Repairing/upgrading an old Gateway Desktop.

[RyanGreener]

Problem solved. Just needed to reinstall XP.

 

[Slugbait]

The only idea I have is to troubleshoot it and fix it. Since it powers up, you have several possible options...including getting into the good graces of your girlfriend's parents by fixing their machine.

 

[RyanGreener]

The only idea I have is to troubleshoot it and fix it. Since it powers up, you have several possible options...including getting into the good graces of your girlfriend's parents by fixing their machine.

Hey, I just edited my post to point out that I've definitely decided to try and troubleshoot/fix it for my g/f's family

Anyways, I guess my current information was too vague. When I get the desktop and try to power it up, etc I'll post back here and hopefully I can get help once I narrow the problem down.

 

[Slugbait]

The most-likely problem is heat. I've seen several machines that boot down like that when the video card fan died or locked up. I've seen the BSOD with ATi cards.

Might also be the CPU fan.

 

[BD231]

First thing's first, make sure your gf doesn't get jealous when you take it home and play with it .... Once you've got that out of the way, consider this. Most modern CPU's down clock themselfs by half while in an idle state, so, overheating??? Maybe ...., but not as likely these days.

People who don't know how to work on their computers download *A LOT* of useless crap and don't ever think to get rid of it. A trojan could cause these same issues so you've got a very broad range of possibilities based on what you've wrote.

Of course, HP hardware is pure crap so I could be eating my own words here.

Still, it sounds like they downloaded something and their windows install is destroyed. Or, something is overheating/dead as some have suggested. I would blame software first if you can find a system restore cd for the OS.

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

I would run a linux livecd of some sort first (or even just run the OS reinstall disk) to see if that starts up and runs. If it does, then you're most likely looking at a software issue, so depending on if they want to keep current disk data, you can look at repair installs, reformat+reinstalls, etc, etc.

If the livecd or OS disk does not load fully, then you have a hardware issue, which, as others suggested, most likely could be overheating and/or damage caused by overheating.

 

[RyanGreener]

The most-likely problem is heat. I've seen several machines that boot down like that when the video card fan died or locked up. I've seen the BSOD with ATi cards.

Might also be the CPU fan.

I checked the specs on the Gateway website, says it's got integrated graphics so I don't think thats a problem, but the CPU Fan is a possibility.

First thing's first, make sure your gf doesn't get jealous when you take it home and play with it .... Once you've got that out of the way, consider this. Most modern CPU's down clock themselfs by half while in an idle state, so, overheating??? Maybe ...., but not as likely these days.

People who don't know how to work on their computers download *A LOT* of useless crap and don't ever think to get rid of it. A trojan could cause these same issues so you've got a very broad range of possibilities based on what you've wrote.

Of course, HP hardware is pure crap so I could be eating my own words here.

Still, it sounds like they downloaded something and their windows install is destroyed. Or, something is overheating/dead as some have suggested. I would blame software first if you can find a system restore cd for the OS.

Thanks for this idea. Her brothers play games online and one of them happens to go on "certain websites" so I can assume that they've gotten viruses and stuff too. they've gotten viruses in the past because of her brothers.

I would run a linux livecd of some sort first (or even just run the OS reinstall disk) to see if that starts up and runs. If it does, then you're most likely looking at a software issue, so depending on if they want to keep current disk data, you can look at repair installs, reformat+reinstalls, etc, etc.

If the livecd or OS disk does not load fully, then you have a hardware issue, which, as others suggested, most likely could be overheating and/or damage caused by overheating.

Good idea. I've got a few distros on CD already.

Anyways guys, thanks for the ideas! I already have a few things I can do. I'll start by trying a live linux CD to see if it's software related, then after that, I'll start checking the hardware. Also, when I find out what that BSoD said I think it'll help a lot.

EDIT: The BSoD was "Machine Check Exception"

 

[vailr]

Try booting an Ubuntu Live CD with only one stick of memory and with no HD, no ethernet, no TV tuner card, no modem card, etc. attached or connected. Use some compressed air to blow out the dust. Might try re-seating the CPU fan, using a fresh application of thermal grease. I'd suspect the PSU as going bad, before considering the CPU or motherboard.

 

[piasabird]

Looks too old to mess with in my opinion. You could try to do a clean install or a repair install and see if that helps. Sometimes just cleaning up the system and blowing out the dust can help quite a bit. I would be afraid to spend any real money on it.