# my wifes computer stopped working, NEED HELP



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

it wont even turn on but sometimes i can hear the fan going on and off at night, she needs the thing for work. does anyone know a good affordable computer repair place in vancouver? preferably on the west side?


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

how old is the computer? Could be as simple as replacing a power supply or even a loose cable inside. I'm no IT guy, but I've built enough of my own pc's. With the low cost of pc's these days, repairs are cost prohibitive. Troubleshooting is typically time consuming...not to mention frustrating.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

is it a laptop or desktop pc?


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

its a desktop, i think im going to run it down to kube computers on cambie...


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## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

Are there still actually people who keep their computers running all night long? How environmentally responsible is THAT???????


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

its not on, it just runs its fan, its annoying sometimes we gotta hit the switch on the back to cut the power its really wierd.


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## alym (Apr 21, 2010)

Mferko said:


> it wont even turn on but sometimes i can hear the fan going on and off at night, she needs the thing for work. does anyone know a good affordable computer repair place in vancouver? preferably on the west side?


First: check that your monitor is still plugged in!

Next try the following:
1) turn off the machine, unplug it
2) open the case (this is usually done with 2-4 screws on the back, on ONE side)

3) use a vacuum, and get rid of as much dust as you can, *watch for static, i.e. keep one hand on the nozzle of the vacuum, and the other on a metal surface*

4) snoop around inside to see if any cables have come loose; odds are, if the fan is turning on, but the computer isn't 'running', that something has become disconnected

5) leaving the case open, plug in the components to the back (just the keyboard, mouse, and monitor cable)

6) hit the power button and see if the fan above the processor/CPU is spinning. If yes: that's a good thing. If no, you have bigger problems.

Report back.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

alrdy did all that -> bigger problems 
it doesnt even respond when u push the power button, no lights no sound, nothing


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## gmachine19 (Apr 21, 2010)

probably your power supply gave out.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I'd agree, sounds like a dead PSU. Could be as simple as a $40 fix.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

too bad you aren't closer to me, I could take a look at it for you, plus I have quite a few extra parts...if you need a power supply I've got several


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## josephl (Apr 21, 2010)

-N/A- said:


> Are there still actually people who keep their computers running all night long? How environmentally responsible is THAT???????


Apparently more environmentally responsible than slamming a member for multiple water changes 

Guess the effectiveness of the TV ads just isn't as good as they expected...


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## summit (Aug 22, 2010)

-N/A- said:


> Are there still actually people who keep their computers running all night long? How environmentally responsible is THAT???????


Actually it is just as enviromentally responsible as shutting it down. A computer uses massive amounts of power on startup and will use less power for a computer to go into sleep mode for the night than it would be to turn it off, then back on in the morning.

As for the OP, I would also agree with others and say a power supply issue, its a cheap fix usually.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

josephl said:


> Apparently more environmentally responsible than slamming a member for multiple water changes
> 
> Guess the effectiveness of the TV ads just isn't as good as they expected...


the computer wasnt on dumbass, i just thought it odd that while i dont get any power pushing the button, i can sometimes hear the fan.
go back to your third 50% change of the day joseph
(or learn to do math..... 50% * 50% * 50% =?)


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## summit (Aug 22, 2010)

Mferko said:


> the computer wasnt on dumbass, i just thought it odd that while i dont get any power pushing the button, i can sometimes hear the fan.
> go back to your third 50% change of the day joseph
> (or learn to do math..... 0.50 * 0.50 * 0.50 =?)


