my motherboard has died... options?

positivenote

Hi all,
ive had my dell dimension 8400 for nearly 6 years and have used it i'd say every day. Over that time ive had to reinstall my OS just once, but today it jumped to safe mode and the fan kicjed into overdrive. i'm not technical at all when it comes to opening the case up or anything but having tried the usual f2 key i still had a black screen. I droped it over to the local PC World and the lad there was very helpfull.. he opened it up and you could see that various parts of the motherboard where destroyed. He said that it needs a new mother board and if i where to get them to fit it combined with the cost of one from dell, id prob get a new machine for a couple of hundred more.

So where do i go from here? i REALLY need to get whats stored on the harddrive off it as im doing a phd and i have dozens of documents and bookmarked articles saved to it (aswell as all my music). if i do choose to go with a new machine can these be retrieved and who could do it for me? even if i choose to go with a laptop? or if i just get a replacement motherboard will this all still be saved? will i have to reinstall my OS with a new motherboard?

so many questions and sorry if its long winded but i do need help and advice... so thanks for any that is forthcoming.

ps. i use the machine for graphics and movie editing predominantly so a new machine will prob coast a few bob :0(

ricman

YOU CAN open the case,take out the drive,insert in a usb hd enclosure,cost 20euro.HD standard= ide or sata ,so get an ide or sata unit.
see here http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/08/sata_rev_3_specs_will_be_faster_than_sata_1_and_2_combined-2/ sata interface.
PLACE tape underneath the hardrive ,on the pcb, to stop static damage or short circuit.http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?view_product=1&id=26125&sid=14&cid=116&scid=8137
see here .
DO NOT touch the drive pcb.PLUG it in to a pc usb slot ,it,ll show up as drive e,or f external usb device.Takes maybe 2mins to install/detect the drive,
will say,this device drive now ready .

ricman

OR look for ads pc repairs ,laptop repairs ,theres loadsa places in town that fix pcs.You could buy a usb unit and bring it in with the inspiron,ask them to install, it come back in an hour and pick up the drive unit with your hardrive installed.
then just copy the files/docs to any pc.

Adam

is it still booting? to be honest if "various parts of the motherboard" were visibly damaged the chances of it still booting are slim to nil, so i would get a second opinion from an independant repair service, the pc world guy is probably just looking for a unit sale!

as ricman said an external hard drive enclosure will allow you to retrieve all your data assuming the hard drive is ok, which it probably is again because the pc is still booting.

if the pc wasn't shut down properly that would explain why it might have booted in to safe mode, to the best of my knowledge this wont just happen without giving you a list of boot options, one of which would be to start windows normally, so switch it on and try that

positivenote

hi,
no the machine isnt booting up. When i turn it on the fan goes into over-drive and is extremely loud... there is nothing on my monitor at all, screen remains black as if it wasnt turned on. The lad in PC World opened up the case and showed me on the motherboard where the components actually looked fried. Im hoping that i wont have to buy a new machine and that maybe a replacement motherboard will solve the problem, but as i say im fairly ignorant of all this and would have to get someone to sort it all for me... or alternatively get a new machine and transfer whats on the hard-drive to the new machine...

any help/advice is appreciated guys

Mountjoy Mugger

Any "beep" from it when powered on?

positivenote

no beep, all the lights are on on the back (A,B,C,D) fan sounds like its about to take off..

Skerries

PC store guy is probably right, the mobo is most likely fried and the prices Dell charge to have it replaced are terrible and for a few hundred more you could get a new pc
when he showed you, did he mention the capacitors or what was the damage?
buy something like this as your hard drive will be alright
http://www.dabs.ie/products/best-value-3-5--ide---sata-hdd-enclosure-aluminium-usb-2-0-5JFH.html?refs=4294948649
you can then take the data off just like attaching an mp3 player or phone
if it is a sata drive you can put it into the new pc as a second drive

ricman

see here ,http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/SYSTEMS/dim8400/SM/specs.htm.

it says 8400 pc hardrive is ide ata 40 pin,if its ide you,ll need an ide enclosure.
see here http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/SYSTEMS/dim8400/SM/adtshoot.htm#wp1052387 it has lights at rear that diagnose the technical problem effecting the pc.
see here ide pic,http://www.google.ie/imgres?imgurl=http://prissears.com/ide.jpg&imgrefurl=http://prissears.com/hdid.htm&usg=__zuz8
buy an IDE ENCLOSURE, examine the drive to make sure,40pin =ata ide hardrive.

