Please Help!

[PanickedinNJ]

Ok Im having major problems with a computer that isn't even mine! In simple terms here is the problem:
1) I was not able to click into the user accounts from the main page of the Windows XP page, the mouse would go over it but didn't turn into the "little hand" to let me click
2) I turned the computer off by turning the switch off in the back. The first time this worked, however this kept happening. The last time this happened there was just a blue screen and the mouse was not moving at all. So I tried turning it off again, but now it won't turn back on!! When I press the button in the front it does nothing, not even a flicker of light. I had someone look at it and I cant remember what he said it probably was (something about the power outlet in the back needs to be replaced?)
3) He is going to come back tonight with a replacement, however I am in a very bad situation because this is not my computer. Its actually someone that I work for. I went on some sites and downloaded some programs that I would get fired if they saw!!! So since I was in a state of panic I decided to remove the hardrive and put it in another computer (IS THIS BAD?). I think I hooked everything up correctly, but when it started up the same thing happened! The Windows page comes up and shoes the users, but now this time the mouse is not moving at all. I don't think it is an issue with the mouse though....

Anyway, does anyone have insight on what is going on? I desperately need it! I have to get that stuff of the hard drive, that is the main priority. I brought the hard drive with me to work (I know I sound crazy but I cant lose my job!) I was thinking of trying to find a repair place around here, would the be able to do anything with just the hard drive??

Thanks! Please respond if you have answers, I am in a state of panic!!

 

[superdave1984]

Swapping the hard drive to another computer will not work unless the motherboards are nearly identical. If it boots, it's a fluke. It does sound like the power supply is toast however. They are not that expensive and are easy to replace. When the new PSU is installed I suggest that you do a repair install of Windows. Then remove the offending software and hope like h*** that the owner doesn't find out. And in the future, use your own computer for stuff like that. Learn from your mistakes.

 

[QuaziBee]

Dear panicked.
If you put the hard drive in another computer as a slave drive you can access the files on it. It's too late to tell you to just hold in the power switch in the front to turn off a pc and it wont to any good to tell you now not to download pr0n on your bosses computer. Make sure the switch in the back got turned back into the on position. You can narrow down the problem by taking out the hard drive and starting the computer, if it posts you got a good start. If it doesn't then it will be a hardware problem, first thing to do then is flash the BIOS. If it posts then check the master / slave / cs settings on the hard drive, make sure they are congruent with the computers other disk drives. Be sure to plug everything in properly. Basically it boils down to; if it POSTs without the hard drive in then its a disk configuration problem, if it does not POST without the hard drive in then you either effed the mobo or PSU.

If all else fails you have two options; you can mess up the computer more, say it got hit my lightning, tell him it was stolen and buy him a new one, OR be a man about the situation and tell him the truth about what happened.

My computer skills are not so advanced that they escalate me to the status of a moral sage but, fessing up would seem like the more noble path.

QuaziBee
~

 

[turtile]

Put the normal HD back in and go into (Hold F8 at startup) safe mode with networking. Remove the programs and download and run a trial antivirus such as NOD32 to try to fix the problem.