I'm at my wits' end

[gardenschooler]

My cd-rom drive on my computer won't work, and a good chunk of my curriculum is on cd-rom. Most things from TOG - Writing Aids, Map Aids, and I just received my Loom on cd. Government will be on cd, too, and I was planning on ordering SOS Spanish. Not to mention Startwrite, Typing Tutor, my grammar - too much for me to be able to operate without it.

 

I've been trying to fix this for days on end - I think since Wed. or Thurs. I've tried everything. Every help article I could find, absolutely everything. Updating drivers, opening up the computer and checking the cables, cleaning it, trying multiple cd-roms, editing the registry keys, re-installing Adobe, re-installing other various programs that might be conflicting, along with every help article, troubleshooter, and whatnot I could find.

 

What is especially agravating is that I did get it to work once yesterday, and once on Friday. I furiously printed out all of the pages I could from my Writing Aids, in fear it wouldn't work again when I needed them. I meant to create a restore point before things went wacky again, but I was too late.

 

My cd-rom drive used to be drive D, but then it was reassigned to drive E because of a partition. My device manager shows no problem with the cd-rom drive, but when I try to run PCDoctor or any diagnostic tests on it, it keeps saying, "Insert disc", over and over and over again, even though I have.

 

When I insert a disc, the icon with the arrow and cd shows up for a minute, then flickers, then goes away.

 

It can't be that the drive is bad, because it did work only yesterday, after this problem had already been going on. The only thing I can think of that's left is maybe there is a conflict somewhere (seems like I read that was a possibility), and it does seem like my AVG starts up and sort of takes over, so I could try uninstalling that. It won't work, though, because nothing does.

 

I'm about to go pull all of my hair out, as that is the only thing I haven't tried.

 

I have no point to this post, just whining. Thank you for listening.

[JudoMom]

:grouphug: That really stinks! I would suggest not pulling your hair out, though. I'm fairly sure that would not actually help your cd-rom drive.

 

I hope you get it fixed soon :grouphug:.

[Remudamom]

I'm so sorry, things like that are beyond frustrating.

[Doran]

I totally understand your frustration, and in my next breath I need to tell you that much of what you wrote is like an alien language to me. Being a Mac gal, I'm not so familiar with :c or :d drives, nor with much of the other stuff you mentioned having already tried. I'm not savvy like that. However, in the event that it will be helpful, I'm going to toss out something that I didn't see mentioned. It may be ridiculously simple (as in, it may be something anyone would try but wouldn't merit posting about), but when our Dell laptop recently started acting wonky, we took it to a friend who runs a computer repair biz. Among other things, he "defragged" (sp?) our machine, and he gave me a lengthy explanation as to why that would have caused numerous little glitches in our programs. I realize you're having a cd-rom drive problem not a program problem, so this may be completely useless, but it may be worth considering as well.

 

Also, I'm not sure how you can know for sure that it's not the drive itself. They do go up, right? And, if I'm not mistaken, they aren't impossible to replace. Erratic behavior could still be the result of a problem in the drive itself, could it not?

 

I hope you find a solution soon. You're hair is quite attractive. :D

[runningirl71]

:grouphug: Gardenschooler! Hope it can get fixed soon! :)

[kristavws]

I just emailed your question to my personal tech support department, upstairs in his office ;) I'll let you know if he has any ideas re what is wrong.

 

Krista

[Jenny in Atl]

:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:...

[kristavws]

Here you go....

 

"Tell her to boot her Windows install CD. If it boots successfully,

that says it isn't a problem with hardware - and she can cancel out

of it. (Note, she may need to change the boot order in her BIOS

setup, so that the CD boots before the hard drive to test this). If

the hardware is working, that means it is a software problem - and

a reinstall of Windows may be in order.

