Solved PC repair - removing harddrive

[sezan1]

Hey, I'm needing to take my desktop to a repair shop to get the HDMI fixed - my hdmi broke because of 'hotplugging' it. So I need to get it looked at. I'm planning on removing the harddrive to keep all my information safe. I'm not into dealing with hardware much so I have a few stupid questions;

If I remove the harddrive is it as simple as plugging it all back in to go to the way it was originally?;
If they for some reason need to use another harddrive on my desktop 'as I've heard they do keep spares in case they are given a laptop/desktop without one' - will it cause any conflicts when I put mine back in? 'not sure how these things work'.

Any help will be appreciated.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Shouldn't be a problem assuming they don't change any hardware.

What do you mean by fixing HDMI? If you have a bad HDMI port, are they going to replace the motherboard? If they did that, then you might well have a problem when you reinstall the drive.

 

[sezan1]

Shouldn't be a problem assuming they don't change any hardware.

What do you mean by fixing HDMI? If you have a bad HDMI port, are they going to replace the motherboard? If they did that, then you might well have a problem when you reinstall the drive.

Well I'm not sure if it is the motherboard, basically whats happened is.. hotplugging caused some problem with the hdmi.. vga works which I'm using now but I'm gonna upgrade my TV and it doesn't support VGA... so yeah XD, whats the chances of it being motherboard - how would I be able to tell you? I'm only gonna pay for them to look at it and tell me first of all I'm pretty new when it comes to hardware stuff

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Hard to say as we don't know why HDMI won't work.

Maybe it's a physically damaged port.

A failed port isn't a rare occurrence. Motherboards are among the least reliable components of a computer. Quality control is generally mediocre.

Maybe it's something you did wrong in the configuration.

Maybe it's a cable issue.

Etc.

If the port is physically damaged, they may want to replace the board.

You may be dealing with a reliable outfit or a band of thieves. I don't know. It's like a car mechanic. If he tells you the yadayada needs to be replaced, you're on the hook for it unless you have a second opinion or are well-informed yourself.

 

[sezan1]

Hard to say as we don't know why HDMI won't work.

Maybe it's a physically damaged port.

A failed port isn't a rare occurrence. Motherboards are among the least reliable components of a computer. Quality control is generally mediocre.

Maybe it's something you did wrong in the configuration.

Maybe it's a cable issue.

Etc.

If the port is physically damaged, they may want to replace the board.

You may be dealing with a reliable outfit or a band of thieves. I don't know. It's like a car mechanic. If he tells you the yadayada needs to be replaced, you're on the hook for it unless you have a second opinion or are well-informed yourself.

yeah I'm aware of this sadly lol. Is there a way to check if it is the motherboard?. It could be the port as I was using a rather unreliable HDMI cable and kept plugging it in and out.. or it could of caused a problem n blown. I've checked with other hdmi cables and no luck lol.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I wouldn't expect a shop to devote much time to the diagnosis or do any "repairs" of a bad port. If HDMI won't work with a known good cable, my guess would be they'll just assume the port is bad and tell you to replace the board. They'd just make an inference.

I assume they could use a tool to evaluate the port and determine if it's inert/dead, but I don't know if they'd go to that trouble.

I don't know much about HDMI, so there may be some configuration nuance that would apply. But if you had it working OK and now it won't, I'd assume you had the correct configuration at one time.

You're putty in their hands unless you get a second opinion---which is tough to justify if you are paying $40 bucks on up per opinion, when a new board is maybe $150.

 

[sezan1]

Alright so if its the motherboard and it needs replacing I can still keep the harddrive with me or what? .

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Alright so if its the motherboard and it needs replacing I can still keep the harddrive with me or what? .

If you replace it with an identical make and model motherboard, you shouldn't notice the difference.

If you replace it with a different motherboard that has the same chipset, you probably won't have any significant trouble and may just need to make a few adjustments. I'd expect the PC to boot when you reconnect the current hard drive.

If you replace it with a different motherboard that has a different chipset, you can expect problems, but it may be that fixing those problems is still less of a hassle than reinstalling Windows and all applications. The PC would probably boot, but may look totally goofy on screen. You'd have to fix a number of things--mostly driver related.

If you don't mind reinstalling Windows and all applications, most people would tell you to do that UNLESS you are replacing the board with an identical make and model.

Regardless--the hard drive will still "work" and you can do with it as you wish. The problems you may have would be Windows issues, not hard drive issues.

I see this is an AMD system that you have. My above comments would refer to an Intel system. I don't know if an AMD system would have about the same problems or be considerably different.

 

[sezan1]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NI96S2O/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

What would happen if I were to try something like this?.

I'm looking to upgrade my TV - It will be used as a monitor, can my computer still display fine on a TV like..

LG 55EG920V | 55 inch Curved OLED 4K Ultra HD 3D Smart TV Freeview HD | Richer Sounds

Or will I have to upgrade some parts? Sorry for all the posts, thanks for the help.

Graphics details;

AMD Radeon HD 8570D

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I know nothing about either of those products.

 

[sezan1]

I know nothing about either of those products.

alright thanks anyway

 

[AddRAM]

no clue what computer you`re talking about, you don`t say.

But, if it`s the one in your specs, then just buy a new video card, get rid of that amd card and get something by EVGA.

EVGA - Intelligent Innovation - Official Website

If it`s a laptop, no one fixes HDMI ports, you will need a new motherboard.

There is no reason to remove the hard drive, leave it alone.

Also, why are you using an HDTV for a computer monitor ? They are horrible for computer monitors.

Use an HDTV for what`s it`s meant for, HDTV, or BluRay movies and gaming through a PS3/4

 

[sezan1]

no clue what computer you`re talking about, you don`t say.

