Ive asked a few ppl but really want to be sure before i invest in a solution.
So here is the problem. my gf's pc refused to work ... it would partially load then stop half way thru the bios and say that windows is missing a file and cant continue. I tried to reformat it but i couldnt even get into the bios from the point that it stops me.
So i ordered a new HDD and tried to install it and format it. WHen i tried to format it, windows said that there were no HDD installed. So i checked the connections again, load it up and then there was no longer a signal to her monitor...WTF
i tried a different monitor, same result.
Here are my potential solutions/answers to the problem.
1. the gfx card blew 2. the hdd refused to work because its a SATA II on an old SATA I connector
the 2nd one MIGHT answer the initial problem ... but idk
the 1st part doesnt explain the 2nd, which is why i am puzzled.
if something on it fries... it's dead. Mine was fine when I left for work, came home for lunch like 3 hours later and tried turning it on, booted up but wouldn't pass BIOS.
1) Missing windows file. Which could be 3 things; the hdd, the cable connecting the hdd to the mobo, or the mobo.
2) Monitor isn't displaying anything. Which could be a couple of things; the video card, the monitor and it's cable, or the mobo.
The only thing these two problems have in common is the mobo which is what every one is saying. I would have to agree with that as it's the simplest explination.
It is possible that the hdd cable is bad(which is why both hdds weren't working correctly) or one hdd went bad, the other was incompatable with the mobo, and the video card went out at the same time, but what would the odds of that happening be?
i know you couldn't get in to BIOS initially but you didn't mention if you tried to go back in to BIOS after installing the new HDD. it could be as simple as it's not being detected at the moment.
i cant remember what the missing file was, but when i installed the new hdd, i was able to run through the windows setup, until it came time to ACTUALLY install the files, then it said that no hdd was detected - which lead me to believe that because it was a SATA II in a SATA I mobo connector ... it wouldnt work ... so i restarted the PC and BAM ... no visual anymore
QUOTE:until it came time to ACTUALLY install the files, then it said that no hdd was detected
Actually, I know your going to hate me and call bs, but this sounds like a cd-rom problem. The comp I am on now couldn't install windows because the cd-rom was to old. I switched cd roms and it installed just fine. It kept getting to one dll file and then saying "could not read" I googled and found that it was the cd-rom not the cd.
Anyways, I still go with the mobo because it doesn't explain why the monitor isn't working.
well this is gonna suck then lol. I really was hoping that it was only a gfx card problem ... but this is an older pc, so im going to have to change cpu, mobo, ram ... sees gonna kill me lol
check the RAM... if you cant even see the BIOS take out some of the RAM and change slots...try to get to the most barebone state of that comp to figure out the problem. RAM and HDD are the most common thing to fail in computer.
your computer wouldnt boot if your ram was fried, it would just beep. but some mobo's are f'ed up and you need to switch ram around to get it to work. but im going to say your mobo is bad.
I'm not sure but i think sharp.qc had the same problem during a lan and I don't really remember how he resolve it, we tried alot of different video card if i remember that was not the problem so he might be able to help you :S
yes especially dont listen to thrasher... that crap he posted doesnt make any sense and it actually drives you further away from the solution to your problem instead of solving it.
before you pull up any of your dumb random facts thrasher i've been working in IT for a company for 4 years now, aka i've done this a few times. i know more about this then you do (as well as everything you think you know about in life, even politics).
the system sounds like it starts up completely, with all the right beeping and funny sounds lol. But i just got have a visual to see that it is. The monitor is constantly idle. next time i see her ... ill try messing with the ram before i tell her she has to replace basically her whole system lol
PC Problem
So here is the problem. my gf's pc refused to work ... it would partially load then stop half way thru the bios and say that windows is missing a file and cant continue. I tried to reformat it but i couldnt even get into the bios from the point that it stops me.
So i ordered a new HDD and tried to install it and format it. WHen i tried to format it, windows said that there were no HDD installed. So i checked the connections again, load it up and then there was no longer a signal to her monitor...WTF
i tried a different monitor, same result.
Here are my potential solutions/answers to the problem.
1. the gfx card blew
2. the hdd refused to work because its a SATA II on an old SATA I connector
the 2nd one MIGHT answer the initial problem ... but idk
the 1st part doesnt explain the 2nd, which is why i am puzzled.
1) Missing windows file. Which could be 3 things; the hdd, the cable connecting the hdd to the mobo, or the mobo.
2) Monitor isn't displaying anything. Which could be a couple of things; the video card, the monitor and it's cable, or the mobo.
The only thing these two problems have in common is the mobo which is what every one is saying. I would have to agree with that as it's the simplest explination.
It is possible that the hdd cable is bad(which is why both hdds weren't working correctly) or one hdd went bad, the other was incompatable with the mobo, and the video card went out at the same time, but what would the odds of that happening be?
i know you couldn't get in to BIOS initially but you didn't mention if you tried to go back in to BIOS after installing the new HDD. it could be as simple as it's not being detected at the moment.
also, reset the CMOS chip.
Actually, I know your going to hate me and call bs, but this sounds like a cd-rom problem. The comp I am on now couldn't install windows because the cd-rom was to old. I switched cd roms and it installed just fine. It kept getting to one dll file and then saying "could not read" I googled and found that it was the cd-rom not the cd.
Anyways, I still go with the mobo because it doesn't explain why the monitor isn't working.
i dont know what a mobo is
but the ram was the issue as sexualmayo is saying
PS. Your motherboard, I'm sorry your "gf's" motherboard, is fried. Is the computer POSTing? I didn't read anything past the OP.