# F%&kin Computer dies.



## l33tpower (Jul 14, 2010)

yeah so I recently sent my other 3 computers to be fixed by one of my moms friends.

3 weeks later after i took them to his house he calls me and tells me this.

Rob: well heres the damage the motem is shot, your virtual memory chip is dead so it needs to be replaced. Your disk drive was damaged from a virus attack and one of the memory chips you had is completely fried which no memory can not be salvaged.
Me: well whats the total cost going to be for it all to be fixed? and will I need to buy these items at all?
Rob: you won't need to buy anything just pay me and I'll buy the things you need.
Me: OH HOT DAM!!! thanks man your a life saver.

So i sent him the cash and then I get another call saying my other computers are completely fried and nothing can be salvaged. I thinking," F&$k my life." thing is those other 2 computers have my grandmothers book writings on them and they went and Kaputed on me after i was tryin to save her work. So in over all 1 computer was saved while the other have died and cant be restored. 

From now on I'm sticking with Windows 7 or Windows Vista cause those other computers were old dell computers that were Windows 2000. Windows Vista and 7 last way freekin longer and don't die that easily.
If yall know how to salvage any memory from computers Ram, Hard Drive, and such plz put it up so I can get all my grandmothers writings off it.


----------



## Willow (Jul 14, 2010)

If the hard drive hasn't been fried in the other computers, you can take out the hard drive and retrieve memory from it using a special USB cable I believe

That's at least how it works for laptops, but I have yet to do this. 

If you search around on the internet, I'm sure you can find the kind of cable you need 

It also appears that you're having a string of bad luck recently


----------



## Keroku (Jul 14, 2010)

ehm there is a little trick but that is also risky.....
*plx dont call me a idiot for telling you that *lol**

did you try to put your hard drive into the freezer ?

Q_Q blame me if this sounds stupid but this is true 
I also found this little guide...maybe it helps you.... this is no f***ing joke or myth !

http://geeksaresexy.blogspot.com/2006/01/freeze-your-hard-drive-to-recover-data.html


----------



## Nollix (Jul 14, 2010)

He's a moron and so are you for believing that stupid bullshit that he spewed.


----------



## ToeClaws (Jul 14, 2010)

*headdesk*

Okay... if that's an exact quote of what he told you, it sounds like complete bullshit.  First off, it'd be interesting to know exactly what broke on the systems, 'cause from that weak description you were given, it could be RAM, could be hard drive, could be something fried on a board - who knows.

As long as the hard drive spins up and is recognized by BIOS, data can usually be pulled off and saved, even if the OS is toast.  This can be done by placing the drive in a computer that works, or booting the system up on a LiveCD which supports NTFS/FAT32 file systems (pretty much all do now) and copying the data to another drive.

If the drives are toast, there are data recovery companies that specialize in pulling data from the drive platters, but it's going to cost you dearly.  This is why its generally a good idea to ALWAYS back up your important data so this doesn't happen.

Also, I would not be so quick to blame the OS.  Windows 2000 and XP are just as stable (if not more so) than the newer Windows, and the Operating system itself is not going to be cause of hardware failure.  Hardware fails because of wear, physical defects or physical trauma.  

As for this "friend" of your Mom's, I get a bad feeling anytime someone spouts off technical babble which means nothing, and then says something like "you won't need to buy anything just pay me..." Yeah... that sounds ethical.  He should be able to provide you an EXACT list of what's wrong with the system, and which parts you need to get to fix it.  When in doubt, you can often take the computer to another shop or expert for opinion as many do not charge to find out what's wrong with it.


----------



## Smelge (Jul 14, 2010)

l33tpower said:


> the motem is shot


What the fuck is a motem?


> your virtual memory chip is dead


There is no such bloody thing. The clue is in the name. It's virtual. It's a designated amount of the RAM given over to run processes and so on.


> Your disk drive was damaged from a virus attack


Shouldn't be. Probably needs a format. Viruses are software and shouldn't cause permanent damage.


> one of the memory chips you had is completely fried which no memory can not be salvaged.


Wat. You can't salvage memory from a RAM chip.


> If yall know how to salvage any memory from computers Ram, Hard Drive


Stuff in RAM is lost as soon as the computer powers down or something else goes on it. There is nothing to salvage on it. Hard drive should work as long as you blast it with a virus scanner. If it's broken, it's something other than a virus.


----------



## Shiroka (Jul 14, 2010)

lol "virtual memory chip"... did you get your computers from Star Trek?

Sounds like he either has no idea how computers actually work or he's trying to scam you into buying a brand new computer and sell your stuff for himself... or both.

Edit: ask him to give you back all of your stuff and either send it to a real technician even if it means paying a bit for the service or download the UBCD and do some tests if your PCs are bootable. Listen to ToeClaws and Smelge, he's clearly clueless.


----------



## Ames (Jul 14, 2010)

Your friend sounds like he's full of bullshit.


----------



## Runefox (Jul 14, 2010)

*walks in*

...

*180*


----------



## Aden (Jul 14, 2010)

So basically your friend is grabbing your cash to "buy parts" to "fix" your "broken" computers.


----------



## Shiroka (Jul 14, 2010)

Aden said:


> So basically your friend is grabbing your cash to "buy parts" to "fix" your "broken" computers.


 
We'll never run out of work :V


----------



## Ames (Jul 14, 2010)

*facedesk* *facedesk* *facedesk*

I think I'm going to have an aneurysm if I read the OP one more time.


----------



## Willow (Jul 14, 2010)

Nollix said:


> He's a moron and so are you for believing that stupid bullshit that he spewed.


 For fixing the computers, yes

But it is possible to retrieve memory from a hard drive 

Oh yea..and how does one kill the modem? It's not even a part of the computer


----------



## Ames (Jul 14, 2010)

WillowWulf said:


> But it is possible to retrieve memory from a hard drive


 
1. Set jumper to "slave"

2. Connect cables

3. Turn on your computer

4. ???

5. Profit!


----------



## ArielMT (Jul 15, 2010)

OP, if what you wrote is precise enough, then your mom's friend makes Geek Squad look good.


l33tpower said:


> 3 weeks later after i took them to his house


Huge red flag.



l33tpower said:


> he calls me and tells me this.
> 
> Rob: well heres the damage the motem is shot,



Are you on dial-up?  That's the only kind of modem that's internal anymore.  Replacement cost if true: $10.



l33tpower said:


> your virtual memory chip is dead so it needs to be replaced.


Bullshit, pure and simple.  The only purpose this line serves is to baffle you with bullshit.



l33tpower said:


> Your disk drive was damaged from a virus attack


No malicious code ever written could damage a hard disk.  Not a single line.  Malware can corrupt an operating system enough to become unbootable, but it can't damage a disk.



l33tpower said:


> and one of the memory chips you had is completely fried which no memory can not be salvaged.


Memory modules can go bad, but they're not designed to store anything longer than a fraction of a second, so there's nothing to recover even from a perfect one.



l33tpower said:


> Me: well whats the total cost going to be for it all to be fixed? and will I need to buy these items at all?


The goal: confuse and scare you.



l33tpower said:


> Rob: you won't need to buy anything just pay me and I'll buy the things you need.


This sounds shady at best.  Computer repair is becoming as shady as car repair, if it isn't there already.  I should know, because computer repair is one of the services my company offers.



l33tpower said:


> Me: OH HOT DAM!!! thanks man your a life saver.
> 
> So i sent him the cash and then I get another call saying my other computers are completely fried and nothing can be salvaged. I thinking," F&$k my life." thing is those other 2 computers have my grandmothers book writings on them and they went and Kaputed on me after i was tryin to save her work. So in over all 1 computer was saved while the other have died and cant be restored.


Get *ALL* the parts back, working or not.  You can't get second opinions otherwise.



l33tpower said:


> From now on I'm sticking with Windows 7 or Windows Vista cause those other computers were old dell computers that were Windows 2000. Windows Vista and 7 last way freekin longer and don't die that easily.
> If yall know how to salvage any memory from computers Ram, Hard Drive, and such plz put it up so I can get all my grandmothers writings off it.



All the data that exists to be salvaged is on the disks.  And don't assume that nothing can be recovered from a disk just because it doesn't boot up the OS anymore.

I wouldn't go with Windows Vista.  According to the experiences I'm exposed to, the "wow" is accompanied by facepalms, insults toward Microsoft, and held-back rage.

The only thing any version of Windows does in the sense you mean is suggest how old the computer is.  The last OS that often didn't outlive the computers they were installed on is Windows Millennium Edition.



ToeClaws said:


> *headdesk*
> 
> Okay... if that's an exact quote of what he told you, it sounds like complete bullshit.


This, and the rest of TC's post.



Nollix said:


> He's a moron and so are you for believing that stupid bullshit that he spewed.


I can't believe that I agree with anything Nollix posted, but this is it.



JamesB said:


> Your friend sounds like he's full of bullshit.





Runefox said:


> *walks in*
> 
> ...
> 
> *180*





JamesB said:


> *facedesk* *facedesk* *facedesk*


These.



Aden said:


> So basically your friend is grabbing your cash to "buy parts" to "fix" your "broken" computers.


But all car computer repairmen are honest and aboveboard!
If you believe that, I've got some prime oceanfront real estate for sale in Arizona, and I can cut you a huge break on the price.


----------



## Jashwa (Jul 15, 2010)

Nollix said:


> He's a moron and so are you for believing that stupid bullshit that he spewed.


 


JamesB said:


> Your friend sounds like he's full of bullshit.


 [these]

Sounds like you're getting played, bro.


----------



## Syradact (Jul 15, 2010)

l33tpower said:


> So i sent him the cash


How much money did he scam out of you?


----------



## benanderson (Jul 16, 2010)

Congratulations, you've just been conned |:


----------



## Shiroka (Jul 16, 2010)

So OP, were you able to at least get your stuff back?


----------