 

Also, where did the new partition she mentions come from and is the

CD IDE/ATA? How is it and the hard drive cabled? If the CD and a

hard drive are on the same cable, the one on the end of the cable needs

to be jumpered as master, and the one in the middle needs to be jumpered

as slave (or alternatively, if both are jumpered as CABLE SELECT, she

needs to make sure they are in that order). The jumpers and jumper diagram

are usually on the drive somewhere."

 

I have no idea what most of this means, so if you have any questions, let me know and I will forward them on :D

 

Krista

[Quiver0f10]

:grouphug: I hope you get it figured out soon!

[Jackie in AR]

I'm so sorry!

 

And I have no advice, I'm just posting to commiserate.

 

I sure hope you get things worked out soon without having to purchase something new.

 

((Hugs)) to you.

[readwithem]

Hugs - that is SO frustrating!! Have you tried rebooting the computer?

[StaceyinLA]

>>PCDoctor or any diagnostic tests<<

 

You have a PC. Must. Get. Mac. It solved ALL my problems! :tongue_smilie:

 

But, if you can't do that, know that a cd-rom drive is not very costly. You can probably pick up an external one from wal-mart for $50 or so. At least that would allow you to get the schoolwork done!

[gardenschooler]

Oh, thank you, Krista!! Just to have a real person makes me feel there might be some hope.

 

Here you go....

 

"Tell her to boot her Windows install CD.

 

I don't have a Windows install CD. Windows was already installed on my computer when I bought it, and they gave me no CD. I think there is a way to reboot Windows altogether, though.

 

If it boots successfully,

that says it isn't a problem with hardware - and she can cancel out

of it.

 

 

(Note, she may need to change the boot order in her BIOS

setup, so that the CD boots before the hard drive to test this). If

the hardware is working, that means it is a software problem - and

a reinstall of Windows may be in order.

 

Ok, change boot order in BIOS. I'll try that. I had something else tell me to go to the BIOS setup, so I can follow the instructions to get back there. I think it was reboot and F1.

 

Also, where did the new partition she mentions come from and is the

CD IDE/ATA?

 

It's a recovery partition. Awhile back, there was discussion on here about how important it is to back up your computer, which I had never done. I did it, and the computer reassigned drive D to the recovery partition, and changed the cd-rom drive from D to E.

 

How is it and the hard drive cabled? If the CD and a

hard drive are on the same cable, the one on the end of the cable needs

to be jumpered as master, and the one in the middle needs to be jumpered

as slave (or alternatively, if both are jumpered as CABLE SELECT, she

needs to make sure they are in that order). The jumpers and jumper diagram

are usually on the drive somewhere."

 

This means go inside the computer, right? I did that, but had no idea what I was looking for. I just made sure the cable and ribbon were attached and not loose. I'll find a flashlight and go back in.

 

If I don't come back, someone who has my number call me! I don't want to be lost!

 

I have no idea what most of this means, so if you have any questions, let me know and I will forward them on :D

 

Will you tell him I did this, this, and this? I probably made it worse, who knows.

 

I couldn't figure out the master/slave thing before, I'll go try now.

 

Thank you, Krista! Tell your dh thank you, too.

[sleepy]

Aaargh! I hope you figure it out! :grouphug:

[gardenschooler]

Thanks, everyone else, too. I'll be back sometime, bald or not.

[gardenschooler]

 

"Tell her to boot her Windows install CD. If it boots successfully,

that says it isn't a problem with hardware - and she can cancel out

of it. (Note, she may need to change the boot order in her BIOS

setup, so that the CD boots before the hard drive to test this). If

the hardware is working, that means it is a software problem - and

a reinstall of Windows may be in order.

 

Okay, I tried to figure out how to reboot Windows, but since I don't have a CD, I didn't really know what to do. I looked it up, but everything I read said to use the CD.

 

Will you ask him what else I can do to see if it's a problem with the hardware?

 

Also, if I did need to completely reinstall Windows and could figure out how to do it without the CD, wouldn't it take my computer back to the beginning? Would all of my pictures be gone? I can't put them all from the computer onto a disc, because I would need the cd-rom drive to be working first.

