[asmodeus718]

okay, here we go.. first off, my system specs..

I have a eMachines W2785, 2700+ AMD Athlon XP Processor, 80 gig HD, 1 gig DDR RAM, built-in 10/100 Mbps ethernet card..

my problem is that suddenly when I turn on the computer, my monitor does not work, and neither does my keyboard.. I'm guessing my mouse doesn't, either, but I have no way of knowing, since I can't see anything on the screen..

what I mean by "not working", is that the computer starts up fine, the power light comes on, both fans start up, and I can hear the hard drive working as well.. my monitor just keeps acting as though it's not hooked up.. the power works.. it just has the analog/digital screen flashing, all black. I tested my mouse, monitor and keyboard on this laptop I'm using to type this, and they all work fine, so I know it's not any of them.. I just can't get them to work on my main computer. the scroll lock, numbers lock, and caps lock keys, when pressed, do not light up on the keyboard on my main computer.. the mouse, I have no cluse, as I don't have a working video to see if there is movement.

I don't know much about this kind of thing, but from hours of searching on Google, I've got a feeling it's something to do with the motherboard, as all three peripherals plug into it in the back.. and yes, I've checked ALL connections, I've reseated my RAM, I've unplugged EVERYTHING and plugged them all back in, to ensure proper, tight fits.. the power supply seems to be working fine.. it is set on the correct voltage, etc.

what's strange, though, is that immediately upon booting up the computer, all the lights on the keyboard light up, so it is getting recognized somehow..

I read that instead of assuming the whole motherboard is bad, that it might be some BIOS settings that are off, etc, and to check them.. I can't do any of that, as I can't see anything, since it won't recognize my monitor now..

as for startup "beeps", I have none..

my pc has worked fine for years, since I bought it in 2004.. now yesterday I went to install a new dvd drive, and when I installed it and put the case back on and restarted it, that is when I first experienced my problem(s).. so obviously, I did something when I was installing the dvd drive. but I went through and checked everything, and so I don't know what I possibly could've done.. I've tried restarting it with the drives disconnected, doing it each time until I could find the culprit that might be conflicting.. to no avail.

now, I'm prepared to hear that it could be as simple as a fried motherboard.. so if that turns out to be the case, my next question is, if/when I buy a new pc, can I just simply take my old hard drive out of this computer (assuming the HD isn't bad, which I don't think it is) and put it into the new pc, so I don't lose any of my stored data/files? I have a TON of stuff on there that I don't want to lose, such as documents and I would also like to not lose any of my bookmarks/favorite places, and stuff like that.. PLEASE help me with this if you can.. I looked around the net at TONS of pc help forums and I chose this one, as it seems to be the best one that I have come across.. thank you in advance!!!

Scott aka asmodeus718

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Two pieces of hardware usually fail on eMachines. First and foremost is the power supply (usually Bestec brand). When the PSU goes it will sometimes take out the motherboard (more likely than not).

[Whiskeyman]

Two pieces of hardware usually fail on eMachines. First and foremost is the power supply (usually Bestec brand). When the PSU goes it will sometimes take out the motherboard (more likely than not).

[asmodeus718]

then how would I know if it's just the power supply, or just the motherboard.. or both? I really can't afford it, but if I have to buy a new computer, then so be it.. pretty much all the ones I'm looking at have Windows Vista installed on them.. can I take my hard drive from my old computer (which has XP) and put it in the new one, to recover my files? please help, someone.. I'd really like to be able to cure this computer, rather than go out and buy a new one..

Scott aka asmodeus718

[asmodeus718]

Two pieces of hardware usually fail on eMachines. First and foremost is the power supply (usually Bestec brand). When the PSU goes it will sometimes take out the motherboard (more likely than not).

yes, it has the Bestec power supply.. so if I fix that (assuming that's the culprit, then will the motherboard start to work again as well? I'm not sure I completely understand you when you say that more often then not, when the power supply goes out, it takes out the motherboard also.. so then does that mean, fixing the power supply in turn fixed the motherboard? or were you implying that the motherboard is non-fixable? I can easily go out and buy a new power supply, if you think that would work.. but I can hear the power supply working when I boot up.. ??? I'm more confused now..

Scott aka asmodeus718

[wannabe1]

Hi asmodeus718...

No beeps and no video usually points to either a problem with the processor or the motherboard. When you installed the optical drive, did you bump the CPU cooler and maybe cause a loose connection at the CPU socket? Maybe the cooler was loosened from the CPU and it's overheating. If you find the cooler loose, be sure to use a good thermal paste when you reset it. Check that area and then make sure the optical drive is jumpered correctly for it's cable position. You might even try booting the machine with the optical drive disconnected.

Do you have an XP installation cd? Does the machine have a floppy drive? How about the laptop...does it have a floppy drive?

wannabe1

[asmodeus718]

Hi asmodeus718...

