I know I'm not posting in the right forum, but....

[NorthernLights]

Hi All
I know that I'm not posting in the right forum but I need some help and I know that brother trusted you guys. I'm Dustin's (Amaroque) sister and you guys were some of his best friends. Dustin always maintained my PC and now that he's not around I don't know who to turn to. I am in no way hardward literate but I know that my hard drive crashed on my desktop. I have no problem running to the store and picking up a new one but I'm not sure if I should be upgrading other things in the process. So.....is anyone willing to help me through this process? Like I said, I'm not sure as to what I'm doing but I follow directions well. I've had this PC since 99, it was the second one my brother built and I really don't want to recycle it and buy something from the store. I figure it's about time that I learn how to do this for myself.

Thanks so much, I really appreciate any assitance or direction!!
Debra

 

[Freewolf]

Hi there
If the computer is 10 years old and you really want to keep it you first need to find out if you need an ide or sata hard drive. Good chance it is ide

 

[filibusterman]

Yes its probably ide or eied. If you google image search sata or ide and and take a look at the cable or hard drive itself you should be able to tell what you need. I would suggest if you have a little time that you get a hard drive from newegg, zipzoomfly, tigerdirect or the like as it will likely be cheaper. Good luck!!

 

[Ken g6]

I've had this PC since 99

You're running a PC from 1999? Do you know what processor it has and what OS it was running? (And do you have a backup image of the drive?) Do you know if Amaroque ever replaced the motherboard? For instance, I have a PC "from 2003", but I replaced all its guts last year.

I figure it's about time that I learn how to do this for myself.

Or is that what you're asking about - building a new PC in the same case? I happen to have a Dell from 1999 sitting next to me; if it weren't for Dell's weird slot arrangement, I think I could build a new machine in it.

 

[filibusterman]

Ohh yea go huskies btw. Used to pass by your ways on trips back and forth from iowa city to chicago.

 

[NorthernLights]

The PC that I'm trying to fix is the one that I use daily and I know it's been crunching numbers for something called Muon. It was originally built from scratch in 99 but Amaroque kept it updated. He'd replace the mother board, heat sink (not sure if that's how it's spelled), hard drive, etc. I know that everything was current as of 2 years ago.

This is what I found in the bios and in other area's but I don't know what all of this means:
Asus A8N-E
AMD Atholon 64x2 Dual Core 3800+
Hard Drive: WD1200JB OOEVAO Cavalier IDE (Jun 04)
Power Supply: Antec True 430, 430w
L1 Cache 128x2
L2 Cache 512x2
LBA ATA 100 120GB
CPU Speed: 2400 mhz

Yesterday I eperienced that dreaded blue screen, couldn't get it to boot in safe mode and took the following steps to no avail:
chkdsk
chkdks /r
fixboot
fixmbr

I don't have a copy of the drive, but most files I saved about 6 mths ago. I would still like to access the old drive to get to my emails and iTunes (neither was backed up).

The only other issue is that it runs too warm in the summer because this program called Asus prob pops up and is not happy.

Sooo, should I just go and pick up a new hard drive or in addition should I be replacing other things? Is there something that I can do so that it runs cooler. Also, if I remember correctly Amaroque had said something about the power supply needed to be upgraded??

Again, I really appreciate any help and I don't trust that I can just drop it off at a shop somewhere.

Thanks~

 

[petrusbroder]

Thanks for the info - I am sure there will some discussion around this ...

Now we know it is a IDE-drive, it has a capacity of 120 GB.
This computer should still be good for service for some more years - and it is not from 1999

Before deciding, please give us some time to ponder how best to help you.
BTW, how fast do you need (such as in need, need, really need) the computer up and running?

 

[NorthernLights]

BTW, how fast do you need (such as in need, need, really need) the computer up and running?

If I can have it up and running in a month or so that would be great!! In the interim I'm using my laptop.

Also someone had asked about the OS, it was XP Pro and it was up to date with all the service packs.

 

[Freewolf]

If you have you xp disk it is a matter of replacing the hard drive with a new one and reinstalling your xp by booting up with the disk in your cd drive and allowing the install program to run.The cd drive needs to be set as the boot first drive in the bios

 

[Freewolf]

You will need to reinstall everything after the xp install finishes. You can use you laptop to find the drivers on the web by going to Asus website and searching for your MB.I would pick up a can of air and blow the dust out of everything while you have it open. That will help to cool it down and also the Muon program will not be on there running which is the reason it runs hot. DC programs use 100 percent of the cpu which makes them run warmer.

