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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
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    Kalamazoo
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    Anyone interested in troubleshooting this computer ...

    ... I found on the side of the road?

    I know a few things (I built this PC I'm using and a few others), but I'm a bit befuddled on where to go next with this one.

    This PC appears to have been built. And it appears to have been built with quality components. I'm sure someone spent some cash to have it built.

    I first brought it into the house and let it adjust (dry) for a few days.

    I plugged it in and case fans started going, the hard drive was driving, and the monitor I hooked it to showed nothing.

    Since the fans in the power supply weren't running, I suspected that the PS was bad and not powering everything that needed power. And since power supplies are something I keep on hand, I just swapped it out for a newer and bigger one.

    Same thing. (except for the power supply fan not running)

    Since the new power supply checked out and I still didn't have video, I figured it just needed a new card. So I put one in.

    Still no video.

    OK - I like troubleshooting - But this is becoming annoying now.

    I decided to just let it sit there and run in hopes that it would eventually give me clues on what's wrong.

    Ten minutes later it shut itself off.

    Thinking this could be an anomaly, I thought I'd go ahead and try again. But no matter how many times I punched the power button, it wouldn't come on.

    So I unplugged it. Waited a few minutes. Plugged it back in to watch it fire up.

    Of course, ten minutes later it shut itself off.

    So now I'm suspecting CPU or MB - unless someone has another suggestion.

    I don't really have another cpu/mb combo I can put in. I have one or the other, but I'd have to purchase a cpu if I used the mb I have or an mb to go with the cpu I have.

    Do you think I'm on the right track? Or what would you suggest?

    Remember is fashioned after me.

    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    SLC
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    2,278
    try the ram first you might have a bad bank

    if that is not it put it back where you found it

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
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    No post beeps or anything? That's usually a clue.
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  4. #4
    Try to change Bios battery and reset if there any resetting bios switch

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Ohio
    Posts
    1,668
    Does it POST?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
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    Quote Originally Posted by HostingBig View Post
    .. put it back where you found it
    Too many good parts for that.

    Quote Originally Posted by Martin-D View Post
    No post beeps or anything? That's usually a clue.
    It sounds like a normal pc starting.

    Quote Originally Posted by WarriorKing View Post
    Try to change Bios battery and reset if there any resetting bios switch
    Since the light glows, I'd assume the batteries OK. But resetting does seem like an option. I'll let you know how that goes.

    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_M View Post
    Does it POST?
    It sounds like it does, but it's hard to say since I can't see anything. It just seems like it goes through the normal process of starting.
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
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    Data center
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    541
    Could be a mainboard issue...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
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    Ohio
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    1,668
    I would try what WarriorKing said and get a new bios battery and reset the bios.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    5,178
    Take the CPU fan off and check that thermal grease has been applied between fan and processor. An overheat of the CPU will trigger an automatic shutoff, although I've typically seen that within a few seconds, not a few minutes. Otherwise, given it was wet, I'd surmise something shorts out once it gets warm enough.
    If you have to operate your company behind the scenes or under a fake name, maybe it's time to leave the industry and start something fresh.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Ashburn VA, San Diego CA
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    4,615
    Take the mainboard out, all the stuff off of it (memory, CPU, ect), and bathe the whole thing (all parts including mainboard) in purified water. Towel dry it, scrub off any corrosion, then put it in the oven at 150-200 degrees for about an hour or two to bake out any remaining moisture.
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  11. #11
    Newer power supplies don't run their fans unless they need them - which is rare in power up from cold scenarios

    The power down after 10mins could be simply that - a power down. Why it won't come out could be a number of reasons. Without a display though it's hard to figure out..

    When you say it sounds like it POSTs - what do you mean?
    If anything there might be a single beep on boot.. do you hear anything - is the speaker connected in the chassis?

    any ideas what the components are?
    Is the GPU on board, or is it a card?

    Try sticking in another GPU to see what happens.
    Maybe find the Motherboard manual and see if there are jumpers to override the on board GPU if there is one - I remember one board was to remove a jumper if using an external GPU - if that had fallen off.....
    First gen Core i7s had an option where some had built in graphics in the CPU socket - so MBs were built to take advantage of this.. But if you don't have the right CPU with the GPU on it, the display circuitry is useless..

    Have you tried removing every connector off the motherboard except your front panel and booting - no hard disk, no USB connectors, no audio, etc..

    EDIT - oops - missed the post on new video..
    Maybe the BIOS is fried?!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Kalamazoo
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    Thanks for all the advice everyone. There's a mess of it here. So let me finish my work day and I'll start digging into some of the suggestions (starting with re-setting the bios).

    I'll start with a bios re-set (there are jumpers - just need to get some magnifying glasses so I can read them).

    It is a GPU card. And I do have a mess laying around here.

    Stop it, Dennis. I said I'll try some things and report back.

    I'm not saying it got rained on or anything. And I don't even think it was out overnight. When I brought it in, nothing looked damp. But I still gave it three days to "dry".

    Someone tell me to stfu. Can we say that here? :whistle:
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  13. #13
    Take the motherboard out of the case, take out the ram, leave nothing but the CPU and its fan. Set it on something non-conductive, and power it up. If it doesn't beep due to the lack of ram, then it's bad. If it does, beep, then add ram. Does it still beep? Good. Add video card. Do you get video? No? Bad motherboard. Yes? Add a keyboard, see if you can get into the bios. No? Clear bios (if you haven't already).

    Hope it helps. I've diagnosed hundreds of computers in a similar way

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Jun 2001
    Location
    Kalamazoo
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    I appreciate everyone's response. You've given me some great ideas when I look back into this beast. But I've decided I'm probably not going to fix it (I'm pretty determined when it comes to these things, so I'm sure I'll fix it) until next year.

    It's just so busy up in here I haven't had a chance to look at it since I started this thread.

    Thanks again. If I get stumped next year, I'll be back.
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

  15. #15
    Wish the stuff beside me, really interested to know more deep how to make it life back....

    :wait good news next year:

  16. #16
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by WarriorKing View Post
    Wish the stuff beside me, really interested to know more deep how to make it life back....

    :wait good news next year:
    I did try ...
    Quote Originally Posted by WarriorKing View Post
    Try to change Bios battery and reset if there any resetting bios switch
    But I'll update ya'll next year when I really dive into it.
    There is no best host. There is only the host that's best for you.

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