Trouble-shooting tips?

[brendala]

So, my desktop computer refuses to turn on (I'm currently using the old laptop that I gave to my mom a few months back). And, like a dumbass, I've been lazy about backing my stuff up on the external hard drive lately. So, if I can't at least retrieve the files from it, a TON of scanned drawings/photos/etc are going to be lost.

So, I just thought I'd ask anyone who might be tech savvy and/or has had this problem before what's up. Maybe I can at least troubleshoot this myself before I shell out cash for professional help.
I have a buddy who is a computer whiz; but it's hard to coordinate our schedules to get together and I don't want to wait too long before trying something. I also heard that a dude who handles the servers at my work might have a side business doing this sort of thing; so hopefully that pans out.

I just REALLY hope I don't have to resort to Best Buy's Geek Squad. In my experience, they tend to be inexperienced kids at best and and outright shysters at worst. >_<

Any advice would be appreciated!

Comments

[gullwhacker.livejournal.com]

Depending on what sort of machine it is, and your interest in tech work, there's a few things you can do. Fortunately, if it's just the machine refusing to turn on at all, there's a very high chance the data's mostly okay, and a decent chance the machine's repairable - depending, again, on model.

I don't know much about repairing/replacing power supplies, but it's something that is doable. If the motherboard's somehow fried, then the computer's a lost cause - but the data might not be. There exist external cases for hard drives, usually running 10-20 dollars. It's possible to open up a computer and remove the hard drive, sticking it in one of those cases, at which point it's effectively an external hard drive. I've got a drive from a dead laptop kicking around with ancient files stockpiled on it.

If you've got a basic tower - as opposed to an all-in-one machine - then a set of screwdrivers should be enough to let you remove the hard drive yourself. That said, having a tech-savvy buddy look at the machine to determine if it's repairable isn't a bad plan, first; whoever you talk to, ask about pulling the hard disk out and putting it in an external casing, if the computer's unsalvageable.

Hope that helps!

[brendala.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice!

It's a tower computer that the tech-savvy friend actually built for me. I'm hoping that once I get in touch with her the solution will be easy enough for her to talk me through it (since getting together is tough due to work schedules and whatnot).

Saving the computer would be nice. But right now I just want to salvage the files so I don't have to re-scan a billion things.

[gullwhacker.livejournal.com]

Yeah. An enclosure for a hard drive, and you should be able to just remove the drive to get the files off of it. You might even be able to put the drive back in if the computer proves fixable.