How to Repair a DEAD Computer 

Follow-up video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RKNO09RoR-8.html

I worked for IBM's refurb department for 7 yrs. and enjoyed your video. My repair approach is different and I worked on every system ever built. Including some foreign systems. Your on the mark when it comes to HP systems; also the IBM's Aptivas tended to have issues. Their reasons were because IBM's attitude was brand new parts should work with out testing. My department received 100 Aptiva's and only 25 passed our testing procedures and 25 were repaired. 50 brand-new computers were scrapped. I miss my old job; but life goes on.

it's by far the best Computer Diagnostic video I have ever seen, going back years! First and foremost, excellent speech audio, fully understandable, no jittery camera moves, everything explained in proper order. Thanks for sharing this!

I took a free course on Computer maintenance and YOU taught me more and in less time! Thanks! Truly appreciated.

I sent my old computer (first I ever built) to 3 different repair shops because I could not get a display signal out of it. Over the course of 2 months, they got no where. Eventually I figured out that not using spacers with the screws on the motherboard was causing the graphics card to not be able to seat properly. I cringe at the stuff I did by myself when building my first rig, and am still learning. Don't give up! It's very rewarding to have something you built by hand.

Hey Carey- Just wanted to thank you for posting this. I'm an electrical contractor and everything you said was spot on about grounding and discharging. I'm not an IT or computer tech but I was tonight. I followed your instructions and was able to rescue 4 years of family photos from a dead in the water 10 year old computer. Same problem that you troubleshot in the vid. A million THANKS!

nice and clear video, Cary. I am an ex. tech. now 81years old, have never purchased a computer, always built my own. your fault finding sequence is an example to all who watch you. just completed a new build this end using windows 10. my best regards. Brian

Carey, thank you very much for taking time and being patient in diagnosing the problem. It shows how professional you are.

I would never in a million years have watched a video like this. Not only did I watch the entire thing but I actually found it fascinating. I like the systematic approach taken and his style of delivery.

I've just spend the past 37 minutes watching someone diagnose and repair a computer - and it was fascinating, informative and entertaining. Your life lesson towards the end of the video, about helping one another is especially apt. You've inspired me to take a look at an old Novatech computer that's sitting in my cupboard and see if I can get that working again. Thanks.

I was an automatic trans repairmen for 46 years and I approached diagnostics just as Mr. Holzman does here. Start from the beginning (or from the most likely failure (from past experiences)) and go through a process of elimination. Very gratifying when you find the cause. I like this guy!

5 years later this video is saving people money and stress. Since the computer I need to repair is over 5 years old I am confident that I can set up a bench and finally decide what to do with files that represent a lot of work. I know I could just get some special cables and read the hard drives but I'd rather not spend any money. Besides it's fun to learn. Nice guy.

I build all my own computers for myself and family but just this one video taught me so many tips - tips that I can use if I need to diagnose a faulty computer. Thank you so much for such a clear and well presented video.

This is one of the most entertaining detective stories ever! For decades I looked at PCs as if they were some magic boxes. Now I am tempted to open one and look inside! My 8-year-old also watched it from the begging to the end with bated breath. If you consider that he loves computer games, this is an incredible feat of attention for a borderline ADHD. Great!!!

I've been having the exact same problem as your customer, so I resorted to finding a fix online. I even have the exact case. All I have to say is bravo. You were very concise and funny enough to keep me entertained for the whole 40 minutes. I just hope my problem is one of the sticks of RAM as well. Thank you for your video!

TO: Sayit Asltis, you're NEVER to OLD TO LEARN SOMETHING new! I'm gonna watch this gentleman for my computer issues!

Boy this brings back memories when I worked in computer tech in the early 2000s. Just like you, I had to remove components one piece at a time to find the faulty culprit. Left IT behind and only work on my own computers as a hobby. As a hobby they are fun, as a career it was sometimes very frustrating because there was always a time pressure from the boss or customer.

Very well-made and professional video, I absolutely love it sir! This is something I truly want to study and work with as a career, and this video gave me good basic-level knowledge of what to look for hardware-wise. I appreciate you taking the time to demonstrate how it's done.

Same here and I am 79 - I find Carey's videos both fascinating and informative.

