Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread

[thaber]

No benefit of having 2 OSes. You can clone your current desktop hard drive to the SSD and then set your computer to boot from the SSD. Once you verify that it's working properly, you can format the old hard drive and use it for stuff that you don't want to put on the SSD (photos videos etc)

Thanks. So I have a 500 gb ssd, which I stuck into one of the bays that are accessible from the front. In the process of figuring that out I opened up the side panel of the computer, which looks like the attached. Ultimately I got it in the front bay, and put it all back together.
I then restarted, all went well, got a little startup screen recognizing the new drive, , but keyboard didn't work, so couldn't sign in. Switched to a different USB port, keyboard got power but entry was not recognized. Then the computer shut off.
Wouldn't stay on after that for more than a second. Undid everything, same problem.
Opened up the side panel, the bottom left (motherboard I believe) was really hot.
Thoughts? Hesitant to turn back on
ETA one point that may be relevant, when I was putting all the plugs back in, the independently powered speakers buzzed as I plugged them in

[thaber]

Update: waited for it to be cold, plugged in mouse phone and monitor, nothing else. Booted up for through sign in, and then shut down.
! Metal plate on motherboard is again very hot

[pcgeek]

Installing an SSD should not cause the computer to overheat. Are the fans spinning when you turn it on, especially the fan over the processor? Did you do anything else besides for plug in the SSD?

[thaber]

Installing an SSD should not cause the computer to overheat. Are the fans spinning when you turn it on, especially the fan over the processor? Did you do anything else besides for plug in the SSD?

I agree. I suspect this was the problem all along, because the fans have been much noisier than usual. I think something shorted when I plugged the speakers back in. Once it all wasn't working I opened up the kishkes side of the case, everything seemed plugged in and nothing loose rattling around. I vacuumed out a lot of dust, thought maybe it got shaken up when I was installing the SSD. didn't help. I'm about ready to give up order an ew computer with a couple extra bays and add my 500gb SSD and old HD to that.

[thaber]

Processor: 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8700 Processor (3.20GHz 12MB)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
Hard Drive: 1TB 7200 RPM+128GB PCIe SSD
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
Warranty: One year
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable
Memory: 16.0GB DDR4 UDIMM 2666MHz

vs

Processor: 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7700 Processor (3.60GHz 8MB)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
Hard Drive: 1TB 7200 RPM + 128GB SSD
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
Warranty: One year
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable
Memory: 16.0GB DDR4 UDIMM 2400MHz


thoughts?


ETA - based on CPU, it's a no brainer https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-i7-8700-vs-Intel-i7-7700/3099vs2905
Graphics isn't all that important to me, as long as it works.

[Yisroel Tech]

Processor: 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8700 Processor (3.20GHz 12MB)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
Hard Drive: 1TB 7200 RPM+128GB PCIe SSD
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB
Warranty: One year
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable
Memory: 16.0GB DDR4 UDIMM 2666MHz

vs

Processor: 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-7700 Processor (3.60GHz 8MB)
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64
Hard Drive: 1TB 7200 RPM + 128GB SSD
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
Warranty: One year
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable
Memory: 16.0GB DDR4 UDIMM 2400MHz


thoughts?


ETA - based on CPU, it's a no brainer https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-i7-8700-vs-Intel-i7-7700/3099vs2905
Graphics isn't all that important to me, as long as it works.

Every single thing is better with the first. It is truly a no-brainer.

[thaber]

Every single thing is better with the first. It is truly a no-brainer.

Here's what threw me - the msrp on the second was $100 more

[thaber]

Moving on - I am getting machine A above in the next few days. I have a 500gb Samsung SSD and I have the Hard Drive from my dead machine, which probably has some stuff on it I would want, although anything important is in the cloud. How stupid am I (especially after the events of the last few days) if I stick those in right off the bat?
If I end up doing it, does it make sense to move, for example, Microsoft office and Acrobat Pro, to the new machine? or should I do a clean install?

[Boruch999]

Moving on - I am getting machine A above in the next few days. I have a 500gb Samsung SSD and I have the Hard Drive from my dead machine, which probably has some stuff on it I would want, although anything important is in the cloud. How stupid am I (especially after the events of the last few days) if I stick those in right off the bat?
If I end up doing it, does it make sense to move, for example, Microsoft office and Acrobat Pro, to the new machine? or should I do a clean install?

If you are skillful enough to figure out how to install them, you probably don't have much to worry about.  Just don't unplug anything that's already plugged in.

You can't move software from the old disks to the new computer.  Technically it may be possible, but it's much much easier to do a clean install.

[Boruch999]

How can I tell if this has room for me to add an HDD?
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834316214


(cross post from Laptop Deals thread where I did not get an answer.)

[lubaby]

How can I tell if this has room for me to add an HDD?
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834316214


(cross post from Laptop Deals thread where I did not get an answer.)

Look at the size of the laptop, then look at the size of a HDD..

[Boruch999]

Look at the size of the laptop, then look at the size of a HDD..

I'm sorry, I don't understand.  I want to know how to tell, short of opening up the laptop, if this laptop has a spare slot for an addition hard drive.

[yesitsme]

never saw this before
chrome://settings/cleanup

[pcgeek]

How can I tell if this has room for me to add an HDD?
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834316214


(cross post from Laptop Deals thread where I did not get an answer.)

Doesn't look like it has an extra bay. Most laptops don't by the way...

[Boruch999]

I have a new Acer laptop that is set to sleep when the is shut whether or not it's plugged in.  Last night I shut it and put it in it's case plugged in.  When I came back this morning it was on and super hot.  It seems alright now but I have two questions.  1) Why did this happen and how can I prevent it?

2)Is there anyway I can check for damaged caused by the heat so I can make a claim?

[aygart]

I have a new Acer laptop that is set to sleep when the is shut whether or not it's plugged in.  Last night I shut it and put it in it's case plugged in.  When I came back this morning it was on and super hot.  It seems alright now but I have two questions.  1) Why did this happen and how can I prevent it?

2)Is there anyway I can check for damaged caused by the heat so I can make a claim?

If you charge the battery inside a case that will get very hot.

[Boruch999]

If you charge the battery inside a case that will get very hot.

That is something I do often and it usually doesn't get hot.  I'm pretty sure this time it failed to sleep when I closed the lid.

[Yisroel Tech]

That is something I do often and it usually doesn't get hot.  I'm pretty sure this time it failed to sleep when I closed the lid.

Can you check if the settings "are still" set to go to Sleep when closing lid? I also had recently (I think after an update) where it defaulted not to go to Sleep when closing lid (had the same hot laptop...)

[Boruch999]

Can you check if the settings "are still" set to go to Sleep when closing lid? I also had recently (I think after an update) where it defaulted not to go to Sleep when closing lid (had the same hot laptop...)

That's the first thing I did.  Still set.

[David R]

I have a new Acer laptop that is set to sleep when the is shut whether or not it's plugged in.  Last night I shut it and put it in it's case plugged in.  When I came back this morning it was on and super hot.  It seems alright now but I have two questions.  1) Why did this happen and how can I prevent it?

2)Is there anyway I can check for damaged caused by the heat so I can make a claim?

Determine if it failed to sleep or if it slept and subsequently awoke (and when). The System log has this information.
There are any number of things that can awaken a sleeping computer.