Sometimes you get more than you bargained for...

Picked up another PC off the side of the road today. Brought it home, but it wouldn't run. Pulled out the RAM and put it back in, made sure the CPU was well seated, tried the HDD in another computer (spins but that's about all) and all that stuff. About two hours later, I took a look right inside. There she was... latrodectus hasselti. Magnificent. If you don't know what that is, you can either Google it, or check out the attached photos (or both).

No prizes for guessing what I took the photos with! LOL

 

But did you get it running( after getting the bite looked at)?

 

No. Thanks for asking. And since you asked...

I put the HDD as slave in another computer, and sometimes it sees it in BIOS and HDD controllers, sometimes not. It doesn't list under My Computer. Same in another computer - that one kept shutting down telling me it had to to avoid damaging the computer).

Also tried a different (working) HDD in the computer, and that wouldn't run either. Power's on, everything running, but nothing from the BIOS - screen stays blank. No beep.

Everything looks OK, except for the web everywhere. Mostly bright shiny PC133 RAM (2x128MB)... a third one has the writing gooey on two of the modules (what are they called?) and is only 32 MB - I took that one out.

I also tried it after removing the spider (it's a highly venomous variety - can kill small children).

Maybe it (the PC) got zapped in an electrical storm or something. No, I don't think the spider bit it.

 

I had an E-machine like that, the previous owner had some how erased everything including Bios and cmos, never did get it fixed

 

Ah, the infamous Red Back Spider, huh? Now you know why they threw it out!!:-D I'm not afraid of spiders, but I do like to give them their space, especially the Brown Recluse and the Black Widow, both of which are quite plentiful down here!! And from what I read about the Red Back, that dude can have all the space it needs!!!:-D

 

The redback likes to live under the toilet seat and these beasties can jump pretty high, so this guy goes to point percy at the porcelain and this redback jumps up and bites percy now the pain and the swelling is intense so he goes to the doctor who says i will give you an injection, the guy asks is it possible to take away the pain and leave the swelling. (old Aussie story)

 

roflmao Good one, Bill!!!:-D

 

My best friend got bit on the behind by one of those redbacks when he had to use the dunny in a little Aussie town when we went on holiday a long time ago....If I'd known the difference between an antidote and an anecdote, he'd still be alive today.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redback_spider

Sexual cannibalism Rocks!

 

Could be a bad connection in the drive (or flaky component) do any of the joints at the connector look cold, or pins bent?

It would have to have been a very wierd zap to knock out the BIOS but preserve the power supply. Have you tried a new PS? Don't forget the BIOS tools available: http://www.majorgeeks.com/downloads25.html
(don't know if they work when the chip is blank :-o )

Good luck!

"I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to
use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know
how to use my telephone"
-Bjarne Stronstrup (originator of C++ programming language)

 

Thanks sherpaprime. I'll have a look.