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GOURANGA! Forums > General > Off Topic > The I hate computers club... wanna join?

Post 1 \| New	Posted July 28th, 2007
Azz the barbarian. grrr Joined: Feb '03 Posts: 1,785 Type: Administrator	I really do dislike these things. Which is unfortunate since I spend an increasing amount of time on them each day. So to fix my problem with my graphics card I mentioned I bought a new one. Nothing major, just a straight swap. Except the computer didn't boot properly. Starting playing silly buggers, random resets and the like, in the same vein as a dead hardware component. Hmm. And then the vocal POST (trust me, first time your computer speaks to you during boot it's frikking freaky..) tells me my memory is dead. Hmm. Bugger. Tried it with old memory and it did get further, so it does actually look like the ddr was fried. Ok. Trip to the computer shop this morning, and rather than just buying new ram for an old pc, I thought I'd just upgrade a few things. So 80quid on a mobo, 60quid on a nice matched pair of DDR 800 2gig, 130quid on a core 2 duo 2.33 (I think) processor and 50quid for a 320gig sata drive. Bosch it al in the machine.... and nothing. Bugger. Doesn't even reach post. Press the power button, it powers on, briefly, then turns itself off, then reboots a second later and nothing. Fans all sit there whirring, leds on the mobo telling me it has power and is running are both on. Ok, thinks I, must be the psu playing silly buggers. So out with the expensive enermax noisetaker, and quick trip to pc world and in with a 35 quid "jeantech" pos. Same thing. Nada. Running out of ideas. I've tried it with different components, but since it's not reaching POST I can't see how it can be a hardware failure. I've checked things are seated properly, though I'll do this again. So in true clutching at straws fashion, I've decided to blame the case! The power button was always a bit glitchy, you have to press it sort of in and up to get a contact and start the machine. The way it reboots straight away makes me think there's a problem with the switch? If it was tripping constantly very quickly then the pc would never reach post and possibly could have fried the old ram.. perhaps. Maybe. If it's not that I've got absolutely no idea. To get the same symptoms with a completely different set of components is just freaky. Only thing in there which was in my old machine now are the old hard drive, and the dvd drive. Neither of which are doing anything since they're not checked until post. Any suggestions? Despite the extra cost and limitations, i think next time I'm just going to buy a Dell. Way things are at the moment money isn't a huge issue, but as I work at home more and do more freelance work the last thing I want is to be without a pc. Balls to it all. Least I have my trusty old laptop to come and whinge at people.. ------------------ azz.gouranga.com est. 1998 (I am oldskoolier than joo)

Post 1 | New

Posted July 28th, 2007

Azz
the barbarian. grrr

Joined: Feb '03
Posts: 1,785
Type: Administrator

I really do dislike these things. Which is unfortunate since I spend an increasing amount of time on them each day.

So to fix my problem with my graphics card I mentioned I bought a new one. Nothing major, just a straight swap. Except the computer didn't boot properly. Starting playing silly buggers, random resets and the like, in the same vein as a dead hardware component. Hmm.

And then the vocal POST (trust me, first time your computer speaks to you during boot it's frikking freaky..) tells me my memory is dead. Hmm. Bugger. Tried it with old memory and it did get further, so it does actually look like the ddr was fried. Ok.

Trip to the computer shop this morning, and rather than just buying new ram for an old pc, I thought I'd just upgrade a few things. So 80quid on a mobo, 60quid on a nice matched pair of DDR 800 2gig, 130quid on a core 2 duo 2.33 (I think) processor and 50quid for a 320gig sata drive.

Bosch it al in the machine.... and nothing. Bugger. Doesn't even reach post. Press the power button, it powers on, briefly, then turns itself off, then reboots a second later and nothing. Fans all sit there whirring, leds on the mobo telling me it has power and is running are both on.

Ok, thinks I, must be the psu playing silly buggers. So out with the expensive enermax noisetaker, and quick trip to pc world and in with a 35 quid "jeantech" pos.

Same thing. Nada.

Running out of ideas. I've tried it with different components, but since it's not reaching POST I can't see how it can be a hardware failure. I've checked things are seated properly, though I'll do this again.

So in true clutching at straws fashion, I've decided to blame the case! The power button was always a bit glitchy, you have to press it sort of in and up to get a contact and start the machine. The way it reboots straight away makes me think there's a problem with the switch? If it was tripping constantly very quickly then the pc would never reach post and possibly could have fried the old ram.. perhaps. Maybe.

