How else to say it, but my computer is lifeless.
I went to turn my computer on this afternoon since I'm so smart that I turn it off when not in use, and after a few seconds of starting, it shut off. Then it was completely powerless. I swapped out the power supply and it would start up a bit and die. If I cut all power for a little while, it will start up a bit and die. But if I leave the power supply on, it won't do anything. I changed out the battery on the motherboard but that didn't help either.
Has anybody dealt with this? Is this most likely a failure of the motherboard, the cpu, or possibly another component? I started disconnecting devices to get it to start up, and that didn't seem to help. Lately it has been whining a bit on startup, but I hadn't had much time to isolate that and it wouldn't last long.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ryan
I have a problem with an old Abit BH6 ATX motherboard that sounds similar. It seems completely dead unless I do one thing to bring it back to life. I have to detach the main motherboard powercable for a period of time. The cable that connects the power supply directly to the motherboard has some sort of problem in it. I disconnect this cable, wait a few minutes, reconnected it and everything stars tup ok. I could never really explain why this worked, but it does the trick. It was this point when I started to run my computer 24x7. The best way to avoid this crazyness was never shutting off the system :) I was never able to attribute this problem to the power supply or the motherboard. This system still works and has this quirky problem from time to time.
Give it a try, it couldnt hurt....
Peter
There could also be a possible problem with the fan protecting your CPU. It could be that it isn't working properly and your system is shutting itself down because it's detecting too much heat.
I recommend watching your system a couple times on bootup to see if your fan is turning or not.
I have disconnected the motherboard for a while and tried again, but no success. I'll leave it all unplugged for the rest of the weekend and try on Monday. The fan does spin. When I plug everything in and turn the power supply on, it spins a bit and it starts to spin when I try to boot it up.
Do you have a friend that has a computer with a motherboard that excepts your processor? If so, use his/her motherboard with your CPU and other components. If you still have a problem then try his CPU and motherboard with your components. Next I suggest you test out your Electrical outlet, if that's OK, then take your computer to "Computer Renisance" In Farview Heights by the Mall. (I know the person that owns it.) They sole business is fixing computers, and selling ones that ppl don't want anymore. They have special testing equiptment, and will get to the bottom of your sitation.
Jon
We had the same problem with a few of the crappy tangents in the Alumni Hall Comp lab. We swapped out everything we could, tried unplugging them for a while, we ended up getting new motherboards. Kind of a harsh solution, but it worked. I found that there were noticibly burnt out/damaged capacitors on all of them. How and why? I have no idea.
hope this helps.
Matt
From what it sounds like to me, I think the automatic overheat protection is kiciking in. Make sure you don't have tons of dust in your CPU fan, and make sure that all three wires are intact and making a good connection. Look in your mobo's manual and see if it has a way to override the CPU Fan protection. (I hold down Insert on mine.)
Anyhow, what make/model mobo and cpu do you have?
--Beanie
Would the heat protection kick in in the first 5 seconds of startup? I have to plead guilty to having a dusty case. It may have lead to things getting a little warm here and there. I am not sure on the brand of the motherboard and my documentation is at school (I am at my parents' house as I write this). I'm sure that it's a no name el'cheapo since it was a prebuilt Systemax unit when I bought it. It's a slot A ATX formfactor and has an athlon 800 cpu.
To quote my motherboard manual (It's a Soyo K7V Dragon Plus!):
QuoteInsert badly translated Taiwanese here
God, I wish there was an American mobo manufacturer.
Anyhow, I think that the protection would kick in in a few seconds. Mine polls the RPMs from the fan, and then decides to turn on or off. (It's software controlled by the BIOS.) It also will shut down if it isn't running fast enough. Sure, it can be spinning, but if it's not spinning fast enough to be considered safe by the motherboard, it won't boot. Clean that dust out, and try a different fan, if you think that will help.
I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say you have a Gigabyte GA-7ZM in that machine, since that was the first match I got in google for "systemax 800MHz motherboard." But I don't have a PDF reader handy right now, so you'll have to read the manual on your own. See if there is a way to override the fan protection. If you can boot by overriding the fan, you've found the problem. (
Just don't run the computer like that! Athlons are known for being able to be killed in a matter of seconds with insuffecient cooling.)
--Beanie
I want to sincerely thank everyone for their thoughts and advice. After a thorough cleaning and some gentle coaxing, my computer sprang to life this evening. However, I get some memory referencing errors at startup at the time being, so I won't know for a little while if there is any real damage. That could also be because my bios reset my computer clock to January 1601. Go figure.
Well, it ran for a day, and now I think it is down for the count. I left it running for a while, and when I returned it was whining a bit. I restarted and checked out the hardware monitor in the bios. The processor was reading a temperature of 107 degrees F and the cpu fan was spinning at 6,XXX rpm. I shut it off for the night, and that was the last time it ran. I think I am going to take it in to Computer Renaissance as Jon suggested.
The kicker is that I brought a backup computer from home for this week, and I can't get that rascal to start either. It likes to hang at the first Dell screen. Maybe it's an omen from God. I may need to give up on computers.
Bad karma.
Anyhow, try erasing the CMOS memory on the Dell to get it going again.
--Beanie
Figured out the Dell. It just didn't like my monitor. Tried out an old 17 incher and she started up for me. I'm just glad I don't have another dead computer.
Whoa, I just checked out the service rates at CR and they sit at $65/hour with a 1 hour minimum. Tack on some used parts and I'll easily be spending $100 or more to get an old system running. Does $65/hour seem unreasonable just to run some diagnostic tests? I was planning on going tomorrow morning, but now I am not so sure that I want to pay $65 for 15 minutes of testing.
It seems unreasonable to me. I have never taken a computer in for service out of warranty. Diagnostic tests usually consist of taking the machine apart and testing each part individually, and see which one fails. $65/hour seems a little steep.
--Beanie
My own testing has narrowed the problem down to the processor or motherboard. With some help from my roommate, we managed to get it to run again. This came after putting a bigger better fan on my cpu. The running was accompanied by some nasty whining that would vary as the processor load would vary. There was also a smell of hot electronic parts in the air. Could a damaged processor make parts of the motherboard whine?
this was said prior but the failsafe on the bios as far as the temp is concerned may be still a prob.. whats the temp of the room your in...a friend of mine use to keep his computer in a room that was really hot in the summer and he had alot of problems like yours until he set the bios temp differently .... i had a problem once with an old CRT monitor that made my case carry a slight charge ...as in electrical shock type stuff... i doubt you are getting that kind of fun but i would not send it to someone else toplay with it for money like that... plus sometimes the answer never comes about and the computer starts running anyway..
good luck
Well, I put in a new motherboard and cpu. She purrs like a kitten now. It was really painless. I put it in, hooked everything up, turned it on, and windows started up. It detected hardware, made it's changes, rebooted, and has been running great since. And it was all just a couple of dollars more than what computer renaissance would have charged me for a visit. Further inspection of the motherboard after I pulled it out revealed some sooty substance oozing out of a few capacitors next to the processor. I think that's a good sign that the mobo is hurting. My question now is if my processor is shot as well?
Thanks to everyone that took the time to help me out.
Oooh. Leaky capacitors. Fun stuff. It happens, especially on cheap boards (and it's not unheard of on good boards) I'd guess, though, that your CPU is safe.
--Beanie