You explained everything openly, honestly. You did not use jargon. This is one of the best explanation videos I have seen. Thank you for being so open about your knowledge.

Hello Carey, thank you for giving me the confidence to troubleshoot a computer that would not turn on!

This is exactly the way I would approach a diagnosis. I was starting to think MB but in rare cases RAM can be the culprit. I enjoyed watching because of the way you diagnosed and explained the problem and it was fairly well produced. I would have taken too many hours to say exactly what you did. Good job!

This video was very helpful to me in getting that eureka moment of solving my own computer problem of a dead psu. I really appreciate the time you took to share your computer wisdom. Many thanks, Carey.

Great job Carey! I loved your style of explaining the process of diagnosing a dead computer. Logical and nice way of presentation, not at all boring and too technical. Keep up the good job and bring more such videos... Hey Carey, I just removed one of two RAM from the motherboard and my dead computer came back to life. Now, I need to check both the RAM separately to confirm if this RAM was the culprit. If it is not working, guess it has gone bust and I will need to have to get a new one. Thanks for inspiring me to check out my PC myself.

I also like fixing computers i will spend hours just trying to figured it out and love every minute of it.

I do this so many times a week myself yet I'm watching it on RU-vid and I'm deeply interested. That must say something about your videos!

Carey, Thank You! I am having flashbacks from my 1968-69 Schooling in U.S.ARMY SIGNAL CORPS! Five Months of 8 Hour, 5 day a week Study on Repair of Avionics Communication Equipment (MOS 35L20). At the end,I graduated Second Highest in my Company of 100+ men & Top 5% in our Battalion (me 18 YO, fresh out of High School, #1 in our Company had a Bachelor's Degree in Electronics). my abilities in Electronics gave me one of the FEW "Double Promotions in our Battalion of 500+ men". The POINT is You use the Precise Model for REPAIR DIAGNOSTICS!!! "Thanks for the Memories" (I am getting ready to diagnose/repair both my Daughters Desk Top and Mine, hoping to get One Usesable Desk Top for CNC machining). philip, AKA "TROUBLE SHOOTER 1 5, TayNinh RVN, 1969/70

i know this is 3-and-a-bit years late but i've only just found this video. i have TWO 'dead' computers (one mine, the other my daughter's) taking up space in my small flat. i now have the confidence to have a go at fixing, or junking, them. thanks. oh, btw, i am currently using a TEN year old computer - no parts replaced - i'm lucky! when it inevitably falls over i now stand a good chance of prolonging it's life still further. more thanks :)

I never in my life thought I would be interested in IT but since having to tweak a few things myself, I am now obsessed. I know it all isn't fun but I enjoy what I have learned so far. Thanks for the videos.

This has to be the best RU-vid video that I have seen. I have been building computers now for about 18 years And have taken some classes. One class was on repair, I think I learned more from this video than the 6 week class that met 2 days each week. I will be looking at more of your videos. Keep up the good work.

Nice man. Great vid for encouraging people to diagnose their own PC's. I was timid about even opening a PC till I started watching your vids. Now I work on them all the time. Friends, family, and neighbors now know me as the guy who can fix their PC. Thank you. I am very grateful that I found your vids, and that you take the time to record, edit, and upload them to help us. again, Thanks Man

SO, here we are in 2023, and I would say that I found this six year old video highly relevant and helpful regardless of how quickly technology advances and renders itself obsolete. Thank you Corey. I look forward to seeing other content you have posted, and certainly hope you are currently well and able to view my appreciation for all you have empowered me to benefit from immediately.

This was the first of your videos I've seen. In the past I would never think of touching a computers innerds. But recently I made a repair on my car and all I did was watch a RU-vid video. Yes, I did feel a sense of accomplishment and a new confidence. So when I came across your video, I decided to watch it. I found your instructions easy to follow and at a relaxed pace. i'm hooked and am now a subscriber. Thanks a lot!

You have a great conversational style, not dry, and explain just enough to not make the viewer feel dumb, or that you are talking down to them. As a fellow tech, I will watch more of your videos, and laugh along with you.

I watched the whole video and i never though it could be the ram. I enjoyed seeing how you work this problem out. I watch a lot of gaming technicians with big expensive builds but I realize that was wasting time. From your videos I have the feeling I learned something. Thanks

This really gives me a perspective on how rough I treated my first PC when I built it. I'm surprised it never broke on me.