If it's not that I've got absolutely no idea. To get the same symptoms with a completely different set of components is just freaky. Only thing in there which was in my old machine now are the old hard drive, and the dvd drive. Neither of which are doing anything since they're not checked until post.

Any suggestions?

Despite the extra cost and limitations, i think next time I'm just going to buy a Dell. Way things are at the moment money isn't a huge issue, but as I work at home more and do more freelance work the last thing I want is to be without a pc.

Balls to it all. Least I have my trusty old laptop to come and whinge at people..

------------------
azz.gouranga.com
est. 1998
(I am oldskoolier than joo)

Post 2 \| New	Posted July 28th, 2007
Lobster Martin hi Joined: Feb '03	That's wierd. Maybe the graphics card IS screwed?

Post 3 \| New	Posted July 28th, 2007
Delfi Programmer Joined: Feb '03 Posts: 844	So.. have you connected the screen to video card? if mobo has onbioard graphics, try that without main graphics card installed. ------------------ www.mathpudding.com

Post 4 \| New	Posted July 28th, 2007
Azz the barbarian. grrr Joined: Feb '03 Posts: 1,785 Type: Administrator	Yup monitor is connected, but never gets outof standby. No onboard graphics so I can't check that. I've tried oth PCI-E cards I have, neither seem to help. I've just rebuilt the machine out of the case, connecting only the CPU, 1 stick of Ram, the graphics card and power, still refuses to post. Very annoying.. to say the least. ------------------ azz.gouranga.com est. 1998 (I am oldskoolier than joo)

Post 4 | New

Posted July 28th, 2007

Azz
the barbarian. grrr

Joined: Feb '03
Posts: 1,785
Type: Administrator

Yup monitor is connected, but never gets outof standby. No onboard graphics so I can't check that.

I've tried oth PCI-E cards I have, neither seem to help.

I've just rebuilt the machine out of the case, connecting only the CPU, 1 stick of Ram, the graphics card and power, still refuses to post.

Very annoying.. to say the least.

------------------
azz.gouranga.com
est. 1998
(I am oldskoolier than joo)

Post 5 \| New	Posted July 28th, 2007
Maindrian Anti-Hero Deluxe Joined: Feb '03 Posts: 2,501 Type: Moderator	Gah, I've had yet another rash of offline due to a faulty router box, that is bloody HORRIBLE. I'd quite like to stab my computer. I'll join your club, as long as there's cakes and jelly. ------------------ Maindrian and Touge's videos of vague annoyance - Est. 2007

Post 6 \| New	Posted July 28th, 2007
Deleted Member	even thought HDD/DVD drive errors won't be displayed until post, they could still be a problem. more than likely it's the old HDD, if you've got conflicting pins on the back of the two HDD's (like two slaves or two masters), then you won't ever reach post. also, if your drive is completely dead, the BIOS will sit there and try to spin the drive for infinity, because it wants the platters spinning before post, even if they're unreadable. this problem happened to my old PC (just before i bought the mac), and my screen would just freeze on pre with the drives clicking and the computer constantly rebooting. try unplugging the old drive, then try booting it. if it's not the old HDD, it could be the DVD drive. if it's fried, (however unlikely), sometimes peripherals can muck up post, too. so, i woudln't rule this as a strictly memory/important hardware thing.

Post 6 | New

Posted July 28th, 2007

Deleted Member

even thought HDD/DVD drive errors won't be displayed until post, they could still be a problem. more than likely it's the old HDD, if you've got conflicting pins on the back of the two HDD's (like two slaves or two masters), then you won't ever reach post. also, if your drive is completely dead, the BIOS will sit there and try to spin the drive for infinity, because it wants the platters spinning before post, even if they're unreadable. this problem happened to my old PC (just before i bought the mac), and my screen would just freeze on pre with the drives clicking and the computer constantly rebooting. try unplugging the old drive, then try booting it. if it's not the old HDD, it could be the DVD drive. if it's fried, (however unlikely), sometimes peripherals can muck up post, too. so, i woudln't rule this as a strictly memory/important hardware thing.

