So, I won't be around too much.
I'll check in from time to time at the computer lab at school until I can get one of my own. I don't know how long that will be.

Anyone wanna sell an old one for cheap? :-)
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What is wrong? I'm a computer nerd by trade and might be able to help...
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:-)

What's going on? Let us kick it around and see if we can't get it going.
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Dell outlet, geeks, have decent deals.

I put an entire pc together for cheap through newegg.
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Yea..whats the problema Blake? I may have parts for you.
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It's an old pc from 2001. I have a computer nerd roommate who looked at it and said it was dead for sure. Keeps rebooting at the boot up screen. I think the mobo is shot.
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Does it reboot after starting up the operating system...like when you get to the login? Does it POST (power on self test) correctly?
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Sounds more like a HD issue. If the mb was shot, you'd more likely get some kind of POST beep code, and not see anything on the monitor.
Posted via Mobile Device
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Turning out to be a great series of events.
My cell phone subscription has been suspended apparently due to an unpaid bill or something of that sort.

I'm glad my school has computer labs. I'd have no contact with the outside world.
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You're probably right.
The windows xp start up screen comes up and then it goes to the standard boot up screen where you access your bios settings and all those goodies.
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Yeah that's either a drive problem...or the operating system is just crapped out. You have a reinstall disk? A really easy thing to do if the drive is ok...just pop in a new drive and install a new OS...then reattach the old drive and pull off your files.
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I've got a copy of xp and my parents house. At this point though, the computer isn't worth investing any more money in just because it's so old. I don't really need any of the files on it.
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Stick the disk in there and see if you can reinstall. You'll know if the drive is bad pretty quickly. And if the drive is bad...let me know what make/model it is...I probably have one I can send to you if you want.
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It could be a bad HD, but see if you can get Windows to start in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key during boot up. It might have an issue that can be fixed by restoring it to an earlier date.
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Sounds like what happened to my laptop last year. My HD ended up being corrupted and fried due to it over heating.
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That is correct.

If you can boot another OS via Floppy or USB, that will rule out the motherboard and then you can determine if the HD is online and addressable.

It could as simple as a loose cable. Does the HD spin up or make noise?
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what the heck is a floppy? :-)

I'm sure you can find an E-machine for close to $200 assuming you just want to surf and email.
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In 2001 floppies were still around.
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An email conversation from last week -


Co-worker:

"What do I need to get data off of a floppy drive?"

Me:

"A time machine."


:-)
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Sometimes a simple disk check will fix the problem. Boot to a windows xp cd and choose the repair console. From the console type: chkdsk /f
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