 

[waffleironhead]

Hey,
Here is a fairly good video of what you will be doing. There is a part one and part two.
http://www.ehow.com/video_4444758_install-ide-hard-drive.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4444760_install-internal-ide-hard-drive.html?pid=1&cp=1

You will first need to decide on and purchase a replacement drive. Was the drive you had big enough or do you need more space? You had a 120GB drive, but looking at the smallest that BestBuy carries is a 500GB for $65.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+...&skuId=8188962

One thing to note. You need an EIDE drive NOT a SATA. They use different technologies and different connectors.

 

[NorthernLights]

I would pick up a can of air and blow the dust out of everything while you have it open. That will help to cool it down and also the Muon program will not be on there running which is the reason it runs hot. DC programs use 100 percent of the cpu which makes them run warmer.

I've had the side off the case for a few years and I use the canned air about once a month. I'd still like to continue running whatever DC program my brother had on there, it was really important to him. We just have to figure out how to make it run cooler.....

 

[NorthernLights]

Hey,
Here is a fairly good video of what you will be doing. There is a part one and part two.
http://www.ehow.com/video_4444758_install-ide-hard-drive.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4444760_install-internal-ide-hard-drive.html?pid=1&cp=1

You will first need to decide on and purchase a replacement drive. Was the drive you had big enough or do you need more space? You had a 120GB drive, but looking at the smallest that BestBuy carries is a 500GB for $65.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+...&skuId=8188962

One thing to note. You need an EIDE drive NOT a SATA. They use different technologies and different connectors.

Those video's are very helpful, thank you! I had plenty of space with my previous hard drive and have no issues with picking up a larger one.

I'm pretty sure my previous hd is toast and from what I understand from other's post I should be able to extract some of the information off of it. That doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'll go with it. Following that logic, can I still use the old hd as a place to back up my information, or use it to store music. I have a small external drive that I use currenetly for a few files, maybe I should stick with the external drive but just get a larger one?? Just thinking outloud and trying to learn and digest everything....

Thanks again everyone!!

 

[Wiz]

You have come to the right place, as you can tell by now the DC folks here are more than willing to help.
As said before, you need to get a new hard drive. Unplug the cable from the old one, remove the screws from the sides if it is attached that way, or if it's on a slide mechanism figure out how to slide it out the front of the case. Most times it's just screwed in the sides with small philips head screws.
Once you have that removed you can put the new drive in it's place.
plug power and the data cable in, they only plug one way, and then power up your system. This is when you enter bios and find the boot area and set your cd/dvd drive to be your first boot device.
Save and exit and reboot, put the Windows XP disc in now if you haven't already and it should boot up to Windows setup. Follow the steps until it's done.
Have on hand whatever software you will use for anti-malware, it's important to try and get that installed before connecting to the internet. If it's something you need to download then get it on your laptop, copy the installer to a usb drive of some kind or a cd so you can easily install it when Windows finishes.
Also get any video or other hardware drivers you will need. The ASUS motherboard most likely had a cd or two that held the drivers for the motherboard, the video card would have had the same. You can download these to the laptop and copy them to a usb memory stick or whatever you have.
Once drivers are loaded and you have rebooted about a hundred times and the system is protected you can get it online and start downloaded Windows updates.
After that's all done you can install your old applications.

For your data on your old drive there are several ways of getting to it, if the drive is accessible. You can get an eide to usb adapter so you can simply plug the drive into the pc using a usb cable. I like this because you don't have to install the old drive into the computer. If you do want to install it then you will have to use a data cable, most likely connect to the secondary ide port on the motherboard and you might have to fiddle with jumpers on the drive.
This is AFTER all the other stuff above is done, for instance if there's malware on the old drive you don't want to transfer it to the system. So you need a good level of protection that will be able to check the old drive before you copy anything to the new one.

Go back into bios and set your hard drive to be the first boot device.

For cooling you might be able to find a more efficient hsf (heat sink & fan).
If the system is overclocked (running faster than it's spec) then you can achieve better cooling by simply setting it to it's normal speed.
It's far better to have a stable system then to try and get a 'little' more speed.
Just one man's opinion, but I've lost a lot of DC time due to overclocking - that's just about impossible to ever make up.
If you want to leave the case open then try setting up a small electric fan to blow aire in towards the cpu during the hot weather. This has worked for my systems.

Take a look in the case and see if anything is blocking airflow around the cpu.
With the case open you have a 'general' air flow situation. It's just eminating it's heat generally outside the side of the case.

If you had an intake fan and an exhaust fan mounted to the case then you could have the case closed and get better temps. If the air flow brought a steady stream of outside air across the cpu then evacuated the heated air outside the case you might do better.

Also I don't know about muon but some projects have a way to set them to only run at certain times or only use a certain amount of cpu and memory. Others here would know better about that particular project.

I'm glad you came here for help, we stick together here and help each other. I hope you find this place to be a good place to spend time and never hesitate to come seeking answers or just spend some time.

