Posts by swiftowl7

Morgan Ortiz6 said:I'm lost here. Could you walk me through what I actually need to do?

Do you happen to know which brand or manufacturer made the thumb drive?

If you're rocking a Samsung phone, this might be just what you need...

https://www.samsung.com/us/sidesync/

I wouldn't say it's all about the desktop app itself, but it actually comes packed with the specific MTP drivers you need to make sure everything connects perfectly over USB without any headaches. Once you plug your phone in, it shows up in File Explorer just like an external hard drive or a thumb drive.

Just a little heads-up: this also works on Windows XP, though you'll definitely need to have Windows Media Player 11 installed first for it to behave.

If you guys are still running into trouble, just drop your device models and manufacturers down below so I can help out.

Alex Barnes93 said:Yeah, they're just trying to stop the virus from spreading ☕

It’s such a joke, honestly, lol 😬 They basically shut it down because the servers and the database are totally overwhelmed—nothing we haven't seen before, really. It always seems to happen when things heat up; like, almost every summer the search function just dies on us. I guess it's just too much of a headache to invest in new servers or even just some decent cooling for the current setup.

I mean, look, this whole thread is literally complaining about how broken the search is and it feels like a totally fresh issue.

Actually, what swiftowl7 is suggesting could be done pretty easily. You could just integrate a custom Google Search into the existing engine, kind of like how CNET does it. They're a much bigger, more complex site than this little corner of the internet, but you get the idea:

Not quite what I meant. I was actually thinking about creating a way to host our own post history as an external link outside of the standard vBulletin script. If we could make it look like a seamless part of the site, we’d probably slash the server RAM usage by about 80%. Honestly, I don't think we're all that nosy! Right now, if I want to track down my own activity—you know, finding those specific threads where I’ve left a like or had a back-and-forth with someone—I have to go to messages, then sent messages, then click my own username... it’s a total nightmare.

If we’re really out here trying to crawl through every single thread link by link just to find what we need, it’s honestly no wonder the server is hitting its breaking point. It’s one of those things where if you actually want to run your own site, you really have to wrap your head around how processor loads and RAM usage work—not to mention just understanding how people actually behave when they're browsing. I remember back when I was helping a buddy set up his first small blog, and we completely overlooked how much strain certain user habits could put on the hardware; it's a steep learning curve, but you've got to know that stuff if you want to keep the lights on.

I don't see any code provided! If you were trying to share a snippet for me to look at, go ahead and paste it whenever you're ready. I'm happy to help you troubleshoot or just take a look.

It would probably end up looking just like a bunch of HTML code...

Kod:


This query is a total mess. If you throw in a DISTINCT clause to try and filter things, all you’re going to end up with is the very last post from every single unique thread, which makes the whole thing look like this...

Kod:

I'm pretty sure this first text entry into the database is going to be a standard TEXT-BLOB argument table, and honestly, there's really no need to overcomplicate things right now, even though dealing with those can be such a massive headache to sort out properly.

It says my privileges aren't set up right.

I can't even search through my own post history or look up other users on Reddit, which makes it pretty tough to keep track of everything happening here. 🙄 😛

Is this happening because they're trying to lighten the load on the database queries or just making things run smoother for vBulletin, or is there something else going on?

ps: Honestly, it would be super easy to just code that as an external link...☕

fadedorca66 said:Everyone who doesn't do component-level repairs will tell you it's not worth the money..

Actually, quite the opposite—component repair is incredibly expensive! 😁 Just replacing a single chip can run you anywhere from $500 to $333, then you have to factor in another $250 just to crack the case open, plus the cost of the chip itself, and don't even get me started on $50 diagnostics. And we haven't even touched on sales tax yet.

Honestly, it's often cheaper to just track down a used motherboard and swap it out. In many cases, for what you'd spend on a repair, you could almost put a down payment on a whole different laptop.

I tend to service my own components, but sometimes even for me, the time investment feels way too high. There are times when it makes much more sense to just order a part online if it's under $30 rather than wasting an entire day running diagnostics on a complex circuit, only to realize you still have to hunt down specific capacitors or chips. If luck isn't on your side, you might be waiting 2-3 weeks for an overseas shipment from somewhere like AliExpress, which is still usually cheaper than spending $33 on gas, parking, and sitting in traffic for a few hours just driving around Washington, D.C. trying to find a local shop that has it in stock.

