12-15-2007, 10:30 PM
OOOKAY so i have had some wierd recurring issue with my gaming comp which has now lead it to completely give out. being as im a former tech support agent and current computer builder (for lack of better words, lol) ...its not often i come across hardware issues that i cant figure out...but this ones got me stumped. see what you think.
now this will be long and in detail of EVERYTHING that happened and everything that i tried to fix it, so bare with me dead:
Last fall after shutting off my computer for about a day, i went to turn it on, on everything seemed to turn on and boot up correctly (from the sounds and lights of the box) however... the monitor never turned out and got out of sleep mode. now at first i was pissed off at my monitor trying to figure out if it was some setting that had been changed or a cable that had come unplugged but nothing was different. well i then realized that it was as simple as when the monitor recieves no transmission from the computer, it just goes to sleep.... so i moved to the box itself.
i looked over everything. unplugged everything in back, reset my surge protector just in case, covered all of the basics. After no change i proceeded to open up the computer and look everything over. I checked the graphics card at first, obviously. I took it out, looked over everything, and re-set it back in. When the computer was running everything was fine. The vcards fan was working fine, it was getting power, all was good. so i made sure everything else was plugged in and everything was how it should be, just in case it was something small and stupid that i hadnt thought of. Well everything seemed to be in order.
Now i tried a few times....starting it up...everything seems going how it should but the monitor doesnt come on. After the first few times i also noticed that everything hooked up to the usb's wasnt getting power like it usually does a few short seconds after starting the computer. Usually, a few seconds after hitting the power button, the green lights on my keyboard would flash once, and the 3 lights on my gamepad would also flash once, showing they had power. Well ...this wasnt happening... so i was stumped and praying to god that sumhow my motherboard didnt decide to die on me.
After 2 hours of trying to figure it out i was frustrated as hell (and about 15 beers deep rolleyes
and i resorted to turning it on, waiting a second to see if it would work, shutting it on, then flipping the switch on the Power supply off then on. i did this in variable speeds just cuz i was bored, frustrated, knew nothing else to do, and at the time, not caring if i did any more damage, lol. so i did this starting somewhat slowly...on...then off..waiting thirty seconds, and repeating. eventually i got to where i wouldnt even hold the power button to shut it off, i would just flip the power supply switch to off (yes im well aware that this is not good for the computer lol) well the wierd this is, it finally just booted up..... i was...to put it simply, astonished that my drunken stumblings actually made it start rather then blow up.
well the next day, when i decided that i would tinker again, i shut it off. tried to start it up again and somewhat to my suprise it started right back up. i did it a few times, and it had no troubles whatsoever. so i left if off for the day while i was away at class. it was off for probably 4 hours er so, and i tried it again, and it was DOA. this confused me again and made me think it could possible be a powersupply issue. This made a little bit of sense because right after you shut off your computer, the powersupply has more saved up energy then it would after leaving it for a few hours (beings that i usually turn off the powersupply as well when i leave for long periods. aka more then a day. this would have the powersupply have no built up energy) HOWEVER, it still did not make sense to me why it suddenly started up again the night before.
anyways, since i didnt have the money for a new powersupply, or anything for that matter at the time, i simply didnt shut off my computer. i was on it 90% of the day anyway, and i currently had a direct tube coming off of the air conditioner keeping it super cooled in any condition, so leaving it on at all times wasnt an issue.
well a few months later, i brought it to my parents house because a bunch of my highschool buddies, now in college, all came home for christmas break. so ofc we had some massive lan parties and WoW parties. at first it didnt give me any troubles but then it wouldnt start. same issue.... however i never could get it started back up again. so , due to lack of any other untried options, i unplugged everything except for the motherboard/vcard and it started right up.... so i shut it down, plugged in everything, and tried it.... no start... eventually after trying and failing the same thing a few times i said **** it and started it with just the mobo/vcard plugged in, let it boot as far as it would go, plugged in the rest of the hardware such as the all the harddrives, cd drives, floppy drive, and a few other expansion cards i had (YES YES i know this is not only bad to do while the computer is running, but also risky of electricuting myself and blowing my hardware) and THEN hitting the reset button. it worked, started up and went to windows.
