Broken computer ...

[Bodo]

I broke my computer...

 

Long story short, think I blew the mobo. Anyway, I've been wanting a moderate upgrade since getting my 670 so I'm about to buy:

 

i5 3570K

Gigabyte Z77 D3H

And some Corsair Vengeance 8GB.

 

I'll make do with 8GB as I do make music now n then and that will help I suppose, don't need more than that I don't think but also 4GB seems rather limited.

 

CPU should handle games as well as most other i7 chips do you agree? Well, without spending another 100 on top...and should keep me going for a while. Didn't think HT was worth the extra money or the slightly larger cache but let me know if you think I'm wrong.

 

RAM, seems 1600 does the job at a good price point and so I found the lower CAS8 Corsair RAM for around 35 quid.

 

Mobo, well it has what I need, don't really need SLI, don't have a huge gaming monitor but might up from 22nch to 24inch soon but I doubt that'll push my GPU too much. Has a couple of 6Gb Sata 3 slots and 4 Sata 2s so I think that's adequate for me. 4 USB3/USB2 ports on the panel IIRC which should be fine and it seems to compete nicely with higher end boards for a lot less cost.

 

One thing that I read was that OCing RAM didn't seem possible. Maybe there is a BIOS update or the functions are hidden, bit like the CTRL F1 hidden options in the board I blew. Do you think that'll matter?

 

I'd like to OC the i5 when I'm in the mood so let me know what you think I might struggle with if using this board.

 

It'll be used for gaming, general PC stuff and audio work running on an HX850 with a few WD TB drives and a Samsung 830 for OS/ARMA/DCS.

 

I blew a gigabyte EP45 UD3 and possibly a Q9550 so I'll be testing and will hopefully be able to make some money back on the Q9550, I'll try and sell my old DDR2 800MHz Ram, too. I just hope I haven't blown my GPU and RME HDSPe card. WIll test on a mates today.

 

I could have bought a socket 775 mobo for 30 quid and left it at that but while my brain was obviously not working when taking my PC apart to adjust the fans (don't ask) then I thought why inhibit an opportunity to really be stupid and spend money I don't have on newer components I really actually don't need... :)

 

Oh, after that I tried to fix my girlfriend's notebook as it had become very slow and so decided I'd try a recovery. I backed up her stuff to the D: data partition and started the ball rolling. Just as I got the recovery in action, I panicked and cancelled...(very clever) and obviously ruined the MBR or BOOTMGR as it kept saying after a reboot. I gambled on it just overwriting the C: drive. I'm still unclear as to whether it would have happened like that.

 

Ah, what do you care, I'm rambling...Been up most of the night using a recovery tool to back up what I can salvage off the relatively untouched partition. 40GBs of music, photos and recent work she's done.

 

No sex for me for a week.:joystick: (but then that's nothing new...)

Edited August 17, 2012 by Bodo
Forgot to mention Motherboard...

[cichlidfan]

Since I really don't know how much damage you have done, this may be a little or no value but....

 

The Ultimate Boot CD has a pretty diverse set of tools on it. You might be able to improve the situation (assuming you have a machine to burn it with).

 

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

[Bodo]

CPU fan won't even start turning, well it struggles to start and subsequently moves v slowly.

All LEDs light up but I have no damn PC speaker to hear the beeps, the SYS fan port had a weird burnt bit of copper I'd never noticed before and seems to have singed an area right next to a PCIX slot..but it's tiny.

 

Erm, swapped RAM sticks about. The CD drive kept doing a strange seek and then stop sound. Like it didn't know what the hell to do, no CD/DVD in there. Disconnected all peripherals. PSU, RAM, CPU and GPU alone. Nothing.

 

No signal to monitor, no shut down if CPU was getting hot. V strange. I hope it's not the CPU but really doubt it is. Seems like an aspect of the mobo's functionality has gone but still it powers up. IS that feasible?

 

I'll be testing most stuff on another PC today/tomorrow so I'll find out then I'm sure but, any thoughts/questions??:huh:

[cichlidfan]

I was talking about your GFs machine. I took you at your word about the mobo, been there done that more than once.

 

EDIT: I was thinking you might be able to recover the recreate/recover the MBR or repair some of the damage to the partition.

Edited August 17, 2012 by cichlidfan

[docfu]

Before ordering everything new just keep in mind today's computers are pretty resilient. I once had a Radeon's fan go bad and when it went, it took the power supply with it (but not the motherboard/cpu/ram).

 

Try to check those old components as much as possible if you are on a tight budget...

[cichlidfan]

No signal to monitor, no shut down if CPU was getting hot. V strange. I hope it's not the CPU but really doubt it is. Seems like an aspect of the mobo's functionality has gone but still it powers up. IS that feasible?

 

 

If your power supply is not providing all the correct voltages then you can see some pretty strange results. An ATX PSU tester is a handy and inexpensive item to have, btw.

[Bodo]

Ah...sorry, dunno what planet I'm on. Spent all night now...Jeez.

Yeh, I tried but that's where I start just looking blank at stuff. I'm currently converting an XP to a USB stick to get XP back on as 1 scenario but am also backing up the HDD recovery section of the DATA partition to an exteral drive I have.

 

I tried the AVG utility (which has been useful for copying files) that I'd read someone had used and fixed the bootmgr thing, I didn't seem to get the same success. It had an element of fix MBR and other such stuff but I really am not clued up on this. I'm about to reboot and leave the stick out and boot from the HDD again and see if I've managed to get somewhere but I've just wanted to get the data I semi backed up, onto an external drive.

