Computer Problem

[tenrec]

I have a Dell 5000 series computer (purchased new 2005) that recently when I switched it on would not fire up. I made sure there was no dust and after leaving it a couple of days it operated quite normally. It is a computer that only gets used once or twice a week and is not connected to t'inernet. Now, today I press the start up button and the light shows amber and the fan sounds a lot louder than normal, but nothing happened! So, unplugged all connections, opened it up properly to have a look and it looks very clean and no sign of anything broken. Can anyone help me please? Many thanks, oh and Happy Christmas!

[Togo]

I take it that this is a laptop not a PC tower and monitor?

[Zacs-Master]

If it’s lasted 12 years, it’s done remarkably well. Time for a visit to PC World methinks.

[tenrec]

Togo and ZM thanks for your quick replies. Sorry, I should have said it is a tower computer and yes ZM I only paid about £400 so it owes me nothing, however I'm just a wee bit skint and it also has a lot of stuff that I don't want to lose on it. Any advice would be helpful I'm sure.

[Togo]

You could try this for starters. Unplug the power cord from the back of the PC. Press and HOLD the power button on the PC while you plug the power cord into the back of the PC.

[Zacs-Master]

It’s prettymuch impossible to give you an analysis of what could be wrong on a forum such as this (or indeed any forum). You need to take it to a local computer shop where they can put in On a test bench.

[bhg481]

If you have to buy a replacement you can remove the disc from the Dell and, with a bit of fiddling, read it on your new PC. This assumes that it's not a faulty disc that's causing your problems. You DO backup your data, don't you. If not, you'd better start NOW then, if it is the hard disc that's playing up, you can get your data on to your new machine.

[tenrec]

Thanks ZM. I realise it was a big ask, but hoped that it might be something really simple that would not cost me a huge amount of money. Many thanks.

[tenrec]

Thanks Togo.

[tenrec]

BHG481 thank you for your reply. I consider my wrist truly slapped! Thanks for your advice.

[Togo]

Tenrec, I note that you are able to get inside the tower. Do so again and look for any capacitors that look as if they have a slight bulging on the motherboard/mainboard. You may find four in a row possibly coloured black and these may have failed by now. They are part of the smoothing/filtering of the power supply to the main board and are an easy replacement. Make sure you get the right value replacements if they are in fact bulging(usually on the top).

[fender62]

does anything flash up on the monitor, if not you could try this..
you will have ram cards memory stick on the mother board you can remove them, then reseat them, sometimes this will cause a fault if one of them is faulty or neither, remove one stick reboot, if nothing try the other in different slots.

[Kidas]

Hi.

As others have said, a 12-year-old machine has done well. I'll be blunt; it's not worth fixing. Your best bet is to extract the hard drive and fit it into either an external case, or a spare bay on a second computer to extract the data.

The biggest issue you will face the issue that the drive is almost certainly a PATA/IDE style, which uses different connectors and cables from the current standard of SATA.

If you do want to fix it, then a good start point is this:
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/681188/Dell-Dimension-5000.html?page=8
Back in the day, computer designers would put in 'beep codes' that help diagnose problems at startup.

When you switch it on, does it beep at you? If it does, those beeps are telling you someting. The link above tells you the beep codes for a Dell Dimension 5000 series.
It might narrow the problem down to memory, or disk or motherboard, or something else.
If that dos not work, you can buy external disk cases for a PATA/IDE drive. You'll need to remove the drive from the machine (easy task - just needs scredrivers and a steady hand) and replace it into the external caddy then plug it in to a new computer with the USB cable provided.

Good luck!

[Kidas]

My bad:

http://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_dimension_desktops/dimension-5000_owner%27s%20manual_en-us.pdf

The original drive is a SATA drive, so things will be easier to detach it and fit it inot a second computer.

[bhg481]

Kidas - // The biggest issue you will face the issue that the drive is almost certainly a PATA/IDE style// No, the bigest issue will be getting to new machine to accept an old SYSTEM disc without re-formatting it (which will destroy all the data on it).
tenrec - if you do get to that stage, look back on here for advice. It's been discussed before; it's not a difficult procedure but needs to be done carefully to avoid destroying your data.

[Kidas]

bhg481: Good point. I tend to run on other operating systems, so don't have issues with Windows not knowing which system disk to use.

Windows does not like having two system disks attached.

[Buenchico]

I'm sorry that I can't think of any magic solution to your problem but as you're "just a wee bit skint" I'll suggest a way of replacing your computer, and retaining your data, for a relatively small amount of money:

You can get a refurbished Windows 7 computer here for £65 (inc. carriage):
http://www.accomputerwarehouse.com/product-info/dell-optiplex-360-pentium-e2200-dual-core-2-2ghz-cheap-windows-7-pc-1
(NB: That's not just a random web link. it's the firm which I buy my computers from, which I've bought computers from on behalf of other and which I recommended countless time here before. Their products are first rate and the quality of their service is excellent).

Then, having removed the hard drive from your old computer, you'll need one of these to turn it into an external USB drive, so that you can access the data on it from your new computer:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Durable-3-5-Inch-USB-2-0-IDE-HDD-Hard-Disk-Drive-Enclosure-External-Case-Black/130616670647?hash=item1e695c39b7:m:mWzq1mO_wR2je3UmtFmLeDQ
(NB: I've assumed that it's an IDE drive, rather than a SATA one. If the label on it doesn't tell you, just google the model number).

Once you've connected your USB drive (i.e. your old hard drive) to your new computer you'll be able to see much of what's on it but, annoyingly (in the first instance), not your own documents and files. That's because you've yet to 'take ownership' of it. The instructions for doing so are here:
http://preyerplanning.com/take-ownership-of-entire-hard-drive-in-windows-7.pdf
Once you've done that you'll find that you can access the contents of your old hard drive in just the same way as if it was a USB memory stick.

[tenrec]

Thank you all so much for your help. I have copied your answers into a document that I can print out and digest slowly. I am not computer savvie, so may well need your help again when I have digested the information. I will probably wait till tomorrow when my brain is a little more alert than it is right now! I can follow simple instructions, but don't always understand the terminology.

[tenrec]

Thank you all for your really useful information. I have had time to digest it. I have also made the decision to take it to a local shop for them to look at. They tell me the motherboard is the problem, but my data has been saved. I respect this local company so think I will probably buy a reconditioned machine from them when I have the funds. Again thank you for your help. I hope you don't think I have wasted your time, as I do find your help in all things invaluable. Happy New Year to your all.

[bhg481]

Thanks for letting us all know the outcome; not everyone is so thoughtful.