Hey there. I'm a new member here and I was hoping to get some insight as to whether or not I should start digging for computer tech. bodies.
I'm horrible with hardware and I'm terrified of messing with electronics for fear of becoming a cheese burger. I'll do my best to explain the issue. Any help is appreciated.
My previous problem:
I've had my computer for about three years. About a year ago I had decided to upgrade it with a new power supply, video card, sound card, CD writer for an expansion bay, and RAM. My brother in law did the installation of the hardware and litterally had to rearrange the contents of the computer to connect the graphics card to the power supply. Directly after I had upgraded, I started having random issues with startup: the fan would power up but I wouldn't get video. If I shut down manually and started up again it worked fine. After a year of that it eventually decided to stop turning on entirely. So I decided to take it to the great and powerful Geek Squad who gave an incorrect diagnosis of dangling RAM. They reseated it and sent me home.
The computer worked for a day and then refused to startup again. I took it back and they gave another incorrect diagnosis of BAD RAM. However, he proved himself wrong that moment by giving me new RAM and trying to start it up. Nothing happened, so he put the guts back in and stated, "YOU NEED NEW MOTHERBOARD!" (As you can see, I'm slightly angered with Best Buy).
Seeing as he told me the motherboard would be a couple hundred dollars, plus the fee of special ordering it... I decided to just buy a new computer entirely. When discussing this issue with a friend, he mentioned that it might be the power supply and also opened up my computer to search inside. Apparently when I had bought the power supply to match my new graphics card, I hadn't taken the OTHER upgrades into consideration. So... he said I needed a new (and larger) power supply.
Before I bought a new one, however, he took another look inside my computer and said that it was not reading my graphics card. He then unplugged that from the power supply and hooked everything back up to my onboard card. It ran fine and hasn't failed in startup yet. Apparently the graphics card was sucking up much more power than was needed from my power supply. He actually opened it up, and turned the computer on to show me how it was turning on some things within the computer, but couldn't even power up the hard drive. The diagnosis was now a 'faulty graphics card'.
My problem now:
He had me screw the power supply back in and screw the side of the computer back on and left. I've set it back up recently and turned it on. However, now that I'm in my quiet room I notice that the computer is louder. To me, it sounds like the fan- but I don't claim to be savvy with hardware. Instead of having the high pitch, barely audible hum I get a slower version of it that sounds like the fan has a disability.
So here's the actual questions!
1: From what I've described and the specs I will be leaving below; does it sound like its actually a faulty graphics card? I don't want to throw it away or let the computer keep running to find the graphics card was fine and there's something else rotting in there.
2: Is it OK to leave the computer running with the lovely sound change, or should I keep it off for now and hunt around for someone who sounds like they know what they're talking about?
Here's what my computer is (if I'm leaving anything out, let me know):
-HP PAVILION A735W (HEWLETT PACKARD) (AMD Anthlon)
-Windows XP
-1 GIG of RAM installed (It originally came with 512). Not sure of the company who made the RAM, but since we've switched it out I'm assuming the RAM isn't the problem anyway
-ATI Radeon X1300 (512 MB) that has since been UNINSTALLED. The computer is running from the onboard card now. Not sure of the specs for that because I'm afraid to turn it on (drivers for the onboard were actually missing and required reinstallation)
-Sound Blaster 24 bit advanced HD (It's a cheap sound card, but I was told I might as well install a new one because it takes stress off the motherboard or something?)
-I lost the box for the power supply, but it's 450 (which I'm told is low, but good enough to run what I have)
Four different people have put their hands into my computer and I'm afraid something was put back incorrectly or that the first issue I had is still there. Is there anyone that can provide some insight?
I'm horrible with hardware and I'm terrified of messing with electronics for fear of becoming a cheese burger. I'll do my best to explain the issue. Any help is appreciated.
My previous problem:
I've had my computer for about three years. About a year ago I had decided to upgrade it with a new power supply, video card, sound card, CD writer for an expansion bay, and RAM. My brother in law did the installation of the hardware and litterally had to rearrange the contents of the computer to connect the graphics card to the power supply. Directly after I had upgraded, I started having random issues with startup: the fan would power up but I wouldn't get video. If I shut down manually and started up again it worked fine. After a year of that it eventually decided to stop turning on entirely. So I decided to take it to the great and powerful Geek Squad who gave an incorrect diagnosis of dangling RAM. They reseated it and sent me home.
The computer worked for a day and then refused to startup again. I took it back and they gave another incorrect diagnosis of BAD RAM. However, he proved himself wrong that moment by giving me new RAM and trying to start it up. Nothing happened, so he put the guts back in and stated, "YOU NEED NEW MOTHERBOARD!" (As you can see, I'm slightly angered with Best Buy).
Seeing as he told me the motherboard would be a couple hundred dollars, plus the fee of special ordering it... I decided to just buy a new computer entirely. When discussing this issue with a friend, he mentioned that it might be the power supply and also opened up my computer to search inside. Apparently when I had bought the power supply to match my new graphics card, I hadn't taken the OTHER upgrades into consideration. So... he said I needed a new (and larger) power supply.
Before I bought a new one, however, he took another look inside my computer and said that it was not reading my graphics card. He then unplugged that from the power supply and hooked everything back up to my onboard card. It ran fine and hasn't failed in startup yet. Apparently the graphics card was sucking up much more power than was needed from my power supply. He actually opened it up, and turned the computer on to show me how it was turning on some things within the computer, but couldn't even power up the hard drive. The diagnosis was now a 'faulty graphics card'.
My problem now:
He had me screw the power supply back in and screw the side of the computer back on and left. I've set it back up recently and turned it on. However, now that I'm in my quiet room I notice that the computer is louder. To me, it sounds like the fan- but I don't claim to be savvy with hardware. Instead of having the high pitch, barely audible hum I get a slower version of it that sounds like the fan has a disability.
So here's the actual questions!
1: From what I've described and the specs I will be leaving below; does it sound like its actually a faulty graphics card? I don't want to throw it away or let the computer keep running to find the graphics card was fine and there's something else rotting in there.
2: Is it OK to leave the computer running with the lovely sound change, or should I keep it off for now and hunt around for someone who sounds like they know what they're talking about?
Here's what my computer is (if I'm leaving anything out, let me know):
-HP PAVILION A735W (HEWLETT PACKARD) (AMD Anthlon)
-Windows XP
-1 GIG of RAM installed (It originally came with 512). Not sure of the company who made the RAM, but since we've switched it out I'm assuming the RAM isn't the problem anyway
-ATI Radeon X1300 (512 MB) that has since been UNINSTALLED. The computer is running from the onboard card now. Not sure of the specs for that because I'm afraid to turn it on (drivers for the onboard were actually missing and required reinstallation)
-Sound Blaster 24 bit advanced HD (It's a cheap sound card, but I was told I might as well install a new one because it takes stress off the motherboard or something?)
-I lost the box for the power supply, but it's 450 (which I'm told is low, but good enough to run what I have)
Four different people have put their hands into my computer and I'm afraid something was put back incorrectly or that the first issue I had is still there. Is there anyone that can provide some insight?