| Posted By |
Message |
donegal419
St. Gerard, pray for us.
Member since 7/07 7650 total posts
Name:
K
|
Computer Tech. Geeks, I need help!
My mom is having big problems with her computer. Here's the story:
We bought a computer in the Summer of '06... a Gateway. It's been great.
The last couple of months there have been big problems with turning on the hard drive. When you go to turn it on (by pressing the large button the hard drive) it doesn't always go on even after holding it down a few seconds. Sometimes it goes on, sometimes not.
Also, it doesn't always shut down when going to the start button and choosing the "turn off" option.
The only way to get it on or off when this happens is to try several times or usually going into the back of the computer and switching on or off the power strip.
Also, she is having internet problems at times. not sure if this is related to the hard drive issue. at times it will say it's connected, and the light is on on the modem, but no connection. or it runs extremely slow.
i think it may be a hard drive issue... anythoughts or things i can try to get to the root of this problem!
TIA!!!
|
Posted 4/29/08 2:33 PM  |
| |
|
Long Island Weddings
Long Island's Largest Bridal Resource |
seank80
Don't Taze My Dog Bro!!
Member since 5/07 2240 total posts
Name:
Sean
|
Re: Computer Tech. Geeks, I need help!
Posted by donegal419
My mom is having big problems with her computer. Here's the story:
We bought a computer in the Summer of '06... a Gateway. It's been great.
The last couple of months there have been big problems with turning on the hard drive. When you go to turn it on (by pressing the large button the hard drive) it doesn't always go on even after holding it down a few seconds. Sometimes it goes on, sometimes not.
This could be a power supply related issue.
Also, it doesn't always shut down when going to the start button and choosing the "turn off" option.
The only way to get it on or off when this happens is to try several times or usually going into the back of the computer and switching on or off the power strip.
This could be software related.
Also, she is having internet problems at times. not sure if this is related to the hard drive issue. at times it will say it's connected, and the light is on on the modem, but no connection. or it runs extremely slow.
It could be hardware related as well or even software. I would probably do a full restore on the computer and see if any of the problems go away. Make sure to backup data first.
|
| Posted 4/29/08 2:42 PM |
| |
|
GigglesBear
LIF Infant
Member since 3/08 126 total posts
Name:
Michael
|
Re: Computer Tech. Geeks, I need help!
That button shouldn't have to be held to turn on. Normally you'd hold down the power button to do a hard shutdown.
There may be a slight disconnection between that button and the actual switch inside that powers the computer. Unfortunately, you can't tell without opening it up, removing some components and looking. It could also be a power supply issue.
As for the slow shutdown time using the operating system and slow Internet that could be due to one or more of the following:
1. Spyware that has not been cleaned out from the system
2. Viruses that are eating up memory and/or bandwidth
3. The computer's memory is just low in general.
1 and 2 can be fixed by downloading some free software. Spybot is a pretty good one spyware remover and AVG is a decent antivirus.
3 can be remedied by purchasing more memory (RAM). Unfortunately, there are various types so it's not as simple as buying memory that has bigger numbers. If you can find someone who can check on that power switch, most likely they can also suggest what memory to get if that is indeed the problem.
Hope that at least points you in the right direction. Good luck!
|
| Posted 4/29/08 2:55 PM |
| |
|
donegal419
St. Gerard, pray for us.
Member since 7/07 7650 total posts
Name:
K
|
Re: Computer Tech. Geeks, I need help!
Thank you, Sean! I have asked additional questions based on your answers, if you don't mind. Thanks!
The last couple of months there have been big problems with turning on the hard drive. When you go to turn it on (by pressing the large button the hard drive) it doesn't always go on even after holding it down a few seconds. Sometimes it goes on, sometimes not.
This could be a power supply related issue.
We have looked into the power strip and the outlet it's plugged into and no problems there. Perhaps it's how the drive is intaking the power not the source itself?
Also, it doesn't always shut down when going to the start button and choosing the "turn off" option.
The only way to get it on or off when this happens is to try several times or usually going into the back of the computer and switching on or off the power strip.
This could be software related.
How would I find that out?
Also, she is having internet problems at times. not sure if this is related to the hard drive issue. at times it will say it's connected, and the light is on on the modem, but no connection. or it runs extremely slow.
It could be hardware related as well or even software. I would probably do a full restore on the computer and see if any of the problems go away. Make sure to backup data first.
How do I do this?
Message edited 4/29/2008 3:00:06 PM.
|
| Posted 4/29/08 2:58 PM |
| |
|
donegal419
St. Gerard, pray for us.