 

Will you ask him how I can reinstall Windows without the CD, and how I can make sure all of my pictures are safe? I have almost every picture I've taken of my girls from the last 4 years on here, and I don't want to lose them. Would it matter that they are in Adobe Photoshop, and Kodak? What if I transferred all of the pictures that are just in 'my pictures' over to one of those? (The pictures are scattered around to those three places).

 

Also, where did the new partition she mentions come from and is the

CD IDE/ATA?

 

It's IDE.

How is it and the hard drive cabled? If the CD and a

hard drive are on the same cable, the one on the end of the cable needs

to be jumpered as master, and the one in the middle needs to be jumpered

as slave (or alternatively, if both are jumpered as CABLE SELECT, she

needs to make sure they are in that order). The jumpers and jumper diagram

are usually on the drive somewhere."

 

I haven't opened up the computer yet to check this, but would it change itself? In other words, if I haven't changed anything inside, would it be changed? I'm not sure where to look for the slave/master, but one diagram I looked at showed some buttons that were S/M, and when I was inside the computer before, I couldn't see them at all because my power supply is in the way. It was replaced about 3 months ago, but the cd-rom didn't stop working then.

 

Thank you, Krista!

[gardenschooler]

Among other things, he "defragged" (sp?) our machine, and he gave me a lengthy explanation as to why that would have caused numerous little glitches in our programs.

 

'defragged', as in 'defragment', maybe? Well, I have checked it several times, and it keeps telling me that it doesn't need it. Maybe I'll do it anyway - it can't hurt. At this point, I'm just clicking around blindly.

 

Also, I'm not sure how you can know for sure that it's not the drive itself. They do go up, right? And, if I'm not mistaken, they aren't impossible to replace. Erratic behavior could still be the result of a problem in the drive itself, could it not?

 

That makes sense. I just assumed it wasn't the drive because I got it to work for a little while, but maybe that was its one last good breath before keeling over. I was also quick to convince myself it didn't need to be replaced, because I don't have any money right now to buy a new one, even if it is $50. I need to be sure that's what it is before I spend any money I don't have, kwim?

 

Who knows! I should have asked here days and days ago, it would probably be fixed by now.

 

I hope you find a solution soon. Your hair is quite attractive. :D

 

Thank you. It doesn't help that I can't leave things alone, and this is bugging the tea out of me. Oh well, if this is my biggest problem, I guess I should consider myself fortunate, right?

[kristavws]

My dh isn't here right now, but I forwarded your message to him. I will have him take a look at it when he gets home.

 

Good luck!

 

Krista

[Mrs Mungo]

Have you tried booting in safe mode? That should tell you if it's a software conflict v. a problem in how you assigned the drives. I know when I put in an extra drive I had to change all sorts of software settings that were set to start a cd from the d drive and I wanted them to boot from the new, faster e drive.

[dawn of ns]

I don't have a Windows install CD. Windows was already installed on my computer when I bought it, and they gave me no CD. I think there is a way to reboot Windows altogether, though.

 

When that happens you have to burn your own recovery CDs. Google recovery CDs and your computer's make and model when things are back to normal and you can find out how to do that. I was going to tell you to burn it but, of course, you've got no cd!

 

BTW, I have had CD drive that died on me that would that work once in a blue moon. It could still be a hardware issue.

[kristavws]

More from my dh.....

 

"You should have received either a genuine Windows CD, or a Recovery CD

when you purchased the system. Either would work.

 

Reading your reply, it appears that no hardware was changed, so it is

unlikely to be a cabling, jumpering, or master/slave problem. CD/DVD

drives do sometimes just quit working, but I'd say it is 1 in 10000.

It is much more likely that Windows is messed up.

 

> Will you ask him what else I can do to see if it's a problem with the

> hardware?

