not worth paying to have it looked at by an expert. However it suited me so I would be sorry to see it go. Cost isn't everything.
You're also right to be cautious about the cause of the fault. It doesn't have to be the absence of a working BIOS program that's killed it off, but it seems a coincidence if it isn't after what I did. Do you believe that this is "unlikely" to be the problem?
I can find an alternative power supply, check the RAM, and even try an alternative CPU. If another one fits the original socket it's suitable isn't it?
What's the "mobo"?
Thank you for your contributions and good luck to you to!
You're also right to be cautious about the cause of the fault. It doesn't have to be the absence of a working BIOS program that's killed it off, but it seems a coincidence if it isn't after what I did. Do you believe that this is "unlikely" to be the problem?
I can find an alternative power supply, check the RAM, and even try an alternative CPU. If another one fits the original socket it's suitable isn't it?
What's the "mobo"?
Thank you for your contributions and good luck to you to!
Re :
Mobo is an abbreviation for motherboard - New!
I've never seen a BIOS go bad. I'm sure it's possible, but it has to be highly unlikely; and since it's integrated into the motherboard, it's not a replaceable part in any event.
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