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Computer Trouble
HeavySketch
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I think I should start off by saying that I know next to nothing about computers.
So a while ago my computer had started to shutdown by itself while I was using it. A bit later, it would shutdown, like, every five minutes. Now its gotten to the point where, when I turn it on, the screen stays black and there's a clicking sound going on inside the computer. I've been told that the clicking is coming from the hard drive and that it could be broken. Not good, right? How would I go about fixing this?
I asked a friend and was told that one way to fix this is by getting the hard drive from my old computer and placing it into the broken computer. From there I can copy and back up my old stuff. Then I can reformat or get a new hard drive. Is my friend right? Or should I not trust him and go ahead and just take it to Best Buy or something and have them fix it? I'd like to try and fix this without having to spend a lot.
Thanks in advance.
So a while ago my computer had started to shutdown by itself while I was using it. A bit later, it would shutdown, like, every five minutes. Now its gotten to the point where, when I turn it on, the screen stays black and there's a clicking sound going on inside the computer. I've been told that the clicking is coming from the hard drive and that it could be broken. Not good, right? How would I go about fixing this?
I asked a friend and was told that one way to fix this is by getting the hard drive from my old computer and placing it into the broken computer. From there I can copy and back up my old stuff. Then I can reformat or get a new hard drive. Is my friend right? Or should I not trust him and go ahead and just take it to Best Buy or something and have them fix it? I'd like to try and fix this without having to spend a lot.
Thanks in advance.
HeavySketch on
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So for option 1, does it have to be a new hard drive or can I use the one from my other computer? Plus once the stuff is copied, can I still use the messed up hard drive or does it have to be replaced? Cause if it needs to be replaced, then I guess I should just copy the stuff onto a newer hard drive instead.
I've that occasionally, putting the harddrive in the freezer for a while can make it work temporarily in these situations, but not often, and not well. That disk is most likely completely out of commission.
Just suck it up. Hard drive prices are down and cheap, installing windows is (relatively) painless.
Sticking an existing hard drive into the machine will almost certainly not work unless the two machines have identical (or close to identical) hardware. You'll need a clean hard drive, basically. The clicky one is dead, if not now then sooner than later, so it makes sense to buy a hard drive no matter what.
The freezer thing actually works. I don't know what the heck it does or why it works but it does. Just make sure there's no condensation on the thing before you plug it back in.
I went ahead and bought a new hard drive, plugged it into the computer and then tried turning it on. But after a minute or two, the damn thing turned off again! It's happening all over again. I don't get it.
What else could be the problem? I'm sure it's not dust or overheating. Could it possibly be the power supply? God, I'm pissed.
The secon one, however, displayed exactly what you're describing. A long slow death with clicking and also a bit whining.
[Edit] It's easy to check it since you mention that you have an old computer. Just put the old PSU in the new case. You might even not have to move them at all. Just hook the cords from old case to new case to see if it runs stable. I've done this a couple of times with an older setup but to be honest, it was pretty messy.