Drama, suspense, sarcasm and a Coke commercial. This was better than an episode of Law & Order. Seriously, always nice to see someone with expert knowledge sharing with there of us. Thanks and good luck at the Emmy's. Now, about that laptop build...

What a great, easy to follow and well-explained repair video! You have no idea how many times I have searched for a good channel that would explain such a thing to me in a simple step by step process that even I could understand. Kudos! I have little doubt that I will be able to learn much more from your channel so I am subscribing and hitting the bell right now. Thanks for keeping things simple and direct for those of us who do like tinkering but perhaps are not educated in anything more than very basic electronics, if even that. If I was not clear enough, I really enjoyed this video!

Hello Carey I just came across your video and really enjoyed it. That was quite clear and simple to do. I am using an HP that lost some of the usb ports but still functions well. So I just use it for searching on the internet and word processing. So it seems to still do well for this old woman. I just turned 73 in Nov 28, 2018 and still enjoy learning about computers. I will be looking forward to more videos. Thank you.

Hi Carey, compliments on your diagnostic video. Just what I needed to see. I really learned a lot from you today. I put an old friend computer onto my maybe I could repair this shelf (I'm not a computer genius) just for when I had time to see if I could resurrect it. and WOOHOO after watching this video, what I never thought of, I replaced a faulty ram stick and it works like it used to now. So I'd like to say thank you for this diagnosis video, in my case, lesson.

Really appreciate your expertise. I too am a computer repair technician, among other things, and I enjoy learning from other people in our field. I cannot know it all so having another resource is always good. Thank You.

Thanks for this fine documentary on troubleshooting. As I have a little training in electrical engineering and introductory computer troubleshooting, I was able to follow along quite well, even though I never really wound up utilizing all that training to any great value or extent. Well done. Good on ya mate.

While watching this, I happen to be working on the same or similar HP machine (HP p6630f). I got this machine 5 years ago at a yard sale for $25. I mainly got it because the prior owner had installed a very nice (for the time) Nvidia GeoForce gaming card. I have used this computer as my main Internet computer, which it has functioned very well at that limited use. The only upgrades I have done to it is to install a better power supply and a SSD for the boot. Recently it had developed some flutters and crashes. While watching this video, I tracked the problem down to re-seating the RAM and replacing on of the 2GB RAM boards. I have only recently discovered your channel and I have picked a lot of useful tips and info. Thank you.

I enjoyed the way you went through all the steps and ways to diagnosis why this computer doesn't work. I really learned alot from that and to see that you didn't give up until solved it.

I'm not a tech person and playing around inside a PC seemed way too overwhelming, but you inspired me to see if I can get an old PC working again. I figured out that it turns on okay, but I have to order a Dvi-d cable for the monitor since I only have a VGA and my desktop won't take it. Anyway thanks for the clear and interesting explanation. You've inspired me to try it out.

This tutorial is awesome! For those of you who say did not resolve the issue quickly, his objective was to show every possibility and I found that very helpful

I like when you used the blower to clean it, I used a garden hose on my HP. Best way of cleaning them. 😄. Awesome video!

Love this video....and the way you explain, it's like we were actually communicating. Thank you

Sir you’re the first person who had me understand wtf I needed to understand (sorry bout the word) and you made me really understand about pc’s and how to self diagnose things

Excellent tutorial. "Deducive reasoning, my dear Watson!!!"

Thank you so much. No one would even try to repair my computer. So after watching you video, all I had to do was to re-seat the RAM and now it works as well as an HP can,

I'm a PHP developer and in the last years I hear that there's no place for PHP developers in the developers world of 2022, so I decided to do something completely different: Learn how to build and fix PCs. When I was a child it never interested me but now I feel like this is talking to me more than before. I've found many tutorials on how to build PC, but almost never found how to fix one, and now I found :) I hope to learn more about it and love if you can tell me where can I find more videos of yours which are related to PC fixing. Thank you!!