Jesus. It’s definitely not that cheap. Give it a shot though. 👍

Dana Gonzalez75 said:Morning, thanks for the reply. I took a look and there's 5v at the ports, but none of the connected devices are powering up. There's also 20v at the display connector, so the backlight should be working, but there's nothing? 😁

Try plugging in something like an external hard drive, or even better, a USB stick with an LED indicator, and then measure the voltage directly on the pins inside the USB port. See if you notice a voltage drop. If the voltage stays steady, that's a good sign. Also, the device you plug in should light up if there's power flowing, assuming everything is wired correctly.

Now, regarding that backlight issue... I don't specifically work on laptop motherboards, but I work on things very similar to them. These newer "smart" components present a massive headache for repairs because they perform their own internal self-diagnostics. So, if a single LED in the screen fails, the whole device might refuse to boot. If the graphics chip is acting up, it won't boot. If there's a minor voltage drop anywhere, it won't boot. You'll just get a little blink here and there. If nothing blinks at all, well...

If the power is reaching the backlight but there's no light, and you're feeling brave enough to try a DIY fix, you'll have to disassemble the screen to reach the LED strip, which is usually located at the bottom. You can try gently pressing on them one by one to see if one of them was just poorly seated at the factory.

If that turns out to be the problem... just a heads up, it isn't a good idea to solder them back together, whether you use a standard soldering iron or a hot air station. You'll end up killing their lifespan in just a few months, regardless of what some people claim or what you see on YouTube. You really need to source a whole new replacement strip if you want reliable performance. Just something to keep in mind before you dive in, because that's where the real trouble starts.

So, to start with...

1. Try booting the laptop using only the battery.
2. Try removing the battery and booting it using only the AC adapter.

If that doesn't do the trick...

The next step involves unscrewing the bezel from the screen, just enough to pry it open slightly so you can peek into the display housing and apply some heat to the laptop. You’ll want to look for a faint white glow inside the casing right when you power it on—though if you really want to be sure, try doing this in a pitch-black room so you can catch that tiny flicker of light hitting the screen at startup.

Once we confirm there's actually light coming through the screen, you can take a hot air station and hit the graphics chip with about 300 degrees for maybe 3 to 4 seconds. The goal is to get it warmed up to roughly 122 degrees Fahrenheit before you attempt to boot the machine back up.

Just keep in mind that I'm honestly just taking a shot in the dark here. Every single manufacturer and every individual motherboard has its own unique internal layout and specific way of handling power delivery, so trying to figure out the exact mechanics via an online forum is a bit of a fool's errand.

Usually, if you take it to a pro repair shop, they'll know exactly where to start digging, but definitely watch out for those unexpected costs.

Nicholas Long78 said:As soon as the USB ports lost power, the motherboard was basically toast.

That’s pretty much spot on—though if I were being more precise, I’d say something specific on the board just gave up the ghost.

It’s interesting because when I hit the Caps Lock key, the light doesn't come on, and none of my peripherals like the keyboard or mouse are getting any juice either, so I'm really wondering if it's even sending a signal to an external monitor.

External devices pull their 5V from the same rail as the monitor, and right now, that whole circuit is... well, dead.

After nothing worked, I decided to dig a little deeper. I pulled the motherboard out and started checking voltages; I can see 19.5V, 3.3V, and 5V present everywhere except for those USB ports, so I'm guessing it isn't the Super I/O, and it's definitely not the power adapter.

I'll start with some good news: if the main chip is still functional, it doesn't actually change the outcome here. Basically, the current flow is managed by a series of chips that take the input voltage, distribute or convert it, and then route it to a few specific points across the motherboard.

Since you already have the board out, you could try testing the voltage around the external USB ports, though honestly, it is incredibly difficult for a layman to pinpoint an actual fault like this. The failure could be anywhere along the path from the primary chip to the secondary chip that handles the voltage distribution.

If the USB voltage is sitting at 0V, I'd bet a transistor or a diode has blown. Or, if there was a short circuit, maybe a tiny surface-mount fuse popped right along with them. These components are so microscopic they're barely visible, and for someone without specialized training, it's tough to tell the difference between a resistor and a fuse that look identical but have totally different readings.

One other thing to watch out for: if you slip with the multimeter probe while the board is powered, you could accidentally cause more damage without even realizing it, and you don't want to end up completely frying the board.

If you're hoping to actually repair the fault, based on what you've described, I'd call that nearly impossible. It would be much easier and way less stressful to just swap it out for a used board, which is still a bit of a hunt, but much more doable.

***
Repairing a motherboard is an incredibly expensive and complex undertaking. Even though it might seem cheaper in the US compared to some places, it's such a massive headache to do without a schematic that it usually only makes sense for extremely high-end equipment or when spare parts are impossible to find anywhere.

