Topic Wiki

I figured that even this thread can have a wiki.
If your computer or phone is giving you issues:

• Please read this before posting: 4 Reasons Why IT People Ignore Your Requests for Help
• Restart the computer. Hopefully this will take care of any issues
• If your problem has not yet been solved, try to Google it. There may be a very simple solution
• On a Windows computer, a system restore may do the trick.
(This is a work in progress, please feel free to add whatever you may feel is helpful)


Please post whether or not the problem was fixed

Apple iPhone Master Thread
« Last edited by Thingywingy on May 07, 2019, 08:00:02 PM »

Author Topic: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread  (Read 977096 times)

Offline etech0

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2960 on: June 28, 2016, 10:03:53 PM »
I was given a laptop to try and fix. When I power it on, all I see is a screen that says ENTER PASSWORD. It doesn't even boot into Windows first. It won't boot into a linux CD either.

Any idea what this means?

TY
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline yoshyosh

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2961 on: June 28, 2016, 10:08:44 PM »
I was given a laptop to try and fix. When I power it on, all I see is a screen that says ENTER PASSWORD. It doesn't even boot into Windows first. It won't boot into a linux CD either.

Any idea what this means?

TY
bios lock
Ask the person you are fixing the laptop for, the password.
Or http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001302.htm

Offline etech0

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2962 on: June 28, 2016, 10:13:05 PM »
bios lock
Ask the person you are fixing the laptop for, the password.
Or http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001302.htm
They don't know of any password. I'll try the tricks in the article, but looks like this might be out of my range.

Thanks!
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline etech0

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2963 on: June 28, 2016, 10:22:29 PM »
They don't know of any password. I'll try the tricks in the article, but looks like this might be out of my range.

Thanks!
Hmmmm now nothing happens at all when I push the power button!

And yes, it's plugged in :)
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline etech0

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2964 on: June 28, 2016, 10:26:17 PM »
I was given a laptop to try and fix. When I power it on, all I see is a screen that says ENTER PASSWORD. It doesn't even boot into Windows first. It won't boot into a linux CD either.

Any idea what this means?

TY
Hmmmm now nothing happens at all when I push the power button!

And yes, it's plugged in :)
What are the chances that I could get the data off the harddrive if I purchase a hard drive enclosure? At this point that might be all the person needs.

TY
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline DanH

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2965 on: June 29, 2016, 05:46:34 AM »
What are the chances that I could get the data off the harddrive if I purchase a hard drive enclosure? At this point that might be all the person needs.

TY
should be 100%

what did you attempt to do to remove the password?
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Offline etech0

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2966 on: June 29, 2016, 08:17:41 AM »
should be 100%

what did you attempt to do to remove the password?
Nothing! After I read the page linked above, I went back to the laptop to try the first idea, but it wouldn't power on at all. Maybe it got more dead?

Anyways, I'm just going to buy one of those enclosures to get their data off. Any recommendations? Or should I just pick one from Amazon?

Thanks for your help!
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline DanH

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2967 on: June 29, 2016, 08:53:41 AM »
Nothing! After I read the page linked above, I went back to the laptop to try the first idea, but it wouldn't power on at all. Maybe it got more dead?

Anyways, I'm just going to buy one of those enclosures to get their data off. Any recommendations? Or should I just pick one from Amazon?

Thanks for your help!
ha, maybe it got more dead :)
what i would suggest. remove battery.  remove cmos battery. hold power button down for 60 seconds.  reinsert cmos battery. reinsert regular battery. (plug in adapter if assuming battery dead). attempt to turn on.
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Offline avromie7

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2968 on: June 29, 2016, 01:53:26 PM »
Nothing! After I read the page linked above, I went back to the laptop to try the first idea, but it wouldn't power on at all. Maybe it got more dead?

Anyways, I'm just going to buy one of those enclosures to get their data off. Any recommendations? Or should I just pick one from Amazon?

Thanks for your help!
Make sure its usb3 for much better speeds
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.