Also, I smiled when you noted the infamous little green light demonstrating power connection to the power supply. I just fixed a pristine HP c1610n Media Center PC the other day which featured that lovely little green light which dutifully illuminated each time a power cable was connected. So after looking around elsewhere and still getting no activity at all (no fans, lights, or display), I connected an old spare power supply (which had no indicator light), the system booted normally.

This is by far the best computer channel I have come across on youtube. Definitely subscribing and I just wanted to say thank you for producing this useful content. Please keep the new videos coming.

An Excellent Tutorial overall A bit too much uneccessary "woof" at the start, but worth going through to watch the totally logical process he uses, and indeed describes very well indeed. Most people who have watched and understood this video should be able to perform a similar PC diagnosis, apart from of course, having a spare video/network/power supply available. More tech videos on PC problems like this would be very welcome.

Found your tutorial excellent and I followed bit by bit as my pc was not working. I can say that it is working now and as you say it is time consuming but essential to go through each stage. Thank you.

I enjoy watching these videos, helps me with upgrading my computer, I am 79 and love watching you solve the problems on computers!

Fixed my computer by taken a memory card out. Thank you for your advice and saving my sanity. John (UK)

Thank you. This was a very instructive video. It constitutes a practical step by step methodology for finding the faulty component in a desktop that is not working. Thank you again.

thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. you have demystified what i have always felt to be completely intimidating - even with degrees in ee !

Yesterday my PC was doing almost the exact same thing. I was about to go and repair it, but right before going I remembered about a solution (pull the CMOS battery out for at least 1 min) as I had read on the internet. Worked! Felt really good that I didn't have to pay for such an easy fix.

Excellent video, you now have a new fan. I just purchased all the parts to build my own gaming pc. I am going to start on it tomorrow. I thank you for giving me the confidence to do this.

I used to love building computers,but i have had a lot of health problems,and my mind dont work for me like it used to saying this im only 42 sucks really.I used to love the challenge of figuring things out.Love watching you though Carey its great you give me refresher courses of what i used to know,and just might forget tomorrow..funny ,but sad..

Thank you that was really informative especially to a person like me that's not tech savvy .. I can see how rewarding it can be when you solve the problem..very cool...!!!!

I never thought a PC repair video could be so fun. Really, I enjoyed this all the way. Thank you!

I always check ram first. That's what I told my son as we watched together. Yet you are doing and knowing probably way more than I...Love the show.

Great to be professionally guided on how diagnostics works. The order of testing components and the reasoning behind this order. Thanks, Carey, for a greatly helpful introduction to what is otherwise a totally confusing subject!

Excellent clear diagnostic video,no dumb music trying to drown out your narration,great all round and thanks.

Enjoyable video. I was a factory tech on the F-14 Tomcat weapon control system. It was like getting the New York Sunday crossword puzzle when a unit came in for repair.

Great vid Carey! Keep the builds and tutorials coming! Love your stuff

This is 2019 now, but your video is still good to learn from Thanks.

Can't thank you enough; this video saved my PC. Removing all RAM and putting them all back solved my presumably dead computer.

THANK YOU CAREY HOLZMAN!!!!!!!! I just tried your examples on tracking down a problem on a DELL N7010 Laptop that had been dropped. I went to eBay to find the parts needed to fix the laptop. I paid $45.00 for a laptop for parts to repair the one that had been dropped. It needed the screen, hinges and bottom case. When I opened the box I found the one from eBay to be in nearly perfect shape on the outside. I plugged it in, turned it on and the Laptop would boot to about the last quarter of the progress bar under the DELL LOGO then go blank on the screen. I opened it up by removing the keyboard because there was a spot on the keyboard that caused me to question its integrity. It was sticky??? Swapped it out with the laptop I am fixing. It didn't fix the problem. However, during all this, I was watching your diagnoses of a desktop and you were at the point where you found the problem on the desktop to be the memory...............BINGO!!!!! I pulled out the ram then put one back in and it booted. I still need to run some tests but without your help and video, I would be in a mess. Thank you so much for the time you take to help us who would be scratching our heads all night trying to figure things out!!!

I just watched your ,How to repair a dead computer video, and enjoyed it as I learned a lot... Thank you for making it available!

New to the channel, I just want to say your videos are great. You explain everything clearly. Great job!

As a professional in IT diagnostic application i appreciate the need to an approach calling on tools as needed. I also operate a small landscaping company. Hardware is much more resilient to adverse approach than it used to be.

