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What would cause a computer to simply not power up?
Freejack
Jake the Not-so-Wise
in Zocalo v2.0
My wife removed the cover on our old PII today to push back in place a modem card that worked it's way loose. The unit was on when she did this, and as soon as she did this, the machine shut down, and refuses to power back up.
I've checked all the connections, the power switch and the done a visual of the MB, I cannot see where anything looks out of sorts. Are there any type of fuses, jumpers or breakers that I should be looking for?
Jake
I've checked all the connections, the power switch and the done a visual of the MB, I cannot see where anything looks out of sorts. Are there any type of fuses, jumpers or breakers that I should be looking for?
Jake
Comments
Shuffling the cards around while the computer was on is typically a bad idea, even if you're simply pushing the cards in just a tiny bit. The chance of shorting or crossing connections exists, and can cause the magic smoke to leave.
If you can remove all of the cards and it still does not boot, you likely have a fried pc.
I would suggest substituting the processor and ram with others, if you have any, as a test.
If you've unplugged it, let it sit, plugged it back in, and still gotten nothing, either the PSU is dead or the whole thing is.
Most likely you probably blew out your modem and your motherboard and nothing else. The problem you'll have is finding a P2 motherboard these days - they aren't made anymore.
Its probably toast. If its not I would be surprised, Ive been working on electronics too long to expect something like that to work, after doing that to it.
It was funny, especially considering she did it to herself and thought that once it dried, everything would work. :D
[B]Sometimes the power supply in the case trips. you have to unplug the power supply completly and have it reset itself. It is a safety circuit. [/B][/QUOTE]
I was going to mention this myself before the act of unplugging everything from the Mobo and all...
unplugging the wall power from the pSU and flipping the switch to drain any built up charge in the caps has brought a few machines back into the universe for me...
:)
#1 Fill bathtub with water
#2 Let computer soak in warm soapy water for 24 hours
#3 let dry for 7 days
#4 Lather, Rinse, Repeat
Yes, I know that you should not go messing with the case without shutting down, but she does know that. This was an instance were a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. She new the modem card came loose, and she knew she had to push it back in as she had seen me do before...
Jake
[B]Just chuck her out the window ;) [/B][/QUOTE]
Who, the computer or the wife? ;)
Jake
I once fried a REALLY nice Asus PIII motherboard by gently shaking a misbehaving network card. Still pains me to this day how stupidly I lost that board.
[B]Who, the computer or the wife? ;)
Jake [/B][/QUOTE]
That depends, how good was the computer? :D
Jake
[B]That depends, how good was the computer? :D [/B][/QUOTE]
Not a very good computer, just an old P2 that is used for dial-up internet and the occasional word processing.
Besides, our windows are only a few feet off the ground, if I chucked the wife out one, the only thing I would get out of it is a very pissed off wife.
Jake
[B]Good news everyone! The machine powered up this morning, sorta. It turned on, but the video was dead. It also chirped the series of beeps that indicates something is boffed on the boot up. I didn't have time to mess with it anymore this morning, so I will take a look at it tonight. I wonder if I loosened the video card when I was futzing with it last night.
Jake [/B][/QUOTE]
If you're getting beep codes on boot, there's a very good chance that at least the motherboard is dead, if not substantially more. In all seriousness, I suggest you pull all the data from that drive and trash it. You can get an old P2 laptop for anout 150 on eBay.
[B]Who, the computer or the wife? ;)
Jake [/B][/QUOTE]
:vorlon: Yesssssss :vorlon:
[quote]If you're getting beep codes on boot, there's a very good chance that at least the motherboard is dead, if not substantially more. In all seriousness, I suggest you pull all the data from that drive and trash it. You can get an old P2 laptop for anout 150 on eBay.[/quote]
And you call yourself a geek...... *slaps hand*
[B]If you're getting beep codes on boot, there's a very good chance that at least the motherboard is dead, if not substantially more. In all seriousness, I suggest you pull all the data from that drive and trash it. You can get an old P2 laptop for anout 150 on eBay. [/B][/QUOTE]
Ehhh? I think beeping is good :) A dead motherboard doesnt beep. A damaged one may. It may even beep just because of a successful bootprocess or a loose cable.
I regularly open side of my computer when the computer is on to check on some stuff if I need to.
maxdamage
[B]Ehhh? I think beeping is good :) A dead motherboard doesnt beep. A damaged one may. It may even beep just because of a successful bootprocess or a loose cable. [/B][/QUOTE]
There's a difference between beeping to POST and issuing beep codes. If it's doing the latter (they will sound distinctly different from normal boot), your motherboard is likely toast, along with your processor, and the possibility of other components being dead is usually substantial.
On that subject, given the work my wife does with computers (Internet, writing and bill keeping) I'm really considering getting a Mac Mini. The X interface is so slick and from my experience, the long term reliablity is better than PCs for someone who is not computer savy. The idea being since its a Mac, I don't have to worry about her downloading or installing a buncha random softwares that I have to go back and uninstall to get the thing working adquately again...any thoughts.
Jake
[B]There's a difference between beeping to POST and issuing beep codes. If it's doing the latter (they will sound distinctly different from normal boot), your motherboard is likely toast, along with your processor, and the possibility of other components being dead is usually substantial. [/B][/QUOTE]
Wrong. Beep codes are good. If you do a google search for beep codes and your motherboard manufacturer, you can get a list of what they mean. Almost every beep code is something minor such as: memory post error, or video card not detected. These can be used to narrow down the problem to one of a few devices, instead of an entire fried board. Plus, often the cause is something not seated tightly, rather than a truly damaged component. Manufacturers put beep codes in to help you diagnose the problem, not to tell you "give up." That wouldn't make sense :)
---
Freejack: We've got several MacMini's at work. Nice systems. OS X 10.4 runs a BSD incarnation, so if you want more control than you get through the Mac interface, you can open a terminal and do just about anything you would on your linux or BSD system. The new Intel based MacMini's are supposedly a good deal faster, allowing:
- Ram: up to 2GB or SO-DIMM DDR2 ram (PPC Mac Mini's allowed 1GB of DIMM DDR ram).
- HD: 5400rpm laptop drive (vs PPC with a 4200rpm laptop drive)
- 2-4x faster than PPC version on benchmarks
- Socketed CPU (PPC version had them soldered in)
- 4 USB ports (vs 2 on PPC version)
- 5.1 surround via optical integrated into ordinary 2.0 bananna plug socket! (vs only 2.0 on PPC via bannanna plug)
It also comes with all the gadgets you find on the old MacMini's: Firewire, Ethernet, etc
If you want to open them, a putty knife works well.
I'd find out what the beep code means and then go from there.
Jake