Crank Posted December 30, 2013 Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 I thought this year HAS to be better than last year. Purchased a new custom built PC, Laser Printer, 27" Monitor, Keyboard/Mouse combo & router for a total cost >$2,500. Reviewed several different tax software packages and decided to return to ATX after a 3 year hiatus (about 15 years with ATX total). Three weeks ago the PC arrived from CA to PA 10 days after ordering it. Took about two weeks to set everything up and re install several years of tax software and I'm ready to go. Except, this morning I turn it on and after it boots up it POOF, it goes dark. Appears to be the power supply. So much for a top of the line Cosair 750w Gold Power supply with a 5 year warranty. Ordered a new on from Tiger Direct with 2 day shipping (never had to use that before) and it should arrive on Monday 16. Hopefully it didn't damage any other components. Now if its not the power supply or it did damage other components I will be using older hardware or a new laptop. So much for no pressure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxed Posted December 30, 2013 Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 I hate to say it but power supply blowups are never good. About 10 years back my PC started smelling burnt and before i could figure out what happened saw a flash inside the power supply and everything went dark. Every component except for the case and disk drive was fried. The computer had a 1 yr warranty and i was on my 2nd year. Remember back then how much more a basic Pentium PC cost. Hope your new computer's warranty covers the repair or replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crank Posted December 30, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 Yes its has a 3 year warranty, parts and labor, and I can still return it. To speed things up they credited back the power supply cost. Keeping my fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxed Posted December 30, 2013 Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 Consider it lucky if you can that this did not happen in the middle of February. Years back I had a network that blew up and I was out of business a full weekend in the middle of tax season! That is why I now have multiple stand alone machines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easytax Posted December 30, 2013 Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 I hate to say it but power supply blowups are never good. About 10 years back my PC started smelling burnt and before i could figure out what happened saw a flash inside the power supply and everything went dark. Every component except for the case and disk drive was fried. The computer had a 1 yr warranty and i was on my 2nd year. Remember back then how much more a basic Pentium PC cost. Hope your new computer's warranty covers the repair or replacement. In another life (building computers and systems, etc.) there was a saying that " there are only two kinds of people using computers --- those who hve had a computer crash and those who WILL HAVE a computer crash. You unfortunately "had" a crash (by the way - doesn't mean you won't again). I share this because EVERYTHING should be backed up - data, programs to be installed, used, etc.) at all times because you don't schedule crashes. Even knowing this and saying this to clients so they would not be in trouble when it happened --- I did not follow my own advice (too busy - you know and I'll get around to it when I can, etc.) and had it happen to me ---- today I follow my own advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted December 30, 2013 Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 There are two kinds of backups -- data and "cold metal restore." The first is the easy kind - and the easiest to automate. It's the kind that Mozy, Carbonite, iDrive, and others will do online daily (or more often). The other gives you all your executables (programs) and doesn't need to be done daily -- but certainly after major updates. Those are the ones that will put all your software back on a new machine. Then import your data from the data backup. Old saying in the field -- electronic devices run on smoke. You let the smoke out, they stop working. Permanently. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Taxed Posted December 30, 2013 Report Share Posted December 30, 2013 The problem is I have yet to figure out a way to automate a "cold metal restore". If I keep two standalone computer with identical software and updated at all times, at least I have one "cold metal" backup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted December 31, 2013 Report Share Posted December 31, 2013 No way I know of to automate a cold metal restore -- the good news is it doesn't have to be done daily, or even weekly, necessarily. Just often enough that you can update programs easily. Once a month? Once a quarter? Put it in as a recurring appointment in your calendar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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