Oh Lordy.. Dead computer, but which bit..?

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stevewestern

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Yesterday was going so well until my computer died.
I was copying a few files and browsing (so nothing too taxing) when suddenly it slowed down, the cursor started taking a few seconds to respond to any mouse movements and then the screen went black.
I turned off the mains for a few minutes, tried to reboot and it seemed that my hard drive(SSD) had died, as it wasn't showing in the BIOS.

However, when I tried the hard drive in a dock on the laptop I can see all the contents and open them, so it appears to be still working.

I tried it on the computer again but this time I disconnected the other hard drive and used that cable just in case it was the cable or connection on the motherboard, but no joy.

Now I'm stumped - obviously the power supply is working, as is the hard drive, so any ideas what might it be, and how to find out ?

I don't know if it is relevant but the drive had been getting fairly full which I believe is not ideal for an SSD and just before everything went black I had almost filled it with the files I was copying..

Any suggestions much appreciated !
 
You could try freeing up some space by transferring some files/folders off the SSD while it's in the laptop's dock.
 
Nod said:
You could try freeing up some space by transferring some files/folders off the SSD while it's in the laptop's dock.
Click to expand...

Ah, so it could be to do with the fact that the drive is too full - I don't know much about computers (obviously) and hadn't thought of that.
Many thanks Mr Nod, I'll do that right now !
 
It could still be the psu. I would try making a USB boot disc and see if it powers up.
 
Just because you can open files on the HDD does not prove that there is not a problem with the operating system installed on it or other issues.

Reinstalling windows on the HDD is the cheapest, most simple, most likely to be the issues and correct procedure but obviously that gives you the headache of rescuing any files you want first.
 
gman said:
It could still be the psu. I would try making a USB boot disc and see if it powers up.
Click to expand...
I'd hope not, as it is only a couple of months old. I did try to boot up using my windows installation disc with no joy (though I may have been doing something wrong in my panic..)
 
GTG said:
Just because you can open files on the HDD does not prove that there is not a problem with the operating system installed on it or other issues.

Reinstalling windows on the HDD is the cheapest, most simple, most likely to be the issues and correct procedure but obviously that gives you the headache of rescuing any files you want first.
Click to expand...

I'll give that a try shortly...

Many thanks for all the replies so far - just how would I be coping if not for the knowledge and helpfulness that TP members give !
 
stevewestern said:
I'll give that a try shortly...

Many thanks for all the replies so far - just how would I be coping if not for the knowledge and helpfulness that TP members give !
Click to expand...

I have had luck with that so many times, it looks like the PC has a massive problem but it turns out it is what is on the HDD has gone wrong rather than a real hardware problem.
 
I'm still copying stuff over to the laptop and most programs a memory stick in the hope that if I have to do a fresh install of windows (7) then I can reinstall all the others from it.
I'm meant to be pack and loading the car for a few days working away from home, but it looks like I'll be leaving later than planned...
 
So, the SSD is working, and accessible from the laptop dock, but not detected when plugged into main PC's board.
Was the second HDD still detected in BIOS?
Was the CD/DVD/BluRay drive detected?

Regarding programs, generally, copying them to a memory stick, them copying them back to a fresh OS install won't work.
Config files, file associations, program libraries, registry data; all that will be missing on the new system. You'll need the program install media as well as Win7.
 
Tori_T said:
So, the SSD is working, and accessible from the laptop dock, but not detected when plugged into main PC's board.
Was the second HDD still detected in BIOS?
Was the CD/DVD/BluRay drive detected?

Regarding programs, generally, copying them to a memory stick, them copying them back to a fresh OS install won't work.
Config files, file associations, program libraries, registry data; all that will be missing on the new system. You'll need the program install media as well as Win7.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tori, but it looks like I might not need to quite yet....
Having spent much of the last few hours copying stuff to various places, I've now freed up some space on my ssd which is now working again..!
YAY !

I'm hoping it was as Nod suggested, just too much on the SSD, but its given me the impetus to get a bigger SSD and do the whole fresh install that I've been putting off for so long.

So, once again, very many thanks to you all for helping me keep my hair and sanity - so much appreciated everyone !
 
stevewestern said:
I don't know if it is relevant but the drive had been getting fairly full which I believe is not ideal for an SSD and just before everything went black I had almost filled it with the files I was copying..
Click to expand...


Actually, Steve, as you can see from the snipped quote from your original post, the "disc too full" suggestion was yours, not mine - I just suggested a possible work around!

Glad it's sorted, whoever's suggestions helped.
 
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