 

It's an NB200 10Z, Toshiba sell recovery discs for 29 quid...yeh right!

 

WOuld it just be a case of getting hirens boot cd then? WHat would be the steps you'd take.

 

I'm guessing the recovery I cancelled erased some data but mostly/only the boot.ini/MBR information of partition C: ?

 

What would you suggest?

 

Thanks, by the way!

 

 

EDIT: Yeh they do strange things when they go. I'll test that first then. My old Dad would be great for testing the PSU with his knowledge but I wouldn't have a clue how. I'm still somewhat doubtful it's the power supply, though.

 

I've probably had 2 or 3 mobos go on me in the last 15 years or so, maybe 1 or 2 PSUs. Gut feeling makes me think this is mobo. I dunno..

 

Ah, ATX PSU tester does seem handy! I'll try purchase that soon for future use. Thanks!

Edited August 17, 2012 by Bodo

[cichlidfan]

The problem with a lot of laptops is that the vendors often have no interest in providing you with the tools to just do a clean install of your OS and then load hardware specific drivers. They also usually want to charge you for answering questions under those circumstances.

 

They appear to want you stuck with the recovery CDs as your only option, thus reinstalling all of their bloatware.

 

If you can get it booted from a flash drive that will probably be the most useful thing you can do at this point.

 

As for testing PSUs (and you are right it probably isn't bad assuming you have a quality unit) the testers are a simple all in one unit like this.

 

http://www.amazon.com/24-pin-Power-Supply-Tester-Black/dp/B005CTCD6S/ref=sr_1_5?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1345186384&sr=1-5&keywords=psu+tester

[Bodo]

Yeh just edited post to say so after missing you'd mentioned that.

I'll have to invest in one. Look v handy.

 

I'm building an USB XP now so I'll see what the crack is. I've got the HDD recovery directory which totals about 3 or so gig so I'm wondering what i might find there in the way of images to burn or tools of some sort. God knows what will work. I'll try XP standalone first, see if I can maybe do a repair install. If not, try a normal install. If not...Throw it out the window.

[cichlidfan]

Wish I had better advice. I have been the fly as opposed to the windscreen far too often myself. Good luck with it.

[Humvee28]

CPU should handle games as well as most other i7 chips do you agree? Well, without spending another 100 on top...and should keep me going for a while. Didn't think HT was worth the extra money or the slightly larger cache but let me know if you think I'm wrong.

 

 

I7 CPU isn´t needed until you´re working with Programs or doing Stuff that takes a Benefit from HT (Video Rendering, Photoshop etc.)

[Bodo]

What about audio processing, complicated reverbs and delays etc?

 

I've loved with a Q9550 fairly well for audio s I doubt I'll require much more.

 

Hey cichlidfan, thanks for your responses, tis appreciated!

 

EDIT, I haven't 'loved' with a Q9550...Just lived with it...

[docfu]

Sorry, I didn't realize we were talking two different comps here.

 

For the notebook, buy an external HD case. Seriously. Fix your main comp, pull the notebook drive, plug it into the main computer and take a look before you start running data recovery software. It'll let you know exactly what got messed up and you should be able to poke around without destroying anything...

[Pyroflash]

Pretty much any industrial software application, that is to say, rendering, video editing, sound mixing, etc. will make use of multiple cores pretty effectively, so if you are doing a lot of that, it might be worth it to get an I7. They aren't all that much more expensive, and you will see the benefits in those fields. However, having HT enabled will slightly hurt your performance in DCS, so keep that in mind.

 

As far as the specific proc goes, assuming you want an Ivy bridge, this would be a decent pick. Though I do recommend that you either go with a suitable ASUS or Intel mobo.

 

When it comes to OCing your RAM though, I would advise against it. RAM does not really benefit from overclocking in the same way that a CPU does, and 1600 MHz is more than enough speed. The thing that really matters when you are talking about RAM when it comes to gaming are the access timings. If I were me, I would make sure the timings are 9-9-9-24 or below to ensure the best possible performance.

 

Cheers,

Pyro

Edited August 17, 2012 by Pyroflash

[sobek]

Thread title moderated. In the future, please keep thread titles free of profanity (yes, spelling it in leetspeak still makes it profane) and meaningful as per the title of the thread. You might actually increase the chance of getting help.

 

Your cooperation is appreciated.

[Bodo]

sorry sobek,did try ad change thread as soon as i'd posted..was in a bit of a mood!

[Bodo]

Ojk, so I had GigaByte-Z77-D3H and didn't like the VIA audio chip so I've sent it back and got a AsusP8Z77 V-Pro.

Running all this now with an i5 3570K and a 670 is sweet. Think I blew the Sys_Fan1 header on the UD3. Anyway, sold my CPU and Memory to make some cash back so all good. Thanks to the few who tried to help.

[AtaliaA1]

Girl Freinds Laptop " fixmbr \Device\HardDisk0" This only works in the Recovery Consol of the OS.

 

 

Also you can do this

If the master boot record becomes corrupted, a new master boot record can be written to the disk using the following command:

fdisk /mbr

 

 

To enter Toshibas' recovery consol restart the laptop and hold down the "C" key while the laptop posts.

Edited August 30, 2012 by AtaliaA1