Hey Jake

Did you do that drawing for your desktop wallpaper? [snicker]

update: sam and i replaced the power source, reseated the processor, and installed a new fan. well, sam did that stuff and i supervised. but the computer seems to be running ok now. if we encounter any more problems, we'll replace the motherboard, then the processor, and then start replacing components.

WHHOOOOPS. Spoke too soon- the computer is once again on the fritz. But the problem is definitely power or fan related- so i may just have to have that stuff examined and/or replaced.

See, Jake, that's why you should get a Mac...The power cords for Macs never break and neither do the powerstrips you attach to them (not even the cheap $5 ones from Ikea) and the power cords can't get worms from the Internet and you don't have to be confused by too many games to buy for a Mac at the store and they have iTunes and iPods and Steve Jobs is soooo hot (even though I'm straight!)...Ohmigod, like totally...

HOLY SHIT- IT WAS THE POWER CORD. or the strip. i replaced the cord with a new one and the tower has been up 90 minutes with no crashes- enough to back up the drive on CD in case the problem repeats. thanks for all the tips- anyone who came through with the correct answer gets a free drink at the next gothamist happy hour (september 18th).

Which computer make/model would this happen to be, BTW?

one other thing....if your c drive is nearly full, and windows cannot write its .tmp files, the pc will shut down automatically...however, it sounds like your box is overheating, which could be either the power supply, but more often than not it is the cpu fan once that bugger reaches a certain temp, the machine cuts out, blow some compressed air into that puppy.

Dusty innards could indeed be causing your computer to overheat quickly, but perhaps its power supply was damaged in the blackout? The power supply on my Mac G4 was fried by it and had to be replaced (superior OS and surge protector notwithstanding).

I'm thinking the dust thing sounds spot on. Recently I had an opportunity to be using Jake's computer. The mouse was skipping a little, so I opened it up. I then removed a massive amount of dust and hair from the inside around the ball. It looked like the computer mouse had eaten a real mouse. When I returned the ball and closed the mouse up again it stopped working altogether.

It might be time to invest in an air filter.

Hey Jake:

I assume you have an internet connection from somewhere as you are able to access this forum. I have had success posting any technical problems to newsgroups such as alt.computer or alt.pc-homebuilt Lots of techies out there willing to really help and not get into a mac vs. pc thread. You can also try the computer forum on Craigslist.

Good luck.

You're a 'technologist' and you can't fix your own computer? Sorry, I know that was hugely insensitive; in my mighty anonymous wisdom, the cause is most likely the power supply. Good luck.

I am going to cast my vote for power supply. Jake, you can go to CompUSA or Best Buy and get a (good) power supply, then you just need someone to install it for you (recalling that I usually will work for food). Pick up a power cord while you are at it.

Good luck.

Jake,

I would suggest first switching the hard drive over to another machine (this is also possible on laptops, but be gentle with swapping it in.) If the hard drive is not the problem, this will at least let you get your important data offloaded to a network drive, etc (it should still be rescanned for viruses before you use it again.)

If it's a notebook and you only have a desktop available, IDE adaptors from the 20 pin notebook size up to full size are pretty cheap online.

Is the battery charging? Dells generally have an indicator on the battery itself to see if there's a charge on it. At least if they battery is charged, you know your power adapter is probably working fine.

I would avoid the "drive recovery" places on this. At the least, the problem doesn't sound like it's your hard drive. For what they'll charge you to recover your data (unless they're immensely honest about how easy it is) you can buy a new laptop or refurbished unit (Dell sells refurbs for about $1000 with a good warranty/return policy.)

Yes-- my Dell was having the shut-down problem as well about a week ago. I unplugged it for a while, opened it up, gave it a quick vacuum, and used a new power cord. It was overheating and there was dust that wasn't helping the cause. After those 3 things, my computer is running completely up to par.

from my experience with PC hardware (been building computers for 10 years now), the power supply is the part that fails most often.

Sometimes, you can remedy the situation by disconnecting and reconnecting the wire between the power supply and motherboard. While you're at it, you can reseat the memory.

If all else fails and it looks like its going to cost over $200 to repair, don't do it. A good motherboard, CPU, Case, and Memory can be had for less than $300.

-borat

No no no.

If the PC can start up, but shuts down within a few minutes, it is most likely overheating, which means a fan inside the case is either disconnected or broken. Newer PC's (last 2-3 years) have failsafes to shut down when the temperature rises above a certain point, in order to avoid burning out the CPU and other components.

Take it to the places recommended above. A dislodged fan power cable will take them about a minute to locate and correct, a broken fan should take a bit longer and cost next to nothing.

could anyone get a picture of the botox-ed elizabeth spiers posted somewhere?

please?

All great suggestions - hopefully some will help Jake be less hysterical. Additionally, Peter Rojas of Gizmodo suggested contacting the Computer Guys, via a Manhattan Users' Guide listing. And yes, Seti@Home is running on the computer on the right (Jake's).

When you say "Fried" do you mean physically as in the HD is physically dead, or you just can't access the "data" on the HD, OR you can not access the HD at all ?

This afternoon when I have time I'll post some tech articles on retrieving data from a dead HD.

If you can access the HD but the O/S doesn't work, AND you have your data backed up : Format the HD, partition it with Fdisk, reinstall the O/S and all apps.

If you go this route herre's a nifty performance tip. I've been able to speedup any Pc by about 20% by doing the following : create 3 or more partitions. One ffor O/S and pagefile ONLY; 1 for APPS ONLY; the others for data. Then set a static pagefile = to your RAM.

Now, if your going to buy a new PC, go MAC, but keep in mind the initial price and all periferals cost about 10% more. If you can't afford a MAC, buy a DELL or a Compaq directly from the manufacturer, NOt from a computer store. If you Must buy from a computer store, and I think your in NYC, J&R Computer World is the place to go. their obnoxious, BUT, they have good selection, are knowledgable, live up to warranties, AND have an excellent servies Dept, they are the repair service for many PC manufacturers.

More later.

Curtis

feel free to e-mail questions, within limits, no deluge of e-mails please.

It's ridiculous that this thread has turned into "Mac vs. PC". Look, all computers break, all computers suck, including the 10 or so Macs I've owned in my life.

Anyway, Andy seems to have the right idea...sounds like the power supply, but it doesn't sound like Jake is ready to break out his multimeter. May as well head over to ... ugh ... CompUSA or your local mini-storefront computer shop and ask them to check it out. It'll run you about $60 plus parts. If it turns out it's the motherboard and not the power supply, you're screwed anyway, so the $60 will be the least of your troubles.

I take it from the "i hate gateway" comment that it's out of warranty? If it's in warranty, they should take care of it.

ps: It seems possible the trouble could be related to a surge/irregularity from the post-Blackout power restoration.

ps2: That looks like Seti@home running on the machine on the right. Maybe the aliens fried your computer because you were getting too close.