Sorry if I'm dropping back into this thread again, but give it a shot and try copy-pasting this code right where you want that container to sit... just let me know if it actually works for you. You can easily tweak the dimensions yourself by adjusting the width and height arguments in the code.

Code:

Since it's responsive, there shouldn't be any JavaScript interruptions. I haven't worked in this field for a few years now, so I'm feeling a little rusty.😉

David Miller5 said:Hey everyone,

So, I’ve got this WordPress blog and I was trying to add a custom container with an image and some text right under the header.
I couldn't figure it out on my own, so I ended up hiring a freelancer. But honestly? The guy seems to have zero clue how to make the container and the image responsive to match the rest of the site. The template itself is actually pretty clean and well-coded, so there isn't an issue with the theme—it's just this specific section we added.
The image in that new container gets all distorted on iPads, even though it looks fine on mobile and desktop (though the desktop view breaks at certain breakpoints).

I've been grinding away on this with this freelancer all day long now, and I am seriously losing my mind. Can anyone with actual experience help me out??

You're using some interesting terminology there, so let's break it down...
- responsive = reactive (meaning if a div isn't responding, it won't react to a click)
- distorts = ruins or breaks

First off, it's pretty common knowledge that without seeing the actual code, we can't do much for you.

1. If `` isn't reacting or is "unresponsive" as you put it, the reason might be that this div is nested within a template built entirely of other divs. However, you could try adding this argument to your style.css specifically for that problematic container:
Code:

That might do the trick. If that doesn't work (after a refresh), it likely means there's a group of containers sitting over yours that are being managed by a JS library (like a hover-dropdown menu), which has essentially set a rule that no other div can sit visually above the dropdown menu—which is actually standard practice. In that case, the dropdown menu would become unresponsive and you wouldn't be able to navigate the site. Or, there's just another series of high-priority divs with a higher z-index assigned to them.

The issue you're dealing with isn't really something that can be solved through a forum post or even via a quick freelance gig. To actually fix this, we'd need direct access to the site's control panel. 😁

2. A distorted image usually happens when the dimensions (the actual pixel size) are being forced to change via CSS arguments:
Code:

So, if the natural size of the image is 100x100px, but the code says: width:90px; height:90px;, then on certain devices, that image is going to look distorted. This is especially true if the original dimensions don't align with the mathematical aspect ratio, leaving the browser to try and calculate the height based on the specified width on the fly.

Code:

So, if the height ends up being something like, say, 89.5px—just speaking hypothetically here—then we really need the container size to be dictated by the image's actual dimensions, rather than trying to force the image to fit into whatever size arguments the container provides.

Honestly, even today, after moving past those old IE days and surviving over twenty years of the internet and evolving browsers, you still run into these quirks in certain cross-browser environments, or maybe even when dealing with Safari on an iPad.

The bottom line is: don't waste your time fighting a losing battle.🙂 I’m guessing the freelancer did their best working purely through email, but if they were going to actually nail this, they would have needed direct access to the .js files or whatever specific libraries are loaded into the site's header—basically, they need to be connected to that specific template.
It’s not a massive task, but things always get tricky, especially when you're messing with a float-container. If you want to hunt down some fixes or alternative workarounds, your best bet is probably digging through StackOverflow. Just keep in mind that if you keep the code under wraps, nobody is going to be able to help you out, and if you're asking me personally, there's really nothing in WordPress code worth guarding like a state secret.

To fix any of this, we're going to need admin access to the site's control panel. If you're looking for a simpler workaround or a totally different approach, you might have to figure that one out on your own.

Note: all the HTML element names used in this post are just made up.

Larry Taylor3 said:The computer isn't showing any signs of life at all..

Honestly, you probably just need to swap out the power supply for a new one and call it a day.

Frank Smith10 said:From what I could gather, the OP mentioned that games are crashing and Windows is freezing (Blue Screen of Death) rather than getting a black screen (total power cut), so overheating seems like a less likely culprit here..

I didn't quite catch that he meant a "blue" screen, but you're spot on about the freezing part. Sorry, I totally missed that detail. If it really is a Blue Screen, that’s usually a software issue, but freezing definitely isn't.

A crashing PC usually points to an issue with stable power delivery or data transfer—for instance, a Gigabyte motherboard might trigger a reboot if there's an issue with the HDD—whereas freezing is a classic symptom of either the HDD failing or the GPU acting up.