ricman

i,d advise you to back up all,work,docs ,phd,to 2 hds,and burn to cdr or dvdr ,even new hardrives can stop working anytime.
have 2 or 3 copys of all docs on different drives.
you could backup to an external drive too,
see here http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_13462.htm
on sale in aldi today.

positivenote

hi guys,
thanks again for taking the time to respond. I have looked at the back of the machine and the following is the sequence of the lights:
A:GREEN B:AMBER C:GREEN D:GREEN

When talking to the lad from PC World he said that the motherboard was fried and he showed me 'cylindrical' components attached to the board that had marks on the top of them that looked like burn marks... he didnt say they were capacitors but thats what they looked like.

I dont really want to spend the cash on a new machine as i dont have it to be honest, but i also want to keep all my applications/software and XP OS, so im thinking that replacing the motherboard will be the most cost effective solution. I have come across this on a site in the US:

http://www.ascendtech.us/itemdesc.asp?ic=MB4DELJ3492&eq=&Tp=

so imhoping to order it (or from an alternative site in the UK) and install it myself or get someone to do it for me as a nixer.

What do you guys reckon?

Adam

another option is to buy a second hand pc and swap out the hard drive for yours, it would be more expensive than a new motherboard but it's probably a better bet as that one will kick the bucket eventually as well, and second hand you could get a decent machine for around the 400 notes mark

try haggle this down a bit? great spec for the price: http://www.adverts.ie/248429/desktops/custom-built-computer/

unnameduser

I want to say ignore what the PC world guy told you because in general they are wrong or lying - just do a search on boards to see ...

but in fairness the error lights you quote indicate it's a system board fault http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ws450/en/ug/advanced.htm#1170800

I have skimmed over a few of the previous replies and would summarise by saying that this is your PhD, don't take chances. Any reputable repair guy has the device to yank files off a hard drives. I deal with a lot of repair centres so if you let me know where you are I might be able to suggest a reputable repair centre close to you. The reason I suggest this is that in this game there are constantly amateurs advertising repairs services as a side-line and then close up quickly when a job goes wrong.

Get you valuable files back first and then worry about fixing / replaceing the comp.
Best of luck

ricman

buy a pc on adverts.ie ,cost 90 euro approx, see here
http://www.adverts.ie/248920/desktops/hp-dx6100mt-desktop/
make sure it has an ide ata drive interface to connect your drive to.
install your drive as slave,drive d or e,set ,move,drive jumper at hd rear to slave mode .if the pc memory is ddr2 you could use the pc memory from the 8400 to give the other pc 2gig ram.
CAREFULLY ,gently take out the drive from the 8400 ,install in the new pc.
its held in pc by 4 small philips screws.put tape on the hd pcb underneath to protect it from static/short circuits.
if you buy a pc the chances are the seller would install the old hd as a slave
unit if they are tech savvy.if you ask em nicely,pay ten euro for the job.takes about 9mins to install a hardrive in a pc.

positivenote

thanks for the replies guys, its been very much appreciated. But im thinking that i may just bite the bullet and get a new machine and then take the harddrive out from the 8400 and copy whats on it. The more i read your replies the more i think that a system as old as the one i have could have other stuff go wrong pretty soon... and to pay for a new mobo and installation would cost around 200euro whereas a new machine would be ball park 5-600.
im open to sugestions on decent machines on offer rather than going to Dell or a high street store. As stated previously it'll be used for graphic/video work and editing (not gaming) and do you reckon a desktop is still a better option than a laptop?

ive also just come across this site on a different thread:
hardwareversand.de where they will build the machine to your specific spec?

sincerly thanks again for your help so far, and excuse any ignorance

ricman

SEE here http://www.microaid.ie/cgi-bin/ca012345.pl or look on pixmania.ie
you need to make sure it has an ide hardrive interface to plug in your drive,or
else buy an enclosure ide ata 16euro .Make sure the pc has pci-x grahics interface in case you wanna upgrade the grahics card in future.You can plug in the monitor,,to the new pc, you may need to buy a usb mouse/keyboard cost 20euro, if the new pc has no ps2 interface.
it would be simpler buy an ide enclosure get someone to install the drive as a nixer.COPY the data,burn to dvdr as soon as you can.
see here http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/computing/desktop-computer/105/9/categorie.html?srcid=391&mctag=uk_16067&gclid=CJ_86q2c3qICFRQ_lAodzUW6yA

here,s a pc with 18inch monitor lcd,
http://www.pixmania.ie/ie/uk/4854916/art/compaq/presario-cq5305uk-m.html
379 pound= 500 euro approx.

safer to get a techie to install the old hd as if you make a mistake
you could LOSE all the data ,its a delicate process if you are not an experienced pc expert.
i broke a brand new hd,i was careless, i short circuited the hd pcb.

