hardware, or software problem? both? How to fix?

bearcat

Member
Power Supply Shinobee Oct 2019.jpg Power Supply Shinobee Oct 2019.jpg Thanks for taking a look. Running Windows 10.
I can't give you the specs for the computer, it won't boot.
Shinobee SSD Ultra 8-Core Gaming PC/Multimedia Desktop Computer - FX 8300 8 x 4.20 GHz - AMD Radeon RX 460 2GB DDR5 Graphics - 8GB DDR3-240GB SSD - 500GB HDD - Win10 Pro - CD/DVD±RW - WiFi #6006

Issue: I am unsure how this began this time. The computer is only about three months old, but has crashed at least three times.

I suspect I'm trying to do too much at once.
This time, was on the internet with some streaming video paused, had a video player playing a DVD, and had a computer game running, paused, in the background.
Notepad also open.

I am aware this is not ideal, but that is how I want to operate, jumping rapidly and frequently between numerous running programs.

Could also be that Windows 10 crashed because of forced Microsoft Update.

Next:

1. Hard reboot, showed only blue MS logo, stuck there. All keys unresponsive.
2. Hard reboot. Blue Logo with "Preparing Automatic Repair". Stuck there doing nothing, all keys and mouse unresponsive.
3. Hard reboot. Stuck on just blue logo again.
4. Hard reboot. Again same results as number 2 above.
5. Workmen in the apartment proceed to idiotically trip the circuit breaker three times in a row. They couldn't speak English, so hard to get them to understand to use another outlet instead.
6. Hard reboot, same results as number 1 again.
7. Hard boot, same as number 2 again.
8 Disconnected DSL cable, removed commercial DVD from drive, hard reboot, back to number 1 again.

This is the second or third time I have gotten stuck on "preparing automatic repair".
Searching a solution, it says "just hard boot three times in a row" but that isn't working this time, as you can see from the list above

The machine has two Ram slots, but one is so close to a fan, I don't think a stick would fit.
Would more RAM fix this issue, and is the rest of the computer capable of using more RAM?
Is this issue caused by a too-weak power supply? See photo.
 
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johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
You most likely have errors on the hard drive and thats why its trying to repair at bootup. More ram would definitely help if you are doing multiple things at once.
 

bearcat

Member
You most likely have errors on the hard drive and thats why its trying to repair at bootup. More ram would definitely help if you are doing multiple things at once.

Since I can't get it to boot, how are "errors on the hard drive" fixed?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
yes, but will all the other hardware handle more RAM?
As long as the motherboard supports more ram and you are running a 64 bit operating system yes.
Since I can't get it to boot, how are "errors on the hard drive" fixed?

You would need to find out what brand of hard drive it has and use the manufacturer's utility to check for errors.
 

bearcat

Member
As long as the motherboard supports more ram and you are running a 64 bit operating system yes.


You would need to find out what brand of hard drive it has and use the manufacturer's utility to check for errors.

Thank you. Since it is locked on the Blue Logo screen with totally unresponsive mouse and keys, how would I "use the manufacturer's utility"?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
With computers anything can happen while running hard drive diagnostic tests, but I've never had data loss happen. There are many utilities on that bootable cd. As I said, you'll need to find out what brand of hard drive you have and run the correct one. However, we can be here for weeks trying to help you figure this out but I believe it would be in your best interest to take it in to a repair shop and have them figure out whats going on. Especially since you aren't computer savvy. I know you have money issues but you seem to be having a lot of issues with this pc. You might want to think about getting warranty support for it, possibly return it for a better system.
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
That PSU is a piece. Only about 170w on the 12v rail. I'd replace that even if it wasn't having problems.

Your HD probably has some form of data corruption from rebooting hence why it won't recover. You should be able to use an Ubuntu LiveCD or something and FSCK the volume.

Alternatively, it should still be under warranty so return for something else ;)
 
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