 

If you have another computer, or a friend with a computer, you could swap

your drive with theirs and see what happens (making sure to jumper it the

same way). If you live in a large metropolitan area, you can pick up a

used CD/DVD drive for $1-5 dollars on craigslist. I wouldn't recommend

buying new til you know it is hardware ($1 isn't much to risk, $35 for a

new one is, only to find out it was Windows all along - if you do buy new,

www.newegg.com is a great source for PC parts).

 

> Also, if I did need to completely reinstall Windows and could figure

> out how to do it without the CD, wouldn't it take my computer back to

> the beginning? Would all of my pictures be gone? I can't put them all

> from the computer onto a disc, because I would need the cd-rom drive

> to be working first.

 

Depends. If you choose to do a full install, it will whack your files.

If you do a repair it won't, but you'll still often end up having to

reinstall everything - and frankly I never have trusted repair.

 

> Will you ask him how I can reinstall Windows without the CD, and how I

> can make sure all of my pictures are safe? I have almost every picture

> I've taken of my girls from the last 4 years on here, and I don't want

> to lose them. Would it matter that they are in Adobe Photoshop, and

> Kodak? What if I transferred all of the pictures that are just in 'my

> pictures' over to one of those? (The pictures are scattered around to

> those three places).

 

You can't install Windows without the CD or DVD (if Vista). I personally

detest Windows, and use Ubuntu (a free Linux derivative you can download

and would also allow you to test the drive - but you'd need another computer

to burn the disk on) - but my wife didn't like it, so she still uses Windows,

much to my chagrin.

 

As far as backups go, if you have a decent internet connection (i.e. not

dialup), you might consider one of the free online ones like mozy or xdrive

that back your files up automatically over the internet. Alternatively, if

you live near a Fry's Electronics, they often have 8-16GB USB flash drives

on sale for around $20. That would probably be big enough to back up your

photos, and they are fairly rugged/durable plus very easy to transport."

 

 

Krista

[gardenschooler]

Have you tried booting in safe mode? That should tell you if it's a software conflict v. a problem in how you assigned the drives. I know when I put in an extra drive I had to change all sorts of software settings that were set to start a cd from the d drive and I wanted them to boot from the new, faster e drive.

 

Thanks, I'll try this. So I boot from safe mode and then try to run it? I didn't reassign the drives, it just ended up that way somehow. I assume the computer did it.

 

I know I'll need help if I have to put in a new drive, with changing all the settings. I have tried to read on computer forums, but I have a hard time following.

[gardenschooler]

When that happens you have to burn your own recovery CDs. Google recovery CDs and your computer's make and model when things are back to normal and you can find out how to do that. I was going to tell you to burn it but, of course, you've got no cd!

 

BTW, I have had CD drive that died on me that would that work once in a blue moon. It could still be a hardware issue.

 

Thanks, I didn't know that. I had read something about burning a CD, but I've never done that. That's good to know about your almost dead drive working once in awhile - that makes sense. Maybe that's it.

 

I'm getting closer to thinking I just need to give up and take it in, and let them charge me whatever they will to fix it. I am a little intimidated at the thought of putting in a new drive, especially if then I'd have to make several changes that I would inevitably mess up somehow.

[gardenschooler]

 

More from my dh.....

 

It is much more likely that Windows is messed up.

 

Thanks.

 

If you live in a large metropolitan area, you can pick up a

used CD/DVD drive for $1-5 dollars on craigslist. I wouldn't recommend

buying new til you know it is hardware ($1 isn't much to risk, $35 for a

new one is, only to find out it was Windows all along - if you do buy new,

www.newegg.com is a great source for PC parts).

 

Thanks again! I'll keep this in mind.

 

Depends. If you choose to do a full install, it will whack your files.

If you do a repair it won't, but you'll still often end up having to

reinstall everything - and frankly I never have trusted repair.

 

I'm glad I didn't try this, then. I'm about as wacked as I can stand. I think I might just have a nervous breakdown if I created more problems.

You can't install Windows without the CD or DVD (if Vista).

 

I have WindowsXP.