Skerries

positivenote wrote: »

When talking to the lad from PC World he said that the motherboard was fried and he showed me 'cylindrical' components attached to the board that had marks on the top of them that looked like burn marks... he didnt say they were capacitors but thats what they looked like.

yeah those are the capacitors, Dell had a big problem with a lot of their machines from around that time where the capacitors would blow
the motherboard is definitelty knackered so i would buy a new machine, hardwareversand.de are very good and you would get a good quality pc for your money

ricman

i,d advise buy from an irish website or shop, cos if theres a problem with warranty ,or repairs , its just easier for returns or tech support.its not like you are gonna save money on a 500euro pc.

positivenote

thanks guys,
so if anyone has any links to desktops that will allow me install as a seperate drive or alternatively copy over the contents of my old hard-drve and satisfies the following spec's it would be very much appreciated:

4g ram
decent enough processor for the likes of video editing etc...
pci-x grahics interface
firewire adapt (or could i just take them from my old machine?)
500g + of ram
pref XP Pro OS

and i think thats it, dont need monitor or keyboard or other peripherals...

I presume the brand doesnt really matter or does it?
either way all sugestions would be welcomed, as i'll be looking to buy sooner the better.

thank you again

ricman

Go for at least pc with 300gig hardrive, pci-express graphics card slot.I cannot find any pc for sale that has an ide listed in the specs.THEY may have 1 ide slot,its just not listed .Most pcs are bundled with windows 7.
the graphics card should have at least 200meg vram, video ram.you can buy a pc unit and buy an oem windows cd,
see here,http://www.nextag.co.uk/oem-windows-xp/products-html?nxtg=de580a280d06-17B48ED49B22A27E
heres info re install drive ide
http://www.helpwithpcs.com/upgrading/install-hard-drive.htm
if pc has no ide port, you can buy a card for 20euro, that has an ide interface on it ,it fits into a standard pci motherboard slot.You plug the ide drive into the 40pin interface on the card.

see here http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?TabID=1&criteria=usb&ModuleNo=36036&C=SO&U=Strat15

this unit allows you to connect an ide drive to a standard sata interface,
ie install an ide drive in any pc.
you,ll need to buy a sata power cable,and sata data cable in maplins too, if the pc you buy doesnt have a spare sata power cable.
best to buy em anyway ,if you are spending 30euro on the ide to sata convertor unit.
cables will cost around 18euro.

it might be easier to just buy the pc you want and just buy the convertor/cables
if it turns out,theres no ide slot on the pc motherboard.
You might want to get a pc that has hdmi out on the graphics card ,
if you ever want to use a hdtv from the pc.

ricman

see here http://www.marxcomputers.ie/
pc intel icore duo 4gig ram,512meg radeon 3450 graphics pci-x card , its 630euro.THAT has no operating system,its just a pc unit.it has 1 ide slot.
it would be alot cheaper to buy a dell pc around 450, you get windows 7 with the dell pc.
see here http://ireland.dell.com/ie/en/home/Desktops/inspiron-560s/pd.aspx?refid=inspiron-560s&s=dhs&cs=iedhs1&ref=dthp comes with 750gig drive.
its hard to give advice without knowing your budget.
the shop,or company matters more than the brand, if in dublin buy in dublin .

