I exposed my system to static shock (don't ask) so it's not working. My question is, did it just erase everything on the HD or can I just reload with my recovery CD? What about the data on the HD? Can that be recovered? What about the other hardware, like the memory, etc.? Can that be used?
My basic question is, do I just throw all that crap out, or is it still useable?
2007-05-26 08:46:55 · 5 answers · asked by bizriak 3 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Other - Hardware
ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! I guess I have to admit that I did something REALLY DUMB!
I was hoping to not have to admit this in front of knowledgeable people, but I might as well.
My system was caked with an extreme layer of dust so I opened the tower and hose-vacuumed it out.
Let the insults fly if you must, but please tell me if I am likely to be able to reuse any of these components.
When I try to boot up, the screen just says
"The hard drive was not found. Consult the trouble shooting section of your user's manual."
followed by some specs.
2007-05-26 09:24:10 · update #1
It depends what the static damaged - there should be no cascade failure i.e. one componant causing another to fail - the only damaged parts will be those directly damaged by the static. It is unlikely that the harddrive would be damaged. Chips (including the cpu and ram) are far more susceptable to static
2007-05-26 08:53:44 · answer #1 · answered by cool_clearwater 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I dont believe that you could have exposed your hard drive to a magnetic field large enough to have erase the data thereon.
If you are able to do that I am calling the FBI. Seriously, it is highly unlikely that you have erased the hard drive. However, depending on what you have exposed your computer to, and you have not stated what exactly might have caused the static shock, you probably damaged the motherboard or other components such as your RAM. Your memory is most likely to be damaged by static shock. Then, your motherboard is next depending on the intensity of the electricity.
Solution: Remove the cooling fan from the cpu and turn on the system for about 3 seconds. Place your finger on the processor. If the CPU is getting warm the motherboard is good and the system will recover. If the CPU is getting warm immediately shut down the system and dont allow the CPU to become hot or you will risk damaging your system. verify the state of your RAM. If RAM is good, remove all of the components in your system and reinstall them then try to boot. Use recovery CD if necessary. However, system is alive if all of the check points were sucessful.
2007-05-26 16:10:44 · answer #2 · answered by andrew91025 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it depends on if it boots up at all.....
does it beep when started(self test)
do the fans spin up (probably)
if you have fried the cpu then you could try replacing it if you FIND OUT that is the cause.
you will need to change one componant at a time in a process of elimination.
check the componant you exposed to static first. !!
you may wish to read this article for future reference
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,82184-page,1/article.html
2007-05-26 15:59:22 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
What got exposed to the static shock? Normally you get to see the magic blue smoke if you've really screwed yourself...and even then, it's generally just one component.
2007-05-26 15:51:56 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
now if you send me more details on how and what happened I will be able help you out,
you can use most of you're parts like Hard driver cd rom drive, pci cards, the case, keyboard, mouse, memory (if you have not blown it,
but I need to know more, on what happend, and how
2007-05-26 16:01:47 · answer #5 · answered by Carling 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