 

[Wiz]

You replied again before I finished my long-ish message above.
Yes, a nice big external hard drive is great for keeping things backed up.
I have one, now if I could just find it...

I have everything saved in a nice safe spot, now if I could just remember where that spot is!!

 

[NorthernLights]

Wow, thanks for all the information!!

Couple of things:
I'm sure my brother has this thing overclocked - that's what he did with all his pc's
Heck there was one time when he lived with me that he had the window wide open in the dead of winter with a big dryer-type aluminum hose attached to the window screen and the other end facing his mb. It was well below zero outside and he wanted to see how cool he could get his pc to run so that he could over-clock it more. Mind you I had a few words about the heating bill! Anyway, if my pc is currently overclocked, how to I turn the clock back? I know I'm using wrong terminology here

How do I know what kind of video card I have? I think nvidia might be something?

You mentioned malware, can I assume that you're not talking about Norton's antivirus?

I'm going to run out to BestBuy and pick up a HD, an external HD, and a EIDE to USB cable.

Thank you!

 

[Ken g6]

Anyway, if my pc is currently overclocked, how to I turn the clock back? I know I'm using wrong terminology here

I imagine the easiest way is to go into the BIOS (hit del, F1, F2, F10, or some key like that at startup - it should tell you which), and just reset it to default settings.

(Somebody please correct me if this is likely to cause problems.)

How do I know what kind of video card I have? I think nvidia might be something?

There's software that can figure that out, but you'll have to get Windows running again first for it to work.

 

[Wiz]

Wow, thanks for all the information!!

Couple of things:
I'm sure my brother has this thing overclocked... ... I know I'm using wrong terminology here

You mentioned malware, can I assume that you're not talking about Norton's antivirus?

...

Your terminology is just fine!
I would do as suggested and return the memory and cpu speeds to default.

Heh - yes some people might consider Norton to BE malware...

Whatever you use make sure it's kept up to date and doing a scheduled scan once in a while.

Also look into some of the free stuff out there, Microsoft Security Essentials seems to be working pretty well.

I suggest not using the computer in an administrative account, rather use a limited account for day to day operation and log in as administrator only when you have to install something. This limits access to your system by outside forces, as they generally inherit the security of the current login.

 

[NorthernLights]

OK so I bought a new 500gb hard drive and installed it. I'm in the process of installing windows. I entered the bios and had it boot off of the CD drive. I'm at the point where I'm being asked if I want to create a partition in the unpartitioned space or just set up windows on the unpartioned space. Not sure which one I'm suppose to choose....

 

[Ken g6]

If you mean, "Let Windows set up the unpartitioned space", do that - unless you want to install Linux or something.

Now seems like a good time to point you to mechBgon's Windows security guide and also his ongoing security guide.

 

[theAnimal]

The only real reason to create a partition would be if you want to install more than one operating system on the computer.

 

[NorthernLights]

Thanks Ken for the links.....I had no idea that I should do all of this stuff!!

Animal - I never knew that you could have 2 OS on one PC.

You guys have been great today!!

I might have more questions down the road, especially when I need to re-install the DC program(s).

 

[theAnimal]

Animal - I never knew that you could have 2 OS on one PC.

You can only use one main OS at a time (which you would select when you boot), but you can actually run several OS's at once through a Virtual Machine. I am currently running Folding@Home in Linux inside a VM on Windows 7.

 

[Assimilator1]

NorthernLights
Hi, firstly good to see you here again .

Regarding your PSU, as long as it's working OK it's got enough grunt to run that setup.

You mentioned some confusion over accessing a drive which was 'toasted', what's probably happened is that some crucial windows files have been corrupted on your hard drive causing BSODs, crashing etc.
Corruption can be caused by malware or by tiny faults on the hard disk itself, either way when this corrupted drive is plugged in as a slave drive most of the information should be accesable (assuming it hasn't had a catasrophic hard drive failure!).
IF it's got corrupted due to hardware problems I wouldn't continue to use it after retrieving your data, chances are the problem will get worse. You could download HD Tune (free version) & do a thorough scan of the disk to check for bad sectors, after you've done everything else .

Btw do you remember what CPU temperatures Asus probe was showing when popping up?

Re muon1, also known as DPAD, myself & a few others run that, if you need a hand with that too, then let me know .Incase I'm not about (I visit sporadically), I'm sure 1 of the other muon1 crunchers will help.

Oh & I like the story about Dustin piping in sub-zero air to his PC to o/c it more, made me chuckle .

 

[Wiz]

NorthernLights
Hi, firstly good to see you here again .

Oh & I like the story about Dustin piping in sub-zero air to his PC to o/c it more, made me chuckle .

heh... remember the days running a c300 @ 450 and trying for 500???