Member since 7/07 7650 total posts
Name:
K
|
Re: Computer Tech. Geeks, I need help!
Posted by GigglesBear
That button shouldn't have to be held to turn on. Normally you'd hold down the power button to do a hard shutdown.
There may be a slight disconnection between that button and the actual switch inside that powers the computer. Unfortunately, you can't tell without opening it up, removing some components and looking. It could also be a power supply issue.
As for the slow shutdown time using the operating system and slow Internet that could be due to one or more of the following:
1. Spyware that has not been cleaned out from the system
2. Viruses that are eating up memory and/or bandwidth
3. The computer's memory is just low in general.
1 and 2 can be fixed by downloading some free software. Spybot is a pretty good one spyware remover and AVG is a decent antivirus.
3 can be remedied by purchasing more memory (RAM). Unfortunately, there are various types so it's not as simple as buying memory that has bigger numbers. If you can find someone who can check on that power switch, most likely they can also suggest what memory to get if that is indeed the problem.
Hope that at least points you in the right direction. Good luck!
Thank you so much! It might be something more technical inside the machine. I have anti-virus software on the computer and my sister who is better with computers than me ran through with my mom and cleaned out a lot of junk that was on there and it's still a problem.
I didn't think memory would be an issue as they really only use the computer for basic internet and word processing. they're not downloading music and the like. Allthough they do have a lot of digital pics on there... does that hold a lot of memory?
|
| Posted 4/29/08 3:02 PM |
| |
|
GigglesBear
LIF Infant
Member since 3/08 126 total posts
Name:
Michael
|
Re: Computer Tech. Geeks, I need help!
Posted by donegal419
I didn't think memory would be an issue as they really only use the computer for basic internet and word processing. they're not downloading music and the like. Allthough they do have a lot of digital pics on there... does that hold a lot of memory?
RAM is used to store data/processes temporarily. For instance, keeping your web-browser open consumes some amount of RAM. Having programs and other applications running consumes more. Once you start reaching max capacity, things tend to slow down since the computer has to wait for memory to free up before using it again. This is where spyware and viruses come into the picture. They run in the background so you're unaware, and like anything else, they require memory as well. Add up enough of these and it becomes a noticeable problem.
As for the power supply issue, I believe Sean was referring to the box located inside the computer. It usually has one thick yellow/red cable coming out that branches off to many smaller cables, and these are connected to the various devices inside the computer such as the cd-rom, hard-drive,cooling fans, etc. If some of those wires are loose, that could also cause problems.
|
| Posted 4/29/08 3:13 PM |
| |
|
seank80
Don't Taze My Dog Bro!!
Member since 5/07 2240 total posts
Name:
Sean
|
Re: Computer Tech. Geeks, I need help!
Sorry I was in a conference call and couldn't respond sooner.
This could be a power supply related issue.
We have looked into the power strip and the outlet it's plugged into and no problems there. Perhaps it's how the drive is intaking the power not the source itself?
As GigglesBear said I was referring to the internal power supply unit. It could have a problem or it could be somehting as stupid as the switch to turn it on. It would be hard to say without me tearing into the box.
This could be software related.
How would I find that out?
As for the turn off issue I have encountered this with certain versions of Windows XP. I would make sure that windows is up to date. Check that everything critical has been installed.
It could be hardware related as well or even software. I would probably do a full restore on the computer and see if any of the problems go away. Make sure to backup data first.
How do I do this?
As for the internet it could be something related to the ethernet on the computer. Some computers have onboard ethernet which means that the lan connection is intergrated on the motherboard. Sometimes they have what is acalled a nic card which inserts in a pce slot. If you look for the lan port and it is next to all the other connecters then it is on board. If it is horizontal and below all the vertical connectors then it is seperate. It's hard to explain and I might be confusing you now.
What is the model number of the computer? I will see if I can find anything on the internet about known problems. Did you make sure that there isn't a problem with the modem? You could also try and use the usb cable instead of the ethernet cable to hook the modem up to the computer. I would definately say install ad aware and run this. Spyware can do losts of strange things to computers. If you want to fm me any other questions feel free.
|
| Posted 4/29/08 3:38 PM |
| |
|
donegal419
St. Gerard, pray for us.
Member since 7/07 7650 total posts
Name:
K
|
Re: Computer Tech. Geeks, I need help!
Thank you so much... I am not at my mom's right now, so I am not near the computer to give you a model number or what not...
but you have definitely given me some places to start before I call someoen in to look at it.
I may be FMing you at some point! 
Thanks again!
|
| Posted 4/29/08 3:42 PM |
| |
|
