Damn - computer dead

[lizzie]

fortunately it's my secondary laptop, but the one that the kids are allowed to use to keep them off my work one!

worked fine last night. closed it down. is plugged in and power light is still glowing where the power is plugged in. just sits there doing nothing when pressing the "on" button.

any suggestions? otherwise i'll just drag it down to the repairers.

 

[hobo-jo]

Unplug any power cables. Remove battery for 30 seconds, plug back in and try powering it up.

Alternatively try removing the battery and powering up on mains without the battery inserted. If that works then power back down, insert battery and try again.

 

[Dazz]

just sits there doing nothing when pressing the "on" button.

any suggestions?

Hard to exactly determine given the information provided, but I suspect it's gone into what we call in the IT industry a "Fausian loop".

This is a semi-serious condition which undermines the mid-term memory of the motherboard. It is usually caused by one of two things - (a) accidently pressing Cntrl - Alt - F2 simulatneously which describes the route taken by Admin staff when over-riding keyboard commands, or (b) pressing the escape button more than the prescribed manufacturers pre-determined over-ride limit. This can range from as low as 18 up to 62 for the frustrated elderly amongst us.

The resultant non-responsiveness, sometimes referred to as the "blue screen of death" can be overcome with the following two step procedure when the power button has been turned off and your system is unplugged.

Step 1 : Step back against the far wall and take a deep breath whilst cradling the laptop in your natural throwing arm.

Step 2 : Launch forward and throw, with great gusto, the useless piece of **** from the highest window out onto the bare concrete apron below.


Job sorted.

 

[lizzie]

haha dazz ... i will try hobo-jo's suggestion first.

has a few photos on it i would like to keep - and some work stuff i procratinated about moving over to the new computer (nothing vital).

don't build them to last anymore ... barely 2 years old.

 

[random]

Similar problem Lizzie. Our laptop was humming along nicely , went and had a shower , came back , blue screen.
Said somem like please insert windows disk , can't find this or that garbage. Think the hd stuffed.
Bloody computers. Everything we've done over the last 10 yrs has been lost , redone,lost again,redone , hassles , printers, setups none stop and we must have blown 10k on these stupid things.
I think life was much easier back in the filing cabinet days, libraries and a few old fashion ph calls . Not to mention photos .
By the time you buy all the stuff needed ,plus ink , papers,printers ,puters ,plus fixing things non stop , plus losing things non stop ,plus the stress of these things, the old photo labs plus the aboves , weren't all that bad after all.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

Haven't you guys heard of external drives for backing things up?

My desktop died the other day, but I haven't lost anything, because I back up to my external drive once a day.

 

[rexilla99]

Buy and Ipad 2?

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

Anyone that recommends purchasing any Apple product should be immediately ignored.

Edit: that sounded a bit nasty, didn't it? For the record, I like Apple computers (I used them for something like 12 years before using a PC) but they are totally unnecessary for everyday users. My brother is a graphic designer and uses one, but for simply using a PC for internet, music, email, etc. they really are a waste of money.

They're overpriced, highly susceptible to security issues (Safari has been the first browser to be hacked four years running at Pwn2Own - last year it took 10 seconds, this year 5 seconds), you can't upgrade them, but geez, they sure do look nice!

My recommendation to anyone that will listen is to use a Linux OS, something like Ubuntu or Mandriva are perfect for most users. They are very user friendly and after the initial fumbling and getting to know a new OS, they are far superior to the big 2. Not to mention, they're free. You don't need to have a degree in Computer Science to use them either, once you get used to the way things are done, they are easier and more user intuitive than other OS's.

 

[pennyk]

I havent done an attachment before, so not sure if this will work......... but I think the advice is excellent and very relevant!

 

[jaycee]

Don't mind if I do !

 

[lizzie]

hot doggedy ... after 3 days of refusing to switch on, took the laptop into the repairers, explained the problem, set it up on the bench - and it switched on, no problems, straight away.

obviously knew it was in trouble!

now to rip off all the stuff i want - before it cacks a fit again.

 

[vincenzo]

It wouldn't work at home, but it worked in the shop, due to the superiority of commercial buildings over residential.

If you fire it up in a warehouse it should run at least twice as fast.

 

[w0nnie]

Haven't you guys heard of external drives for backing things up?

My desktop died the other day, but I haven't lost anything, because I back up to my external drive once a day.

If you want a simple backup method, then you can try a service like LiveMesh, once installed it will push any updates to files (in folders you specify) immediately to the cloud.

http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh?os=other

there are a few services like this one, i use it because it is free and i get 5GB of storage free.

 

[Dazz]

it Wouldn't Work At Home, But It Worked In The Shop, Due To The Superiority Of Commercial Buildings Over Residential.

If You Fire It Up In A Warehouse It Should Run At Least Twice As Fast.

....now That Is Random.

 

[Mr. Fabulous]

If you want a simple backup method, then you can try a service like LiveMesh, once installed it will push any updates to files (in folders you specify) immediately to the cloud.

http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mesh?os=other

there are a few services like this one, i use it because it is free and i get 5GB of storage free.

Yeeeeah... I don't like the idea of my personal files being stored on the internet (especially if it's Microsoft) and I also have far more than 5 gig of stuff to keep backed up. A 1 TB external drive goes for what? About a hundred bucks these days? Storage is so cheap there's really no excuse for not having at least something.

All you need to do is find backup software (easy enough), set it up to have everything back up automatically and away you go.

 

[lizzie]

A 1 TB external drive goes for what? About a hundred bucks these days?

buying myself one tomorrow on altitude rewards giftcard - so costs me nothing (even better!)