PC problems arose again...

@Myles Mccaskill PTSD back to when I first tried to get my (first) self-build PC up and running. I've basically followed all those steps to work out where by boot-up problem was. In the end I suspect it was caused because i left one or two to many of the pre-assembled studs in my PC case which probably shorted my motherboard. Getting rid of them resolved in a clean boot. Took a few weeks to figure that one out, as my case didn't had a build in speaker, I had to solder a jury-rigged PC to get signals. In the end the fact that I got a boot with a board cleaned out of case gave me the clue to look further into the case.

A windows update causing the system not to POST (power on self test / bios screen) is very unlikely. When you built the PC, did you connect a PC speaker? that would be the first thing I would check. Most motherboard will give a series of beeps that might be helpful in figuring out what's wrong (for example, 3 long beeps might = bad memory) If the PC speaker beeps aren't helpful, use the jumper on the motorboard to clear the CMOS (usually silk screened onto the motherboard, or check the motherboard manual, usually it's 3 pins, and the jumper is usually on pins 1-2, to clear the CMOS you put the jumper on pins 2-3 for 10 seconds and then put it back to 1-2) If clearing the CMOS doesn't resolve the issue, then try reseating all the DIMMS If that doesn't work, next I would try to isolate the motherboard and CPU. clear the cmos, and try the motherboard and CPU with a known good power supply, video card, and ram. If the problem persists, the board is likely toast. Drac, lets us know your motherboard make/model, Whether or not your PC speaker is connected, and if so, what beeps, if any you're getting at power-up.

Myles Mccaskill

Sympathies, Drach. Having struggled with such problems over the years/decades, I relate to the frustrations and concerns you are experiencing. If I lived closer (I am in California), I would offer to come over and assist.

Being decidedly British, Drach's mood has soured all the way from "not particularly happy" to "somewhat irritated" as he works to resolve this. Being decidedly from the US, the last computer that I had that crashed left this earth via a "spent brass festival" in my backyard..

Or a hybrid Setup

Thanks for the update. Fingers are crossed that you are able to get it fixed. Good luck my friend!

One navy would be stuck at port and the other navy only has one really nice corvette.

Brian Reddeman

sorry to hear

Get a good image backup program like Acronis and use it...often. Then you can always go back to a working copy. Sounds like you need one on the network for uploading and one offline for editing/rendering. Check out the Explaining Computers channel for a description of how Chris Barnett works along the a look at his awesome bowl haircut.

You can always move the hard drive you got the content saved on to a different PC.

I guess this begs the question, if Bill Gates or Steve Jobs were to build a Navy, what would that mean for the Carrier, Battleship, Cruiser, and Destroyer? Or is it the Windows Vs Mac Navy?

kind of irritating to be told that he should have backed up his files after his computer bricks. He knows!

Matt Kidd

Try booting from an external drive

Drach you can't tell me that you don't have an offsite/cloud backup for your most important files running? Its not even expensive anymore.

We all understand that these are problems out of your control, and appreciate you being so concerned. Hang in there!