So, just taking a wild guess here, it's either a loose connection with the HDD or the GPU, or perhaps the graphics card itself was manufactured with a slight factory defect.

The "fix" (though I wouldn't recommend this unless you're comfortable tinkering, especially since the rig is still under warranty):
- Take every power cable and Molex connector, give the contacts a little spray with some WD-40, and firmly reseat them, including the data cables and all the power connections.
- Pull the GPU out, give the pins a quick spray with WD-40 and click it back in a couple of times, then take it out again and reseat it to make sure the clips in the Motherboard slot are making solid contact.
- You can do the exact same thing with the RAM sticks too, just as an extra precaution.

Just a heads-up: I perform this little routine on almost all the PCs I work on, and it has a pretty high success rate.

If that doesn't solve it, then my gut feeling says the GPU has a factory defect and needs to be replaced. It's likely that one of the chips isn't soldered perfectly, causing it to lose contact once things start heating up.

It’s nothing to panic about, though; it’s just part of the deal with shiny new hardware and how components are mass-produced these days. Honestly, I learned that lesson the hard way myself with an Asus build once.

P.S. For the OP, if I were in their shoes, I wouldn't risk messing with it too much; the smartest move is to just head down to the store and explain the situation. If they have trouble getting the service department to listen, then try the steps I mentioned above, and if the machine won't even boot up after that, well, then it's definitely time to take it back to the shop.

Frank Smith10 said:The difference between Asus and Gigabyte is night and day, at least from what I've seen. My Gigabyte build fell apart pretty quickly and I was unhappy right from the start—everything felt unstable and buggy. With Asus, I haven't had any issues at all.

Well... in my experience, things actually went the exact opposite way. Honestly, when you're buying hardware today, like a Motherboard or a GPU, it really just comes down to luck. That goes for pretty much every single brand out there.

I'm thinking back to an old Gigashit graphics card I once owned that pulled about 300W all by itself; once you added the rest of the components, my 450W power supply would just give me a black screen, so I seriously doubt that 500W is going to be "enough" for him.

If the power supply were truly too weak, the PC would likely overheat the moment the card kicked in during a game, and usually, those kinds of crashes end up being permanent.

Crashing most often happens due to these reasons (ranked by probability):
1. One of the connections—usually where the power supply meets the board, or perhaps a SATA/Molex connection on an HDD or a GPU if it uses one—isn't delivering power properly. It sometimes helps to spray the contacts with a cleaner (I personally use some WD-40, as the folks over at 😉 know), plug everything back in, and test it out, but since it's still under warranty, I'd probably hold off. Though, I suspect if you bring it to a repair shop and they see you've sprayed stuff in there, they might just claim everything is fine and send it right back.
2. Overheating near the CPU area (slow CPU cooling can cause the GPU to run hotter too).
3. The power supply itself is overheating.

For points 2 and 3, I’d definitely recommend installing an extra case fan to help with airflow.

Just a quick note: certain drivers—and it doesn't necessarily have to be the GPU driver—can absolutely crash a system, but usually, that kind of issue will trigger a specific system error message.

Megan Moore27 said:So last month I ended up having to reinstall Windows 10 because of some random glitch, and even though I got everything else back up and running, I just can't get The Sims 4 to install no matter what I try... This error keeps popping up

What happened that made you need to reinstall everything in the first place?

I've already tried every single tip and trick I could find on YouTube, but nothing seems to work, so if anyone out there has even a tiny clue how to fix this error, please, please help me out....

I absolutely love them.

🙂 Yeah, they really are great.

How are you trying to install them? Are you using a physical disc or downloading them from somewhere else?

Sarah Anderson64 said:Actually, Windows isn't really a hurdle for me since my college provides it for free, so I don't necessarily need it pre-installed on the machine. I'm also specifically hunting for a laptop rather than a desktop because being able to carry it around is huge for me...

In that case, you should definitely just grab whatever laptop you actually want, whether it comes with Linux, Windows, or nothing at all, because someone at the university IT desk—or maybe even you yourself once you get the hang of it—can always wipe the drive and install Windows from scratch later on.

Beyond that, you don't really need a high-end powerhouse for what you're planning to do, so if I were you, I'd focus on finding something incredibly durable, which honestly matters way more for a programmer in the long run; you might want to chat with one of the specialists over at Best Buy to get their take on that.

I'd look for something rugged enough to handle being tossed around a room or dragged across a bed, basically something with a solid build quality. Personally, I'd steer clear of Lenovo or HP. As for Asus, they can be hit or miss, and it's no secret that they sometimes end up stocking gear with weird little quirks or manufacturing defects.

