Serious PC Problem - Need an expert!

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by pro`noob, Feb 12, 2006.

  1. pro`noob

    pro`noob Regular member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2005
    Messages:
    713
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
    Whats wrong with my pc?
    At random times the hard drive will make a really nasty clicking/grinding noise then 5 seconds later the pc will freeze right up and need rebooting.

    At first I thought it was just the hard drive was too old and was on its way out so I bought a brand new one, Did a fresh reinstall of everything but the problem is still here. Now also the pc refuses to read cd or dvd's in any of the drives. They will just refuse to read in the cd drive but in the dvd drive the moment the pc begins to read the disc the computer will freeze up and need restarting, the drives both work fine in my other pc.

    I am thinking now it is the psu but I don't want to buy another one incase that dosent fix the problem either.

    No new hardware has been added to the pc other than the new hard drive, pretty much nothing has changed on it yet these problems just started up one night for no reason.

    You guys have any other ideas what it could be? I really dont want to replace everything!
     
  2. xXx

    xXx Regular member

    Joined:
    Jan 23, 2006
    Messages:
    989
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
    even expert doesn`t always know answer your question. what i would do ? i would install all drivers again, and i would do updates, and if even it does not help, so for you can be also faulty component in your machine.
     
  3. peanuts2

    peanuts2 Regular member

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2005
    Messages:
    236
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
    It's got to be the hard drive.If it sounds like a tractor they you may want to back everything up and get a new hard drive.How old is the hard drive anyway?
     
  4. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2004
    Messages:
    39,197
    Likes Received:
    146
    Trophy Points:
    143
    can you borrow a psu to see if that is the problem but suspect might be motherboard is causing the problem.
     
  5. pro`noob

    pro`noob Regular member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2005
    Messages:
    713
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
    I can't see it bieng the drivers, they were working fine for the last 6 months and I havent updated any other than gfx card and even then it worked ok.

    Its not the hard drive as I am using a new sata drive I bought yesterday and the problem is still there.

    I have just stripped the whole pc down and built it back up again and I'm just waiting now to see if it crashes again, if so then I will have to borrow a psu off my friend.

    I'll keep you updated....
     
  6. pro`noob

    pro`noob Regular member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2005
    Messages:
    713
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
    Ok its not the psu I am using another one now and the problem persists.

    I can only guess its the motherboard (I REALLY hope its not my cpu), which is not going to be cheap to replace :(

    Can anybody suggest a decent but reasonably priced socket 939 non-sli board with sata?
    I am currently using a MSI Neo 2 Platinum but I would like something different as getting this one to work in dual channel mode can be a pain in the ass sometimes.

    Also anybody actually know why the hard drive makes these noises? it sounds really bad but happens with my new one also so I can't see why its doing it, Its not drivers either as the noise happens even in windows instalation
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2006
  7. SypherTek

    SypherTek Guest

    okay heres yur problem...

    your hard drive is faulty... i know because mine does exactly the same thing. the drive still works...ish but you get countless bsods when trying to write large files to the drive. also it makes other hardware play up when its plugged in.

    so get a new HD

    oh yeh and the reason the hard drive makes those noises... is because its broken
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 13, 2006
  8. pro`noob

    pro`noob Regular member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2005
    Messages:
    713
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
    Seriously, the hard drive is fine!

    I know this because the hard drive made these noises, always lasting 3 - 5 seconds then followed by the pc crashing.

    Before I completely lost all my data I rushed out to the shop the same day and bought a brand new 160gb sata hard drive. I did a fresh install of windows during which it crashed 2 - 3 times (I can't remember exactly how many) and not just at the driver install stages but at various points again making strange noises.

    Finally I got it installed and it was fine for 1 day or so as I reinstalled various drivers and files... nothing too troublesome, photoshop, video, motherboard sound drivrs etc then the problem returned.

    Also now the noise no longer comes from the first supposedly broken drive which is now in secondary ide as a slave and the drive is functioning correctly.

    Ram, power supply, graphics card and hard drive have all been changed and it's still not fixed!

    Its a tough one I can't figure it out atall and its making me pretty p*ssed off now :)
     
  9. ddp

    ddp Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2004
    Messages:
    39,197
    Likes Received:
    146
    Trophy Points:
    143
    check the can shaped objects on the motherboard that are capacitors that they be flat topped not domed.
     
  10. bally199

    bally199 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2006
    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    if its Really p?ssing u off then break down and buy a new pc. How hard is that????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????(well maybe it is if ur strapped for cash!
     
  11. pro`noob

    pro`noob Regular member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2005
    Messages:
    713
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    26
    Well you price up a new pc. My cpu alone cost me over £500 not so long ago, I am not just about to throw it out because of one problem!

    I like to fix my pc, not buy a new one evry time it breaks down :)

    And I will try what you said ddp, thanks.
     
  12. bally199

    bally199 Member

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2006
    Messages:
    17
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    11
    the same thing happened to me when i had mi first pentium pro pc(66mhz) and it had an old conner tech.850mb hdd. it would stop loading windows, spin up to a very high speed and the read head would smack on the casing of the drive. i found that it was the BIOS chip that wasnt pushed down correctly(or atleast thats wat i fort it was and then it worked fine and is employed as my sisters pc
     
  13. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

    Joined:
    Mar 4, 2004
    Messages:
    33,335
    Likes Received:
    7
    Trophy Points:
    118
    Dude those problems aren't related. Head crashes and BIOS problems just aren't connected. One's mechanical and one's electronic. Generally what I think is happening is that you might have lots of disk activity and then a freeze. The noise could just be your hard disk reading fast. Generaly this would indicate a RAM fault, where the data has been lost, and the disk drive suddenly starts to try and replenish the info but the RAM won't accept it. Reboots reset the memory and restart the process again.
    Try another RAM stick.
     

Share This Page