Got a problem? Check here first!

Necropolis

Here is the offical "Emergency help check here first" thread.

If you have a suggestion, please post it here

First things first

BIOS reset

Blue Screen of Death

Computer not posting

Check your memory

Safety First

Problems with older motherboards (1 1/2 to 3 years old)

Necropolis

First things first

One thing which I find is always a great thing to have on your side when trying to fix a PC, is patience and a cool head.

The most notable difference between a novice and a pro PC guru, is not the difference in knowledge and understanding, but the guru's ability to keep an objectively cool head.

Keeping calm when your computer goes pear shaped will help you gain the perspective you need to work the problem efficiently.

So. In an ermengency what's the first thing you should do:

1) Relax, stay calm and don't panic.

Contributed by Spinner

Necropolis

Never underestimate the power of resetting your BIOS. Numerous things can cause your computer not to start, dodgy IDE cables, malfunctioning hardware... in a lot of cases the only damage is a slightly confused BIOS, so to remedy the situation and get your PC back on its feet just :

1) Reset the BIOS, which is usually done by moving a jumper on the motherboard.

2) Remove the CMOS battery and power cord for a few minutes, so any voltage loops and CMOS mismatches can be dissapated.

Contributed by Spinner

Necropolis

The dreaded blue screen of death in retrospect doesn't make as many appearances as it used to. Why is this you ask? Well, more and more people have upgraded to Windows XP, and less and less people are using Windows 98 aswell as the BSOD king of OS's, Windows ME. Why is that relevant you ask? Well...

Windows XP is by a long shot the best mainstream OS Microsoft has made to date and it's architecture is inherantly more stable than anything which came before it. This though doesn't mean it's ammune to BSOD's it just means that when they do happen they are more than likely to be a result of a hardware flaw or failure, rather than a software one.

So... if you suddenly start suffering from BSOD's in Windows XP, then do the following before anything else:

1) Run a memory testing program like DOCMEMORY to check to see if your memory is not damaged. BSOD's as a result of problems with memory modules, are one of the most common reasons for XP to resort to flashing you a bit of blue.

2) Boot up in safe mode if you can. If the BSOD's stop occuring when your in this mode, then it's a good sign that the cause of your problems are actually software related after all.

3) If you're overclocking, down clock to your systems default speed, and also it's always good practice to set your memory and bus timings to their least agressive state, when working problems.

Contributed by Spinner

Necropolis

1) Reseat everthing, try to start it up.

2) Try resetting the BIOS (as Spinner said)

3) Find spare parts and try to isolate the problem. i.e. try 1 stick of memory if you have 2 or try another stick from a working system. Try anther PSU. Try another CPU and so on. Only change one part at a time, so you know which one is bad.

Contributed by MyNewName5333

primesuspect

One of the most frustrating problems is the undiagnosable "general instability". As a rule (and this comes from several years in the tech field) the very first thing I do is rule out RAM as the problem. RAM goes bad. It goes bad often. It goes bad probably more often than any other component in a computer. Bad RAM doesn't always look bad, as it can appear to be working fine but cause the computer to act strange. It can be random and unpredictable.

The best tool for checking RAM is the free Memtest86. You can download a program from www.memtest86.com that will create a bootable floppy or a bootable CD image (ISO format). Make the disk, boot off of it, and let it run through all seven tests. If you go through all seven tests with zero errors, your RAM is probably good. But if it fails, you will have just saved yourself hours of frustration trying to diagnose a problem that you could have discovered with a quick Memtest.

Contributed by primesuspect

Necropolis

Always use an antistatic wristwrap when you're working inside a computer case. Static damage will not alway show itself at the time you're finished working but can happen much later. When it does your computer might simply die and you'll have no idea what caused it. It is possible to work alot and never damage the computer but why take the chance. Wristwraps aren't cheap but well worth the price.

Contributed by EyesOnly

Necropolis

If it's an older mobo (1 1/2 to 3 years) that has started giving random problems like random restarts and temp alarms when everything is fine and BSOD's, check all the big capacitors on the mobo for signs of swelling or leaking, indicating bad caps. Many vendors turned out mobos from that era with caps built with defective electrolyte in them and it is just a matter of time before the caps go out.

Contributed by muddocktor

profdlp

Fix for the STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005...) BSOD / REBOOT

Courtesy of our member troll.