Author Topic: Hellllp! need a quick answer to a computer problem (Read 860 times)

DREDIOCK · « **on:** May 18, 2006, 07:05:43 PM »

ok press the power button.
fans start spinning up for about 3 seconds then they power down.
yet one case fan remains lit

Shot or faultypower supply?

DREDIOCK · « **Reply #1 on:** May 18, 2006, 08:32:23 PM »

Ok worse problem,

Opened the case, CPU fan had somehow come loose and was laying part on the cpu,part on the motherboard.

reconnected CPU fan.
Powers up fine. But thats all it does. no picture to the monitor.
tried changing out the Video card with a spare I had in another machine.

Still nada.
Nothing. no HD activity, no beeps. nothing but the fans whirring.

CPU shot? MB shot? Both?

Helllllllp!

I hate typing on this laptop!

On the upside. I get to see how well this thing handles the MA
I know it will run in it. we did it the other day.
But tonight Ill really beputting it through its paces.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #2 on:** May 18, 2006, 08:53:32 PM »

My guess would be the CPU fried. Fan came off, got too hot and bye bye!

Just a guess though. Dont suppose you have an old CPU you could plug in to try it?

Brenjen · « **Reply #3 on:** May 18, 2006, 08:54:04 PM »

If there is a PC shop in your area, I would recommend you bite the bullet & take it in.

If not, are you techie enough to remove the CPU from the mobo & look to see if there is any obvious thermal damage? That's the first thing I would do, get a magnifying glass & some good light & look for any charring, swelling of the heat spreader, cracking, bubbling around the pins etc.

If you don't know what your doing definetly take it to a shop, I'm not implying anything or knocking you at all. It's just that so many things can go wrong from what you described & they can be made worse if you don't know what you're doing.

~~& I hope you get it back on it's feet.~~

Meatwad · « **Reply #4 on:** May 18, 2006, 08:56:36 PM »

Sounds like the CPU fried to me also

Sandman · « **Reply #5 on:** May 18, 2006, 08:59:16 PM »

Odds are, you killed the CPU. Probably got the mainboard too.

Airscrew · « **Reply #6 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:07:18 PM »

I'm not an expert but I wouldn't jump on the bad CPU MBO yet. I built a new pc for my son, it worked for a few days then one day only the case fan came on, nothing else, no beeps, no harddrive lights, nothing. I suspected the power supply because I reused an old PS I had. I bought a new 500watt PS and all is well.

Dred, I would take it in and just have it all tested, may just be bad PS, or could be CPU

Chairboy · « **Reply #7 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:09:37 PM »

Power supply. If you have another atx, try it.

Brenjen · « **Reply #8 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:14:01 PM »

I am currently in the process of fixing my moms compaq, the PS went out & took the Hard Drive out with it & it pulled a similar gag on us when it went. After checking the CPU for any obvious damage, definetly check the PS like chairboy & airscrew recomended.

StarOfAfrica2 · « **Reply #9 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:18:52 PM »

You definitely want to examine as many options as possible before determining it's dead. Even if you dont have another PS, you can check with a simple volt/amp meter.

Only reason I'd suspect CPU right off is that you found the CPU fan disconnected from the heatsink. I would THINK you'd have had some warning of an overheat, but not always, not if it did it quick enough.

Good luck!

SOB · « **Reply #10 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:21:30 PM »

Pull everything but the CPU and memory and the leads to the PC Speaker/LEDs/Ect. If you don't get any beeps at all, I'd suspect the motherboard is toast.

If you feel handy with the 'puter and you have a good friend with a compatible setup, I'd swap out parts with him to see what works and what doesn't. If not, I'd find somewhere with a good return policy (ie, no restocking fees) and get a motherboard.

38ruk · « **Reply #11 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:24:17 PM »

Sounds like the cpu . Most newer pc's will give you some warning if its just the fan that has died or has fell off . They will lockup , or generally be unstable . If it was the Heatsink/fan combo that was half way off the board then the cpu is toast . You can try reseting the cmos (bios ) and reapplying thermal paste to the cpu ,then reseating the Heatsink . Its worth a try . GL

Chairboy · « **Reply #12 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:32:12 PM »

Before you do anything drastic, unseat the ram, blow on it, and reseat it. Sounds wonky, but it works a lot (most likely the fact that you're reseating the ram).

Check that power supply by trying another instead, I had the EXACT SAME symptoms last year on my Athlon, and that was the culprit.

DREDIOCK · « **Reply #13 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:36:02 PM »

bah. the only spare power ssupplies I have are from and old P 500 and an old Asus of around the same speed.

Just looking at the power supplies they dont look anywhere near big enough.

Im thinking if its the CPU I might be better off getting a new and better MB and CPU. (AMD64) Certainly would be faster then getting a cpu for this old socket A machine as those CPUs are no longer easily available around me.
at least the ones that can go in my MB

question is. How much of my old stuff , the memory in particular can I use with a new MB CPU combo?

wont be the machine I wanted to build for myself. But it will be better then highjacking my sons new laptop or my wifes machine.
And it will be better then the machine I was running

Figger right now I can AFFORD to spend around $250
Give or take a few $

Chairboy · « **Reply #14 on:** May 18, 2006, 09:39:35 PM »

Doesn't matter if it's big enough, try that other power supply. Don't plug in the hard drives and accessories, just look for a video signal. It'll be more than enough power to determine if the other PSU is the problem.