My old PC's toast, right?

[swee'pea99]

Just dragged my old PC out of the attic to send to my sis, whose computer has died. I'm pretty sure it was working when I stored it away, but the rest doesn't seem to have done it much good. Instead of starting up, it came up with a message about selecting boot device, and when I went into BIOS I found that it doesn't seem to see either of the HDs that are installed, even though all the cables seem properly connected. Is there any point persevering (and if so, what should I try first?) or is it time to call it a day?

 

[fossyant]

Get it to search in the bios. Your bios battery could be flat

 

[swee'pea99]

Get it to search in the bios. Your bios battery could be flat

Ah - interesting! More than likely. It was old when it went to bed, and it's been in there for 18 months or more. Thanks. I shall try that.

 

[RoubaixCube]

Maybe the hard drives are dead. Difficult to troubleshoot without knowing more information based on the computers spec

 

[Shaun]

Take the case cover off and put year ear near to where the hard drive/s are located. Power it on and you should hear a smooth, increasing pitch whirring noise as the drives spin-up to operating speed. If you don't hear that or you hear a regular hard-ish tick tick ticking noise, then the HDDs could be shot.

 

[swee'pea99]

Well, the CMOS was definitely flat as a pancake, but I don't have a new one. That's definitely my first move. The drives are fine - I can hear them whirring away. When I get a new battery I'll try that, and if it doesn't work, I'll be back. Thanks for all suggestions.

 

[graham bowers]

I imagine that the motherboard battery will allow you to get it working again but you'll most likely have to input some bios settings.
What operating system was it running? If its ancient, its probably an unsupported version of windows. may be the time to think of linux?

 

[postman]

Get it to search in the bios. Your bios battery could be flat

What shape should it be.

 

[fossyant]

What shape should it be.

Flat actually.

 

[ColinJ]

What operating system was it running? If its ancient, its probably an unsupported version of windows. may be the time to think of linux?

Or stick a copy of Win 7 on for £14.99? I bought a couple of copies from Software Geeks for my old laptop and desktop.

 

[slowmotion]

Well, the CMOS was definitely flat as a pancake, but I don't have a new one. That's definitely my first move. The drives are fine - I can hear them whirring away. When I get a new battery I'll try that, and if it doesn't work, I'll be back. Thanks for all suggestions.

I think that they are usually CR2032 cells. Screwfix do them in packs of two or four, I forget which.

 

[swee'pea99]

I think that they are usually CR2032 cells. Screwfix do them in packs of two or four, I forget which.

Thanks, yes, it was a CR2032 - I've ordered some from ebay. As for the OS, I think it's XP, which will suit my sis fine. She's not much of a techy wiz, and she likes what she knows. I'll be back when the batteries arrive. Thanks again.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Thanks, yes, it was a CR2032 - I've ordered some from ebay. As for the OS, I think it's XP, which will suit my sis fine. She's not much of a techy wiz, and she likes what she knows. I'll be back when the batteries arrive. Thanks again.

If you stick with XP then remember no security updates are available for it anymore, so the PC's vulnerable to any recent malware.

 

[classic33]

Thanks, yes, it was a CR2032 - I've ordered some from ebay. As for the OS, I think it's XP, which will suit my sis fine. She's not much of a techy wiz, and she likes what she knows. I'll be back when the batteries arrive. Thanks again.

Poundland, six for a £1.

 

[graham bowers]

Or stick a copy of Win 7 on for £14.99? I bought a couple of copies from Software Geeks for my old laptop and desktop.

Yesbut............the system resources needed for W7 are considerably higher than for XP............the old machine may puff a bit ;-))

Linux is not for everybody, but is able to extend the usable life of old hardware.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_Linux_distribution