I have an old Gateway PC that my family member uses from time to time. It has Windows 7 on it and was working fine for several years (since Win 7 came out).
It has a dual core AMD processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 150GB Raptor HDD (10K RPM) that the OS is installed on.
Recently, the computer started freezing and now doesn't even boot into Windows!
It freezes EVERY time at the 'Starting Windows' screen before the four colored lights come on the screen. I have tried many different things; repairing the computer (option when Windows doesn't start), booting into Safe Mode (no go - still freezes at same place), installing a new CMOS battery, and even installing a fresh OS on another drive (an SSD). In fact, when I was installing the OS on the SSD, the installation itself froze towards the end!
I have no idea why this is happening. It can't be a bad HDD and it certainly isn't any 'software' since I can't even do a fresh OS install! I set everything to default in the BIOS and tried but still, nothing!
This is extremely frustrating.
I would really appreciate any help with this. I don't even know where to begin - is the CPU damaged? If so, how do I tell? Could it be the motherboard? Or something else?
Please help!
Thanks in advance.
It has a dual core AMD processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 150GB Raptor HDD (10K RPM) that the OS is installed on.
Recently, the computer started freezing and now doesn't even boot into Windows!
It freezes EVERY time at the 'Starting Windows' screen before the four colored lights come on the screen. I have tried many different things; repairing the computer (option when Windows doesn't start), booting into Safe Mode (no go - still freezes at same place), installing a new CMOS battery, and even installing a fresh OS on another drive (an SSD). In fact, when I was installing the OS on the SSD, the installation itself froze towards the end!
I have no idea why this is happening. It can't be a bad HDD and it certainly isn't any 'software' since I can't even do a fresh OS install! I set everything to default in the BIOS and tried but still, nothing!
This is extremely frustrating.
I would really appreciate any help with this. I don't even know where to begin - is the CPU damaged? If so, how do I tell? Could it be the motherboard? Or something else?
Please help!
Thanks in advance.