Post 7 \| New	Posted July 28th, 2007
scully designated drinker Joined: Feb '03 Posts: -57	I'll join your club. I had sort of the same problem a few years back. I kept up-grading my computer untill I eventually replaced everything. Decided to just build a new machine with all the new parts. Laid everything out on a table, plugged all the parts in and it worked fine. So I crammed everything into a new case, and nothing worked. Pulled all the parts back out, and the damn thing worked. Evertime I put the shite in the case it wouldn't work. Gave up on it for a while. Then I put it back together one day and it worked great, then my old lady took it from me. So now I'm back to using all the old crap for a computer out in the garage. But I did put in a wireless router so I can go online. ------------------ Gone to the roof

Post 7 | New

Posted July 28th, 2007

scully
designated drinker

Joined: Feb '03
Posts: -57

I'll join your club. I had sort of the same problem a few years back. I kept up-grading my computer untill I eventually replaced everything. Decided to just build a new machine with all the new parts. Laid everything out on a table, plugged all the parts in and it worked fine. So I crammed everything into a new case, and nothing worked. Pulled all the parts back out, and the damn thing worked. Evertime I put the shite in the case it wouldn't work. Gave up on it for a while. Then I put it back together one day and it worked great, then my old lady took it from me. So now I'm back to using all the old crap for a computer out in the garage. But I did put in a wireless router so I can go online.

------------------
Gone to the roof

Post 8 \| New	Posted July 28th, 2007
DaDa123 Joined: Aug '03 Posts: 963	what motherboard do you have? Also check and see if your cpu and hsf are installed correctly. Make sure the pins on the cpu socket are not bent! New motherboard requires the additional 12v aux connector from your psu and if your gpu needs additional power. Don't forget to plug that in too. I've also heard that some DDR 2 800 may not work with some motherboards because of their voltages is to high for the motherboard to support. Don't know if that is your problem though.

Post 8 | New

Posted July 28th, 2007

DaDa123

Joined: Aug '03
Posts: 963

what motherboard do you have?

Also check and see if your cpu and hsf are installed correctly.

Make sure the pins on the cpu socket are not bent!

New motherboard requires the additional 12v aux connector from your psu
and if your gpu needs additional power. Don't forget to plug that in too.

I've also heard that some DDR 2 800 may not work with some motherboards because of their
voltages is to high for the motherboard to support. Don't know if that is your problem though.

Post 9 \| New	Posted July 29th, 2007
ameer cunt smasher! Joined: Feb '03 Posts: 3,063	I have no idea what anybody in this topic is talking about. Because I hate computers. ------------------

Post 10 \| New	Posted July 29th, 2007
Lobster Martin hi Joined: Feb '03	I'm not buying it AJ :P

Post 11 \| New	Posted July 29th, 2007
Azz the barbarian. grrr Joined: Feb '03 Posts: 1,785 Type: Administrator	HDD and DVD drive weren't actually connected, just sitting in the case. Tried booting with just graphics card, memory and cpu installed. Still nada. System is: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66ghz Abit IB9 mobo (supports DDR2 800) Corsair DDR2 800 2ghz (in a kit of 2 1gb sticks) Connect3D x1900xt The cpu and hsf are all in fine, double and triple checked this. Pins are all fine, yup. CPU power inserted, yup. PCI-E power inserted too, yup. Bloody thing. Sort of good news is I've got my old pc up and working again. Those memory errors have disappeared.. very odd. At least I can get on teh internet up here whilst I try and fix this anyway. Ta for the suggestions, anyone got any more? I'm starting to get the feeling the mobo is kaput.. ------------------ azz.gouranga.com est. 1998 (I am oldskoolier than joo)

Post 11 | New

Posted July 29th, 2007

Azz
the barbarian. grrr

Joined: Feb '03
Posts: 1,785
Type: Administrator

HDD and DVD drive weren't actually connected, just sitting in the case. Tried booting with just graphics card, memory and cpu installed. Still nada.

System is:
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66ghz
Abit IB9 mobo (supports DDR2 800)
Corsair DDR2 800 2ghz (in a kit of 2 1gb sticks)
Connect3D x1900xt

The cpu and hsf are all in fine, double and triple checked this.

Pins are all fine, yup.

CPU power inserted, yup.

PCI-E power inserted too, yup.

Bloody thing. Sort of good news is I've got my old pc up and working again. Those memory errors have disappeared.. very odd. At least I can get on teh internet up here whilst I try and fix this anyway.

Ta for the suggestions, anyone got any more?