 

I personally

detest Windows, and use Ubuntu (a free Linux derivative you can download

and would also allow you to test the drive - but you'd need another computer

to burn the disk on)

 

It's not making me very happy right now, either. I could try this from a friend's computer, I guess.

 

As far as backups go, if you have a decent internet connection (i.e. not

dialup), you might consider one of the free online ones like mozy or xdrive

that back your files up automatically over the internet.

 

I have high-speed dsl, so that might work. I don't know what I did wrong with backing up before, or why it assigned the D drive to the recovery partition. I guess it just does that, and then the CD-ROM drive went to E. I did this months ago, though, so I don't know if that caused a problem.

 

I'll check these out for backing up in the future, or if I need to before doing anything now.

 

Alternatively, if

you live near a Fry's Electronics, they often have 8-16GB USB flash drives

on sale for around $20. That would probably be big enough to back up your

photos, and they are fairly rugged/durable plus very easy to transport.

 

I'll check this out, and flash drives in general. I didn't know this, thanks!

 

Thanks to both of you.

[gardenschooler]

Have you tried booting in safe mode?

 

 

Mrs. Mungo, I just tried booting in safe mode, but the cd-rom didn't do anything different. Can you tell me how I can determine this:

 

That should tell you if it's a software conflict v. a problem in how you assigned the drives.

 

I also looked at the 'boot menu', I think, and it said:

 

Hard Drive - 1st Master

 

CD-ROM Drive - 2nd Master

 

Does that mean the master/slave set up is wrong? Should I go in and change one of them to a slave?

 

I hate to keep pestering everyone with this. Is there a computer forum where I could ask (where they won't laugh at me and have a lot of patience?:))

[Mrs Mungo]

Mrs. Mungo, I just tried booting in safe mode, but the cd-rom didn't do anything different. Can you tell me how I can determine this:

 

 

 

I also looked at the 'boot menu', I think, and it said:

 

Hard Drive - 1st Master

 

CD-ROM Drive - 2nd Master

 

Does that mean the master/slave set up is wrong? Should I go in and change one of them to a slave?

 

I hate to keep pestering everyone with this. Is there a computer forum where I could ask (where they won't laugh at me and have a lot of patience?:))

 

How old is your computer? I know some motherboards can only have one master and some bios systems will only allow cd-roms drives to be slaves. But I don't think it matters with more recent computers (post 1995 or so).

 

Since the partitioned drive isn't a "real" drive then I don't think the motherboard should be causing a problem, otherwise.

 

Do you see the cd-rom drive in your device manager? If you do (and it doesn't have any warning signs by it) then windows should be recognizing it.

 

This might help you, it describes how to make your own boot menu and can help pinpoint problems.

http://www.askapache.com/windows/custom-boot-menu-in-windows-xp.html

 

A place where I've had great success getting help is:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

My knowledge only goes so far, I wish I could help more!

 

eta: I do agree with the idea of borrowing someone else's tower and swapping out the drives and seeing if it works in the other computer. Sometimes that's the easiest way of determining where a problem lies. When my graphics card died I borrowed my neighbor's monitor to make sure it wasn't my monitor.

[dcjlkplus3]

I have no advice at all about the cd-rom,

but..

as far as backing up your pictures, you can upload them to a site like winkflash.com (or probably snapfish.com). Winkflash has unlimited free storage space for your pictures plus other people can see them or order them from there if you are interested in that. It works great for friends and family in different states. Uploading your pictures will take time, but depending on the site, shouldn't cost you anything. A great way to protect your photos, if anything happens to your computer (or house for that matter) your pictures are still out there in cyberspace.

[dawn of ns]

 

I'm getting closer to thinking I just need to give up and take it in, and let them charge me whatever they will to fix it. I am a little intimidated at the thought of putting in a new drive, especially if then I'd have to make several changes that I would inevitably mess up somehow.

