Help PC Dead

[Lazarus]

Guys,

Got a problem with my PC and guess I want confirmation that I located the "problem" bit.

2 days ago the system "froze" and wouldnt respond at all - switching off/on didnt seem to make a difference - sometimes it froze before loading windows, other times it got into windows and froze.

Yesterday it got badder. now there is nothing showing on the screen. I reckon the Gfx card is busted (GeForce Sparkle 7800). There is a fan on the card that spins when power is on, but there doesnt seem to be a signal going to the monitor (monitor works ok - have linked that to laptop)

all the lights on the mobo switch on and the normal fan/HDD spin sounds when power is switched on.

when I have to switch off PC, I need to hold the power button for the 6 seconds, which tells me that it WANTS to boot up

The debug lights on mobo all show "good".

i now need a new PSU cos ive busted all the SATA drive power connections by pulling out the connectors too roughly. but when im buying a new PSU, should I also get a new GFX card?

 

[Syri]

It does sound very much like the graphics card has died. The only other way that I can think of to confirm that before spending would be to see if anyone that you know has a pc that your graphics card would work in. If so, then you could try it out in their pc, if it gets no signal, then you know for sure. Otherwise, just explain the situation at the store where you purchase the new one, and see if they will refund you the graphics card if it turns out not to be the problem. They might not give you cash back for it, but they might give you store credit towards whatever has failed.
I do think though that the graphics card is most likely in this situation, but it doesn't hurt to make sure if you can. Hope you get it all sorted

 

[Lazarus]

new Gfx card arrived and swapped over - nada!!

so far tried the following :

reseated chip & heatsink
removed all memory sticks (except 1)
unplugged all of the HDDs (except boot up disk)

same problem - all the lights come on on the mobo, but nada sent to the monitor (checked the monitor by plugging into laptop - its fine)

what would be the next logical choice - replace the mobo. if thats the case, swap like for like, or upgrade for not a lot of money.

Currently have a DFI Lanparty nF4 mobo running Windows XP

 

[Syri]

Possible causes I'd say would be, in order of likeliness based on the symptoms, Motherboard, Memory, Power Supply, CPU. not really much you can do to test the motherboard itself, but memory, if you haven't already, take out all but one stick. then take that one out, try a different one on it's own.
PSU is possible, could be that one of the circuits has died, so it's got some power, but missing the higher voltage ones or something. CPU is also possible, but it's not that often a cpu will die, unless it's been overheating a lot in the run-up to the system dying.
Not really any easy way to test most of it though, not without another pc using the same platform to swap bits over with anyway.

 

[Scouse]

If you upgrade the mobo chances are you'll have to do a full reinstall anyway as Windoze'll need a new HAL...

 

[Lazarus]

trying to source a psu to rule that out, then may get another mobo (same as existing) for a swapover.

 

[Syri]

If you upgrade the mobo chances are you'll have to do a full reinstall anyway as Windoze'll need a new HAL...

It doesn't always. If the new board uses the same chipset, then most of the time you can get away with the same install. In some cases it's best to reinstall anyway, as they may use different chips for controllers or something, and that might cause a driver conflict, or it might just be a newer revision that needs a more up to date driver putting through. It's always an idea to have things backed up if you can though, just in case you do need to do a fresh install.

 

[Lazarus]

stripped bits down and examined the CPU - apparently the 4 red lights indicate that the CPU cannot be identified. noticed that there were a number of pins bent and twisted. F*C* knows when this happened - its been ages since i last removed teh cpu (apart from last night) and so it may or may not have caused the problem.

anhow - i need a new CPU - recommendations? socket 939 of course

 

[Lazarus]

heres what it says the board supports :

AMD® Athlon 64 X2 / Athlon 64 FX / Athlon 64 / Sempron

DFI LANPARTY UT NF4 ULTRA-D SOCKET 939 MOTHERBOARD

recommend me a cpu please DFI LANParty:The Best OC Platform! Overclock, Motherboard, Intel, AMD

 

[Litmus]

Do you have more then 1 stick on RAM in it? if so try takeing one out and see if it crashes, if it does. Swap them over and try again.

 

[Lazarus]

done that litmus - then noticed that the pins on the cpu are bent to buggery. the 4 lights indicate a problem with the CPU, so looking to replace with another.
only Im not sure what was already in it - i think 3700 but not sure. looking for recommendations on what would be best to replace it with.

 

[inactionman]

You may struggle getting a new processor, I'm only seeing Opterons available new in retail for socket 939 (on scan at least).

Cex and others may have cheap 939 processors though, but availability will be limited. Prices are pretty low so get the best you can (4400+ maybe?).

It may actually end up cheaper/easier to buy a new mobo and processor.

 

[Lazarus]

got my eye on these in ebay :
AMD Athlon? 64 X2 4600+ (ADA4600DAA5CD) socket 939 on eBay (end time 21-Jun-10 21:31:12 BST)
AMD Athlon 64 4000+, 939 SOCKET (ADA4000DAA5BN) on eBay (end time 25-Jun-10 11:20:06 BST)
Dual Core AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Processor Socket 939 on eBay (end time 20-Jun-10 20:22:11 BST)

 

[Syri]

The only problem you may find if you get a dual core, is that it might requre a bios upgrade to recognise it. If the motherboard is an early 939 model, it will probably need a bios flash, to get all the settings in for the new chips. Of course, to flash the bios, the pc would need to be working... It might not, but it's worth checking up on it, just in case, as it could be another potential obstacle.
I wouldn't expect a new motherboard and processor to be a cheaper option though, mainly because a new one will require different memory, and of course, the new board and cpu themselves. Worth considering if you were starting to think it's getting a bit slow now, but if you were happy with it, just getting a new cpu may be better, long as you can get one that the bios will support, or have some way of making the bios support it.

 

[Lazarus]

thanks Syri - advice always welcome.

PC suits me fine for what I use it for - very little gaming and so dont want to go to the expense of refitting all the hardware.

also thought the same on the X2 chips - might plump for the one in the middle.

 

[Syri]

Had a look at the DFI website, it's actually got a list of all the cpu's supported, and what bios it needs. Assuming you're still on the original bios, which most people are unless they have problems, the 4000+ should work fine, but the other 2 would require an update.

 

[Lazarus]

so, new processor plugged in- nada.

me thinks now its the mobo itself, only other thing is the PSU, but everything else lights up as it should.

 

[Dukat]

I'd recommend trying one of those Mobo+CPU+Ram package deals (they do them on OCuk I think?), that way you'll be spared any dramas when it comes to compatibility etc.

Possibly a stupid question, but have you tried running the pc with everything bar the bare essentials connected to the psu? eg - no CD, no extra HDD's etc, just incase its the psu not being man enough to handle it?

Best of luck getting it sorted.

 

[Lazarus]

I'd recommend trying one of those Mobo+CPU+Ram package deals (they do them on OCuk I think?), that way you'll be spared any dramas when it comes to compatibility etc.

Possibly a stupid question, but have you tried running the pc with everything bar the bare essentials connected to the psu? eg - no CD, no extra HDD's etc, just incase its the psu not being man enough to handle it?

Best of luck getting it sorted.

1 stick mem, gfx card, 1 hdd - nada

 

[Lazarus]

well, after replacing the gfx card, the processor. the psu its the mobo that was the problem.

got a new one and seems to have brought it back to life.

cheers guys.

 

[Syri]

glad you got it sorted in the end. can be a right pain at times to identify which part is actually faulty...

 

[Access Denied]

My mate had a similar problem. He replaced everything but the mobo. Took it into the shop and they found out the PCI-E slot was burned out. Still no idea how that happened.