computer problem....

[Chuck Wintle]

my desktop failed today...it only will boot to a blinking curser. Can I disconnect the peripherals one at a time to isolate the faulty component?

[Dick Strauss]

Often a temporary issue can be fixed by a special reboot sequence. First, disconnect any attached devices other than a monitor (so you can see what the computer is doing). Disconnect the power cable from the back and hold down the power button for 30 seconds. Then release the power button, reconnect the power cable and press the power button for about a second. This makes sure that all internal systems start from scratch, especially the memory.

Good luck!

[Chuck Wintle]

well my computer boots correctly after disconnecting all the drives. one of them had failed so not as bad as I thought. I will just buy a new drive and problem solved!

[Kev Williams]

Just determined that the HDD in my old 8.1 computer is 100% toast, so looking at an SSD for it--- and came across this:

wd1tb.jpg

--1tb for $84, can get it today-- plugs into a PCIe slot, ad says over 4x faster than their SATA SSDs, and over 14k reviews @ 5 stars--

Anyone use one?

[Curt Harms]

Just determined that the HDD in my old 8.1 computer is 100% toast, so looking at an SSD for it--- and came across this:

wd1tb.jpg

--1tb for $84, can get it today-- plugs into a PCIe slot, ad says over 4x faster than their SATA SSDs, and over 14k reviews @ 5 stars--

Anyone use one?

Yeah, I have one installed on this desktop machine. They're not exactly PCIe, they're referred to as M2. They're sometimes referred to as gum stick drives because that's about how big they are. There are 2 types that look alike - SATA III and NVME. NVME is quite a bit quicker on benchmarks, I'm not sure how much quicker in desktop use. The NVME connector does sit on the PCIe bus which is partially why they're so fast. They're quick but I'm not sure how much faster than a good SATA III drive that can come close to the published SATA III spec. I've read where NVME really shines is in servers where the higher data throughputs are really noticeable. There may be an advantage to NVME on machines that routinely load and save huge files such as video editing. Before buying, check is if your motherboard has:

1) An M2 slot.
2) Make sure it's NVME. There are SATA M2 drives which will fit in M2 NVME slots but won't be recognized and vise versa.

I recently ran into that with a Thinkpad, installed the drive, powered up the machine and it wasn't recognized. Turns out that particular model could only use PCIe 2.0 not PCIe 3.0. PCIe 2.0 drives are scarce and expensive. Thank goodness the slot also worked with M2 SATA. Just for variety some M2 connectors can accommodate either SATA III or NVME. Check your machine's documentation. Here's one thing to be aware of - The screw that holds NVME drives in place is tiny. I dropped one a few times installing the NVME drive on my desktop. It was too small to be able to hold and get a screwdriver on it. I finally poked a tiny hole near the edge of a scrap of paper, put the screw through the hole and held onto the scrap of paper, got the screw started then tore the scrap of paper from around the screw and tightened it.

You can get PCIe cards that have M2 connectors and plug into a PCIe 1 slot in the computer. I'm not sure how much of an advantage there is to that arrangement.

Edit: I just saw that this is an 8.1 machine. I'd definitely make sure there's an M2 slot on the motherboard and what specs. I don't know when M2 slots became common. There was a previous spec called I think mSATA. That is not compatible with the M2 drive.

[Kev Williams]

Just ID'd my slots as MSATA, so the SSD in question won't work, slot arrangement is different-
msata.jpg

so now I know what to look for

[Curt Harms]

Just ID'd my slots as MSATA, so the SSD in question won't work, slot arrangement is different-
msata.jpg

so now I know what to look for

You can still find mSATA drives, they're not as plentiful or as cheap as MVNe these days. The other possibility would be something like this, I have zero experience with them.

https://www.amazon.com/NVMe-PCIe-Ada...s%2C154&sr=8-7

I doubt this is Samsung specific and there are plenty of other examples. Some support 2 NVMe drives, others support one NVMe and one SATA drive, lots of choices.