Dear Computer Lady,
Hi, and thanks for having such a wonderful website. Yesterday I was working online and my computer screen got a bunch of lines (like a spider web) and then went white and locked up. I turned it off, but when I try to turn it back on the lights come on but nothing comes on the screen. Also, instead of hearing the normal sounds (fan coming on, etc.) all I hear when I try to turn it on is a short “unh” and that’s all. I’m fearing the worst. Any thoughts?
Thanks a lot, Ken
Dear Ken,
I hear lots of stories like yours, and while I don’t have a quick answer on how to fix the problem for you, I do have some options for you.
You said that you fear the worst. I guess I have to ask what is “the worst” for you.
For me, “the worst” would be that not only is my computer dead, but all the information on it is lost forever as well. I have thousands of photos, and years of writing stored on my computer. If all of that was lost forever, it would indeed be tragic. Fortunately, I have a program installed on my computer that automatically backs up my files to a location on their servers. All I need is my username and password to get my files back.
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The fact that you are not hearing the normal sounds that a computer makes when it is booting up, means that something critical has died. It could be your processor, or one of the many components on your motherboard. This is bad news for the computer itself, but it could be good news for the information on your hard drive, since the symptoms of hard drive failure are usually different from the symptoms that you are describing.
Your best course of action is to take the computer to a local computer shop and have them diagnose the problem. They can usually get the information off of your hard drive for you if that needs to be done.
I hope that your information is already backed up, and that the worst thing that you have to do is purchase a new computer. They are much less expensive now than they were even a year ago.
Elizabeth
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