My Desktop Dilemma (Gateway LX6810-01)

NLAlston

NLAlston

Member
No sooner than I was helped (extremely so) in getting my wife's notebook computer to function again, was I befallen with a very problematic situation with my desktop.

My PC is a Gateway LX6810-01, and I had really been experiencing some issues with it, a few months back. The nature of those issues revolved around loud, racing sounds from the hard drive area, as well as total system shutdowns after no more than about 8-10 minutes of it being in a powered-up state.

Yesterday, however, I went to power my computer on, and was met with the message that either a hardware change, or software installation had prevented my computer from starting properly. I was given two options. One, was to have my computer start normally, and the second option was to have Windows repair the condition. Choosing the first option would only send me back through that startup dilemma again. That second option would take me to a screen with a message that Windows was loading necessary files ( or something to that effect). Just under that message was a white, horizontal bar which spanned the total width of my monitor. I am assuming that this bar was supposed to function as a progress indicator, but there were no indicators to be seen - no matter how long my computer was left powered on. There have been no hardware changes, nor recent software installations having been made to/on my system, and I don't know what is going on.

I have tried starting and restarting my computer quite a few times, since yesterday, but the condition remains the same. I had even tried giving my pc a clean slate by calling my Win7 OS (bought for it, last year, to replace Vista) into play. But I could not get my system to boot from it.
 
It seems to me like it might be a hard drive failure. It could be the motherboard too, though. The best way to check is to swap the HDD for another that you know is working on another computer. If it doesn't, then change the SATA cable. If it still doesn't work, it's a motherboard connection, in which case just use another one. If you swap the HDD and it works, however, it means that your old hard drive is faulty.
 
What exactly happens when you try to boot up from the OS DVD?
Do you get an error message or something?
Who is the manufacturer of your hard disk? If you don't have a spare desktop hard drive to test, the easiest way would be to download the HDD manufacturer's DOS based disk check utility, burn a bootable CD using your wife's computer, boot your computer up using this (this is same as booting up from the OS DVD, but will definitely work, even if the HDD is dead) and get your HDD checked.
The HDD definitely cannot be completely dead (as in- no power, not detected by BIOS), as that "either a hardware change, or software installation had prevented your computer from starting properly" is itself being generated by the windows boot routine, if the HDD is totally dead, the message would be "Disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter" or something equivalent, which clearly isn't the case.
 
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mr.doom said:
It seems to me like it might be a hard drive failure. It could be the motherboard too, though. The best way to check is to swap the HDD for another that you know is working on another computer. If it doesn't, then change the SATA cable. If it still doesn't work, it's a motherboard connection, in which case just use another one. If you swap the HDD and it works, however, it means that your old hard drive is faulty.
Click to expand...

Yesterday afternoon I went to Best Buy and purchased a new, internal Western Digital 2TB hard drive. After installing it I found my system to start up just as proper as it had ever did. I was good to go, for a few hours, and thought that all was indeed well. I had to take care of some business, so I shut my PC down until I returned home. About a half hour ago I powered my PC back on, only to be met with that horrendously (and continuously) loud fan type noise. The only way to defeat it was to shut the PC down, and restart. There are times when that action will effectuate a change, and bring that noise down to a proper level. It is at those such times when my system will boot up right. Oftentimes, though, that high noise level will be the same, which will translate into my system not starting up AT ALL. Might this be indication of a power supply going bad?

I will be taking the hard drive back for a refund, tomorrow, and dealing with my trusty little Ipad until such time as I can get matters really in hand, by having clear direction & funds to get the issues corrected - OR to avail myself of a brand new system.

I_hate_toms shared some information with me, and I will be giving that a shot tomorrow, also.
 
You need to find out where exactly these noises are actually coming from and let us know. We can't help you until you find this out.
 
mr.doom said:
True to that. Power the PC up, open the case and listen where it comes from.
Click to expand...

easier way is to boot up with one thing disabled at a time till you can stop the sound. That will tell you for sure. and much more accurate than just listening for it.
Start with the hard drives and fans. That is where most noises come from.
 
johnb35 said:
You need to find out where exactly these noises are actually coming from and let us know. We can't help you until you find this out.
Click to expand...

I will do my best to narrow it down, the next time it happens. It certainly isn't all the time that it does, and there are times when I could go weeks without an incident. It is just that the last few days found me having to deal with it at a much more frequent rate. The best way that I can presently describe it is like this: You know how the fan sounds when your system is up and running? Well, multiply about an eight to ten times audible surge in that sound? I do not exaggerate even in the slightest. Sometimes it will rise up like that, for just a few seconds. Then it will settle down to where it should be, and all will run well. But, most often, it will surge up like that - sounding like a jet getting ready to take off - and STAY at that audible level until I shut the thing down. But the next time it happens like that, I will take the side cover off - which should clarity of just where that noise is really coming from.

Yesterday, I had purchased/installed a new hard drive, and had hopes of my having conquered the problem. But I learned, a bit later, that the 'Jet Sound' hadn't stopped. It just decided to play a game on me :). So, today, I had decided to chalk things up, regarding this system. I uninstalled the new hard drive, to take it back for refunding, and reinstalled the old one. After having done that, something told me to give that old drive another shot. I did and (guess what happened?) - that unit allowed me to swing through the process of installing the OS. I have been running my PC all day, today, and there has not been one episode of that high noise issue. Now, that isn't to say that it won't happen again, but I am thankful for every hour I can get out of this thing - without it giving out on me.

But I will certainly come back here with an update, if and when matters travel south again. And I thank you ALL.
 
I would expect it to be the cpu fan becuase of overheating. Open the side of the case and look inside the cpu cooling fan and see if you have dust caked in there. If so, clean it out with a can of compressed air.
 
NLAlston said:
I will do my best to narrow it down, the next time it happens. It certainly isn't all the time that it does, and there are times when I could go weeks without an incident. It is just that the last few days found me having to deal with it at a much more frequent rate. The best way that I can presently describe it is like this: You know how the fan sounds when your system is up and running? Well, multiply about an eight to ten times audible surge in that sound? I do not exaggerate even in the slightest. Sometimes it will rise up like that, for just a few seconds. Then it will settle down to where it should be, and all will run well. But, most often, it will surge up like that - sounding like a jet getting ready to take off - and STAY at that audible level until I shut the thing down. But the next time it happens like that, I will take the side cover off - which should clarity of just where that noise is really coming from.

Yesterday, I had purchased/installed a new hard drive, and had hopes of my having conquered the problem. But I learned, a bit later, that the 'Jet Sound' hadn't stopped. It just decided to play a game on me :). So, today, I had decided to chalk things up, regarding this system. I uninstalled the new hard drive, to take it back for refunding, and reinstalled the old one. After having done that, something told me to give that old drive another shot. I did and (guess what happened?) - that unit allowed me to swing through the process of installing the OS. I have been running my PC all day, today, and there has not been one episode of that high noise issue. Now, that isn't to say that it won't happen again, but I am thankful for every hour I can get out of this thing - without it giving out on me.

But I will certainly come back here with an update, if and when matters travel south again. And I thank you ALL.
Click to expand...

Any luck?
 
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