in which the DIY spirit gets me in trouble ...

[midwayfair]

My desktop was making noise, so I took the computer apart trying to find out where it was coming from. Turned out to be the power supply ... Put things back together and now all I get is a notice that says "quick start guide for proper hardware installation".

Ten years of loyal service undone by some carelessness.

[billstein]

That's strange, I've been building my own computers for the last 15 years and don't ever remember seeing that message. I would go back in and re-seat everything including your RAM sticks. Who knows what could have got knocked loose when you took it apart.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk 2

[GermanCdn]

Hey, at least it took tinkering from your end to generate the message.  Went to visit family for a week, unplugged the Windows 8 disaster that is my desktop while we were gone, got home yesterday to the blue screen of imminent death, followed by four hours of it fixing itself. 

[jimilee]

Ouch has it been powered on for 10 years? sounds like the bios battery died at one time and now it doesn't remmber anything, or you just have a loose cable.

[midwayfair]

Ouch has it been powered on for 10 years?

Um, not continuously ...

Lexa thinks it's my video card.

[jimilee]

Ouch has it been powered on for 10 years?

Um, not continuously ...

Lexa thinks it's my video card.

I used to build and work computers about 10 years ago, but that all changed when I switched to mac.  Shouldn't be too hard to fix, she sounds like a smart woman.

[aballen]

We need screenshots man!

[croquet hoop]

Ouch has it been powered on for 10 years?

Um, not continuously ...

Lexa thinks it's my video card.

I never saw that message either... at which point does it appear? Just before the POST ?

Methinks if your video card was the culprit, you wouldn't see any message at all. I'm more thinking about something else you forgot — the EPS 12V plug for instance (4- or 8-pins connector near the CPU socket).

[jimilee]

We need screenshots man!

aaaahahahahaha you know the drill 

[billstein]

I never saw that message either... at which point does it appear? Just before the POST ?

Methinks if your video card was the culprit, you wouldn't see any message at all. I'm more thinking about something else you forgot — the EPS 12V plug for instance (4- or 8-pins connector near the CPU socket).
[/quote]

I agree. If it is the video card I doubt you'd see any message. Again, I'd go through everything and make sure it's all seated correctly.

Does it see the HardDrive in the bios? I'm thinking you might get that message if it can't see the drivers for your hardware. Make sure that cable is plugged in correctly.

[pickdropper]

I agree with Bill.  First thing I would do would be to pop it back open and verify that everything is plugged in and in the right place (assuming you haven't already done that, of course).

[midwayfair]

We need screenshots man!

aaaahahahahaha you know the drill 

Okay, lemme just take some voltag-----zzzzzzzzztt

[midwayfair]

I never saw that message either... at which point does it appear? Just before the POST ?

Methinks if your video card was the culprit, you wouldn't see any message at all. I'm more thinking about something else you forgot — the EPS 12V plug for instance (4- or 8-pins connector near the CPU socket).

I agree. If it is the video card I doubt you'd see any message. Again, I'd go through everything and make sure it's all seated correctly.

Does it see the HardDrive in the bios? I'm thinking you might get that message if it can't see the drivers for your hardware. Make sure that cable is plugged in correctly.
[/quote]

She googled it ... Apparently as long as it has power, it has enough information to display that message. We backed up my hard drive before I mess with it further.

[pickdropper]

Smart, Jon.  I recently had a total hard drive loss and it was terrible.  Far worse than any hardware loss.

Suffice to say I do nightly backups now.

[midwayfair]

Smart, Jon.  I recently had a total hard drive loss and it was terrible.  Far worse than any hardware loss.

Suffice to say I do nightly backups now.

The sad thing is, the only thing I really really cared about was a single word perfect document. I could back that up a thousand ways and just never have done so.