Before my current computer, I had an eMachines W2247 with Windows XP Home SP2, 128 MB, and an AMD Athlon XP Processor 2200+. It's been awhile, so I can't remember anything I had done, but it just totally crapped out one day. It first started having a lot of trouble booting up, and then by the end of the night, it wouldn't boot up at all. Or even attempt to. To this day, when I turn it on, nothing happens. The power light blinks on and off, but that's it. It doesn't MAKE any noise or anything. Also, the lights on the keyboard will blink in a random pattern. Does anyone have any idea of what might be GOING on with it?

I thought maybe there was something wrong with the power supply, but I don't know if that's the case. I tried using another cable and the exact same thing happens. Also, when I hook the keyboard up to any other computer, the lights still do that weird blinking. It's weird to me that the keyboard would also be infected in the case of faulty power supply or dust or whatever. The computer is a piece of junk compared to my new one, so it's fine if I can't get it up and running again. However, there are files that I would like to RECOVER if at all possible. Will I have to take it down somewhere to do this, or would that be a pointless waste of money?

I'd appreciate any input on the matter. The computer had a few virus problems, so I'm guessing that's the culprit. eMachines certainly aren't the best computers out there, but it was actually a decent model and did well for maybe four years; I doubt it just suddenly died of old age.This sounds like a hardware issue and, as you mentioned, the power supply seems the likely culprit. And, since that keyboard behaves the same way on another computer, I suspect the keyboard is also faulty.

Concerning the files you'd like to retrieve from that hard drive, I would just remove it from the eMachines W2247, and put in the other computer as a slave drive, even if only temporarily, to retrieve files off of it. Another option would be to get an external enclosure with a USB cord to connect to your computer, and install that hard drive in it.

Either way, you can delete all the Windows and other program files on that old hard drive and continue to use it as a second internal drive or as an external hard drive (in the external enclosure). The external hard drive makes a good backup device.It's possible that the keyboard is faulty, but it seems odd because it worked just fine before this happened. Unless a LOSS in power supply somehow fried the keyboard... Could that even happen?

As for using it as a slave drive...it's a good idea and I could certainly use a few extra GB. However, I'm not at all familiar with the inner workings of a computer tower. I've only been inside of a computer to clean it out and remove stuck disks. I haven't the slightest idea how to go about installing a second drive and I'm afraid of mucking something up. However, I do have a couple of other computers I could maybe practice on.

Is there some kind of in-depth tutorial I could refer to that would guide me along in the process of doing all of this? I'd love to be able to access those old files. And it'd be nice if I could steal the hard drive out of a Dell that my sister doesn't use anymore. Heh. Thanks for your help, soybean.Here are several references that should help:

How to Install a Second Hard Drive
How to Change the Master/Slave Designation on a Hard Drive, and
Setting Hard Drive Jumpers (includes images of hard drive jumpers)

Removing the old hard drive should give you some insight into how the drive is mounted in the case and how the power and data cable connectors fit together. However, the actual mounting can vary from one computer case to another; it depends on the design of the case.

The data cable must be connected a certain way. Look carefully at the pins on the hard drive and the connector on the cable before trying to connect the cable to the drive. The hard drive will probably have one pin position where there is no pin and the connector will have a blocked pin position which corresponds to the pin pattern on the hard drive connector. This is designed to preclude connecting the cable the wrong way, or upside down.

Likewise, the power cable will not fit onto the drive's power connector in an upside down position. Two corners of the power cable connector will be beveled. Look at it closely and you'll surely see this.

Regarding the hard drive jumper position for the slave setting, look on the hard drive for a diagram of the master and slave jumper settings. You see this in the third reference above.Thanks for the links, soybean. Looks like I've got a bit of homework tonight. Heh.I haven't tried doing this yet because I wanted to get the Dell up and running first (which I just did a little while ago), but I thought I would mention something else...

When I plug in the eMachines, I can hear a slight high-pitched humming sound coming from the back. Maybe this is normal, but I don't remember ever noticing it before. Also...it didn't do this before, but now it sounds like it's trying to power up when I turn it on. But the lights don't come on and it doesn't actually do anything. What are your thoughts on that? Does it still sound like a power supply issue?computers are like playing with legos , DONT be scared.

most probably you have a psu dying (try checking the voltages with a voltmeter) Usually pre built machines are installed with terrible psu. the huming is due to the build up of dust around the fans, if you clean them there will be less humming.try running your rig with one set of ram or with other ram, as ram failiures are quite often. do you get any beeps ?I have never had RAM go bad in my life, and I have owned and worked on quite a few machines.

A bad power supply from eMachines is much more common.Yep, it still sounds like a power supply problem. If you want to replace it, ebay might worth looking at; see: POWER SUPPLY FOR EMACHINES W2247 computer

That computer could be a decent machine, with more memory. I'm running an AthlonXP 2200, the same processor as the one in that eMachine, with 512MB of RAM and an AGP video card. I believe the eMachines W2247 has onboard video but also has an AGP slot. So, more RAM and an AGP video card are two options for a better performing computer.

Here's what Crucial.com shows for it: http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=W2247Ooh boy, I just opened that thing up and...man...sure looks like I neglected that poor machine. No wonder it crapped out on me. I've never seen such a dusty computer. I should've expected such a thing after moving to a farming community like this. Although I doubt it will make much of a difference, I'm going to give it a very thorough cleaning (it can't hurt, right?). And I need to make sure I do some preventive care for my Gateway. I'll be back in a few hours...Oh, and thanks, soybean. I'll definitely add that auction to my watchlist!Whew, that was one heck of a job. As I figured, it didn't really help anything (although one of the lights did come on for a few seconds), but it feels good to have that all cleaned out. Even though I'm probably going to die of lung cancer now. Heh. I think I'm going to try installing a new power supply before messing around with anything. But if that doesn't work, I'll move on to installing the hard drive into another computer. Expect plenty more questions from me if/when it comes down to that. Ha.This is quite a bump, but I figured I'd give an update. I've been watching PSU's on eBay and I don't have the funds to buy one yet and I was getting anxious, so I finally tried putting the W2247 hard drive into the Dell...and it actually worked without a hitch. I didn't even have to mess with the BIOS or anything fancy. I just hooked it up and the Dell did the rest. It's rare for things to be this easy for me. It looks like a hillbilly computer because the Dell doesn't have a drive cage, so I kinda had to rig something up, but it works wonderfully. It's a little slow, but who cares? I'm just happy to finally have access to these files again. Thanks a lot, soybean, for the very helpful links! Now I don't have to buy a PSU...but I still might just for the heck of it. Maybe I'll fix this thing up and sell it to a friend or something. I would just put the hard drive in my Gateway for an extra bit of space, but I think I'd rather wait until I can buy a brand new one with about 500 GB. Anyway...thanks a bunch. Now, it's time to get back to backing up my files.