The Computer Gods Hate Me

#1

Man, I tell you...Shit may only be able to get a little worse...But I promise you, not much...It was a struggle to even see where I would put this post, in the Flame section or here...I put it here because I decided I wanted to be optimistic about this...

As many of you know, my desktop PC went kaput on me a while back, and through grace and good forutune, just in the nick of time, I got a pretty good laptop...Had some harddrive issues when I first got it, but I thought they had been resolved...

Well today, I was surfing in FF, and the HDD got pretty loud, like an app had is stuck doing something...I couldn't do anything else, so I tried to wait it out, and it bluescreened on me...Did that a couple of times, and after that, refused to boot...I began to the the famous NTDLR is missing errors and so forth...But, I ran a diagnostic on it via the BIOS, and it passed...Passed the quick test and the extended test...

WTF..?

So, I snatched the HDD out and booted Ubuntu...The laptop was running so quietly, I could barely hear it, and Linux ran just fine, with the HDD sitting on the table...Of course, its no good there, I have a few files that I need to get off of there, but nothing TOO major...I have another HDD that I can put in the laptop, but that's not the issue right now...

So, the laptop shits on me, and I had $150 to my name...But I paid my bills this month, so I went to CompUSA :puke: and spent $120 of them on a 600W Coolermaster PSU...I am pissed, cause I had an Antec Neo in my hand, and put it down....Needless to say, I got the Coolermaster to the house, and was immediately reminded why I paid so much for the Antec True Power 550w that I have now...I put the Coolermaster BACK into its box, its sitting in the chair, and will be back at CompUSA tomorrow...

So, out of desperation, I put my old PSU in, and to my surprise, it is running well...But the story gets better....

My two rear case fans were complete dead...Won't power on for shit...So naturally, I am wondering if they were to blame for my issues in the first place...God I fucking hope not, cause my two IBM drives that I have in a RAID...Well, somehow a few pins are either bent or missing...When I reboot the compter, it calls for the array to be foratted...There are a 150 Gigabytes worth or reasons why I don't want to format, and on top of that, I'm not even sure that will help...So, here is my last shot...

1. Should I be able to get files off my harddive with Ubuntu..? I have a jumpdrive that is big enough to get a pretty good bit of stuff off...

I am so not looking forwards to the next few days...You gusy may not see much of me, unless I get a miracle, and someone decides that they want to finance me a new computer...My next pay day probably won't be unti the first of July or so, I can't wait that long to have a system...

2. Does anyone know if pins can be fixed on a HDD..?

To be honest man, I'd rather pay to have them fixed, than to format them...The system recognizes the drives, reads the file sizes and everything, but insists that one drive has a different name...So painful....

3. The laptop HDD is whirring, but apparently still working in some parts...What about the repair front on that end..?

I'd scrap both of these mofos for the system I want...I'm going to go and pray for a new machine...

#2

Oh man that is SHIT! You'd probably have to take it apart to replace the pins, and I don't like the sound of that......(yet formatting sounds worse)

I hope it works, surely someone here knows about it.

good luck mate.

#3

1. Don't know about Ubuntu
2. Yes, if the ribbon pins are bent (straighten them with a screw driver), probably not if they are broken; the same would be true concerning the power pins although there are some creative ways to power-up
the HDD if pins are damaged.
3. ??? Not exactly sure what your question is but you can replace the HDD in the laptop.

Don't know why your desktop isn't working but I would like to help if you would provide a
little info about it.
Why users install raid arrays is beyond me... please explain why you are using it. /smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />

#4

Well, about the RAID, I only have 4 IDE spots...3 of them are very occupied...So, I had 4 120 GB drives that I wasn't using, stuck them in...RAID'd them...Worked fine up until now...Either way, I'd be looking at a format...I am wondering if I go in and break the pins on one like the other is, if it'll work, hahaha...