No beeps and no video usually points to either a problem with the processor or the motherboard. When you installed the optical drive, did you bump the CPU cooler and maybe cause a loose connection at the CPU socket? Maybe the cooler was loosened from the CPU and it's overheating. If you find the cooler loose, be sure to use a good thermal paste when you reset it. Check that area and then make sure the optical drive is jumpered correctly for it's cable position. You might even try booting the machine with the optical drive disconnected.

Do you have an XP installation cd? Does the machine have a floppy drive? How about the laptop...does it have a floppy drive?

wannabe1

nop, the CPU cooler is not loosened.. checked that.. and yes, I tried booting it up without any optical drives connected.. I've disconnected everything, and booted it up each time, adding only one thing at a time, trying to see if I could catch what was causing it.. i'm really looking at just gettting a new system.. what are my options as far as putting my old hard drive into a new computer.. will I be able to save everything? I've got XP in the old PC, and looking at PCs with Vista.. and I'm not familiar with the process of adding my old HD.. I've backed up most of everything I needed about a week ago (thankfully!), but I still want to be able to save my firefox favorites/bookmarks and stuff like that, along with some text files that are in "my documents".. will those be on my hard drive (old one)? thanks..

Scott aka asmodeus718

[wannabe1]

Vista should read the drive just fine if you install it as a slave.

[asmodeus718]

Vista should read the drive just fine if you install it as a slave.

cool, that's what I wanted to hear! and all of my favorites/bookamarks and stuff from "my documents" folder will be on it?

also, back to the original problem.. I heard that when installing an optical drive.. if you set the jumpers to the wrong settings, you can permanently do damage to your computer, that is irreversible? I read that either do the master/slave settings, or you can use the cable select, but if doing that, then they BOTH have to be set that way.. I tried that, and then I tried the first one as master and the second one as slave.. neither option worked, but I didn't know if by booting the pc with some wrong settings, I could've damaged it to get it in the state it's in?

thanks..

Scott aka asmodeus718

[wannabe1]

You should find your documents, pictures, and music in the "Documents and Settings" folder under your user account name. The other things you want you'll have to look for...your favorites will likely be in the "Application Data" folder which is a hidden folder...make sure you have "Show hidden files and folders" selected in Folder Options when you look for it. Some may be in the application's folder in the Program Files folder. Everything should be there...just a matter of finding it.

It's possible to damage a machine with an incorrect configuration, but more likely, the drives would just fail to detect. Cable Select has always been a glitchy way to do a setup...I prefer a master/slave installation. If jumpered as a master, the drive should be on the end ribbon connector...a slave would use the center positiion on the ribbon.

The primary master drive should always be jumpered master and installed on the end connector of the primary IDE channel ribbon.

If you have more than one optical drive installed, they should be installed on the same IDE channel ribbon with the cd-rom drive as master. With Vista, you'll want a DVD drive in the master position.

[asmodeus718]

You should find your documents, pictures, and music in the "Documents and Settings" folder under your user account name. The other things you want you'll have to look for...your favorites will likely be in the "Application Data" folder which is a hidden folder...make sure you have "Show hidden files and folders" selected in Folder Options when you look for it. Some may be in the application's folder in the Program Files folder. Everything should be there...just a matter of finding it.

It's possible to damage a machine with an incorrect configuration, but more likely, the drives would just fail to detect. Cable Select has always been a glitchy way to do a setup...I prefer a master/slave installation. If jumpered as a master, the drive should be on the end ribbon connector...a slave would use the center positiion on the ribbon.

The primary master drive should always be jumpered master and installed on the end connector of the primary IDE channel ribbon.

If you have more than one optical drive installed, they should be installed on the same IDE channel ribbon with the cd-rom drive as master. With Vista, you'll want a DVD drive in the master position.

okay, that makes sense.. so the slave/master thing.. does that apply to hard drives as well? in other words, will I have to make sure it's hooked up to where my old hard drive (once I install it) is connected to the middle part, and the new hard drive is on the end? or does it really matter which one is C: or D:? I just want to install my old hard drive to backup my files, and then reformat it and use it as extra storage on my new pc, in addition to the main, new, larger hard drive that comes in it..

Scott aka asmodeus718

PS - and yes, I had the otical drives installed backwards.. I had assumed the master would come first, and then put the slave drive on the end.. either way, it still isn't working.. guess I'm gonna try to find a new PC.. everyone seems to dislike eMachines, but this is the ONLY time I've EVER had a problem with it, and I'm thinking it's something I did, not the pc's fault..

[wannabe1]

When you install the drive on the new machine, you'll want it jumpered as the slave and connected to the center ribbon connector. It would be best if it were installed on the same ribbon as the primary master, but it can be installed to the secondary slave position, too. You need to have the system drive to be the C: drive and if the old drive is installed on the same ribbon, it should become D:.

Once you have recovered your data, the drive can be formatted for storage using Disk Management in the Computer Management console. (Rt click My Computer and choose Manage)