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Damaged computer...
12 years ago
So....Yesterday around 12:30 pm as I slept(I work nights, shut the fuck up), there was a painfully loud thunderclap that shook the house like an earthquake, then the music playing from my computer stopped. This stood out to me, so I went over and turned my monitor on only to find ERROR MESSAGES OUT THE ASS! Well, just two; Warnings that my virus scanners were no longer active, plus Winamp cycling through my playlist trying to play songs but not being able to. The system was unable to call up any data and I could not get it to do anything at all - not even reboot.
I had to do a hard reset. Doesn't take a genius to figure out that the thunder I heard must've resulted in a lightning bolt hitting near the electrical substation only two miles from my house and causing a power surge.
I have a good surge protector, so I wasn't worried about damage. Particularly not after the computer rebooted with no problem and seemed to run fine.
Cut to six hours later when the computer begins crashing under any moderate stress. A virus/malware scan reveals 8 trojans that must've slipped in somehow while the scanners were crashed. Suspecting these to be the issue, I cleared them out and rebooted.
Crashes continue. Noticing it's happening under moderate loads, three possibilities come to mind: The surge borked the operating system, fried a RAM chip, or damaged the CPU. Praying for the simple fix, I updated my backups with what little wasn't already backed up and did a factory reset.
Things went well until I restored a few programs and crashing began again.
Fuck. Hardware damage. Surge protector, you have failed me. PLEASE be a RAM chip, I began hoping(they're cheap), as I open up HP's diagnostic tools.
RAM chips test out okay. Oh, shit.... CPU test: Passes. Whew. So, what's the problem?
I run every diagnostic I can. I was beginning to think the diagnostic programs were crap and I'd have to test each RAM stick by removing them and booting up with each stick individually, when I got the following:
"Firmware test 173737 34E failed. Status = 7"
It was the hard drive test. Fuck me.
To get a more accurate look I had to run a different diagnostic method, which produced Error Code 303.
Now I have the code I can submit to HP tech support in the hopes of getting tips on how to fix.
The response I got was a business-polite equivalent of: "FUCKING HELLFIRE!!! WARRANTY REPLACEMENT NOW!!!!"
So yeah, my surge protector failed and damaged the hard drive. Fortunately my computer is still under warranty and we have already begun the process of getting a replacement drive.
As things stand, the computer still functions so long as I don't put it under slightly higher than moderate stresses, so I can keep functioning until it comes in.
Even so, I have my Linux stick on standby.
I'd like to take this moment to comment that if you have heard bad things about HP customer support, revise your assessment. HP has a reputation for trying to weasel out of warranty replacements that, for my money, seems unwarranted. On this computer I have had three failings: Two fans and the hard drive. The fans don't surprise me - they're the single most stressed components on a computer and I'm amazed they don't need to be replaced twice a year. The first time was the CPU fan and I replaced it myself on account of not wanting the cheapo part that HP installed in the first place.
The second fan was the GPU fan which I had to get a warranty replacement for the ENTIRE GPU because the fan is not replacable on this card. In that matter, not only did I get quick communication and shipment of the replacement, but I had never replaced a graphics card in my life and was a touch nervous. HP provided excellently detailed instructions on what to do, with a pictoral guide, so that any idiot with decent hand-eye co-ordination could do the job.
With the GPU fan failure, tech support gave me some "Try this to make sure you've identified the failure accurately, and see if this stops it" all of which I had already done. After being informed of this, the warranty replacement was a smooth and painless process.
I have nothing but good things to say about HP customer support. If you're looking at an off-the-shelf PC, I recommend HP just on account of the service. They may go a touch cheap on the fans, but goddammit they're willing to help you out when shit fails. I've never encountered such a pain-free warranty system anywhere else in my entire life.
Just remember: If you're buying an off-the-shelf PC today, SAVE YOUR PREVIOUS COMPUTER'S WINDOWS 7 KEY! You DON'T want Windows 8!
I had to do a hard reset. Doesn't take a genius to figure out that the thunder I heard must've resulted in a lightning bolt hitting near the electrical substation only two miles from my house and causing a power surge.
I have a good surge protector, so I wasn't worried about damage. Particularly not after the computer rebooted with no problem and seemed to run fine.
Cut to six hours later when the computer begins crashing under any moderate stress. A virus/malware scan reveals 8 trojans that must've slipped in somehow while the scanners were crashed. Suspecting these to be the issue, I cleared them out and rebooted.
Crashes continue. Noticing it's happening under moderate loads, three possibilities come to mind: The surge borked the operating system, fried a RAM chip, or damaged the CPU. Praying for the simple fix, I updated my backups with what little wasn't already backed up and did a factory reset.
Things went well until I restored a few programs and crashing began again.
Fuck. Hardware damage. Surge protector, you have failed me. PLEASE be a RAM chip, I began hoping(they're cheap), as I open up HP's diagnostic tools.
RAM chips test out okay. Oh, shit.... CPU test: Passes. Whew. So, what's the problem?
I run every diagnostic I can. I was beginning to think the diagnostic programs were crap and I'd have to test each RAM stick by removing them and booting up with each stick individually, when I got the following:
"Firmware test 173737 34E failed. Status = 7"
It was the hard drive test. Fuck me.
To get a more accurate look I had to run a different diagnostic method, which produced Error Code 303.
Now I have the code I can submit to HP tech support in the hopes of getting tips on how to fix.
The response I got was a business-polite equivalent of: "FUCKING HELLFIRE!!! WARRANTY REPLACEMENT NOW!!!!"
So yeah, my surge protector failed and damaged the hard drive. Fortunately my computer is still under warranty and we have already begun the process of getting a replacement drive.
As things stand, the computer still functions so long as I don't put it under slightly higher than moderate stresses, so I can keep functioning until it comes in.
Even so, I have my Linux stick on standby.
I'd like to take this moment to comment that if you have heard bad things about HP customer support, revise your assessment. HP has a reputation for trying to weasel out of warranty replacements that, for my money, seems unwarranted. On this computer I have had three failings: Two fans and the hard drive. The fans don't surprise me - they're the single most stressed components on a computer and I'm amazed they don't need to be replaced twice a year. The first time was the CPU fan and I replaced it myself on account of not wanting the cheapo part that HP installed in the first place.
The second fan was the GPU fan which I had to get a warranty replacement for the ENTIRE GPU because the fan is not replacable on this card. In that matter, not only did I get quick communication and shipment of the replacement, but I had never replaced a graphics card in my life and was a touch nervous. HP provided excellently detailed instructions on what to do, with a pictoral guide, so that any idiot with decent hand-eye co-ordination could do the job.
With the GPU fan failure, tech support gave me some "Try this to make sure you've identified the failure accurately, and see if this stops it" all of which I had already done. After being informed of this, the warranty replacement was a smooth and painless process.
I have nothing but good things to say about HP customer support. If you're looking at an off-the-shelf PC, I recommend HP just on account of the service. They may go a touch cheap on the fans, but goddammit they're willing to help you out when shit fails. I've never encountered such a pain-free warranty system anywhere else in my entire life.
Just remember: If you're buying an off-the-shelf PC today, SAVE YOUR PREVIOUS COMPUTER'S WINDOWS 7 KEY! You DON'T want Windows 8!
Data recovery isn't an issue, either. As I said, everything's backed up safely.