I need a lot of help

L

logical

Weaksauce
Joined
May 4, 2006
Messages
92
I opened up my tower recently and It seemed warmer then usual. There was black tape holding the hard drives wires together... But now they are completely melted. Is that bad?
Also, I just reformatted but my Pc is still acting up? Do I need a new hard drive? It's only like 40GB. It seems to me that everything is working untill I boot it up. There will be an error one minute keeping me from even logging onto my Desktop. Like now my config is missing from windows, so I cannot get onto my desktop. Before it said NTFS; but that message lasted a day and I tried it again and it worked. That's when I reformated so it was like a brand new Pc.
Is something over heating? Is something not working properly? How can I check it if I can't get onto my desktop?
Please, I'm desperate for some help. Thank you.
 
I think a picture would describe the melted wire a bit better.

Open up the BIOS and post some of the temperatures.

How many case fans has you computer got?
 
No No, the wire didn't melt. That's why I'm like ??? ... But the tape around it did. It melted so much that it no longer felt like tape.. Just felt gummy.

The temps in my PC now are : 100+ for CPU TEMP , and the one under is like 80+ , It's that high as soon as I turn the PC on.

I have One fan bringing air into the tower. I have a fan on the heatsink that works fine. (The heatsink is a little hot, not TOO hot. Is that okay?)
 
Try reseating the heatsink. Also try running the computer with the side off and see if the temperatures drop. At 100 I'm surprised it still boots.
 
[a] How do I reset the Heatsink?
I just put that fan there, thinking the tower needed another fan. The temp was higher before. But, I'll try it with the side off.
[c] I'm surprised too...

Is there something I need to buy? Or are you not sure yet? I appreciate the help. I just want to make sure I don't spend money on anything I don't really need. Ya know?
 
a. Take the heatsink off then put it back on ensuring that it is making good contact with the CPU. But if the heatsink is already warm then it might be making good contact.
b. Is it running any cooler with the side off?
 
Are the temps you posted in Celcius or Fahrenheit?

How old is this computer? If it's old, you may need to clean the thermal paste off of the processor, and put some fresh stuff on.
 
It runs at the same temps... The temps are also F.

This PC is years old. What do you mean by thermal paste? How do I check or clean this?

(Sorry I'm a noob at this, which is why I needed lots of help)

Thanks.
 
If the temperatures are in F then thery are perfectly normal.
You no longer need to change the thermal paste or reseat the heatsink.

How do you mean it is acting up? If it is very old it might have problems running new programs.
 
Phew... Thank god for that.

Alright, let me try to explain the best that I can.
Before I reformatted, my WINDOWS splash page was even acting very slow. I mean VERY SLOW. Then when it would get to the desktop, I was constantly getting errors for Windows, then programs wouldn't open or even install. So, I reformatted. While doing this I had no errors, and everything worked fine. The machine was running faster and everything. But, then like an hour later things started to act up again and I didn't even know why. Especially since I had reformatted. Shouldve been running like new, right? Well, no. Again I couldn't install anything, not even updates for Windows. THEN when I went to reboot it today I get a black screen and white letters saying there's an error. A file is missing all of a sudden, it's the CONFIG file. Which I know is important for Windows.
Why would I get problems like this even after Reformatting? That's why I'm thinking I need a new Hard Drive, something bigger and better if it's nothing else. But, I could be wrong.

It was just acting really slow, and giving lots of errors. Could it be hardware failure?
 
Were you running anti-virus after the format?
Have you got any other hard drives you can test?
If it was running fine for an hour after the format then I wouldn't have thought that there was a hardware fault.
 
Well it was running at a decent speed. It was no longer going extra slow...

But no, nothing was running expect IE after the format. I was actually getting ready to reinstall all my programs when it started acting up and not letting me install a thing.

No, I figured I would buy a HD, if I needed one. Should I give that try and see how it acts when I reinstall Windows?
 
Run a virus scanner and anti spyware before you buy anything new.
 
That's the thing... I can't even get to my desktop now... It loads a error saying the Windows Config is missing, and just makes me restart.
 
Well there isn't much you can do. Time for a format. But remember to install antivirus FIRST.
 
Check for viruses. Make sure when you do your fresh install that you are not plugging a hard drive in w/ any data on it, which something you install from could be infrecting your new install.

Other than that, it sounds like a bad hard drive.

Temps are fine, that shouldn't even be enough to melt your tape.
 
I'm going to purchase a fresh Hard Drive from HF. Because you are right, If the temps are fine I don't know why the tape melted. That was the only thing that really showed it had something wrong with it.

So, now let's say I get this HD, put it in. I can't install the anti-virus first.... Windows has to go first. Right? Then put the anti-virus after windows is installed.

What's a good anti-virus program?

Thanks for all the help guys, if this doesn't work I'll be back to try and get more help. :)

BTW- My specs are ...

AMD 3000 CPU
WindowsXP Home
MSI Motherboard
350W Power Supply
40GB Hard Drive
512 Ram
 
Yeah... you will need to load Windows before you install an a/v app.......

Make sure your machine is not connected to the internet while your formatting and installing Windows, have your a/v available on a disc, and load that immediately after windows is installed. Once that is done, you go ahead and get online and update and validate your install. .

NOD32 is the best a/v you can get, in my opinion.
 
RoBo said:
Is NOD free? If not try Avast
Click to expand...

No, it's not free but worth every penny....not saying Avast is bad, but NOD32 is better (again, in my opinion)... and I've had it pick up nasties that the free alternatives miss.....

IceDigger is a member here and a NOD32 re-seller.. might want to drop him a pm and find out how much it would cost if you buy through him....
 
Let me ask you this - in the hour it was up, what programs did you install? Maybe some software you use on a daily basis is infected.
 
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