Fuck a Duck.

(General self-absorbed complaining to follow.)

So my computer died. There I was, finally getting to play Beyond Divinity for any stretch of time without that damn Death Knight sneering at me, and it just went poof.

Wouldn't turn on. So I'm thinking, power source problem, right? I think it might have overheated actually. The top of the case where the power supply is was really hot and took forever to cool down. Speaking of which, the AC plug for my Creative speakers is also hot as hell, but I think that's normal. They must expect me to live in a freezer. Anyway, I got a new case (one with a transparent side panel so I can watch the dust build up on the heat sink), stuck everything in it, pressed the power button... and there's no power.

I've since learned that AMD systems power on by sending a signal to the motherboard which then activates the power supply. So now I'm thinking, motherboard problem? I can't see anything fried. There's an odd odor but I think it's just the dust.

What do you think? I'll probably get a new motherboard tomorrow. I don't know if I should also get a new CPU as well. And a new heat sink, damn thing's glued to the CPU as I recall. I hope nothing else is fried. If I have to buy a new video card I'll kill somebody. You don't suppose it could have wiped my hard drive do you? I'd hate to lose everything, though reinstalling Windows and building from scratch does have an odd appeal.

Oh yeah, my car died as well. First the radiator went, so I got a new one, then everything else broke all at once and it would've cost more than the car was worth to fix it. Now I'm looking at '65 Mustangs. Something pre-smog and with a simple engine that I could work on myself without any high-tech bullshit. A V6 with headers would get better milage I suppose, but the V8 just totally rocks my world. On the other hand it's not like I'd be racing it so I don't know. No, no, have to get the V8; I can't see paying good money for a weak little V6 that'll whine at me when trying to go up a hill.

Just one of those months.

Happy news, I got two little baby Rex rabbits. I'm considering saving all their fur as they shed and knitting undies for Retard, but he'd just complain I didn't skin them whole for him.

 

If you're getting funny smells then you've got a fried mobo. I've got dust all the fuck over in my case, and no funny smells.

 

that sucks, canis. i'll drop a voodoo curse on your comp for you...

 

If you can, test the motherboard, power supply and CPU in other people's computers. My comp died a few months ago and I had to fork out for a new CPU and mobo, which I was not happy about (especially seeing as I probably didn't need to replace the mobo). Anyway, test all of them, but I'd say the problem is likely the CPU having fried - if your heatsink fails for just a few seconds, you can kiss goodbye to your AMD chip. They overheat like a motherfucker.

 

Damn when it rains, it pours. Try checking the mobo and supply with a multimeter. Only if you feel confident around electronics to do it. Unlike most people think, mobos and monitors can and will kill you if you are careless. You are probably better off chucking out the components which you think are fried. Also try getting a voltage regulator/UPS combo.

 

Yeah I gotta get me one of those fancy meter thingies one of these days.

I still don't know what the trouble is, but I do think it was a fried motherboard. I showed it to my father who assured me the smell was ozone, and then he mumbled something about females always thinking it's a simple dusting problem. Got a new case/power supply, new motherboard, new CPU (twice as fast as my old one, high-five, and on serious sale to boot), new CPU fan.... And I still can't get it to power on.

Right, I've still got my old RAM, hard drive, floppy, CD, video and sound cards, and the modem. New cables connecting the floppy and hard drives to the mobo. Do you think it might be the old RAM? Maybe it got fried as well? Would that cause it to fail to power on? I wouln't think so, but what do I know.

Suppose I could have wired it wrong but I don't think so. It wasn't this hard last time.

Oh, and I broke a nail while cramming the fan on top of the cpu. I am displeased.

 

Fuck Canis, that's the exact same thing that happened to me a few months back, follow Jar Jar's advice and test everything. But it's probably the mobo that's burst a poo valve like mine did.

 

Okay, disconnect all your old stuff - leave only the RAM, hard disks and video card connected. If you still can't power it on, then try borrow parts off someone else, and test those until you find out what's busted. If it does work, then plug in the other extras one by one until you find the one that doesn't work.

