Rob,Check your private messages in the forum here.

Yeap!I would suggest you try and hook up the HDD on another PC first...Without a post beep and no beeps at all, it could well be the PSU.Or the memory.First try the HDD on another PC. If it works ok the problem is somewhere else in your PC.If it spins, recognized by BIOS but not accessible data it may be controller or infact dead disk.If it doesn't spin at all, then try freezing it for about 2 hours in a well sealed plastic bag (to avoid moistir to develop inside the disk).Freezing causes the metals to contract and the lubricant to get free.Sometimes it helps.IBM has a very good reputation on Hard disks, so give it a try before arranging a funeral.George DorkofikisAthens, Greece

This happened to my last summer. I know your pain. Same symptoms IT WASN'T MY HARD DRIVE. It was my mobo...fried. I saved and transfered all my files to my new computer (it was time to upgrade anyway).:-)

Day 2 of the withdrawl...the cat barely survived.I froze the HD in the freezer and gave it a whirl late last night...nothing.The HD spins, I can hear a few clicks when the power is turned on, but the "red light" does not flash as normal at boot up. It would appear that the disk is powered and spinning (can feel it spinning), but the information is not going anywhere as the lack of a flashing HD light (red) would indicate.I will hook the HD up to an old PC I have just got and see if it works.Thanks again Gents for all the suggestions!Wish there was a way to get to the BIOS without a HD connected...I guess it will not complete a boot up sequence unless data from the HD is fed in.

I can start my comp without any hard disk in it. All it needs is a motherboard.And if you can't get to the BIOS, the problem is likely situated in the MB, cache mem or something else but not the HD... best of luck today.BTW, there are virusses known to totally 'f*ck up' motherboards so i suggest that if your HD works on another pc you'll have to flash the bios on you motherboard.Check the Microsoft Knowledgebase for more infocheers

I think we have a little bit of a misunderstanding here.You do not need a harddrive in order to boot your pc.If WinXP and FS2k2 were small enough,you could play from your floppy drive or cd-rom or usb-stick.The pc has to boot with the bios working,even if no hd is connected.So the problem should be either the ram or the mb or both.Good Luck!James

After I power on, I am holding down the DEL &/ F4 key to get in to BIOS...nothing...the keyboard lights blink quickly only once at power up but do NOT stay on...therefore I have to assume the keyboard is not sending any data/being read. I removed two of the three sticks of RAM and powered up again, same result.Win 98SE.Damn this is frustrating...where's the cat?

Relief is spelled, "VISA" or "MasterCard".That old horse did not have many miles left in her anyway. Time to jump in to the PC market ole boy. Maybe Wild Bill has an inroad for you to some previously owned equipment that would be 3X what you had for minimal cost.. You might even be able to see a tree or two for the first time :)Mikey

Mr Visa is at max thrust and has to be paid off before the wedding :-)In 2 weeks, when I have some $$ again...I am gonna take the box to a local computer geek fix it shop and ask them to do a diagnosis on it. I think I have the potential problems down to a fried mother board, CPU, HD problem, or combination thereof. If it was bad RAM, it should still boot up, but with errors. The HD spins at power up and sounds healthy so I am guessing it's the MB or processor. I chilled and re-fired the HD last night, no joy. A buddy has a new processor for me (AMD 2 gig) but I will need a new mother board regardless. My persoanl limit is $300 on upgrades/repairs including the diagnosis...if I can't do it for that, then I am snafu until after October 4th. I will have to salvage the Soundblaster and Matrox vid card. Buddy also says he has ability to run 2 HD's on his PC so I may be able to retrieve/burn some of my data (e-mail and PIC767/FS mods is all I really need).Day 3 of the withdrawl is gonna be hell...could be weeks before I fly PIC again...I am really in a bad place...and the poor cat....Rob.

Hi Rob,>If it was bad RAM, it should still boot up, but with errors.:) (assuming you don't have Dells or any of those manufacturers who insit on having custom-made power supplies in their machines - connecting a Dell PS to a standard ATX mobo will fry the board, so will connecting a standard PS to a Dell motherboard).If it turns out to be the motherboard, for $300CDN you can get a very decent mobo (e.g. Asus A7N8X) and some PC2100 RAM, and have some change left over. You'd be able to run your buddy's 2GB CPU and are ready for future upgrades after the wedding (congratulations, BTW).Good luck,Cheers,Gosta. http://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

Sooo... I try to get the girlfreind's old PC working....the "Turbo" button on the front should have been the first clue...it is a 60mhz machine with "turbo" up to 120mhz...16mb RAM...the "HIMEM" test also should have been another clue not to bother!I tried to install an ethernet card and it crapped out...hehe...the 28k modem would not work either.I told her she has a new flower pot in my office. Will have to wait until Friday night at buddies place to test the HD out.Day 4 of the withdrawl...I am handling things better today, coping strategies are working.Rob.

Cheer up, it won't be a HD problem.Probably a motherboard trouble, which is bad thinking of the price, but no data is lost.If you hear a series of beeps while switching the computer on, then it is probably the CPU. Hardly no chance it is the RAM - shouldn't prevent you from going into the BIOS setup.BUT: sorry to ask, did you consider you have a graphic card problem, and all else is working well but you just can't see cause the monitor's off? (been there)Good luck!

I thought of the Vid card...but the boot sequence does not complete....I hear no beeps at all so likely not the CPU either...also, I would hear the Soundblaster give off a thunder clap when the system is finished the boot up even if the vid card was dead. The red HD light usually flashes during boot up as the data is read from the HD...this is not happening at all. Mother board looks like the likey culprit at this point. Will know more after I test the HD on a buddy's PC...then it's off the repair shop after I burn a CD or two from my HD just in case.Likely be 3 weeks before I am back up...not sure how long I can cope :-)Rob.

Rob, Try and push the ram and the CPU into the slots sockets. You have a P3 500 I believe and I had the same problem withmy p3500 All it was was a loose CPU.Bill VC

Hi Bill,Been there, done that :-)But thanks anyhow,Rob.PS - your reservation is in place.