But, if it`s the one in your specs, then just buy a new video card, get rid of that amd card and get something by EVGA.

EVGA - Intelligent Innovation - Official Website

If it`s a laptop, no one fixes HDMI ports, you will need a new motherboard.

There is no reason to remove the hard drive, leave it alone.

Also, why are you using an HDTV for a computer monitor ? They are horrible for computer monitors.

Use an HDTV for what`s it`s meant for, HDTV, or BluRay movies and gaming through a PS3/4

Yea its the one in the specs ^^.
it's the desktop . removing it was just for taking it to get fixed, just to protect all my files, idk I'm a bit skeptical about leaving it lol.

Maybe backing up files to external harddrive and wiping computer clean is an option.

I will be doing that but I'm currently using my 32" technika TV as a pc screen atm, so was wanting to replace my whole TV with an upgrade, if its even slightly better than this technika TV I'll be happy man

price of those graphics cards are worth more than the computer lol. I may be looking for a new card to run at 3840x2160 res for the TV, since the max on this one is 2560 or something?. or would it still run fine on the TV?.

 

[AddRAM]

My point is, if you think the HDMI port is shot, then you just buy a new card, don`t pay someone to tell you what we can tell you for free.

 

[sezan1]

My point is, if you think the HDMI port is shot, then you just buy a new card, don`t pay someone to tell you what we can tell you for free.

Yea I appreciate it thanks for your help!

 

[wasnotwas]

no clue what computer you`re talking about, you don`t say.

But, if it`s the one in your specs, then just buy a new video card, get rid of that amd card and get something by EVGA.

Not that easy with integrated graphics.

Last time I bought an HDMI cable, there was a note in the package warning about hotplugging causing damage. Folk on this forum and elsewhere said 'rubbish - I do this all the time'. Seems like I was right.

If the OP has blown the mobo HDMI circuit, it's a new board - no-one does component level repairs. Sending the pc for repair without an HDD would involve the engineer installing a drive and installing windows - they charge by the hour. A couple of hours work soon runs into $100's.

A discrete gfx card would probably work, but I'd just buy an identical mobo - if available.

 

[sezan1]

no clue what computer you`re talking about, you don`t say.

But, if it`s the one in your specs, then just buy a new video card, get rid of that amd card and get something by EVGA.

Not that easy with integrated graphics.

Last time I bought an HDMI cable, there was a note in the package warning about hotplugging causing damage. Folk on this forum and elsewhere said 'rubbish - I do this all the time'. Seems like I was right.

If the OP has blown the mobo HDMI circuit, it's a new board - no-one does component level repairs. Sending the pc for repair without an HDD would involve the engineer installing a drive and installing windows - they charge by the hour. A couple of hours work soon runs into $100's.

A discrete gfx card would probably work, but I'd just buy an identical mobo - if available.

Indeed you were right, I had no idea this could happen - costly mistake.
So moving everything to external hd is the best option and doing a complete wipe to keep files safe?.

 

[wasnotwas]

Most people troubleshoot pc stuff by substitution - your HDMI cable on a different computer, a known good monitor + cable on your system etc. If you've exhausted all combinations and narrowed it down to the mobo, then a straight mobo swap (identical board) is prob the way. As has been mentioned, your HDD would just plug into the new board with no need for reinstall or formatting. A replacement board has a different serial which may screw up your Windows activation, but MS usually allow a repair with the same board (may need a phone call). If the OS was a retail license, this doesn't apply.

If you are not happy doing hardware stuff, I guess a repair shop is the way. A mobo swap involves removing and reinstalling cpu and RAM (with appropriate static practices), not to mention difficult to reach mounting screws - I have a special grab tool for those pesky blighters.

As for your personal files, just backing them up and deleting the originals from the HDD would prob be enough to keep your info away from prying eyes at the repair shop.

 

[sezan1]

Most people troubleshoot pc stuff by substitution - your HDMI cable on a different computer, a known good monitor + cable on your system etc. If you've exhausted all combinations and narrowed it down to the mobo, then a straight mobo swap (identical board) is prob the way. As has been mentioned, your HDD would just plug into the new board with no need for reinstall or formatting. A replacement board has a different serial which may screw up your Windows activation, but MS usually allow a repair with the same board (may need a phone call). If the OS was a retail license, this doesn't apply.

If you are not happy doing hardware stuff, I guess a repair shop is the way. A mobo swap involves removing and reinstalling cpu and RAM (with appropriate static practices), not to mention difficult to reach mounting screws - I have a special grab tool for those pesky blighters.

As for your personal files, just backing them up and deleting the originals from the HDD would prob be enough to keep your info away from prying eyes at the repair shop.

Well I've checked the motherboard I need - MSI MS-7721 - Version 2.0

I've located this on eBay - says version 2.3 though

MSI FM2 A55M E33 MS 7721 VER 2 3 Microatx Hdmi Socket FM2 Motherboard | eBay

Checked the back of mine, looks the exact same so I'm assuming it is minus the 2.3?.

Also I've decided to do the encrpytion of files.

One last thing rather than repair shop and replace mobo wouldnt this work;

https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters-SuperSpeed-Adapter-2560x1440/dp/B004MS0DIK

 

[wasnotwas]

I have no experience of those USB gizmos.

If I've been looking at the correct Asrock board, you have VGA, DVI-D and HDMI. Have you tried a DVI to HDMI cable. The DVI won't carry sound like HDMI, but your TV may have an audio i/p (or use speakers). Since both are digital, it's possible that the DVI-D is also screwed. A separate video card has also been mentioned.