Well thats just dandy now isnt it...

MY DESKTOP COMPUTER IS DEAD

After about 3-4 years of owning this horrible machine, I am giving up on it...
I bought it refurbished by Frys Electronics a few years ago (i think it was 1-2 years old already back then)...

After about 6 months of owning it it it started showing issues, but i was 13 (i think), and didnt mind the occasional random reboot...
As the years have gone by it has slowly deteriorated...
A few months ago I had to go have all of the memory replaced, which meant wiping everything and starting from scratch.....

Last night I shut it off, and went to bed...
This morning I wake up, turn it on to check my email, and go to shower...
Coming out of the shower, I notice that it is still on a boot screen, instead of on the desktop...
I tell it to run Windows normally, but it blue-screens after trying to boot windows...
Safe mode dosent work either...
Nothing works.
And I dont have a boot disk for it.

So...
I have basically lost all of my plug-ins for CS3
Ive lost DreamWeaver, Photomatix Pro, ImageReady...
...all of my HTML files for my website.

...of and not to mention...
ALL OF MY PHOTOS AND PHOTO PROJECTS

great.
so I am going to spend the rest of the day attempting to install Linux onto the computer and trying to save my harddrive onto an external...
so that I can keep my files



not a fun situation...
im totally broke, so i have no clue when i can get the new computer, because this one has been in and out of the shop at least 2-3 times each year and its just not worth it.


well, theres my sad pathetic rant.
hope you enjoyed it.
lol.

Install Ubuntu. You won't be sorry.

I feel for you. I just had a major computer issue last month and I'm still rebuilding from it.

Good luck!

Unfortunately you have just learned the lesson of backing up the hard way.

I learned it the same way by losing everything.

Now - everything gets backed up. Only way i lose everything is if the house goes up in flames and then i really have nothing literally!

capt_tast wrote in post #6929064
Install Ubuntu. You won't be sorry.

ubuntu?
is that a linux OS?
naw, the linux OS isnt a permanent solution...
just a temp one to rip the harddrive...
lol

i REALLLLLY want to buy a iMac...
but thats not a practical situation for my desktop...

neilwood32 wrote in post #6929090
Unfortunately you have just learned the lesson of backing up the hard way.

I learned it the same way by losing everything.

Now - everything gets backed up. Only way i lose everything is if the house goes up in flames and then i really have nothing literally!

Ya, I've always thought about getting an external HD, nd just having dupes of EVERYTHING on there...
that way its saved, and i can transfer it to the laptop also...

but ive never seen a need too.
now i do

I had a similar problem in the past with a brand new iMac, in and out of the shop during its warranty period, then died altogether shortly after the warranty ran out. I feel for ya mate

wanna know the worst part of it all?
haha.

i was supposed to start work on a website for a friend today, hes even paying...

not im stuck doing it on notepad, hahaaahahhhaahhhahah

danieldare wrote in post #6929235
wanna know the worst part of it all?
haha.

i was supposed to start work on a website for a friend today, hes even paying...

not im stuck doing it on notepad, hahaaahahhhaahhhahah

Now how do you upload that? Is that what FTP means- Faster Than Paper?

Yeah it sucks when your comp does that to you esp after all the love and money you have spent on it (mine was very well cared for with graphics cards sound cards being installed regularly and the **** (yeah it was female - only they could be so evil:evil still died on me taking all my documents with it!

So im guessing the first step in the new build is a spare drive?:p

did the hard drive die or did the computer die? My son killed my laptop and the only way I was able to save anything was taking the hard drive out and getting an enclosure for it. I think I spent 50 on it at best buy. I use it as my external hard drive now to my desktop. You will be able to get most everything that was on that hard drive off of it that way. Good luck.

Similar to what BrokenRoad said...

When you get a new computer, and it's working, install your old hard drive as its second hard drive.

Then, transfer all your data to the new hard drive. Ignore all programs, etc. Just transfer the data. This is important, as you don't want to mix the versions of anything.

Then, completely reformat the old hard drive. Do a full format, not a quick format.

Then, leave the old hard drive in the machine and use it as a backup drive.

Agreed ^^^ It doesn't sound like you lost anything except the operating system. The drive may be dying but it is probably still accessible.

And back in the old days, we were GLAD to have notepad to code a site with! It meant we didn't have to use the stupid punch cards anymore.

So basically buy something like this...

http://www.circuitcity​.com …rpem/ccd/produc​tDetail.do

But to make sure that it fits my DDR2 memory sticks...

And then I can plug it into my laptop and pull my files?

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH EVERYONE FOR YOUR RESPONSES.
IM TOTALLY STRESSING OUT OVER THIS, AND THE HOPE THAT I CAN SAVE MY STUFF REALLLLY HELPS!!!!!

danieldare wrote in post #6933686
So basically buy something like this...

I would check out http://www.newegg.com/. They have good machines and good prices.

You also have the option of getting parts to build your own machine (not really too hard to do). This can save you considerable money, as well as allowing you to do things like loading Windows XP Pro SR2/3 instead of Vista.

Another possibility...

Assuming your machine still works, but it is just the operating system that has bitten the dust, you might consider getting only a new drive and a new copy of Windows. This can save you beaucoup bucks! You need the new drive even if the old one is still good because you can't install a new operating system without formatting the drive. Consider it a chance to upgrade to a larger size. Besides, drives are cheap.

20droger wrote in post #6935097
I would check out http://www.newegg.com/. They have good machines and good prices.

You also have the option of getting parts to build your own machine (not really too hard to do). This can save you considerable money, as well as allowing you to do things like loading Windows XP Pro SR2/3 instead of Vista.

Another possibility...

Assuming your machine still works, but it is just the operating system that has bitten the dust, you might consider getting only a new drive and a new copy of Windows. This can save you beaucoup bucks! You need the new drive even if the old one is still good because you can't install a new operating system without formatting the drive. Consider it a chance to upgrade to a larger size. Besides, drives are cheap.

i agree that building your own computer is a good way to go. Especially since you have the option of installing WindowsXP. Vista=Garbage.

I have to disagree with the harddrive on the current machine. Considering how old the computer is, the motherboard may not recognize anything over a certain GB. So if you have a new 500GB harddrive, the motherboard may not recognize more than 32GB (just throwing numbers out there as an example).

So getting that bigger harddrive as your Master is a shot in the dark on the old PC.

Another bit of info. If you decide to take the harddrive out of the old computer and put it in a harddrive case to connect via USB to a laptop, i would do the following:

1) Make sure you take all precautions when taking the harddrive out. Buy an anti-static strap or make sure you are static free. Any static shock to the harddrive can really damage it (this is a good thing to keep in mind whenever taking apart anything from any computer).

2) before you pull things off the old harddrive on the laptop, I would run a virus scan on the old harddrive just to make sure there are no virus' on it. If by chance there is and you just transfer the files, you run a risk of infecting the laptop.

Good Luck with things but this is a lesson learned. I too have been in your position and have since kept backups on 4 different harddrives. it might be overkill but I'm not risking it again.