quote:
Originally posted by Salem
it's an 4-5 year old Dell Dimension 3000 Desktop
I am not going to say that you don't have a real malfunction, but I will note that a computer that old is due for a replacement and has a zero or negative (if you were to dispose of it in environmentally friendly manner) value. Keep that in mind.
quote:
Originally posted by Salem
The computer them remains like this for 15-20 minutes before it comes back to life and I see the Windows Welcome (login) screen. During the time that the screen is blank, the busy light on my DVD+RW Drive remains illuminated, and so does the HDD busy light on the tower.
It sounds like something hanging up the IDE or SATA controller, usually a failing device. See if you can find some diagnostic to run on your hard drive (most likely from the manufacturer of the drive) and if you haven't done so already, test the DVD+RW drive once you manage to boot up. Does it read? Does it write? What happens if you disconnect it?
