My computer has died :o(- sorry this is a bit long!

Blackwijet

Blackwijet

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Sue
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My main computer has died :o(

Thanks to the friend that built my computer (named Bumfluff - don't ask!) deciding the processor wasn't running as fast as it should (which it wasn't but at least the Bumfluff worked!) and doing some changes couple of weeks ago the computer has gradually been having more and more problems including going into a reboot loop and then finally blue screened on me when I did get past the boot up. We spent last night attempting a rebuild, tried XP repair - wouldn't have it, tried formatting the hard drive and completely reinstalling XP wouldn't have it. Basically everything seems to need replacing, motherboard, graphics card, hard drive - god knows what he did to it!"
However, I've decided by the time we've replaced everything I might as well upgrade and get new one........seems a good excuse to me anyway :D

I'm running CS2 but maybe upgrading to CS4. My ideal would be at least 4GB ram (only got 2gb at the moment so struggling sometimes) , 250GB + hard drive, CD reader/writer, windows XP (I've heard there are still issues with Windows 7 ), etc and I want to get a laptop this time...........does anyone have any recomendations on models and good places to purchase? I've been looking at the Acer range and heard good things, my budget would be £800, but could possible stretch to £1000.

Please don't let this get into the PC/Mac discussion either, I want to stick to what I know and can't afford the swap over of software.

Many thanks to any suggetions!
 
neil_g said:
whoa whoa whoa.. it probably doesnt need replacing.

if he overclocked it just do a bios reset (find the model and follow the manual instructions).
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Yup sounds like overclocking issue. But if you do buy a laptop I wouldnt spend more than around £400 IMHO you should get that for the specs you mentioned. I run an Acer 5735 with 3gig of ram and Vista, its runs CS3 very smoothly and it only cost £350
 
An overclocking problem - seldom works for long if overdone - blue screen of death nearly allways appears.

Worst case you may have fried your chip:(
 
Bios reset by unplugging it and removing the button battery for a couple of minutes?
 
Agree with the others that it sounds like an OC gone wrong.

If you are set on replacing your desktop with a laptop though, your budget of £800 will get you practically any windows based laptop on the market! For that kind of budget I'd persoanlly look towards Sony or Samsung.

However, as mentioned by sbowler579, Acer do make some very decent laptops with similar spec for a lot less money.

As for Windows 7, I've never had any issues with it whatsoever (same couldn't be said with Vista :nono:). You'll also need a 64bit system to maximise 4GB of RAM & Windows 7 provides both versions in the same box.....
 
Hi- thanks for the suggestions

Actually he didn't overclock it - it was running way below what it should have done and he took up to just under what it should have been doing. Tried bios reset - didnt like it, black screened after that!

This computer was going to need a major upgrade anyway which was going require a new motherboard, more memory, new processor new fan and probably new PSU so I think it's just been brought forward.

Everything else seemed to be running okay CPU temp and voltage etc were all within normal parameters (god I sound like a trekky!)

Thanks for the comments on the Acer systems, I'd heard some good comments but wanted conformation from fellow photoshop users if that makes sense!

I've actually knocked the laptop on the head as I've seen an Acer Tower system for under £600 which is dual loaded with Windows 7 and comes with downgrade to XP, 4gb RAM 650 GB HH (!!) so I'm probably going to go with that as I can play with Windows 7 and see how I get on. Thankfully I'm getting a bonus next month:D
 
Never heard of a processor being 'underclocked' unless part of a power saving feature. What processor did you have and we can confirm what it's stock speed should be? Then find out what speed (GHz) he was trying to up it to. Sounds like your friend doesn't know what he's doing properly unless you've got some really strange hardware issue. Like said, try reseting the bios.
 
Sorry I probably didn't word previous comment properly. He didn't underclock or overclock, just made sure it was running to correct spec as per the recomended stock speed, can't tell you what that should have been as I'm not at home. It wasn't running anywhere near what it should have been originally so maybe there was a problem already, and maybe there was a major hardware problem that was highlighted when the "tweaks " were made.

Like I said in previous comment we did try a bios reset and the whole thing shut up shop, black screened never to boot again! (He does know what he's doing by the way)

It will be rebuilt at sometime but will probably be used as backup storage. I need a pc now as I have two events to cover this weekend and only a tiny little laptop to edit, print, load to website etc - it is my temporary stand in. So new tower is on order.....hopefully!
 
