Dropped my Desktop - Now it Won't Work

A

ABCXYZ

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Mar 25, 2010
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I have a big problem. I accidentally knocked my new Gateway SX2840-01 desktop off of the desk and onto a carpeted floor. It was in sleep mode when I knocked it off the desk, but the fall made it wake up. When I picked it up and put it back on the desk, there was no video signal. I turned the power off and then back on. There was still no video signal. The power comes on, the lights come on, the hard drive runs, the optical drive runs, the fans run, but there is no video signal. At first I thought I might have damaged the hard drive, since those are usually the first things to get damaged in a fall. So I bought a hard drive docking station and hooked it up to another computer and tested out the hard drive. It operates just fine in the docking station and I'm able to access the entire hard drive from the other computer. So obviously the hard drive wasn't damaged in the fall.

Any ideas of why the computer won't boot up and there's no video signal? :confused:

(please don't tell me that I may have damaged the motherboard :()
 
Are you using onboard video or an add-in card? If you've got a graphics card in there, you might wanna pull it out or just see how it's doing in whatever slot it's in. That goes for any other card you might have in there as well. Honestly though, I'd probably think it was the mobo that was damaged.
 
Take everything out and reseat... More than likely you bumped something a little lose somewhere (cord or gfx card if you have one) and it just needs to be reseated.
 
gregnash said:
Take everything out and reseat... More than likely you bumped something a little lose somewhere (cord or gfx card if you have one) and it just needs to be reseated.
Click to expand...

more than likely something broke.
 
ABC...

Looking over the specs of the SX2840-01, you should have a pci-e slot available. Perhaps try adding a graphics card and see if you get any video? I'd personally open the case and visually inspect everything in there very closely...and like the others said, re-seat everything.

Liquid Cool
 
Do what the others have said. Pop it open and reseat everything. No post beep is a bad sign, but it MAY be salvageable. Just expect the worst...
 
Liquid Cool said:
ABC...

Looking over the specs of the SX2840-01, you should have a pci-e slot available. Perhaps try adding a graphics card and see if you get any video? I'd personally open the case and visually inspect everything in there very closely...and like the others said, re-seat everything.

Liquid Cool
Click to expand...

Good idea. I'll install a video card and see what happens.

I've already opened the case to take out the hard drive and optical drive. I don't see any cables or wires unattached anywhere. There's really nothing to re-seat except the RAM cards, right? :confused:
 
ABC...

A couple of more thoughts...

I don't normally purchase Dell, Acer, HP type pre-built computers but I have friends that do...there are different types of warranty's available for these right? Is an "accident" of this type covered?

My friend Andy's motherboard died in his Dell Inspiron notebook and they sent someone out to his house and fixed it within 24 hours...

Second, if it's not covered, just pinpoint the part...and replace it. It shouldn't be too expensive. $100 repair is cheaper than purchasing a whole new pc.

At any rate, check back in after you re-seat the ram and try a video card in the pci-e slot. Also, wouldn't hurt (if it's an Intel CPU) to make sure the CPU cooler is still seated properly and the fan is spinning on boot up...

LC
 
Good news, guys. I reseated the four RAM sticks and the computer booted up just fine. I guess I got lucky this time. Thanks for all the help and advice.

By the way, what would be the best video card that I could put into this model(Gateway SX2840-01)? :confused:
 
Awesome to hear, if I had seen this thread earlier I would have suggested reseating everything & resetting the CMOS.

Your machine has an i3 @ 2.93 (essentially 3.0), I would suggest pairing it with a 5770. Should make quite a nice budget gaming rig.
 
Sparkle said:
Awesome to hear, if I had seen this thread earlier I would have suggested reseating everything & resetting the CMOS.

Your machine has an i3 @ 2.93 (essentially 3.0), I would suggest pairing it with a 5770. Should make quite a nice budget gaming rig.
Click to expand...

Definitely will make a nice rig.. I'm using a G6950 @ 3.8 w/5770, runs awesome.
 
ABC...

Good to hear you got it up and running...

I agree with Sparkle and Kencheeto, an HD 5770 would be a nice choice.

Liquid Cool
 
1_legged_sheep...

<Click Here>

ABC's rig comes standard with a 220w PSU. With the advertised TDP on the GTX 460 at 150w for the 768mb variety and 160w for the 1gb, it might not be a good option. The TDP on an HD 5770 is a "smidge" under at 108w.

The reason I mentioned the 5770 is because I run these at the office and have watched them closely with a kill-a-watt. If he was playing Metro 2033 or some other intense game...with an i3, he should only be netting 160w max, which should keep him inside the safe zone. Although, that is only with one monitor installed. Add 12-15 watts for additional monitors...and a recommendation to step down to an HD 5750 or beef up the power supply.

I will mention, the Power Color's HD 5770 is built on a 5750 PCB so it is smaller than the rest and comes in single-slot if space is tight. Which, after looking at a few videos of this unit...it is. They also run pretty cool.

With all of that said, I enjoyed reading the latest reviews on the GTX 460 in regards to SLI scaling. Seems like best bang for the buck under many conditions.

Best,

Liquid Cool
 
Thanks for the recommendations.

This thread is almost a year old, but I never actually got a video card. Would you guys still recommend the HD 5770 as the best option for this computer? Or is there a newer card on the market that would be a better choice?
 
Yep. 11 months after the HD5770s launch, nVidia launched the belated GTS450 (not fast enough, priced to fit between HD5750/HD5770) and the GTX550 Ti (slightly faster, but way later and more expensive).

The HD6770 is a BIOS modded HD5770 (it adds a higher "BluRay 3D" idle state). Either way, the HD5770/HD6770 is a very capable card for it's price.


Either way, the HD5770/HD6770 is still a solid recommendation to this day.
 
Okay, so my next question is which manufacturer makes the best version of the low profile HD5770?
 
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