I used to watch these videos so much when I was little and this particular video gives me a lot of nostalgia lol. And I think it's what inspires me to build computers today

Great video, and love your sense of humour ! Thanks for sharing your undoubted skill. Best regards.

Great video! Thank you Carey. You make it easy for the novice to diagnose and repair a pc.

Enjoy your sense of humor, love your attitude! Thanks for the laughs. I am so computer illiterate I have no idea if you giving good info, but my guess is yes. Thanks for making the video!

I repair desktops and laptops sometimes. I like this video very much. It helps to solidify different parts of PC testing knowledge into the testing procedures system even though I might do it a bit differently.

Man, it sounds like I was doing the video (I would have went to the RAM before the Battery, but that's just me given my experience with HPuke hardware). ;-) It is incredible what I still come across to this day. Unlike you, I stopped putting together Custom Rigs as too many people were buying Dellcrap and HPuke (it actually started with Packard Smell and Emachine and Compaq Cyrix $400 machines in 1998) and asked me why I couldn't build it at their low cost (I told them you get what you pay for). But I digress. It is difficult to express to people just how bad the consumer machines are (Power Supplies, video cards, and RAM being the usual culprits). And especially the dust clouds residing in these boxes with minimal fans/circulation (I always have a can of air and a mask over my mouth - as that dirt/dust will make you sick). I also cleaned the keyboards/mice FIRST before using them to troubleshoot on site. Now I put together custom rigs until 2002 (I was burned by the capacitor issues and had many motherboards failing on me starting in 1999 through 2002 - even high end ones... you never knew but I started looking specifically at each board's capacitors before installation once the problem was reported in the media). I was not funded well enough to take the brunt of the failures (as that affected the customer's business' too).And from what I understand, that happened through 2007. So I got out of the building PC business altogether and went to work for a company as their IT guy (and worked my way up to Director of IT). So, when Compaq was bought out by HP, I started only going with Dell (they were hungry to grow their business and their Servers got MUCH better in late 2003... and as good as the Proliants with server services software). And they were undercutting HP/Compaq by at least 20% to build up market share, but my settling on one manufacturer..... I was able to at least pick and choose what PC Model and Server Model worked best for the money...... and since I was a Compaq ASE - I was allowed to get the parts directly and install them myself. We were essentially a Dell shop from that point. So I then stocked up on components that usually failed to ensure maximum uptime (including 2 power supplies in each server with one as primary and the other as secondary as well as server hard drives given the RAID5 configuration). My servers were almost never down (from a hardware perspective). I started building my own PC again (just for myself) when I became disabled in 2012..... as it gave me something to do (and now I only work/volunteer for a select few others PC's - people who can't afford top notch technicians such as some older people on a fixed budget and I also volunteer at the VA since I am a disabled Vet regarding upkeep of a select few computers that the VA IT staff does not support - that are for homeless Vets). I also no longer work on family's PC's (as invariably, I get the blame for the problem when it is their surfing on questionable websites causing the malware and I want to be part of the family visiting everyone.... not immediately off to the side to work on PC's/Laptops when I walked in the door to visit family - not be the family IT support guy. I enjoy your videos and have learned a thing or 2 also (one always learns when observing others).... but I will tell you, I am GLAD to no longer be under constant stress of 60 to 70 hour weeks while being available 24/7 for companies... who always skimped by taking advantage of my knowledge/work ethic to keep from having to get more people so I could actually have a life (I went without vacations and usually lost that vacation time). Also, they never allowed me to increase my knowledge by going to any accredited school (to help me keep up my skill set) and just took advantage of IT folks like me as they were working scared after the IT bubble.... which hurts a person when a company is bought out and the new folks being hired have had that recent education (so they can come in critiquing everything and being tasked with building out a new environment while you are holding the bag regarding the old environment). And usually, they also did not appreciate the sacrifice. Hmmm, this almost sounds like a rant....... Anyhoo, keep on doing these videos and never work for a small to medium sized company with minimal staff. Whew.... that felt good.