see pc ide card, http://www.startech.com/item/PCIIDE2-2-Port-PCI-ATA-133-IDE-Adapter-Card.aspx

positivenote

hi sorry, i should have mentioned my budget would be ideally under 600 euro... but im hoping it can be manageble as im not looking for a monitor,keyboard or other peripheral stuff... im also thinking that the easiest way to get the stuff off my old hard drive would be to get one of those external ports that can be connected through usb into the new machine and just copy over the content.
as previously said, any links to suitably spec'd machines would be appreciated.. and a big THANK YOU to Ricman for your help so far

ricman

You can buy a pentium 4 pc unit , 1.5ghz cpu 80gig hd, with 2 ide slots 1 gig ram on adverts.ie 4 60 euro .Then you could install the old drive as drive d, e: , in slave mode.
see here http://www.adverts.ie/248869/desktops/dell-gx260/
Someone like this will install the old drive in the p4 pc and set it as slave, make sure its working.
see here http://www.adverts.ie/196871/home-services/pc-and-laptop-doctor/
say in a month after making 3 copys, of your files, on 2 separate hard drives ,buy a new pc.
Also burn files/phd to 2 dvdr or cdr disk, 1 cdr =700meg, dvdr =4.4gig.
see here http://www.peats.com/cgi-bin/catalog.cgi?view_product=1&id=26568
ide usb enclosure.
copy all the files to drive c ,make new folder ,eg backup no1.
ANY hardrive can fail anytime ,so copy all files 3 times, to 2 separate hds.
put cdrs away in a cool ,dry place in separate cd cases,

that p4 pc would work on the mouse,keyboard ,monitor you have at the moment.

positivenote

okay guys, i just need to clarify... if i purchase a new machine with the referenced spec and price would i still be able to get the content from my original hard-drive if i got one of these
http://www.dabs.ie/products/best-value-3-5--ide---sata-hdd-enclosure-aluminium-usb-2-0-5JFH.html?refs=4294948649
and conected it to the new machine through usb? i would proberbly contact one of the pc doctors to remove the hard-drive for me as i dont want to run the risk of losing the conent.

is there anyway of resqueing bookmarked websites from the 8400 or are they gone forever now? reason being is that i had close to 80 articles and websites bookmarked whilst using Firefox the past 2 years...

thanks again, and im still open to links to decent value machines at the spec mentioned earlier.
THanks again

ricman

YES assuming the drive is working you can copy, any file to drive c: of the new drive, connect the usb drive, do a search ,search for favorites folder or search your user name documents or search say salon.com.html if salon was one of your favorites.
or search new drive salon .
search for My Documents in the old drive,old hd could show up,as drive,d, e or f:\ or search new drive Favorites or user name Favorites

see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932912

you can look on www.adverts.ie services for pc tech, pcdoctor ,person who fixes pcs ,to transfer hd from 1 pc to new pc should cost maybe 20euro ,depends on is it done at your home.
will you bring 2 pcs to pc technician, just say i need it done within 30 mins, ill call back in 30mins,
or wait here while its done,eg install drive in the usb case.
it would take me ten mins max.
you can buy enclosures in peats ,maplins 16euro approx ,ide ATA enclosure
i think dell.ie is the best value for your specs, and you get 2 years warranty under eu law.

BumbleB

The chances are you had a voltage spike ,Dump the pC the reason being is when one component fails it causes stresses on all the other components because an electronic device is a very finely designed device and even one component fail can cause to much current on other devices .

OP, youre overcomplicating things here ,if you buy an enclosure ,and install youre hard drive into it , it will mimic a usb stick when it is put in an usb socket and you will be able to copy whatever you have ,its really that simple .

Also because everything is plug and play these days you can plug the drive into someone elses pc on the mobo and copy that way you'll have to have s little savvy .


I personally would reccomend building your own ,its not cheap and it not at all difficult but its rewarding and you will know how to fix your own hardware pc issues.

ricman

I presume the info on the old pc hd is Valuable.IF YOU are not experienced in pc repairs ,buy enclosure ,pay pc tech to remove drive ,and install it in the unit, ask him to test it,plug into a pc FOR 3 MINUTES .IT,LL say, new device ,installed ,drive,e, f: etc device ready to use.browse the DRIVE, you should see windows, documents folders,etc it takes a long time to write a phd.
THE drive could be destroyed,damaged in an second by static shock,short circuit on the pcb, or physical shock, it must be handled very gently.

COST OF usb unit ,plus pc technician payment = 45 euro ,if you bring old pc and the usb unit to the pc doctors place of work.
i,m sure i damaged 1 or 2 mobos, and 1 drive when i started building pcs ten years ago ,cos
i was careless ,did not follow all the anti static rules etc NOW i,m very careful when installing cpus, mobos,drives , eg one small error can destroy a hardrive.
eg
it must be installed when the pc is off,power off , power plugged out from esb supply socket , when you switch off a pc power is still going thru the motherboard and pc drive,s/peripherals .Precautions re static damage must be taken.