Okay, but how do I figure out if it is a motherboard or power supply issue?
And then what do I do?
Yeah, we're building a race of frog-people. It's a good time
Xander ,'Selfless'
Buffistechnology 2: You Made Her So She Growls?
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Consuela - Jul 15, 2006 2:59:05 pm PDT #8499 of 10003
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
Typo Boy - Jul 15, 2006 3:38:24 pm PDT #8500 of 10003
Calli: My people have a saying. A man who trusts can never be betrayed, only mistaken.Avon: Life expectancy among your people must be extremely short.
I'd take it to a computer repair place you trust or get a friend in the same city with expertise to help you.
Maybe some of the other buffistas can help more. Power suppplies are cheaper than mother boards, so I'd try replacing the power supply first. If that doesn't work then the Motherboard. But maybe there is a reason for trying it in the other order. In the end, regardless, it comes down to replacing parts and seeing what work.
Consuela - Jul 15, 2006 5:08:23 pm PDT #8501 of 10003
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
Well, I googled up some information and went to Compusa for a replacement power supply. Wish me luck!
t dives
Okay, so the power supply is replaced. Now when I turn it on, the fan works. But I don't think the hard drive is working, and the monitor still isn't getting a signal. Argh.
DCJensen - Jul 15, 2006 7:05:04 pm PDT #8502 of 10003
All is well that ends in pizza.
Try disconnecting the Hard Drive from the ribbon/etc. cable, with just the power connector, you will be able to tell if it spins, at least.
remove all memory sticks and reseat, or try one at a time.
Consuela - Jul 15, 2006 7:39:44 pm PDT #8503 of 10003
We are Buffistas. This isn't our first apocalypse. -- Pix
Okay, so the hard drive started, I heard it.
What's this all mean? To recap: The power supply now works and the fan works. The hard drive starts up when it's disconnected from the ribbon cable (that's the connection to the motherboard, right?). I don't apparently have a restart disk for this computer, but I"m assuming that's the next task, to restart it from a cd or floppy? What do I need to be able to do that? I have an external burner I can hook up to the laptop to make one...
DCJensen - Jul 15, 2006 9:35:11 pm PDT #8504 of 10003
All is well that ends in pizza.
Basic troubleshooting of a Motherboard starts with this:
1. Take out all add-in cards. If you have a modem or a seperate sound card? Out.
2. Start with a bare minimum of Ram.
3. turn it on and see if it at least tries to access the floppy drive, or brings up any sort of video.
4. If the video is built-in, try unplugging the monitor and starting it. Then attach the monitor if it seems to be working.
5. If it's a separate video card, take it out (see 1 above) and see if Motherboard beeps.
6. If the video is built-in, and you have an old video card from something else, try starting it up with that video card in a slot. If you have to borrow one, try that.
7. Let us know the results of above.
(Other people feel free to jump in, It's very late here, and I'm overtired...)
Theodosia - Jul 16, 2006 3:42:40 am PDT #8505 of 10003
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"
Does anybody here back up their Music folder(s) on the Mac, and what sort of software/hardware do you use to do it? I've reached about 7 gigs, so it's too big for a straight dump to a DVD, and even though most of it is music that I have on CD, I'd still like to have the complete set available....
Tom Scola - Jul 16, 2006 3:44:15 am PDT #8506 of 10003
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
I use a second, external hard drive to back up my Mac.
Lee - Jul 16, 2006 4:56:48 am PDT #8507 of 10003
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.
I have a LaCie external hard drive that I back every up on.
I need to do that again soon, come to think of it.
Theodosia - Jul 16, 2006 5:04:22 am PDT #8508 of 10003
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"
I was afraid it was something like that.
::makes a note of Even More Stuff to Buy sometime::
In the meantime, I'm copying it out artists A-J and K-Z (the Compilations folder throws off the usual alphabetic split). That gets it on two DVDs...