Computer Breakdown

[arjay]

1.I have a 6 year old Dell 1545 Inspiron computer which has stopped working. 2.The screen is flashing and there are many horizontal lines plus a large "trapezium" standing on the right hand side.
3.I have tried switching it on and off several times but this did not help. The fault stays there immovably.
4.Overnight the battery charge drained away but this is usually no problem as if I press F1 the system resumes.The battery is only a few months old.
5.I do have this new computer, luckily, but there are files on my old one which I should be sorry to lose.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Old_Geezer]

I do not know if it is terminal, but worst comes to worst you can physically remove hard disks to connect to another computer. Certainly it sounds like someone knowledgeable should open it up and look at it.

[arjay]

Thank you Old_Geezer. I will get Dell to have a look at it.

[Tuvok]

Connect the computer to an external monitor - it could just be the screen that has gone.

You may need to press the F1 key a few times to get an image on the external screen (the F1 key will toggle the screen usage as laptop on, laptop & extenal, external only - not necessarily in that order)

[Mosaic]

I got a 'IDE - SATA adapter kit' off ebay - worked like a charm. You just need to take out the hard drive to use the kit, which just plugged into any other computer with a usb port. It wasn't very dear.

[arjay]

Thank you Old_Geezer,Tuvok and Mosaic.
A separate monitor is a good solution and I would never have thought of that.
I contacted Dell UK at 8 AM this morning and did what the technician told me by pressing a few keys to help him diagnose the problem.
He quickly decided that I need a new LCD screen.
He arranged for an engineer to visit my house tomorrow and fit one.
The cost is only £126.91.
Anew Dell computer would be about £800.
Thanks again.

[TTG]

You can get a decent laptop from Argos outlet ebay shop for about £100 more than the cost of the screen. I would not pay £124 for a new screen on a 6 year old laptop. Cancel the visit/repair, then get another laptop.

[TTG]

* £126.91

[arjay]

Thank you TTG for your information about a £100 computer. I have taken note of your advice and will keep it on file for any family or friends who are thinking of buying a new computer.
I needed my old one repaired as I have many personal files on it.
They are too numerous to back up.
I am a widower of 83 and can afford to be a bit extravagant at my age.

[Mosaic]

Arjay, it is quite simple to extend the life of a computer if necessary with a very good free Operating system.
If you think the computer's on its last legs its worth stretching your skills and having a go at installing a free operating system. You'll need a pendrive.
You could try Xubuntu
http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/

[Tuvok]

Your local computer shops might have been able to replace it cheaper than Dell - but on the otherhand you might have more come back in the future by going direct to Dell - depends how good the local shops are.