If you can hear the fan it may be a motherboard failure, as if its the power supply, there should be no power to the computer at all to power the fan in my experience.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

k, im just going to take it in


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

summit said:


> Actually its very environmentally responsible. A computer uses massive amounts of power on startup and will use less power for a computer to go into sleep mode for the night than it would be to turn it off, then back on in the morning.


totally agree with that statement summit

as for the hypocritical comments about environmentally responsible .... I suppose you guys think its environmentally responsible to keep a non essential item like an aquarium where you have to run filters, heaters and lights all the time...not to mention the water changes?? c'mon think before you type


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## budahrox (Apr 21, 2010)

Diztrbd1 said:


> totally agree with that statement summit
> *
> Ditto what they said!! *
> 
> as for the hypocritical comments about environmentally responsible .... I suppose you guys think its environmentally responsible to keep a non essential item like an aquarium where you have to run filters, heaters and lights all the time...not to mention the water changes?? c'mon think before you type


*LMFAO!!!!!
Ditto again!!! 
Cheers!!*


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i called GoGo Geek (1-800-404 -4335) and gave them all my specs etc
theyre going to come out with a power supply and hopefully they can fix it here
a geek in a smart car should arrive around 2:30  (thats only half an hour, not too shabby imho)


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

We don't need any slamming of other members for what's environmentally friendly or not. That has nothing to do with the computer problem and just shows some members have a social problem.
It may well be the power supply , but I'm afraid it also has a high probability of being the motherboard. A lot of older motherboards had a problem with capacitors on them going bad; and that pretty well made them toast.
If it is your motherboard, you are likely going to have to buy a whole new computer... But that has a silver lining .. You will get one with Windows 7 (get the W 7 Home Premium), which is by far the best Windows OS yet . Hopefully all your programs and accessories are compatible with it . Be sure to keep your hard drive out of the dead computer .. All your files can be taken off it and transferred to your new one .
If it comes to it , and you do need a new pc and those who can help take you old files and move them to the new pc feel they are too far away , I can come in and give a hand ..It gives me an excuse to make a trip in to town .


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

my wife got my old handmedown pc its a dual core 2.4ghz with a 4870 and 2 gigs of ram its not horribly crappy, i got an i7 930 with a solid state hard drive, 8 gigs of ddr3-1866 ram and a 5870 
id rather not have to buy her a new pc since all she does is surf the net and word process but if we have to replace the motherboard i guess i dont really have a choice in that... thanks for the offer to come take a look tho, if i cant fix the video card issues i was having before the thing crashed i might have to take you up on that


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

I'd have to agree with Dave about the mobo being faulty, I didn't read that the fan was running erratically. My illiteracy, sorry! The geeks will be able to troubleshoot that with a PSU though, I doubt its the processor causing that issue.

BTW your pc sounds sweet man.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

k, il make sure to get the tech to test the power supply before he hauls it out then
thx


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Let us know the outcome man, and good luck!


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

great news, the computer is working it was just the power supply
he also fixed the video card issues i was having (ati catalyst is a pita)
got charged for 1 hr of time and a power supply


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## summit (Aug 22, 2010)

great news! Worked out about as good as it could have.


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## davefrombc (Apr 21, 2010)

That is great news. I'm glad you got one of the better geeks to service it .


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Right on man! I'm glad it was the PSU and not the mobo.

You lucked right out buddy!


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Glad to hear it was a simple fix


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

-N/A- said:


> Are there still actually people who keep their computers running all night long? How environmentally responsible is THAT???????


some people are forced to, ie me, hardware conflict that has issues on cold boot. My Memory controller becomes incredibly unstable whenever a cold boot happens. It takes several hours tweaking settings for it to finally stabilize. But i also unplug unused drives from the power supply when not in use, and have a "green" motherboard that can downclock everything to not waste nearly as much power.


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## fkshiu (Apr 22, 2010)

Mferko said:


> the computer wasnt on dumbass, i just thought it odd that while i dont get any power pushing the button, i can sometimes hear the fan.
> go back to your third 50% change of the day joseph
> (or learn to do math..... 50% * 50% * 50% =?)


Please watch your language.


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## gmachine19 (Apr 21, 2010)

Your luck it wasn't the mobo 

@Dave: I totally agree with you on Windows 7. It's really amazing. The only bad thing that I found out about it is that it can't run really old pc programs (ie: games) without you tweaking A LOT of files.


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