You wouldnt happen to have an AMD processer by any chance?
Got a funny feeling your friend may have set the CPU incorrectly..
Reason i say that is..
On Intel systems,the CPU speed is the true speed it runs at ..
ie-an intel P4 2.8Ghz will run at 2800 Mhz in the bios...
An AMD cpu works differently..They brand their chips by "performance equivalent"..
ie..
A 2.8Ghz AMD cpu will actually run at a clock speed around 2200 Mhz in Bios..
Just a thought...
 
Sorry im intrigued - "bumfluff"?

I half want to know the story behind it, and Im half worried I may end up paying for a shrink after.
 
faddius said:
Sorry im intrigued - "bumfluff"?

I half want to know the story behind it, and Im half worried I may end up paying for a shrink after.
Click to expand...


Me too, want to go halfers on the shrink?
 
Mischief said:
You wouldnt happen to have an AMD processer by any chance?
Got a funny feeling your friend may have set the CPU incorrectly..
Reason i say that is..
On Intel systems,the CPU speed is the true speed it runs at ..
ie-an intel P4 2.8Ghz will run at 2800 Mhz in the bios...
An AMD cpu works differently..They brand their chips by "performance equivalent"..
ie..
A 2.8Ghz AMD cpu will actually run at a clock speed around 2200 Mhz in Bios..
Just a thought...
Click to expand...

Hiya, Yes it was an AMD cpu and he did set it to 2200 Mhz. :)
 
faddius said:
Sorry im intrigued - "bumfluff"?

I half want to know the story behind it, and Im half worried I may end up paying for a shrink after.
Click to expand...

Ha ha - its very boring !

when Jim was building the machine he found that his large hands were having trouble fitting inside the Antec casing and every time he added something else in, i.e motherboard hard drive etc his hands were getting cut up. His wife was sitting beside him at the time and she can be a little prudish so instead of swearing too frequently he kept saying bumfluff - hence the machine was christened Bumfluff ...........sorry very boring :D
 
neil_g said:
what is the processor? if its a 2.2Ghz then he has overclocked it.. a bios reset will cure your woes. and no offence but your friend should know better..
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Have seen it done a few times-Generally by those who have never used AMD before..
But yeah,OP-Try a BIOS reset,should sort the problem.
If you want to post the actual CPU model,then can help ensure correct clock speeds/voltages etc.
 
Sorry guys I really appreciate the help and advice but at the risk of repeating myself - he didn't overclock it and we did reset the bio....it didn't work black screened and wouldn't do anything at all, couldn't even get back into the bios or setup.
 
Thing is..
There's only so many things that cause those symptoms.
And the OC thing was deffo very high on the list,as that sounds very much like an OC/overheated CPU..
Now..
Black screen-no BIOS access..
Does the motherboard actually power up? (check for LED on motherboard,and CPU fan etc spinning)
If it does... (and i know you tried the BIOS reset already)... Take the battery out for 5-10 mins..and try again.
If it still doesnt work then chances become fairly high that either you or him have fried something. (*** if fried when he "changed the speed",it wouldnt have worked after..)
If it doesnt power up at all-then theres a high chance that your PSU has died...When they are on the way out they can throw seriously dangerous(to your pc) voltages around-Resulting in power spikes that do bad things to motherboards/CPU etc..
A wobbly PSU will also cause lock ups/resets/BSOD etc...
I really dont mean to sound as *** im trying to teach your grandmother to suck eggs or anything-Apologies if i come across that way :D
But yeah-The only way "everything needs replacing" occurs is either because someone has not been very careful regarding Static Discharge,Has OC'd the CPU,or the PSU dies..
 
CraigyBoy86 said:
Never heard of a processor being 'underclocked' unless part of a power saving feature. What processor did you have and we can confirm what it's stock speed should be? Then find out what speed (GHz) he was trying to up it to. Sounds like your friend doesn't know what he's doing properly unless you've got some really strange hardware issue. Like said, try reseting the bios.
Click to expand...

Processors underclock themselves all the time - Intel uses Speedstep, and AMD use cool 'n quiet. Why run your engine to the max if it's only doing a spreadsheet...? These features are old news, btw.
 
trencheel303 said:
Processors underclock themselves all the time - Intel uses Speedstep, and AMD use cool 'n quiet. Why run your engine to the max if it's only doing a spreadsheet...? These features are old news, btw.
Click to expand...