I’m interested in electrical engineering, and computer and software engineering, and I watch videos like these to see how much I can learn for free, without paying for college. Thanks for the lessons Professor Carey 👌

After attempting to reboot unsuccessfully with a Recovery Drive (I thought Windows 10 was giving me a go again), I landed on your video. Thank you so much for taking the time to make this video. I have the same computer, wouldn't start, but the on/off button would turn on and the fans were running. Unplugged everything in the back as you said, and re-plugged only the original monitor (not the second one) and the power. oh magic, it came alive normally. Now I'm backing everything up like a mad woman. I do have an external drive that backs up daily, but it doesn't exactly look like my computer setup, another project to figure out. I've had this HP computer since 2009 and I'm writing this in August 2020, and beside changing the hard drive to 1T, I've never had any major issues with it and I work on it all day every day, but I have the feeling it will be coming sooner than later now. Thanks again for your clear explanations, you've saved me a lot of grief.

Gr8, your good smile, way of presentation, binds the people who are here to see other things and accidentally come here and are in no way connected with repairs. Good to learn. Thanks.

Very nice video Carey. Thank you for the information, and fun stories too.

Awesome content thank you for the time you spent making and sharing your knowledge I really appreciate it!

Thanks, I didn't know anything about computers and I already learned valuable stuff. Also thanks for being the way you are :)

You are doing gods work! Thank you. I have had many new techs watch your videos as it takes so much time to create them yourself. Awesome work!

Loved the diagnostic troubleshooting guide. I have a few junk computers lying around that were given to me and I would like to use as CNC computers. I saw your video and laughed and said, "I'll bite", glad I did. Thanks for sharing. Best Wishes n Blessings. Keith Noneya.

It was great watching someone problem solve a RAM issue. Next to the MOBO/Processor it's one of the toughest to detect IMO

Been doing this pc rebuild /repair 30 some years and still learnt sumthin. Excellent video.

From a former tech who kept his anti-static kit, there is a 5 Mega-ohm resistor in the conductor that goes to earth ground. This slows the current rush you were talking about and validates what you told us.

You, sir, are fantastic. Thank you for your hard work in teaching.

Thanks for sharing this one. I have a HP PC and I'm going to try this on it to see if I can fix it. Have a nice day.

Thank you for a very informative tutorial, I really enjoyed your relaxed and humorous approach to passing on your knowledge.

Most times when my 12 year old self built PC has failed on me it's been RAM related. However, my ram isn't always faulty and taking the ram out, clearing dust off it and reseating it fixes it. Once it failed due to a faulty DVD drive cable which burnt. Neither MB or DVD drive was actually broken and both still work fine. It owes me nothing, I've upgraded to SSD and better graphics cards so it still plays games and runs quick enough but every now and then (about once/twice a year) it'll fail to boot. The most recent problem was a boot loop caused by having a webcam connected. As soon as I disconnected that it booted fine! If I plug the web cam in after boot it still works and the webcam works too! Whether it thinks it's a USB boot device and won't start up I don't know but even in the bios my keyboard is very unresponsive with the webcam attached, works perfectly with it removed. The webcam worked fine until I recently put it in a USB extension cable but even when I remove that the issue remains. It hangs in the checking memory and SATA AHCI bios depending on which USB slot it's plugged into. Things like this suggest it's getting closer to the end of it's life. The PSU and MB have certainly proven themselves.

Great video. I have had to do this exact process many, many times. Been a builder since 1985 my first was a 8087w/ turbo lol. I put a 32 megabyte WD RLL drive in that baby and that was a lot of room at that time. Think I hade 128k of ram but won't swear to that.

I love this video. Watched it from beginning to end at least twice over the past year... because dear Carey masterfully ties in a lot of great System troubleshooting steps in this particular video on an HP system... What's nice also is that the concepts and techniques applied to this HP system, apply to any modern desktop computer... Even if it uses high end PCIe graphics cards (with their own dedicated 6 or 8 pin PCIe power cables coming from the PSU - which in this example was not the case as these graphics cards drew their power from the PCIe bus directly) Thank you Carey. I don't have a PC building business as you do... But the ability to keep my hardware skills and knowledge up to date is always a good idea) Sincerely Yours Alexander Madani Developer of: EZ Notes Available on Google Play Store

I feel so inspired to learn more Mr Holz ,I like the way you teach,it simplifies everything