It's a pain in the ass to do all that, but it's the only way you'll know for sure what's wrong. Also, it may seem really obvious, but it happened to me, if one cable isn't plugged in properly (in my case, a floppy drive one) then the entire thing won't work.

 

Are you useing a power board or plug-in surge protector ? I know I spent 3 day fault finding, only find all I had to do replace the surge protector.

 

The bit-by-bit method worked, thanks. I think the problem was that the motherboard has everything color-coded, but the case didn't like where the motherboard suggested I put the power switch plug. Anyway, switched everything around and I've got power! Ha.

Now I can't get into Windows. Don't suppose you know anything about the BIOS? I turn it on, it does... something... then tells me there was a problem and asks whether I'ld like to boot in safe or normal mode or safe mode with networking. Whatever I choose, it just goes back to the beginning and repeats the cycle in a neverending loop.

I know the hard drive is attached properly because the BIOS gives me correct information about its make and capacity and whatnot. I tried fooling around with the boot sequence (hard drive 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.) but I can't get out of the loop. I hope it's a simple BIOS confuguration thingy that I'm overlooking and not a hardware issue. Also, since it asks me if I want to boot Windows in normal mode that must mean the hard drive wasn't damaged, right? Windows is still there? I could always boot from the CD and reinstall Windows but if it's a configuration or hardware issue I don't think that would solve anything.

Blah. I'll need to read up on BIOS I guess.

 

I'm not an expert, but I know a few things.

Be more specific . What's the exact error/reason it won't work? It could be you need to fix the master boot record, you might need a reinstall, or you could be missing a vital file. I can't really help you until I know.

 

Yes, I concur with Jar. Your computer sounds as if it needs a clean format and reinstall. I really hope you have a backup signorina Venatici.

 

I concur with the two of them. I'm willing to help assist with such things, I have a fairly decent knowledge of the way computers tick.

 

BIOS:

Put ACPI on "enabled", generally under "power management". That is the one newbie mistake you can make that causes stuff like that, unless there's a bunch of exotic options. ACPI is worth checking though.

 

The ordeal is over! Mostly.

1. Managed to repair Windows so I could back up my data.

2. Reinstalled WinXP and spent three hours downloading the service pack, only to then realize that the reinstall didn't completely wipe out my old data and that I was stuck with all the flotsam I had before, but without the ability to uninstall anything.

3. Reformatted the hard drive via the command line and THEN reinstalled Windows, culminating in another attempt to get the service pack while constantly being disconnected. All that's left is to tweak and make it pretty again. How people manage to live without WindowBlinds I'll never know.

Now if somebody would explain why my 2600 processor is only doing around 1100 I'd be most appreciative. Do I have to overclock or something?

 

Go into the BIOS and change the Front Side Bus speed and CPU multiplier...for a 2600, you'd want a FSB of as close to 200 as you can get, and a multiplier of about 9.5 or 10.

 

Naw, I wouldn't complain. If you can knit 'em, do it. I don't know how to knit, so I have to content myself with picking up a rex, and rubbing him over my floppy cock, balls, and ass. Just remember when you're knitting, put the fuzzy side in. Thanks.

 

That just removed my ability to boot. It powers on, but I don't get anything on the screen. Can't even get into the BIOS to change it.

There must be a way to reset it.... I really need to learn to leave well enough alone. 1100MHz isn't all that bad after all.

EDIT: Never mind, never mind, that's what the jumpers are for. I can live with 1100 as long as I get to boot. :cry:

 

Ok, don't panic. The same bullshit happened to me. 2600 XP series should be able to run at 2.1 GHz, I got mine at 1.9 because of the insane temperature here. You'll have to reset a few times (careful) and the BIOS will restore the default settings. You'll have to reset a few times while you get the FSB and multipliers right. Try 233 MHz FSB times 8 (should net you ~1.9 GHz) or 266 MHz FSB times 7.5 (you should get ~2 GHz). Posting your motherboard model would be helpful because we have to know which settings will be supported by the motherboard. Be mindful of the heat (you can accidentaly overclock the pc if you set the multiplier or FSB too high).