I'm gonna go and take this overpriced ass PSU back, I see that circuit city has PSU's for $50 less...Antec ones too...I am worried that I won't have enough power to get my drives going, or even worse, if the PSU isn't the issue...They have a PSU tester in Circuit City that is $12, I am thinking it may be a good investment at this point to see what's going on...

While I'm waiting on my ride, I guess I'll go in the room and tear my fucking system down, AGAIN...

And I already have a replacement drive for the laptop lined up, as when I first got it, I figured it was on its last leg...I am wondering what are the chances of the one I have though, being repaired...

#5

I asked because most people use raid for file backup which is impracticable. I'm curious about your system because you have had problems with it since I arrived here.
Can you describe the situation so I can get an idea of whats going on? Help me please I'm dying from curiosity. LOL

#6

Well, when I first built my PC years ago, it was cutting edge...But it has probably been on 24/7 since I got it, cause when I wasn't computing on it, I was watching TV...

I built it so that I could feel comfortable doing any task...I use it for video encoding, storing my huge music collection...Ripping websites, LoL...

As for the make up, I have 1 80 GB Western Digital HDD w/8 MB cache, 2 IBM Deskstar 120 GB drives in RAID 0, 2 Western Digital 120 GB drives w/8 MB cache in a RAID 0, an ATI AIW 9700 Video card, a Gigabyte 7NNXP motherboard w/ 1 GB of OCS 3200 RAM with crazy good timing...I have a Plextor Premium CD-R/CD-R/RW and a Rosewill 8x DVD burner...And up until a couple months ago, it was all powered by a 550 Watt Antec True Power/True Control Power supply...Oh and I have a Barton 2500 XP chip that has been comfortably overclocked to 3200 XP speeds since I got it via a DP-102 24K Gold tower heat sink...The case is an Antec true view tower...

In April, my PC started to shut down for no reason and when it booted back up, it would give RAM errors...Pretty much, it gave all the symptoms of a failed PSU...And then one day, it stopped booting up...And so, that's where I am now, trying to get one of these comps to work...

I went and got another Antec PSU today, but it was only 400W...Even though I didn't hook up 2 of my HDD's, it still shutdown...So at this point, I just want to get something I own up and working...Hopefully, I'll be able to get a notebook drive, and at least start getting some stuff on it, installed and what not...

So, I am not ticked that its not working, just that the timing fucking SUCKS..! I have SO much going on, not to mention the fact that I need to move the site to the new server soon...I'm just gonna get new system, and look into getting my HDD fixed, or maybe not, just depends on what kinds of system I get to replace my desktop...

#7

1. Yup
2. Yup
3. Don't know (don't think so), but it shouldn't matter as 1 or 2 are easier solutions, lol

#8

Ok lets rule out some things and find your problem...

Does the system quit in post or when the OS is loading?

OS
a. Start in safe mode
b. Try the steps under post

Post
a. Re-seat all the connections inside the case >>> every connection. Reboot
b. Remove memory chips one at a time and reboot.
c. Remove cards one at a time (video last), reboot after removing each card.

Let me know what happens, and we shall continue on...

#9

ever thought about running a dual atx psu setup? I have this arrangement for my home file server that I keep in my workshop in the basement. 8 hard drives hooked up to that bastard along with a dvd burner drive and it doesnt have any problems.....but then again it is running linux heh

#10

LMFAO @ emanon

QUOTE(DaddyJ)
Does the system quit in post or when the OS is loading?

OS
a. Start in safe mode
b. Try the steps under post

[rest of reply]

Uh, if you read his original post, Ja DID boot Linux with no problems and could access the HDD..
Oh, and just for the record (seeing as it relates to this topic somewhat, lol), 2 PSU's had fucked up my 2 computers, basically slowly killing either the mobo or its components after a period of 1-2 years (but remember, these are made be cheapo Chinese brands - not to be racist, just, there ARE alot of them, and they ARE cheap, lol)