The Computer Saga

[Getback]

This won't make me look too good.

I've been having issues for months.

First I changed hard drives, Well first I restored the computer several times and reloaded the game a couple of times before that.

Those didn't work.

Then I thought I would take some stress off the processor and bought a sound card. Never installed it though.

After an Nvidia update and a Windows request to restore the computer I decided it was an Nvidia issue. So I bought a new AMD video card.

At this point instead of deleting all the drivers I just reloaded Windows again. Then on a lark while in the BIOS I did a memory check. It failed. After the reboot I saw I had 8 gigs of memory, 2 sticks of 4 is what I was thinking.

Once I had it apart I thought let's see the speed of the memory. It was 1066 and not 4 gigs but 8 gigs per stick. One must be dead. I order new memory from NewEgg. It's coming from Indianapolis. Yaye I'll have it in 2 days. Not so, for some reason it heads to Kentucky. What the heck! I IM NewEgg. They said I'll have it by the 17th. Uh! What a canned reply.

I can' wait. I run to Best Buy and get a fairly good deal thanks to price match.

Get back home, install the sound card, new video card, and RAM. Hook it all back up. Turn it on and it only lights up a little. Something is amiss. I then pull the PCI-E sound card. Hook everything back up and just a little light. Nothing more.

Take it apart again and put the old video card in. Turn it on and nothing, not even lights. I ponder for a while. It's 6:30 a.m. and no stores open until 10 a.m. I think about it for a bit and say that power supply is about 8 years old. I'll get a new one. I run back to Best Buy pick up a new power supply (Nothing to write home about). Install it and all it's cables.

Plug it in and nothing again. Geeze!

Well is the surge protector defective. Nope plug the computer in a different outlet and nothing. Is the power cord bad, nope. Used the new one and nothing.

Then while studying the mainboard I see it has a power switch. I plug it in with no monitor or keyboard and hit the on board power switch. It comes on. Thank goodness I seriously thinking of a new mother board or computer. You could hear the hard drive start too and the sound card and video card where lit as well. So there's something not connected or dysfunctional with the start button. Not sure yet but I'll follow it tomorrow.

Oh, BTW, the RAM came from NewEgg today!!

[Pudgie]

I feel your pain, bro.......................... ..

Now I didn't go as far as you did but the wife had bought a new Logitech M215 wireless mouse\K330 keyboard combo for her box & was trying to set it up on her computer yesterday evening when I came home from work.
Naturally she was not getting anywhere w/ it & asked me to get it all working for her so she could FB.........................

1st thing I saw was that she had plugged the USB receiver in 1 of the bad USB connectors on front panel of her case (Antec Three Hundred) that I had unplugged some 8-9 months back (she kept bumping into the USB Bluetooth dongle that she had for her Bluetooth earpiece & ended up breaking both connectors) but I didn't say nothing. So I turned her box off as I was going to pull it out to access the rear, disconnect the old wireless receiver & plug the new one in1 of the USB slots on the back. No sooner had I done this & slid it back in & pushed the power button to turn it on I got nothing.............

Looked inside the case & I could see parts of the mobo was still lit up but no start up.................
Pulled it out & opened it up & checked all over & couldn't find nothing wrong so I had assumed that the PSU had failed...even though I could see that power was on the mobo. I wasn't gonna get another 1 from our local Best Buy (this was the 2nd one in this box) so I was gonna wait until the AM to order 1. So when I informed the General House Manager that she was gonna be out of commission for a while let's just say that there were a few words said.......& since I had been working on my box all week (had installed a Plextor M6e 512Gb PCI-E SSD & loaded fresh Win 7 SP1 install & loaded all drivers, apps & games & set all up over the week) the General House Manager thought I should put out a little more effort to fix her box............whew!

Anyway while I was messing around on my box I got the idea that instead of ordering a PSU in the AM that I would check the power switch in the case just to cover all bases............

This morning I pulled the box back out, opened it up then got my company issued Fluke voltmeter out, set it up for continuity & tested the power switch leads when I pushed the button in...............nothing..... hhhhhmmmmm. Retested & got the same. Just to check something else I checked the reset button leads........meter beeped when I pushed the button in....leads are good & meter working. Retested the power switch leads again.....got nothing. Switch is bad.................now what. Went online on my box to check Antec's site for spare parts as I was going to also replace the bad USB front header block as well......nobody home on the weekend so the wife is still looking to be grounded...................un til I realized that I could use the reset button as the power button as a stop gap measure until I could get the parts ordered so I plugged the reset button leads on the power switch pins on the mobo, put it back together & hooked all back up, hit the button & volia! Her box powered up w/o issue. Went into the UEFI using her old keyboard (new 1 wasn't working yet) to check for initialization & saw that both mice & keyboards were initialized but the new board wasn't working....? Checked the batteries in the new keyboard & found them installed backwards.................... ....... I didn't say nothing bout this, just put them in correctly then checked for operation....all working OK. Shut down, removed the old receiver from the box (while I had it out of her desk I removed all the extra cabling & power supplies that weren't being used anymore........didn't say nothing bout that either), hooked all back up & booted her box into Windows, went online & downloaded the Logitech Setpoint software for her combo & installed it & set all up. Now after all this was done the General House Manager came thru the door to see her prized possession up & running she was apologetic after that......................... ......

Now you prolly don't have this problem but I typed this to let you know that you ain't by yourself as it's easy to miss stuff that creates similar symptoms so is not a easy find..............& it certainly don't help when you got the Boss yelling at you either............

 

I hope you got it under control...................

 

[Getback]

I never did get it figured out. Handed down to my son. So now no gaming rig. I'm not sure which way I'm going to go with this, new or build.

[Getback]

The saga continues and I thought this was over.

My son just called. He got the old Compaq I gave him started again after using the power supply from my mom's computer.

Then he got my gaming rig going! What a kid!! He said the start button was bad and is replacing it with another switch. Going to call me later to let me know. He turned it on with the mother board switch by the OC Genie.

Best news yet he's giving it back!