Members Optimus Prime Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 I just used Dell as an example. I don't give a {censored} what computer I buy. All I use it for is for playing music and internet. Doesn't need to be top of the line. What would any of you suggest? Here's a picture of the hardrive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members justinbass Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Mostly true, but there are some Dell models (and some HP models) that use a ribbon cable to connect the front panel connectors (Power LED, HDD LED, and power switch) to the motherboard. Since 99% of the other motherboards and cases out there use individual plugs and wires for each thing, those that use a ribbon cable are essentially garbage; replace the motherboard or case and you're looking at replacing both. They aren't even the same gauge cable as the "normal" kind so it's not a trivial task to put new connectors on the ends, either. Not worth the time anyway. True. I hate those ribbons. I am glad that only some of their systems use them. Where I work, if the motherboard goes, we typically strip out everything useful (RAM, HD, CPU, CD/DVD Drives, cables) and throw out the case and motherboard. So I am coming from a different place than most people. Alright, I am done in this thread unless you guys want to talk about Warmoth bass parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Optimus Prime Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 It just got done formatting, and restarted. When it tries to boot from the CD to install Windows it says "NTLDR is missing" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Optimus Prime Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Alright, I am done in this thread unless you guys want to talk about Warmoth bass parts. Is it really going to take 10-12 weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Are you aware that Dell makes more than one type of computer? Yes...I'm very aware of that. We have quite a few different models here...including the Optiplex you mention...which has a BTX board in it...so yeah, parts are a bitch. It's been awhile since I've worked on them, so I guess I'm just plain wrong. I do occasional help desk stuff now...but I mainly do satellite/engineering stuff nowadays. Sorry for any misinformation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members justinbass Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Is it really going to take 10-12 weeks? Sadly, yes. I've been spending a lot of time on their site recently and I might be waiting along with you soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 It just got done formatting, and restarted. When it tries to boot from the CD to install Windows it says "NTLDR is missing" I'm gonna go 99% with a hard drive problem then. Head over and buy one. If you can buy online you'll save money, but if you need it now, just keep an eye on cost-per-gig. Online sales approach $0.25 per gig (so a 200 gig drive runs about $50 bucks), and smaller drives are much more expensive per gig than larger drives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Optimus Prime Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Sadly, yes.I've been spending a lot of time on their site recently and I might be waiting along with you soon. Damn. I wish their showcase selection didn't suck as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Oh, Best Buy has a 10%/12% printable coupon right now, check Slickdeals.net's forums... don't know if it's good for hard drives, but it's worth a shot. If you can wait until Sunday, Best Buy has a 500 gig internal PIDE (what you're looking for) hard drive for $99 with no rebates, - 12% coupon = $88 bucks plus tax. Can't beat that price at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Optimus Prime Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 I'm gonna go 99% with a hard drive problem then. Head over and buy one. If you can buy online you'll save money, but if you need it now, just keep an eye on cost-per-gig. Online sales approach $0.25 per gig (so a 200 gig drive runs about $50 bucks), and smaller drives are much more expensive per gig than larger drives. Ok, thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members L-1329 Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Sadly, yes.I've been spending a lot of time on their site recently and I might be waiting along with you soon. 10 to 12 weeks would be a minimum time unfortunately, could be more depending. It took them 4 1/2 months to make my guitar body, but that's because they screwed the first one up buffing the finish and had to start over from scratch. I think it took closer to three months to get my explorer body, but that one was a little unusual with options. And yes, looking over that site is a very bad, bad idea. Causes gas and poor financial decision making, amoung other things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bluescout Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Ok, thanks for the help. Here's what I would do if I was in the business... wait, I AM in the business. 1) Don't go buying stuff just yet. 2) Go to your hard drive manufacturer's site and get the diagnostic disk for the drive and run full diags on it. It'll probably be a floppy disk dealio. If that passes, go to 3. If not run whatever repair they suggest or replace the drive. 3) Go to http://www.memtest.org/ and get their memory testing disk image and runn full diags on the memory. I've seen bad memory do exactly what's happening to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Optimus Prime Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 10 to 12 weeks would be a minimum time unfortunately, could be more depending. It took them 4 1/2 months to make my guitar body, but that's because they screwed the first one up buffing the finish and had to start over from scratch. I think it took closer to three months to get my explorer body, but that one was a little unusual with options. And yes, looking over that site is a very bad, bad idea. Causes gas and poor financial decision making, amoung other things... The one I ordered is really standard. The only thing on there with an upcharge is the 1-peice body. But with a clear finish that's the only way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Optimus Prime Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 This is teh 2 time I've tried today. It got passed the formatting with no problems and is now "copying files". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Zeromus-X Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Intermittant problems are almost always hard drive or memory related, and the NTLDR error you're getting seems to almost always end up being a hard drive issue. I'd still suggest making sure you can return the open product, because I'm a thousand miles away from you making this diagnosis. I can tell you if you walked into my store right now, I'd first plug in a new hard drive and test it, and if that didn't work, try new memory. If you've got more than one piece of memory in there, you could always try removing one, reformatting/reinstalling, and if it doesn't work, try the other one... odds are very low they're both bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Apendecto Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Do you know how to do basic upkeep on your PC? Like spyware & virus removal, dick cleanup, defrag, and all of the other things to keep it running happy? See bold for extra important upkeep.Yo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 See bold for extra important upkeep. Yo. Especially if you're looking at that porn... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Apendecto Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Especially if you're looking at that porn... Preach on, brother! Yo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Optimus Prime Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Well, I got Windows installed and started updating. I installed SP2 and it worked. Then 80 updates after it. When I tried to restart it started loopin. {censored}, it did this last time. I shouldn't have to put up with this {censored}. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bluescout Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 Well, I got Windows installed and started updating. I installed SP2 and it worked. Then 80 updates after it. When I tried to restart it started loopin. {censored}, it did this last time. I shouldn't have to put up with this {censored}. I would try and reinstall it 10 or 12 more times.... :poke: Seriously, do what I said in my last post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Optimus Prime Posted October 5, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 I would try and reinstall it 10 or 12 more times.... :poke:Seriously, do what I said in my last post. I'm not reinstalling it. {censored} it, it's not going to work, why waste time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bluescout Posted October 5, 2007 Members Share Posted October 5, 2007 I'm not reinstalling it. {censored} it, it's not going to work, why waste time? Classic "Lead a Horse to water..." thing going on here. Test hard drive with drive maker's tools Test memory with tools from http://www.memtest.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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