I'm starting to get the feeling the mobo is kaput..

------------------
azz.gouranga.com
est. 1998
(I am oldskoolier than joo)

Post 12 \| New	Posted July 29th, 2007
Lobster Martin hi Joined: Feb '03	Perhaps the case fried it? I bought a case once which had a raised bit of metal (like a mounting screw, but you couldn't remove it). It was basically physically incompatible with my motherboard (stupid design), and it fried the motherboard.

Post 13 \| New	Posted July 29th, 2007
Dan Wei Joined: Jan '05 Posts: 303	Possibly but it seems unlikely, ATX mountings etc and blah are fairly standard. Not sure what it could be holmes.

Post 14 \| New	Posted July 29th, 2007
Fragdieb2 Avatar is missing! Joined: Mar '03 Posts: 1,784	I think taking the board back to the shop and have them test it (and possibly excahnge it) is the only remaining option, as you seem to ahve tested everything I can think of. ------------------ -temporary placeholder for a new cool signature-

Post 15 \| New	Posted July 29th, 2007
DaDa123 Joined: Aug '03 Posts: 963	Do you have any other rams besides Corsair? Also try just using one stick instead of both. Reset your CMOS Try your motherboard outside of your case. One more thing, if you do manage to get your system running. If you got an IDE HD then you'll probably have to reinstall your OS since Intel P965 does not support native IDE (Intel remove it so that they can push SATA into mainstream). Well if is your case, then you might need to create a floppy diskette in order for Windows XP to recognize your drives.

Post 15 | New

Posted July 29th, 2007

DaDa123

Joined: Aug '03
Posts: 963

Do you have any other rams besides Corsair?
Also try just using one stick instead of both.

Reset your CMOS

Try your motherboard outside of your case.

One more thing, if you do manage to get your system running.
If you got an IDE HD then you'll probably have to reinstall your OS
since Intel P965 does not support native IDE (Intel remove it so that they
can push SATA into mainstream).

Well if is your case, then you might need to create a floppy diskette
in order for Windows XP to recognize your drives.

Post 16 \| New	Posted July 29th, 2007
Azz the barbarian. grrr Joined: Feb '03 Posts: 1,785 Type: Administrator	I've got to retest it again in a bit, but if I still can't get it running then it's going back to the shop (just glad I didn't mail order this one like I usually do), and I'll get them to test it whilst I'm there. They're pretty good, and I've been a regular customer for about 6 years now so I'm hoping they'll sort things. Of course if the board is chuffed they're obliged to.. Tried other ram, my ocz (which is now working again, despite rumours of its demise from the old mobo!), and some very old ddr. Neither change the way the system works.. or doesn't. Already tried resetting the cmos to no avail, though with it being a brand spanking new mobo I'd expect it not to have that much effect. Either way no change. Tried building it ouside the case to look for any shorts. No change. The plan is to install a brand new hard drive with a fresh os install, then piggy back my old ide drive for a few months until I've got all I need. Of course that may not be an issue. I'm planning on installing the sata drive into my old computer (which I'm using now, since it's started working again!), installing windows and start transferring data. Floppy disks could be a problem, haven't had a floppy drive since 2000 ;). Thanks again for the input folks. I think it's pretty much about time to admit it's a buggered component somewhere. Like I say, plan to have one more go later, then a trip to the computer shop is in order. Cheers. ------------------ azz.gouranga.com est. 1998 (I am oldskoolier than joo)

Post 16 | New

Posted July 29th, 2007

Azz
the barbarian. grrr

Joined: Feb '03
Posts: 1,785
Type: Administrator

I've got to retest it again in a bit, but if I still can't get it running then it's going back to the shop (just glad I didn't mail order this one like I usually do), and I'll get them to test it whilst I'm there. They're pretty good, and I've been a regular customer for about 6 years now so I'm hoping they'll sort things. Of course if the board is chuffed they're obliged to..

Tried other ram, my ocz (which is now working again, despite rumours of its demise from the old mobo!), and some very old ddr. Neither change the way the system works.. or doesn't.

Already tried resetting the cmos to no avail, though with it being a brand spanking new mobo I'd expect it not to have that much effect. Either way no change.

Tried building it ouside the case to look for any shorts. No change.

