Paranoid's computer - access question

[AZZenny]

I am in New Hampshire at the moment, trying to organize my older brother's affairs -- he died 4 days ago somewhat unexpectedly, and I am all there is in terms of family. He has been incredibly reclusive in recent years for a variety of health and other reasons, including a lifelong extreme privacy fetish. (I swear that among the first words I learned to say and read were 'no trespassers,' and my earliest memories are of him angrily chasing me -- and everyone else, including my parents -- away from his stuff.)

Well, I get to go through everything now, and have done much of that today, but I can't get onto his computer to check for some missing info. I cannot get it to even turn on, although it is hooked up, and I know he was using it up to a day before he died, since it was some online friends who alerted the authorities. I also know he has all kinds of 'evidence eliminator' programs, and all his life has hidden stuff, and even booby-trapped things as a kid. (On the other hand, he wrote passwords to various accounts and things in logical but buried spots where the careful examiner would eventually find them.)

Is there any way that someone could have a computer rigged so if you didn't do something just right -- say with a mouse or keyboard or something -- as you hit the power button, it would start and immediately turn itself off? Because that's what it sort of seems to be doing. Then the monitor says 'no signal.' He's got a weird looking mouse, and a fairly fancy surge protector, but not too many peripherals. Maybe it's just broken, but that would be odd timing.

Any thoughts?

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

I would imagine it would be hard to do something like that if the computer is shutting itself off within a few seconds (before the bios or operating system could even do anything). A computer powering off right after hitting the on button is most of the time an overheating or power supply problem, that's what I am guessing is going on, although the timing is indeed strange.

If that isn't it, maybe he manually disconnects something on the PC when not in use to prevent someone else from turning it on, like the RAM or a power supply cable. He could have a fingerprint scanner (some mice include them as well), but I don't know if any shut the PC down rather than simply denying access. If you can, you might just want to remove the hard drive and access it using another computer if you can't get the other to work.

Sorry to hear about your brother.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

Sorry to hear about your brother.

Like CHF said it is unlikely that he set it up to shut off immediately. Usually the best you can do is set a system password in the bios.

He could have connected it incorrectly on purpose though. Maybe his computer has an onboard video card and a secondary one installed also. He might swap the monitor cord to the onboard (which is disabled/uninstalled). When you turn on the computer the monitor would not get any signal and would display the "no signal" message. If this is the case - just look for another place to hook the monitor up in the back of the tower. Otherwise - to eliminate the monitor - check it with another monitor that you know works (if possible).

If you still don't have any luck - you might unplug everything and then set it up yourself with just the basics - tower, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and power cords.

 

[UncleChris]

Terrible, terrible news about your brother, Pam. I am so very sorry for you and your family. I wish you as much peace and ease as possible through this most difficult of times.

As to your computer, my suggestion is to spend a few dollars and take it to computer geeks or whoever. They have the knowledge, ability and equipment to get through it quickly. You might need to take a death certificate with you, if possible, so they don't think you are some sort of thief. My guess is that since your brother was a very, VERY private man, he had some advanced methods of protecting his information. The couple hundred bucks to crack this is well worth your while (espcecially right now).

 

[AZZenny]

Actually, ASFN helped me crack it. I decided the mouse was the first likely culprit, so I found a hardly-used normal mouse, plugged it in, muttered, "that would be too easy," punched power, and low and behold, it started right up. Then I carefully poked around, backing out anytime I got any error screen, and through trial and error, actually got into where he kept not only his legal and financial files, but also his seemingly complete list of usernames and passwords. Copied it onto a flashdrive, and will see shortly if I can access it on my computer -- his monitor sucks terribly, and I'm still afraid I'll hit the wrong key and erase everything before I'm ready to do that.

So thank you guys, you have no idea how helpful this was (and important). This whole process is no fun at all, so extra hurdles are a little hard to take.

 

[Pariah]

Sorry for your loss, Z.

 

[Linderbee]

I'm sorry you are having to go through all of this, but I am glad you were able to get what you needed.

My thoughts are with you.

 

[AZZenny]

Thanks for the kind thoughts, all. I am more aware than ever how important our online 'neighborhoods' really are. His fishing board friends are taking his dog (all the way to Texas) and will spread his ashes where he wanted. You guys jumped in and helped me out in a serious pinch.

Had to do this also with my sister's sudden death six years ago, and I learned to be quite ruthless in the sorting-out phase. There'll be lots of time to reflect, but only a few days to get a ton of stuff done -- It's sort of like being told you have to move out of an old home in four days. Except you can't because it takes 5 days to get the official papers allowing you to do anything.

Anyway -- tomorrow is the bureaucracy day.

 

[UncleChris]

Glad it was an easy solution!

Hang in there, my dear friend. :hug: