Killed my home computer? Need help quick

[woody]

was burning some CDs yesterday when a powerful thunderstorm came up... (2+ inches of rain in one lil shower, woo-hoo!) I powered it down normally and waited out the storm.

Anyway later on when I powered it up, the CPU comes on, but the monitor is defaulting to the little on-screen-display to adjust it's settings. The keyboard & mouse are unresponsive :grr: The computer is getting power, so it's obviously not fried all the way. Same for the monitor... Ctl-Alt-Del doesn't seem to reboot it.

Anyone know any magic tricks to make this thing work? It's Windows XP I have a spare keyboard, mouse and monitor, so I may try those :dunno:

Thanks

Woody

 

[My_Little_Pony]

I highly doubt that it's your mouse or keyboard. You might want to try replacing your power source in your computer. They are pretty easy to fix!! Also, before you replace your power supply, try starting your computer in DOS mode, restart your computer and keep hitting the F2 key (I think it's F2 or F1 or F3) it's one of those three keys. If it starts in DOS mode, then your computer is fine. If not, then I don't know. I built a computer, but I am still pretty illiterate on fixing them, but that is where I would start!!

 

[woody]

If it were the power supply, wouldn't the CPU not power up? (when I turn it on, the light on the switch illuminates and IIRC the little hard-drive light blinks as if it's 'thinking'...also the cooling fan is spinning)

OK I'll try to boot it up in DOS... LOL I 'almost' threw out my DOS book yesterday too :dunce: I'll retrieve it from the 'burn' box.

 

[RichP]

Pick up a powersupply, open the case, unplug the big connector on the mainboard, don't bother with the drives and stuff. Plug in the new power supply big connector to the motherboard. Turn it on, if it boots and you see the motherboard POST which is that dos looking screen that lists the memory, hard drives, etc then it's just a matter of removing the old powersupply and sticking in the new one. Also try a different monitor, your monitor could be toasted too. If neither the PS or monitor are the problem then the MB looks like it took a hit thru ground. What brand is the PC ?? To get to setup screen it varies, intel uses 'f2' most others use 'delete', if you have an intel setup like a dell with quiet boot enabled then you have probably never seen the post screen.

 

[bgcntry72]

I am guessing that somehow the monitor display settings got knocked out of whack.
Nothing surprises me after 7 years of geek tech.
Start the computer, and hit F8 at the boot screen, just before it goes dark.
Then, select to start the computer in 'Safe Mode'.
Once there, right-click and go to 'Properties', and then 'Settings'.
Reduce your resolution and see if that allows it to boot normally.
Also, click 'Advanced' and go to monitor, and see what the refresh rate is.
Select 'Optimal' and see if that helps.
Perhaps you fried the monitor...got a spare to try out.
I don't think it's the box itself, but maybe try another video card...
See where I am trying to go with this...
HTH.

 

[woody]

Well I got ahold of Best Buy tech support last night (Lucky me I bought the 3 year in-home service plan ) the first guy had me do a few things, and had it pretty well pegged as the Video Card... anyway while I was under the desk switching power cords to different outlets, I hung him up... :dunce:

1/2 hr later got another guy, who had me doing other stuff, he thinks its a corrupted file & since my restore CDs won't boot, I got pointed to bootdisk.com. Did that today, went to Microsoft & made a stack of setup floppys... we'll see what that achieves later on...

Thanks for the advice... A day without internet is like night.

 

[Kejtar]

Lucky me I bought the 3 year in-home service plan

Doesn't that mean that they come and service "in-home" in-person?

 

[SouthernXJ]

Are you getting power to the keyboard now? When you turn the CPU on, do your Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock lights blink once or twice?

 

[imma honky]

Same thing happened to me a few years back(exact same symptoms). Ended up being my RAM. Thankfully they have a lifetime warranty.

 

[woody]

Well, my boot floppys did nothing, so I spent a bit more time on the phone with tech support last night: 99% sure it's the motherboard/video card (integrated on my POS E-Machines)

Anyway they had to order the board and a real-live tech will be knocking on my door any month now. I think its time for a new surge suppressor/battery backup.

Thanks for the help though. LOL I'll probably need it again if I try to revive my old W95 box until I can get the primary back up.