 

Installing a new drive is the easiest thing to do. All you have to do is unscrew your old drive (or sometimes press a button), unplug and pull it out. Put the new one in, secure it and plug the stuff back in. I much prefer dealing with hardware problems myself because it's really so easy.

[dawn of ns]

I also looked at the 'boot menu', I think, and it said:

 

Hard Drive - 1st Master

 

CD-ROM Drive - 2nd Master

 

Does that mean the master/slave set up is wrong? Should I go in and change one of them to a slave?

 

 

If it's reallt the boot menu you were looking at then that's simply the order of the devices the computer will look to when it starts. If, for instance, the CD-ROM was first then you computer would look to it for a boot or recovery CD before booting the hard drive. It shouldn't have anything to do with your problem.

[gamommy]

Coming to this thread late but here's my $.02 anyway...

 

If your cd drive wouldn't work in 'safe mode' then I think it's likely not a Windows or software issue. You could use the device manager, located within the control panel menu in Windows to check this also. If there was a problem with the physical cable connection or the software driver for the drive it should be apparent when looking at this menu.

 

Computers only have a few moving parts... cd drives, hard drives, and fans. These tend to be the parts that have issues. Does the drive make it's usual 'whir' sound, if it doesn't sound like it usually does (either not whirring or making unusual sounds) this would be another indicator of a bad drive.

 

Replacing an internal drive may be more than what you'd want to take on yourself. I'd suggest getting a basic external drive with a USB interface and trying that. You could use that indefinitely. Be careful with the packaging and receipt so that you could promptly return if that doesn't solve your problem. But, I do think it will.

 

Good luck, hope you're up and running soon. I relate as I had to replace the hard drive on my older dd's computer last Tuesday and then dh infected his laptop with a virus/trojan on Saturday AM. I spent most of my day getting it cleaned off. Grrrrr...

[gardenschooler]

Coming to this thread late but here's my $.02 anyway...

 

If your cd drive wouldn't work in 'safe mode' then I think it's likely not a Windows or software issue. You could use the device manager, located within the control panel menu in Windows to check this also. If there was a problem with the physical cable connection or the software driver for the drive it should be apparent when looking at this menu.

 

The device manager has said all along that the cd-rom drive is working properly.

 

Computers only have a few moving parts... cd drives, hard drives, and fans. These tend to be the parts that have issues. Does the drive make it's usual 'whir' sound, if it doesn't sound like it usually does (either not whirring or making unusual sounds) this would be another indicator of a bad drive.

 

It doesn't spin at all - the cd is always in the same position as when I inserted it.

 

Replacing an internal drive may be more than what you'd want to take on yourself. I'd suggest getting a basic external drive with a USB interface and trying that. You could use that indefinitely. Be careful with the packaging and receipt so that you could promptly return if that doesn't solve your problem. But, I do think it will.

 

Thanks! I suggested this to dh and he thought this was a better idea than me opening up the computer and fiddling around. I probably could do it, but I sure don't want to try. The external drive sounds much easier.

 

Good luck, hope you're up and running soon. I relate as I had to replace the hard drive on my older dd's computer last Tuesday and then dh infected his laptop with a virus/trojan on Saturday AM. I spent most of my day getting it cleaned off. Grrrrr...

 

So you know what you're doing! I'll add you to my list of people to bug to death when I have computer problems. :D Thanks for all of your help.

[gardenschooler]

If it's reallt the boot menu you were looking at then that's simply the order of the devices the computer will look to when it starts. If, for instance, the CD-ROM was first then you computer would look to it for a boot or recovery CD before booting the hard drive. It shouldn't have anything to do with your problem.

 

See, I have no idea about any of this. Just because I can repeat words I've read doesn't mean I understand them. :)

 

That slave/master thing is confusing anyway - I don't want to fiddle with it. I haven't changed it, so it shouldn't be changed, right? All I know is I should be the master, the computer should be my slave, and it's not cooperating.

