Need help.....my computer died.....again!

[Theresa]

you know, we have a work computer that did the same thing the other day....the shop said it was a memory issue...turned out to be a power supply issue...

[HeavenlyOne]

Originally Posted by Theresa

you know, we have a work computer that did the same thing the other day....the shop said it was a memory issue...turned out to be a power supply issue...

I'm not sure which one I'd rather have.

[Theresa]

Originally Posted by HeavenlyOne

I'm not sure which one I'd rather have.

power supply problem can either be the cord or the battery - or both..and it can be pricey

but you dont have to open up the machine


I'd bet something has come loose inside - I dont personally think Laptops are as durable as they should be for the amount of movement they are subjected to since they are "portable"

sure they are small and easy to move, but they arent rugged enough to handle it...kwim?

But thats just my opinion. LOL

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

Originally Posted by HeavenlyOne

I'm still trying to figure out where the DIMM is. Can't find it in the manual.

Thanks for the links, BOOM. I'm hoping something works.

Depending what factorie built it.... could be under door on bottom.

Or could be under keyboard.

[HeavenlyOne]

Originally Posted by BoredOutOfMyMind

Depending what factorie built it.... could be under door on bottom.

Or could be under keyboard.

I think it's under the door on the bottom. I don't want to do anything here though, as I have carpet and major static electricity here!

[BoredOutOfMyMind]

Originally Posted by HeavenlyOne

I think it's under the door on the bottom. I don't want to do anything here though, as I have carpet and major static electricity here!

LOL

Look at this youtube of Jeremy Clarkson and how he "solved his laptop problems.

**Disclaimer I did not watch this whole clip***

[HeavenlyOne]

Originally Posted by BoredOutOfMyMind

LOL

Look at this youtube of Jeremy Clarkson and how he "solved his laptop problems.

**Disclaimer I did not watch this whole clip***

ROFL!!

I was about to do that last night!

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Digging4Truth

It is very simple...

Now... I will leave the disassembling of a laptop to your expertise or digress to someone else...

But... once you get it open.. take a vacuum cleaner hose and suck all the bigger clumps of dust/lint etc out. If you have a soft bristle brush attachment that might be the next step. If not... and you have a soft bristle brush you can use to lightly brush everything and loosen up the dust that has become adhered to the motherboard etc then that would be good and then lightly vacuum it again.

There will probably be a fan mounted on top of your processor. Take that fan off and put the vacuum hose up to the fan frame. Sucking air through the fan will cause it to pick up some pretty good speed. Be careful... don't over do it but you DEFINITELY want all fans cleaned well (processor cooling fan & the power supply fan) and all surfaces that are directly being cooled by the fans. Any dust in the fan or on the surface being cooled will vastly reduce the cooling ability.

Just be as gentle and as thorough as you can. You don't want to break anything but you do want to get the whole system (especially portions that have to do with cooling the computer down) as clean as possible.

A computer (generally) isn't an overwhelmingly brittle device. You're not shutting down a nuclear weapon or anything... just be mindful that you don't put any undue stress on the machine as much as possible.

And.. btw... it isn't unintelligent to not know something... it is unintelligent to not ask.

I would NOT do that. First of all do NOT touch any parts inside. Second buy a can of compressed air. Open the case. Hold it so it is tilted over so the dust bunnies come out. Get the compressed air and blow all the dust out. Don't tilt the can because the liquid will come out.

If the fan is excessively clogged and the air is not blowing it out then you might try a dry q-tip or something.

Make sure no wires are also impeding the movement of the fans.

Then check the fan on the power supply and clean it as well. After you hear the beeping is there any lights on? Does it continue to beep? Also, next time your PC does not boot up to the log in screen after having to shut it down or something (without doing it properly), put the original OS CD in, if it's Win XP and go to the restore console. It will ask if you want to run it and should put you in an MS-DOS like mode. Run chkdsk...which has taken the place of scandisk. If often puts lost files back in their place.

look for loose wires and cables. When you turn the PC on and the fan starts up, after the beep does the fan stop?

What OS? What CPU?

Maybe the video card is bad. How old is the PC?

Again when you open the PC be grounded. An static and you can fry the PC...

Also if the Fan was not working before, you may have over heated the CPU and in that case it may be toast.

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by HeavenlyOne

I'm talking about a laptop and LadyRev said she doesn't want to take it apart as she's never done that with a laptop before.

I took off the two doors on the bottom that I found, but no dust was in them.

*sigh*

Good thing I keep an extra $1000 in my pocket for such emergencies........





Yeah, right!

Ugh...a laptop? I bet the CPU is overheated. Is it an Older model? Those things don't have much in the way of fans and like mine, you have to make sure it does not rest flat on a flat surface....especially like a bed. It has legs and those lets are there not to tilt it for you but to allow a better air flow.

The doors to the bottem only show you the memory modules usually (Dimms)..that could be the problem but they would not cause the fan to stop, and also you still might get something on the screen.

I thought you were talking about a PC. You should probably take it to someone instead of try to fix it yourself

[Praxeas]

Originally Posted by Fonix

I didnt realize it was a laptop. I was talking about a desktop. Ive never had to work on my laptop. Digging was right though. FIRST suck out large dust bunnies THEN blow it out.

I think it's dangerous to use a vacuum cleaner. If you touch the surface you could knock something loose, break something or maybe discharge static