Computer Died - Won't Boot
Helloooooooooooooooooooo Short Media. How have you all been?
My computer died. Overheated or something, I'm not sure. I put it together a few years ago - it's an AMD 2100 system with a Soyo Dragon motherboard, a couple of optical drives, and a couple of hard drives. It has a generic case & PSU, and I always felt that was my achilles heel.
Yesterday, my girlfriend was playing The Sims and it rebooted. This had happened before, and we followed the instructions on Maxis' website, shutting down unneccessary processes and it fixed the problem.
But yesterday, no matter what she did, it would shut down after a while. Since it rebooted itself, she just kept on going from where she left off (she was installing things in the Body Shop and almost done).
Then it just shut down and died completely. Pushing the ON button does nothing, there's no reaction.
At first I thought it was the PSU. Like I said, I always felt that was a weak point, and it felt hot to the touch. But later, I saw that it was supplying power to the motherboard - the ethernet light is on, as well as a few other lights.
Then I opened the case and thought it might be the CPU - the CPU is strangely close to the PSU (bad case), and who knows if maybe a fan somewhere died.
But then I realized that when I was building the computer, the motherboard would boot even if there were problems with the CPU, and it would spit an error message at me.
So here I am. Something seems burned out. Or maybe the power button just got disconnected somehow. I really don't know.
I'd like to, first of all, fix what's wrong so I can get my computer back. I'd like to do this with a minimum of cost/annoyance. If I can isolate the problem now, it will eliminate unecessary trips to the store, or days of waiting for parts.
Secondly, I'd like to fix the "real problem" so it never does this again. While this is of secondary importance, I realize that it may make more sense to buy a few more components up front to safeguard myself in the future.
Third, and somewhat off topic - why don't they make external power supplies? It seems that this would fix a lot of problems for a lot of computers.
Thanks!
My computer died. Overheated or something, I'm not sure. I put it together a few years ago - it's an AMD 2100 system with a Soyo Dragon motherboard, a couple of optical drives, and a couple of hard drives. It has a generic case & PSU, and I always felt that was my achilles heel.
Yesterday, my girlfriend was playing The Sims and it rebooted. This had happened before, and we followed the instructions on Maxis' website, shutting down unneccessary processes and it fixed the problem.
But yesterday, no matter what she did, it would shut down after a while. Since it rebooted itself, she just kept on going from where she left off (she was installing things in the Body Shop and almost done).
Then it just shut down and died completely. Pushing the ON button does nothing, there's no reaction.
At first I thought it was the PSU. Like I said, I always felt that was a weak point, and it felt hot to the touch. But later, I saw that it was supplying power to the motherboard - the ethernet light is on, as well as a few other lights.
Then I opened the case and thought it might be the CPU - the CPU is strangely close to the PSU (bad case), and who knows if maybe a fan somewhere died.
But then I realized that when I was building the computer, the motherboard would boot even if there were problems with the CPU, and it would spit an error message at me.
So here I am. Something seems burned out. Or maybe the power button just got disconnected somehow. I really don't know.
I'd like to, first of all, fix what's wrong so I can get my computer back. I'd like to do this with a minimum of cost/annoyance. If I can isolate the problem now, it will eliminate unecessary trips to the store, or days of waiting for parts.
Secondly, I'd like to fix the "real problem" so it never does this again. While this is of secondary importance, I realize that it may make more sense to buy a few more components up front to safeguard myself in the future.
Third, and somewhat off topic - why don't they make external power supplies? It seems that this would fix a lot of problems for a lot of computers.
Thanks!
0
Comments
I also removed the front of the case and double checked the wires going to the power lights and switches.
Have you checked the board for bulging and/or leaking capacitors? That motherboard is certainly from that era.
Soyo is really crappy about their RMAs - they charge a $5.00 "handling fee" :shakehead
total crap... All the other manufacturers replace it for the cost of shipping.
Any way I can test the MoBo to see if it is the problem?
If your PSU is hot to the touch, there is a possibility that your PSU fan has dead. So, when your PSU overheats, it shutdown down your system without warning.
Ah... there's a switch on the back of the PSU. When I turn it off, the lights on the MoBo go out.
When I turn it on it makes a buzzing noise.
I stuck a pen in the fan & tried moving it. It was hard to move, and it creaked - the buzzing noise.
The fan in the PSU did die, a horrible miserable death. WTF could do that?
So, I know I need a new PSU. Any recommendations? Case/PSU recommendations also accepted.
As for a recommended case+PSU, I like the Antec SLK3700 case. Others may have better recommendations for a PSU or a case+PSU.
In order of price, I suggest:
Antec True series.
Antec NeoPower series.
Pick the one that your wallet likes.
In 3 years you guys aren't going to be saying "What did you buy an Antec for?" Just kidding.
Thanks for the advice, I'll keep you updated.
Edit: I use sewing machine oil to oil my fan bearings.
Fans are cheap.... Is it really worth it to try to rescue them? This thing is so stiff, I almost think some of the plastic melted.
Fans are cheap and easy to replace.
The buzzing sound is ur psu's induser
to solve that u can put wax over the induser or save time and get a new psu if u want a good psu get an antec or enermax
I removed the PSU and was about to attempt testing another PSU in with the computer, but it's not compatible. The MoBo connectors aren't the same.
I'm going to go to the local computer store tomorrow and see what they have. I'd like to get an Antec, but might settle for something less if they don't have it. Remind me to print a few pages from Amazon for price references - they include a pretty big store that's not too far from here and I'll try to get a price match.
One of the nice things about it is that it's quieter than the older PSU, and all the quiet fans I got for my computer when I was putting it together are finally paying off, the whole system is very quiet now.
Thanks everybody for your suggestions.