Can someone help??

:cry I have an old Gateway computer; trying to set up in my son's bedroom. He's 7 so he gets the oldest computer. Every time I turned it on, I heard a rattling noise. I figured the hard drive was shot. So i went to computer store and bought a new hard drive. The employee that sold me hard drive said it would work. Well, the connectors are not anywhere close to looking the same. There is also a message on the screen; Drive not ready; Insert boot diskette in A. ??????? I have no idea what to do.. please help..:confused

 

You probably got a SATA hard drive instead of an IDE hard drive, but apparently you got it in. The new hard drive doesnt come with an operating system installed, so thats why youre seeing that error. you'll have to reinstall your OS on that new hard drive.

 

Actually no, i did not get it hooked up. Was trying to fix old hard drive. Wasnt even sure if that was the problem (hard drive). When i first messed with it; cleaning all the dust and other debris in there; it started right up (with old hard drive) but then I put in my flash drive and it froze up. Then i started seeing that message again. So you think if I get an IDE hard drive it may work? I really do not want to buy a new computer for my boys. they destroy everything. lol. That is why i dont want them on my new one. I suppose you couldn't come with me to the computer store.. lol. j/k

 

Ya I was going to say a lot of the time when your computer starts being loud it is usually caused by something obstructing the fans.

After you cleaned it out was is still loud?

 

Not right away. It's not constant like it was before. It comes and goes. But I'm almost 100% sure it's not the fan. It sounds as if something is being knocked around. Does that make sense? lol

 

If you cleaned everything away from the fans it could be the power supply fan making noise.
Your computer is probably trying to boot from USB or something. Take that flash drive out when it boots.
As for the hard drive, i dont know what you have. If its IDE(long port with pins) youll need another IDE drive. If it doesnt have a long port with a bunch of pins in it, its SATA.

 

Or another way you can tell if its SATA or IDE is look at the cable connecting the drive to the mother board. If the cable is wide and probably white or gray with a long connector on the end its IDE, SATA cables arent wide and have smaller connectors on them usually no bigger than a USB port.

 

yes, the hard drive I bought is SATA and it does need the IDE hard drive. Computer stores around here don't carry IDE hard drives.. I called. So, I'm going to put the newer (not one i just bought) into my boys room. Give my daughter my lap top. lol. I give up. I will feel much better if I take that computer outside and smash it with a sledge hammer... lol. But i vey much apprieciate everyones help. Next I will be hooking up a new router..so I'm sure I will be back, frustrated.. with even more questions. lol

 

If it boots up, I would not suspect the HD is making the noise or the trouble. (Don't hard drives usually work or crash?)

The CD ROM drive could be making the noise. It has more moving parts, I think. Fans also get noisy with age. My old Dell is in my sons room. I can tell when it is on because the fan is noisy. I had to replace the CD drive a few years ago.

 

beutfldisgrace, I have an older Dell Optiplex that has a noisy power supply fan. As soon as it's powered on, it sounds like someone is shaking a few beans around in a coffee can.
In my limited experience, I have found that more power supplies end up throwing a fan, because they are constantly running.