Banner weekend at my house, first my lappie stopped burning discs and now this...our HP Desktop has flat out died! I ran out right away and bought a new one, the HP is like 10 yrs old and we rarely used it (a Media Center GT5012), but I'd like to at least attempt to fix it or pull the data off it. It's not crucial as I think I backed up it's contents already, but it would be nice if I had it to use. Symptoms, nothing will spin up, the only reason I know electricity is even reaching it is the blue power button is illuminated, but that's it! It's not getting warm, I tried another power cable as I have 2, still all I have is a blue power light and I can see another light inside the unit, that's all the info I can offer. Anywhere to start would be appreciated. Thanks Ya'll
Sounds like maybe a bad power supply. The only GT5012 I could find is one that is made by Gateway and not HP are you sure that is the right model number.Is that a US model or made in another country.
Thank you, if I may ask, I know if you crash the hard drive you lose data, but what about when this happens and the unit fails and not the hard disk? Is the data stored safely on the memory cards (the DDR's)? I have an almost identical working PC at home that I'm sure uses the exact same DDR cards (no question, it's like the 5012S) If so, couldn't I simply remove the cards, remove mine and install them in my Gateway desktop, pull the data and shoot the dead PC if we can't repair the dead one? Thanks
the data is saved on the hard drive as the ram is only temp storage til windows shuts off the power then any data in the ram is gone.
Thank you, so do you think the power is the first thing to check (sorry, I know a bit about computers but little about it's mechanics) and if so, would it be a relatively inexpensive thing to try? I've replaced it but it would be nice to have a backup PC, it's old but I like the Gateway Media Center PC's, I own 2 and if so, is the install fairly straight-forward? (I'm handy with electronics and soldering etc) Thanks DDP
power supply unit isnt expensive.to replace it is just a matter of taking a few screws out and disconnecting wires then putting new psu in and screwing it in an connecting the wires (it plugs straight into motherboard and has plugs for hard drives and dvd drive) take a photo before you do it if unsure. as for your data on the hard drive,if the hard drive hasnt crashed you should be able to take it out open it in another pc (as a secondary drive) and use software to retrieve the data.
Thank you, if I may ask, does a dead drive behave the same as a failed power supply? What I have is the glow of the power button, I see another light of some kind inside the case, maybe coming from a PCB if I'm seeing it properly (I only glanced through a vent) and nothing, no hum, the unit doesn't warm up, no attempt to "fire up", if it matters, it showed virtually no symptoms prior, and my wife only used it to play pre-installed Solitaire, check emails from me sometimes. Though it's an old unit, very low mileage, belonged to my mother-in-law who crashed it playing online "old lady" games a few times and returned it to me to resurrect it afterwards (removed spyware etc.) We've had it for months just the wife and Solitaire so it seems unlikely it died of old age or viruses if this helps. The data isn't critical, I have it on 2 other PC's, but would be convenient not to lose it. Sleep much Xbox? (-;/ Me either. Cheers
i sleep most days 3am until noon. computers dont usually die of old age my mum still has her pentium 2 which my sister brought in 1997 and that still runs we were both using it until about 2008 (me or my older brothers use to fix it now and then) think if the hard drive is dead you should hear the bios beep and then an error message should come up on the screen (hard drive failed or hard drive couldnt boot)i think.does the fan spin (there should be a fan on the motherboard above the cpu that spins when you start the computer).does it make a beep or a series of beep when you turn the power on??
Ahh, motorcycle accident for me, 10 blown discs, sleep..not so easy. Nope, no beep, no fan spin, nothing at all but the power button light and little light inside the case...
Here is tutorial from Gateway on how to replace a PSU. http://support.gateway.com/support/manlib/cmponts/Process/8508750/08750c01.htm
Talk about going the extra mile, that's why AD is the best, thank you. Got any good info on DVD drives? I posted an inquiry but no info, my lappie quit making burns using Imgburn and I tried all the usual suspects, deleting it in device manager, removing upperfilters/lowerfilters in the reg and rebooting, cleaned the lens. It's already been replaced a year ago and I'd hate to drop another $40 if it's just a file error (for example I can't see a cdrominf on my lappie) It will play, even goes through the burn process but doesn't buffer, just spits the disc out abruptly after the burn..Don't think I'm double posting, been like 2 days Thx