The plan is to install a brand new hard drive with a fresh os install, then piggy back my old ide drive for a few months until I've got all I need. Of course that may not be an issue. I'm planning on installing the sata drive into my old computer (which I'm using now, since it's started working again!), installing windows and start transferring data.

Floppy disks could be a problem, haven't had a floppy drive since 2000 ;).

Thanks again for the input folks. I think it's pretty much about time to admit it's a buggered component somewhere. Like I say, plan to have one more go later, then a trip to the computer shop is in order.

Cheers.

------------------
azz.gouranga.com
est. 1998
(I am oldskoolier than joo)

Post 17 \| New	Posted July 29th, 2007
scully designated drinker Joined: Feb '03 Posts: -57	Take it all back to the store, and get your money back. Then what you wrote in your first post, buy a Dell. ------------------ Gone to the roof

Post 18 \| New	Posted July 30th, 2007
Lobster Martin hi Joined: Feb '03	Dan Wei wrote: Possibly but it seems unlikely, ATX mountings etc and blah are fairly standard. Not sure what it could be holmes. That's the assumption I made, and it wasn't the case. Truth is, there are multiple versions of the standard, and some cases CAN break some motherboards, despite being the "correct" standard. Also don't buy a DELL. They're shit.

Post 19 \| New	Posted July 30th, 2007
DaDa123 Joined: Aug '03 Posts: 963	Lobster Martin wrote: Dan Wei wrote: Possibly but it seems unlikely, ATX mountings etc and blah are fairly standard. Not sure what it could be holmes. That's the assumption I made, and it wasn't the case. Truth is, there are multiple versions of the standard, and some cases CAN break some motherboards, despite being the "correct" standard. Also don't buy a DELL. They're shit. I recently also bought a motherboard and the problem with it is, it has these really long soldering ends on the bottom of the board. Every time I installed it into the case it will not turn on but when I took it out it will. Then I found out it was my case because of those pre-mounted holes for the motherboard so I took some electrical tape and applied it to the problem areas. After that I reinstalled my motherboard into the case and then viola it works! To Azz: If your still testing it, try turning it on without case's switch. Also unplug the reset button and see if that helps. One other thing is some motherboard may not support newer Core 2 Duos because their bios isn't updated.

Post 19 | New

Posted July 30th, 2007

DaDa123

Joined: Aug '03
Posts: 963

Lobster Martin wrote:

Dan Wei wrote:

Possibly but it seems unlikely, ATX mountings etc and blah are fairly standard.

Not sure what it could be holmes.

That's the assumption I made, and it wasn't the case.

Truth is, there are multiple versions of the standard, and some cases CAN break some motherboards, despite being the "correct" standard.

Also don't buy a DELL. They're shit.

I recently also bought a motherboard and the problem with it is, it has these really long soldering ends on the bottom of the board.
Every time I installed it into the case it will not turn on but when I took it out it will. Then I found out it was my case because of those
pre-mounted holes for the motherboard so I took some electrical tape and applied it to the problem areas. After that I reinstalled my motherboard into
the case and then viola it works!

To Azz:

If your still testing it, try turning it on without case's switch.
Also unplug the reset button and see if that helps.

One other thing is some motherboard may not support newer Core 2 Duos because their bios
isn't updated.

Post 20 \| New	Posted July 30th, 2007
Azz the barbarian. grrr Joined: Feb '03 Posts: 1,785 Type: Administrator	yup DaDa, you've hit the nail on the head. Someone over at techguy forums showed me a list from the abit site. That list said the mobo did NOT support the newest processor. However another table on their site said it DID. So I emailed for clarification and just had an email back saying it doesn't. So back to the computer shop it goes. Just got to find an alternative they stock first. To be continued, unless by some miracle it actually works on wednesday evening when I try again.. ------------------ azz.gouranga.com est. 1998 (I am oldskoolier than joo)

Post 20 | New

Posted July 30th, 2007

Azz
the barbarian. grrr

Joined: Feb '03
Posts: 1,785
Type: Administrator

yup DaDa, you've hit the nail on the head. Someone over at techguy forums showed me a list from the abit site. That list said the mobo did NOT support the newest processor. However another table on their site said it DID. So I emailed for clarification and just had an email back saying it doesn't.

So back to the computer shop it goes. Just got to find an alternative they stock first.

To be continued, unless by some miracle it actually works on wednesday evening when I try again..

------------------
azz.gouranga.com
est. 1998
(I am oldskoolier than joo)

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