[gardenschooler]

I have no advice at all about the cd-rom,

but..

as far as backing up your pictures, you can upload them to a site like winkflash.com (or probably snapfish.com). Winkflash has unlimited free storage space for your pictures plus other people can see them or order them from there if you are interested in that. It works great for friends and family in different states. Uploading your pictures will take time, but depending on the site, shouldn't cost you anything. A great way to protect your photos, if anything happens to your computer (or house for that matter) your pictures are still out there in cyberspace.

 

Thanks! I guess I knew this, I just never thought about it. I've been very nervous about losing my pictures one day if the computer died. I'll get started on this today.

[gardenschooler]

 

How old is your computer? I know some motherboards can only have one master and some bios systems will only allow cd-roms drives to be slaves. But I don't think it matters with more recent computers (post 1995 or so).

 

I bought it new in 2004, with WindowsXP already installed.

 

Do you see the cd-rom drive in your device manager? If you do (and it doesn't have any warning signs by it) then windows should be recognizing it.

 

Yes - it always says it's working properly. I think I'm getting closer to thinking it's the cd-rom drive itself. Right?

 

This might help you, it describes how to make your own boot menu and can help pinpoint problems.

http://www.askapache.com/windows/custom-boot-menu-in-windows-xp.html

 

A place where I've had great success getting help is:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com

 

I'll check these out, thanks!

[Tammyla]

I'll just send out a big hug because I'm no computer guru, but I do hope you work it out.

[gardenschooler]

I looked on Craigslist for a cd-rom drive, like Krista's dh suggested. I didn't find one, but I did find this guy. I talked to him on the phone, and he seems nice enough. He said it does sound like the drive is bad, but he'd take it out and put it in another computer of his to be sure. He said I could order a new drive and call him when it gets here. He said he'd charge me $25 to replace it with the new one.

 

So I guess I'll just hand my computer over to him...right? Is this how it's done? I mean I'll get his address and such, but how would you normally do this? He did say he could do it at my house, but it would be easier to do at his (he'd need another computer to test the drive on anyway).

 

So sometime next week, I guess I'll have to go live at the library to talk to you guys! Surely it won't take long.

 

I would just take it into a shop, but the last time I did that, it cost me almost $200 to replace the power supply. I also am not especially eager to attempt this myself, and since this is an affordable price, I'm inclined to do business with him.

 

Any warnings about handing my computer over to some guy off of Craigslist? Does this sound like a plan?

 

Thanks. I'm ready for this to be over and done with, so I can move on to the next crisis. :)

[Gretchen in NJ]

:grouphug:Sorry gardenschooler. I you get it fixed soon.:grouphug:

[Mrs Mungo]

If you lived close to me I'd swap it out for you. It's really very easy to swap out the drives but I understand opening up the computer is daunting for some people.:grouphug:

[gardenschooler]

Well, it's not super daunting to me, just more like a PITA. However, what would be much more of a pain would be to hand my computer over to some guy I don't know from Adam and have to do without it for a day or two. I don't really have a lot of info on him, and....well, I'm not willing to take any chances.

 

The only thing I don't know is where to buy the foam pad and wrist strap. Or is there something else I could use, like something I have around the house? Would any kind of foam pad work?

 

I have opened up the computer before, to put a graphics card in (I didn't use a foam pad then - is it really necessary?) I think I can do it. It's not like I'm going to make the cd-rom drive any worse, now is it? I've got instructions, so I think I might just try it.

 

I've already ordered a new drive. I just need to know about the pad and wrist strap. Mrs. Mungo? Anyone?

[Mrs Mungo]

I've already ordered a new drive. I just need to know about the pad and wrist strap. Mrs. Mungo? Anyone?

 

Well, according to the article that is to help discharge static. You don't need that, just touch something metal every time before you reach into the computer.

[gardenschooler]

Well, according to the article that is to help discharge static. You don't need that, just touch something metal every time before you reach into the computer.

 

Thanks! I appreciate all of your help more than you can imagine. :)