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Author Topic: Utterly borked machine  (Read 3644 times)

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Trygon

  • Guest
Utterly borked machine
« on: July 17, 2007, 06:37:38 PM »
So, I just got my rickety old tower shipped crosscountry to my new home. This machine has been having problems for a while, but it seems the trip was too much for it. It is a Windows XP box, 1.8 GHz, 768 MB of DDR RAM (I think), and a plethora of cobbled together parts.

Here's how it went down.

When I finally got the machine all set up and ready to go, I powered on and received three long beeps and no monitor activity. I played with the RAM and video card a bit, and got this result several more times. Then, powering on turned on the power LED, but nothing else - No HDD spin, no fans. After that, powering on gave me maybe a half-second of activity - CD-ROM light blinked once, fan's turned maybe a half-rotation. Though the power LED was off, I had to do a hard turnoff before I could turn it back on. After this, I went though the computer, checking every connection, giving it a full head-to-toe. I turned it on, and it powered up perfectly. I set it back up straight, and it suddenly died. Now all I'm getting is the power blink from before.

Power supply death, maybe? Those three beeps worry me, though. Best I can tell is that it means my RAM is dead, or my keyboard port is broken.

So, any advice, ideas, etc. would be lovely.
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Anodoin



    Intermediate

    Re: Utterly borked machine
    « Reply #1 on: July 18, 2007, 12:23:39 AM »
    Sounds like a simple inability to post, which can be caused by any number of simple (or serious) issues.  Make sure everything's seated properly and that all plugs are connected snugly.
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    DeltaSlaya



      Apprentice
    • Google
      Re: Utterly borked machine
      « Reply #2 on: July 18, 2007, 12:31:03 AM »
      The OP mentioned that they reseated and checked all connections.

      My first impression is that this is either a RAM or HDD issue, most likely RAM. May I suggest running Memtest, perhaps with your RAM on another computer? Also you could try slaving the hard drive on another computer and running drive diagnostics. This will help eliminate at most, two components of being at fault.

      Wait for an Expert, I'm sure one will reply to this post soon. Perhaps the undetailed Subject is deterring them? :P
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      System specs:
      Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 (up to 3.3 stock V and air)
      ASUS Striker Extreme
      XFX 8600GT XXX Edition
      2x 1gB Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800
      Seagate Barracuda 320gB SATA
      Raidmax Ninja 918 (520W ATXV2.0 PSU)
      -

      patio

      • Moderator


        • Genius
      • Maud' Dib
        • Thanked: 1769
        • Yes
      • Experience: Beginner
      • OS: Windows 7
      Re: Utterly borked machine
      « Reply #3 on: July 18, 2007, 06:04:38 AM »
      I would borrow a known good PSU of the same or greater wattage and swap it in there...you need at least a day of running/powering on/off to test it properly...

      While you are in there do some housekeeping with a can of compressed air...clean all heatsinks and fans. Use a QTip to hold the fan blades in place when you are blasting them.

      Before re-assembling pick up the case with all cords detached and gently shake it listening for sounds...i've seen these symptoms caused by a wayward screw under the MBoard.

      Carefully remove all cards and RAM sticks one by one and re-seat them.

      As always when inside the case remove all power sources and take anti-static precautions...

      Good Luck and let us know...
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      " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "

      Trygon

      • Guest
      Re: Utterly borked machine
      « Reply #4 on: July 18, 2007, 07:27:47 AM »
      Quote from: patio on July 18, 2007, 06:04:38 AM
      i've seen these symptoms caused by a wayward screw under the MBoard.
      !!

      I did hear rattling when I was setting it up, and that would explain why it managed to power up twice on it's side.

      I'll check that as soon as I get home from work.
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      patio

      • Moderator


        • Genius
      • Maud' Dib
        • Thanked: 1769
        • Yes
      • Experience: Beginner
      • OS: Windows 7
      Re: Utterly borked machine
      « Reply #5 on: July 18, 2007, 03:19:03 PM »
      By the way..Welcome Aboard !
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      " Anyone who goes to a psychiatrist should have his head examined. "

      Trygon

      • Guest
      Re: Utterly borked machine
      « Reply #6 on: July 18, 2007, 05:02:16 PM »
      It boots!

      My roomate's brother took a look at it today, popped a ram stick out, and now it boots. Unfortunetly, now it locks up when the 'welcome' screen should come up. The HDD activity light flickers regularly, and the mouse cursor moves, with occasional freezes. Safe mode doesn't work. I tried putting in a Windows 2000 HDD, and got an 'Inaccessable boot device' bluescreen.

      I think I'm gonna try reinstalling XP - One would imagine that the problem must be in the software, as I do get an XP loading screen, etc.
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      Trygon

      • Guest
      Re: Utterly borked machine
      « Reply #7 on: July 18, 2007, 05:30:24 PM »
      XP recovery console did nothing. Going to try a full reinstall
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      Trygon

      • Guest
      Re: Utterly borked machine
      « Reply #8 on: July 18, 2007, 05:59:41 PM »
      Gah. Same result at the restart stage of the XP install. I'm officially out of ideas.

      EDIT: Format/reinstall didn't work either.

      EDITEDIT: GAAAAH. I tried reseating the HDD IDE, and now the power LED comes on, but the computer won't spin up at all.
      « Last Edit: July 18, 2007, 06:51:30 PM by Trygon »
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      Trygon

      • Guest
      Re: Utterly borked machine
      « Reply #9 on: July 18, 2007, 09:51:53 PM »
      Christ.

      I took the computer down to it's component parts - One of the screws on the mobo won't come out, by the way, and lo and behold, there was a screw behind it. I totally reassembled it (Been meaning to sort my cards for a while), and hooked it up, utterly confident in my victory.

      It won't even show a glimpse of life.

      The internal light on the mobo is on, but the power button does jackall.

      I think it's about time to host a funeral service for this bad boy.

      Damnit, that format killed my internet favorites!
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      Trygon

      • Guest
      Re: Utterly borked machine
      « Reply #10 on: July 20, 2007, 12:14:03 AM »
      IT LIVES!

      I have no idea why, either. But it works!

      *glee*
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