Very true,but he did say "unless part of power saving feature",which kinda covers that :)
 
Mischief said:
Thing is..
The only way "everything needs replacing" occurs is either because someone has not been very careful regarding Static Discharge,Has OC'd the CPU,or the PSU dies..
Click to expand...

Blimey, that is a bit of a sweeping statement!

If you are only getting a black screen once powered on with no BIOS nor POST if sounds like something may be shorting the motherboard, did your friend take the motherboard board out?

If so, he may have over tightened the screws securing it to the case which might be shorting the motherboard from beneath. Might be worth slightly undoing them when the machine is powered off.
 
With regards to the OS.... don't worry about windows 7 - It is superb and will greatly enhance you computing experience if youre still using XP. Ive had it since the BETA stages, and can assure you the public release is stable - frankly I've had 0 issues with it and my computer isnt an all singing all dancing beast - its a 4 yr old laptop with only 2GB RAM. Its much more customisable than Vista so you can turn off a lot of the unecessary bits with ease and it is twice as fast as vista was - id say go for it if you dont mind paying.
 
JohnD76 said:
Blimey, that is a bit of a sweeping statement!

If you are only getting a black screen once powered on with no BIOS nor POST if sounds like something may be shorting the motherboard, did your friend take the motherboard board out?

If so, he may have over tightened the screws securing it to the case which might be shorting the motherboard from beneath. Might be worth slightly undoing them when the machine is powered off.
Click to expand...

Yeah it is a bit ;)
But lets face it..Lightning strikes,Power spikes,spilt drinks,loose screw/too tight screw,bad cables etc could do it..
But it is still rather likely to be the above in *most* cases..
And id be wondering why the mobo was removed to change CPU parameters?

Interested to see how this pans out :)
 
neil_g said:
and 2/3 incorrect. the only one id agree with is the PSU dying and most of the time thatd only take out the motherboard..
Click to expand...

So-2/3 incorrect?
The only one you think can do that is PSU?
Never seen a PC fried by static then?
Or a dead CPU from overclocking?...
If my statement may have been somewhat sweeping in assumption-it is also true that ALL 3 of those can well do that.
 
Mischief said:
So-2/3 incorrect?
The only one you think can do that is PSU?
Never seen a PC fried by static then?
Or a dead CPU from overclocking?...
If my statement may have been somewhat sweeping in assumption-it is also true that ALL 3 of those can well do that.
Click to expand...

NEVER EVER EVER seen a PC die from static in 11 years working in tech support. maybe im just careful..

i didnt say its impossible to kill a CPU from OC, but to the point where "everything needs replacing" youd have to be doing some serious overvolting.
 
Neil-With all due respect to an IT professional,although i have not seen very many-i have seen Staic discharge kill Ram,CPU and motherboard,right in front of my eyes..
The guy who did it wouldnt listen to me...Was sure he was right..
He changed his RAM around,and blew the lot with static.
I laughed rather hard im ashamed to say.
But yes-Static can do that...
I also have never fried one with static-id be VERY embarrased if i did,have been building high power rigs for a long time now,and like your good self know a thing or two.
Can an OC really do THAT much damage?...Well now that depends..
If the overvolt is excessive,and the PSU is erm..well.."cheap",yes the situation can spiral badly as the PSU struggles under load..

My statement was badly worded i'l admit...But i will always stand by those things being (fairly) common causes.
The 2/3 incorrect thing though-Sorry,but all 3 can,and do fry PC's.
 
youd have to be extremely unlucky for any of those to blow every component.

i upgraded the memory in a server last week with no wrist strap, i think at one point i touched the motherboard with a finger. it still works.. ;) unless youre into walking around on nylon carpet in polyester socks while rubbing a balloon on your hair then working on a computer with no earth will be fine.

but i think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one rather than derail this thread any further.
 
Yup agreed on that 1 :)
(I also work on my own without strap etc..But then you dont need one providing the PSU is connected..Plug in to wall,keep one hand on bare case,can touch what you like ;))
Anyway-Back to the OP,please let us know if you manage to sort it/Figure out whats gone pear shaped.
We may have differing experiences in IT etc,but all are trying to help :)
 
In relation to the OP and about buying a laptop.

This is the one I bought at the start of the year for around £900, and its drop quite a bit since then lol.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...d=16026529614132881043&sa=title&os=tech-specs

It's a Samsung R710. I've not had a problem with it and it runs even better now that I have installed Windows 7. I've even spilled a whole cuppa on it and it survived :|. I will be upgrading it to the 64 bit version tonight. So can let you know how I get on.

T.
 
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