Hi guys. I'm pretty much at my wits end. I got this refurbished Gateway computer a few months ago, and right away it had issues. For one thing, it would not turn on AT ALL..and I couldn't figure out why. Until I reinstalled the RAM. Then things were fine until recently.

Question/Problem:
The first few months were great..like any PC/human relationship, but then things went south. Now it shuts itself off automatically without warning. And I don't mean shutting down or giving me the BSOD. I could be doing anything really. It mostly happens when I'm surfing the web on Firefox. But when it's idle it doesn't shut off much.

Operating System, Version and Service Pack:
Windows XP Professional Service pack 2.
Intel
Pentium 4 CPU 2.80GHz
2.79 GHz, 1.98 GB RAM

Web Browser and Version:
Firefox 18..although I don't think this matters

Your level of experience:
between seasoned and expert

When did the problem start? Has it been going on constantly since then?
A few months ago. It's getting more frequent. At least 5 times per day. My computer can't be on for more than 3 hours until it shuts off..unless it's idle

Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot?
Yes, lots. virus scanning..turned up nothing. "last known good configuration"..nada. system restore..didn't do squat. reinstalled the RAM..nothing. letting it cool down..nope! updated the display driver..negative. i'm not sure what else i can do. i don't think reinstalling windows would do it.

If you are receiving an error message, please include the entire text of the message.: n/a

please...i beg of you..HELP!! :(

My PC fan is running on HI all the time. The temperature thing on my case says 38C degrees. It used to hover around 27C when I wasn't playing Skyrim or something. I'm just surfing the net not doing anything laborious. The case has an adjustable fan, it's on HI, the vent's are clear. I don't know why it's so hot. I do have two hard drives as of a couple months ago, but one is just back up it's never doing anything. What could be the cause?

Hi there,

When I turn my desktop on it says the system's fan has failed and so the computer will shut down, not to damage the CPU.

I seem to remember that a fan failure might mean that I might be better off geting a new computer than a fan replacement? Is this true?

If so, the most important question.. Is there a way to retrieve the files in the computer? Since at the moment it won't even start.

Thankyou so much!

Question/Problem: This morning, my computer wasn't starting. That is, it sprung on but the screen remained blank. I re-booted, and it worked fine for a few minutes, then re-booted itself (again the screen remained blank). This happened two or three times. I finally booted in safe mode and it runs fine. Next I tried a system restore. Now when I boot in "normal" mode, the desktop seems to have been wiped clean - no icons, no task bar, no nothing. I can only use it in safe mode, and then it seems to be stable. What can I do?

Operating System, Version and Service Pack: Windows XP SP 3.

Web Browser and Version: Firefox 3.6.21

Your level of experience: Completely clueless.

When did the problem start? Since this morning (about 12 hours now).

Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot? Virus scans (Avast, Malwarebytes, PC Housecall and Superantispyware - nothing was detected). Thoroughly vacuuming out the inside to eliminate dust. Next I did a system restore. Yeah, told you. Clueless. :|

If you are receiving an error message, please include the entire text of the message. (If you have an error log, please post it under a LJ-Cut): No error message.

Thank you in advance! :)

I'm at work and my girlfriend just emailed me from her iPod, saying her laptop had broken. Apparently she got some popup and then her computer crashed saying "harddrive failure" and she briefly got back into it to pull some stuff onto her memory stick but then it crashed again and now she couldn't get into it at all for a moment and then she got back in and it said all her Documents were just gone from the folder.

I know this is no technical information enough to give a decent diagnosis, but I bet you computer experts know this general KIND of thing ....is there any hope for her computer and files??

Question/Problem: I turned my laptop on today and I got some weird version of the blue screen of death, basically telling me that some software/hardware wasn't running right or something and that I should restart. I didn't see any restart option around anywhere so I just turned my computer off by pressing the power switch. When I turned it back on again, it acted like it was going to start up like normal and then.... idk. there's nothing. all the lights are on except for the screen, and you can barely hear it running. It just sits there with a blank screen. I tried putting in what I assumed was a disk with all the drivers and stuff on it, and it's still doing just... nothing. It's just flat out not working.

Operating System, Version and Service Pack: Windows Vista.. on a HP laptop.

Web Browser and Version: Firefox, the most recent version I think.

Your level of experience: beginner-intermediate

When did the problem start? Has it been going on constantly since then?: It just started today when I turned it on. Last night I was on it and everything was working fine.

Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot? I tried putting the driver disk in as it says above. Nothing happened.

If you are receiving an error message, please include the entire text of the message: Nothing except for that first blue screen

thanks for any help at all, and sorry if there's any information gaps up there (ie: I don't even know what a service pack is?) so yeah. I'm assuming it's a hardware problem but I wouldn't doubt if it was a virus too (I was using the free version of AVG to protect my computer).

Question/Problem: I was reading the news online, when my computer screen got fuzzy, like you needed to use the tracking on the VCR kind of fuzzy, gave off some static, froze up completely, so I gave it a hard-restart, and...nothing. Oh, the fan spins, the power light and hard drive lights come on, but it's not running at all. The monitor is not lighting up at all.

Operating System, Version and Service Pack: Windows XP...not sure what service pack, since it's not turning on and working in any way shape or form. The computer itself is a Sony Vaio laptop VGN-FJ 290.

Web Browser and Version: (Examples: Internet Explorer 7, FireFox 3.0.1, Safari 3.1.2). Firefox

Your level of experience (we simplify or explain instructions based on how you answer): (Beginner, Intermediate, Seasoned, Expert, God) Intermediate, my fiance's somewhere between Expert and God...but he's not here right now.

When did the problem start? Has it been going on constantly since then? It just happened today.

Any steps you've taken to troubleshoot? I popped the RAM out and then reseated it. Made no difference. I heard somewhere that you can pull the RAM out, and turn the computer on to hear a lot of beeps if the motherboard is working, so I tried that too. No beeps were heard. Not sure whether that test is accurate or not.

Hello everyone,

I'm currently looking for the best or leading brands catering to quality portable hard drives. I'm mostly going to store important files and videos there that won't be too important to store in my laptop so I don't think I need too many complicated features; just the basic ones will probably do.

I prefer 320GB and up, in case it would be asked.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

A few days ago my laptops speakers just up and stopped working. I go to the drivers screen and it says that my device is working fine, yet there is still no sound. I uninstalled and then re-installed the drivers for the speakers and still no go. There are no other problems with the computer just the speakers not working.

It's an HP G60 235DX, running Vista Home Premium 32bit with Service Pack 1. I have Conexant High Definition SmartAudio 221. I would rate my experience level above novice but below expert, how vague is that?

Any help would be appreciated, I'm having Hulu withdrawal.

this is more of a quick question than a problem or anything. after the comments i received on my past entry, i decided to just replace my computer. my current computer, the problem child, is still not turning on so i've come to the conclusion that it's a power supply problem and it's not worth paying to fix it since my computer is relatively old, so getting an entirely new computer would just be better use of money.

now the problem is, i didn't back-up my hard drive recently. (i know, stupid idea on my part.) the OTHER problem is i have some precious, irreplaceable data on that hard drive, i.e documents, pictures, etc, etc. you get the idea. my friend suggested taking out the hard drive, but even if i did that, what would be my next step? i need a way to get the data out of the old hard drive and into a new one without having to fix the power supply in the old computer.

one) my documents and pictures would be in the hard drive, right? excuse my ignorance/stupidity.
two) if i ripped out the old hard drive, what would be my next step to get THAT data in to a new hard drive?
three) is there any other way to solve this without replacing the power supply?

THANK YOU~