Your best bet is just to walk into the store and ask a salesperson who actually knows their stuff.

Sarah Anderson64 said:Oh, I should probably mention that I'm not entirely sure about the Linux OS situation either...

Since neither of those machines comes with Windows pre-installed, you won't have to worry about hunting down extra licenses regardless of which one you pick.

But hey, if you're really leaning toward Windows 10, then go for it..

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/laptop...014600434

redowl32 said:Hey there. Honestly, Lenovo laptops haven't been the most reliable lately. It’s pretty common to see the charging port snap off, and because of how they design them without any internal protection, a broken port often ends up frying the entire motherboard...

👍That's actually really solid advice, Steven Adams85, especially if you tend to carry your laptop around on your lap or move it from bed to couch quite a bit. Since you mentioned planning to dive into some Python work, I have to say... personally, I've never really felt like laptops were meant for serious heavy lifting. For stuff like that, I always find myself reaching for a sturdy desktop setup instead.

fadedrider17 said:Look, everything is configured exactly how it should be. I actually thought about locking this thread because an IT buddy of mine has been tweaking some settings via TeamViewer, but the issue is still hanging over my head. Ever since he applied those changes, YouTube has been running significantly smoother—no complaints there—but now I’ve stumbled onto a new headache that only seems to trigger when I'm online for extended periods. Yesterday, I was watching a movie through a streaming service and the entire system just completely froze up after about an hour and a half of playback. It was such a massive freeze that I could barely even manage to restart the Dell Inspiron. If I’m watching something offline, everything works perfectly fine. I suppose I should mention that my version of Windows 10 isn't technically an official license, and I can't say for certain if that's playing a role here. All I know is that for a laptop this brand new, this kind of behavior during online tasks is absolutely unacceptable.

I still use a seven-year-old desktop just for browsing the web, and honestly, I've never had a single issue with it. It's running an old E4600 processor with 2GB of RAM, a 256MB graphics card, and a 320GB hard drive on Windows XP.

Anyway, in your case, it really sounds like a hardware issue with either the GPU or the motherboard. Factory defects in those specific components happen more often than you'd think, and they can be incredibly tricky to catch during standard testing.

Lagging and freezing... that's always a major red flag with laptops. My advice would be to grab your phone and record a video the next time it happens—especially if it freezes—so you have actual proof to show when you try to exchange it. At the very least, you could take it in for service and insist they swap out the motherboard.

Without doing that, you could spend forever trying to "tune up" the software, but it’s never going to run smoothly if the hardware is the culprit.

Kate Harris6 said:Alright, I opened it up, swapped the cables, and plugged everything back in. It barely managed to boot up, so I'm typing this on it right now, even though it's painfully slow (it took a full 30 seconds just to delete two photos)... My memory usage is sitting at 90%, so could that be the culprit?

I’d really love it if I could run some kind of diagnostic or check to make sure this total freeze-up doesn't happen again tomorrow. Before this, it only happened when I was playing something demanding—it would just lock up, I'd have to restart, and then nothing special would happen until it started all over again.

Based on everything you’ve shared here, I really think it’s time to grab a new Hard Drive. Yours is still spinning for now, but honestly, it’s on its way out, and it won't be long before it gives up the ghost entirely. Once that happens, you aren't just looking at a computer that won't boot—you're looking at losing access to all your files too.

Here is how I would handle it:
1. Shut down the PC and unplug the cables from the old drive.
2. Pick up a brand new drive.
3. Pop the new one into your rig, install your OS, get your drivers sorted, and get everything running smoothly.
4. Once the new setup is totally ready, go ahead and pull the power plug.
5. Plug the cables back into that old Hard Drive.
6. Boot the system up with both drives connected and just migrate all your data over from the old one to the new one.
7. After the transfer finishes, shut down, unplug the power, pull the old drive out, and toss it.

If there’s anything sensitive on that old drive, you might want to wipe it first, or even better, just physically destroy it before you throw it away.

Unfortunately, there isn't any software fix for this kind of hardware failure.

Carl Fowler said:Using things like a YouTube downloader or YouTube downloader...

Honestly, you probably just need to grab the latest version of the software, and that should fix everything right up. If a simple update doesn't do the trick, I’ve found that completely wiping the old version off your hard drive and doing a totally fresh install usually solves the headache.

If an update isn't available just yet, hang tight, because the developers are likely already working on it once they catch onto whatever new direct-download link loop YouTube has thrown at them.