Offline etech0

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2969 on: June 29, 2016, 02:59:02 PM »
ha, maybe it got more dead :)
what i would suggest. remove battery.  remove cmos battery. hold power button down for 60 seconds.  reinsert cmos battery. reinsert regular battery. (plug in adapter if assuming battery dead). attempt to turn on.
Thanks! Will try later.
Make sure its usb3 for much better speeds
Thanks for the advice!
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline David R

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2970 on: June 30, 2016, 01:16:08 AM »
Sometimes you think it's getting power from the adapter but really it's just running down the battery. This could happen if the adapter fails or has a loose connection. Learn the meaning of the lights on your laptop. They would give an indication if the laptop is receiving power from the adapter and/or if the battery is charging.

Offline shoobi

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2971 on: June 30, 2016, 11:41:53 AM »
Hi guys, got a question.

I recently upgraded a computer with the following upgrades:

*Swapped 4x 2GB RAM for 2x 8GB
*Added an SSD and attached the old data cable to that, making it the primary one. HHD is now secondary.

Problem is, when I turn it on, i hear the fan whirring and the lights inside the box are on, but keyboard doesn't light up and monitors receive no signal.

I successfully upgraded 3 other computers in the exact same way and had no problem. Any idea what's wrong here?

Thanks.

Offline pcgeek

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2972 on: June 30, 2016, 11:44:32 AM »
Hi guys, got a question.

I recently upgraded a computer with the following upgrades:

*Swapped 4x 2GB RAM for 2x 8GB
*Added an SSD and attached the old data cable to that, making it the primary one. HHD is now secondary.

Problem is, when I turn it on, i hear the fan whirring and the lights inside the box are on, but keyboard doesn't light up and monitors receive no signal.

I successfully upgraded 3 other computers in the exact same way and had no problem. Any idea what's wrong here?

Thanks.
Check the maximum amount of supported ram for the motherboard. Might not support 16GB

Offline shoobi

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2973 on: June 30, 2016, 11:50:25 AM »
Check the maximum amount of supported ram for the motherboard. Might not support 16GB

pretty sure it supports it. It's a Dell Precision T3600

Offline pcgeek

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2974 on: June 30, 2016, 11:54:39 AM »
pretty sure it supports it. It's a Dell Precision T3600
Try one stick of ram at a time to rule out bad ram

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2975 on: June 30, 2016, 12:27:52 PM »
Try one stick of ram at a time to rule out bad ram

worked! thanks.

Don't know why, but i removed one stick, it worked, put it back, still works. had issues with hard drive though, couldn't find it, upon restart it found it. weird.

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2976 on: June 30, 2016, 12:46:35 PM »
worked! thanks.

Don't know why, but i removed one stick, it worked, put it back, still works. had issues with hard drive though, couldn't find it, upon restart it found it. weird.
Great! Maybe it wasn't fully seated in the slot

Offline etech0

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2977 on: July 06, 2016, 11:19:57 AM »
Is it possible to have Dropbox sync to an external drive, instead of my laptop's hard drive? I see I can change the location in the settings, just wondering about potential pitfalls.

Thanks!
« Last Edit: July 06, 2016, 11:37:39 AM by etech0 »
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

Offline etech0

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2978 on: July 06, 2016, 10:37:12 PM »
Okay, progress!

I took apart the laptop that wouldn't boot, put the hard drive in to an enclosure, and now I'm trying to get the data off. I connected it to a working computer. When I try to open the Users/Name folder in the external drive, it says:
Quote
You don't currently have permission to access this folder.
Click Continue to permanently get access to this folder.

When I click Continue, after a long time I get:
Quote
This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action. Please install a program or, if one is already installed, create an association in the Default Programs control panel.
Any advice for me now? TY!
Workflowy. You won't know what you're missing until you try it.

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Re: Computer Troubleshooting/Help Master Thread
« Reply #2979 on: July 06, 2016, 10:46:50 PM »
Okay, progress!

I took apart the laptop that wouldn't boot, put the hard drive in to an enclosure, and now I'm trying to get the data off. I connected it to a working computer. When I try to open the Users/Name folder in the external drive, it says:
When I click Continue, after a long time I get:Any advice for me now? TY!
Right click>properties>security>advanced settings>change owner to yourself

I am doing this by heart so I may not have all the steps exactly right
I wonder what people who type "u" instead of "you" do with all their free time.