The whole reason we even have to deal with these updates in the first place is because of those occasional changes to the hotlinks; that's the main reason why downloads suddenly stop working after a while.

***
ps: YouTube periodically swaps out those links specifically to mess with these programs, mostly because they don't want people downloading content for free—if everyone could just save videos, they'd have to worry about paying massive amounts for webcasting DRM rights and physical distribution, which would cost them a fortune. But, seeing how slow they are to actually change things, I'm not complaining one bit.

Carl Fowler said:Since it isn't some kind of free charity, what's even the point of using YouTube then?
I've personally downloaded like a million music videos from there over the years, usually in Mp4 or Mp3, and it’s always been a breeze.
But that’s exactly why I’m reaching out to you guys for a hand, because for some reason, it just won't let me grab this one today.

Haha, you actually gave me a good laugh there... in a great way, you're a total nut job! 🙂

So, how have you been pulling those downloads off in the past, and which specific program were you using?

wearymason4 said:I would seriously NEVER touch my motherboard contacts with Western Digital lubricant. It leaves this nasty, thin oily film behind that just attracts dust, and once that happens, you won't be able to blow it off even with a heavy-duty air compressor.
There are actual electronic cleaners out there for a reason, and honestly, some isopropyl alcohol works fine too—just make sure you let it sit for at least 15 minutes to dry completely before you plug anything back in.

You nailed it!

Well, hey, if you want to use whatever you like, go for it. Personally, I have what I call my "work" room at home, though it's really more of a hobby den, filled with eight different computers. Everything from an old Pentium 1 mmx166 with 64MB of Microsoft to a video editing rig, and every single one of them has undergone the exact same treatment—using WD-40. I don't just use it on the Microsoft sticks and other contacts, but on the processors too.

I don't spray it all over the motherboard or anything; I'm not trying to create a puddle of Western Digital gunk on the board. Instead, I’ll pull the RAM stick out, soak the contacts on the RAM with it, let it sit for maybe two minutes to really bite in, then gently wipe off the excess with a bit of toilet paper before sliding it back into the slot.

That method actually brought two stubborn RAM sticks back to life for me here, and honestly, if they don't wake up after that, I just toss them in the trash. I've tested this dozens of times myself... if it didn't work, I might have looked for a different spray. But after all those trials, I don't think of any other way now, not that I want to ramble on forever.

ps: Just watch out for condensation if you're using compressed air. Also, one more thing—back in the day, I used to have power supplies fail on me, and I'd even treat those contacts with the stuff... I'm not quite sure what to make of that. Maybe it was just a coincidence, or maybe there's something to it.

fadedorca66 said:Western Digital and electronics don't really mix. I guess you use Western Digital when your door hinges are squeaking, not when your computer is acting up.

To be honest, even for a squeaky door, Western Digital isn't really the go-to fix unless you just need a quick temporary patch for a day or two.

I wouldn't recommend using alcohol on computer contacts either, mostly because the "sterile" stuff you find at the local pharmacy usually has enough water content from the distilled H2O process that it shouldn't conduct electricity, but still... it's risky.

Now, there's actually a whole long story about why Western Digital can be a surprisingly great choice for cleaning up those computer contacts.

Dana Murphy4 said:I guess it might be an issue with your Microsoft, since I've seen computers act up like that before because of a faulty stick. If you have two, maybe try pulling them out and booting up with just one at a time, or perhaps see if you can find an older spare; I suppose you just need to figure out if that's where the trouble is coming from

Sent from my Android using Reddit

That’s solid advice, too. It could definitely be a contact issue with one of the Microsoft memory modules, or it might even be the connection in the PCI slot for the graphics card if it's not built into the motherboard.

If you spray those contacts down with some Western Digital cleaner, they should stop "squeaking." Basically, you pull a stick of Microsoft memory out of its slot, give the contacts a quick spray, wait about two minutes for the solution to evaporate and do its thing, and then pop it back in. If the computer still won't boot, swap the original stick for the second one and try again.

PS: Honestly, if I were just guessing blindly, I’d put my money on the Hard Drive... or maybe the power supply (even if the fan is spinning fine). Or perhaps the graphics card finally gave up the ghost. And yeah, it could easily be a Microsoft memory module. Especially if that graphics card is running off a six-pin molex connector...

It can get pretty complicated to troubleshoot if you don't do this often and you're hunting for the cause, but starting with the Hard Drive is usually the easiest and safest way to go. Most likely, it's just a dirty contact, though there's always a chance a component actually died.