SO....after that whole ordeal, i went out and bought a new powersupply. OFC Antec because imho anything else is a gamble, and antec makes exceptional powersupplies. not to mention my build is with an antec case, so i didnt have to worry about it fitting. so i swapped out the PCU's and have only the problem a few times since.
well about a month and a half ago, it decided to start doing it again, only this time it completley gave out and nothing i could do would start it up. i tried everything, and this time the powersupply is NOT an option because it is brand new.... i even took them up on the warrenty, claimed it was faulty, and had it replaced for free...well...still no go. so the only thing i can think of now is the motherboard.
i tried the memory just in case...took out all 4 sticks, put in only 1...and no go. i tried it with all 4 sticks. as i am pretty positive all 4 sticks wouldnt go bad at the exact same time in the matter of 4 hours (thats how long the computer was off from the time it was working to the time it was dead)..i also tried all 4 memory slots as well just to see if i could get any difference. i unplugged anything and everything, cleaned everything thoroughly of dust, put everything back, and tried everything again. Now i was down to the processor being fried sumhow, cuz the heatsink and fan were really dusty (due to me leaving my case open because the rear 120mm fan died and it was getting too warm.) so in the process of taking the heatsink off to clean it/ inspect and re-cover the processor with artic fox paste, i broke one of the clamps on the heatsink... so that abruptly ended my troubleshooting to try to find the problem.
i wouldnt dare attempt to boot the computer up without a properly set heatsink due to the fact that you will most certainly fry your processor in a matter of seconds (though most of the newest processors are made to power down once it reaches a critical temperature)
SO my question to you guys (and gals) would be....what should i replace first???
i would very much like to replace only one thing because im not in a situation where i have money to spare...so i want to pick the best option.
as i see it right now, the options are.....
1. Motherboard
2. Processor
3. Videocard
These are the only possible things that i reasonably can see.....
but thats why i am asking as well. mayb you guys can think of something i can not, and i want to know which one of those you think i should fix, if not something else.
right now i think the motherboard will be what i trash and replace, because it would make the most sense. the processor is a possibility...but a slight stretch...and the vidcard would basically be a shot in the dark because it doesnt really make sense that it could be that...so anyways.. there you have it.
now this will be long and in detail of EVERYTHING that happened and everything that i tried to fix it, so bare with me dead:
Last fall after shutting off my computer for about a day, i went to turn it on, on everything seemed to turn on and boot up correctly (from the sounds and lights of the box) however... the monitor never turned out and got out of sleep mode. now at first i was pissed off at my monitor trying to figure out if it was some setting that had been changed or a cable that had come unplugged but nothing was different. well i then realized that it was as simple as when the monitor recieves no transmission from the computer, it just goes to sleep.... so i moved to the box itself.
i looked over everything. unplugged everything in back, reset my surge protector just in case, covered all of the basics. After no change i proceeded to open up the computer and look everything over. I checked the graphics card at first, obviously. I took it out, looked over everything, and re-set it back in. When the computer was running everything was fine. The vcards fan was working fine, it was getting power, all was good. so i made sure everything else was plugged in and everything was how it should be, just in case it was something small and stupid that i hadnt thought of. Well everything seemed to be in order.
Now i tried a few times....starting it up...everything seems going how it should but the monitor doesnt come on. After the first few times i also noticed that everything hooked up to the usb's wasnt getting power like it usually does a few short seconds after starting the computer. Usually, a few seconds after hitting the power button, the green lights on my keyboard would flash once, and the 3 lights on my gamepad would also flash once, showing they had power. Well ...this wasnt happening... so i was stumped and praying to god that sumhow my motherboard didnt decide to die on me.
After 2 hours of trying to figure it out i was frustrated as hell (and about 15 beers deep rolleyes
and i resorted to turning it on, waiting a second to see if it would work, shutting it on, then flipping the switch on the Power supply off then on. i did this in variable speeds just cuz i was bored, frustrated, knew nothing else to do, and at the time, not caring if i did any more damage, lol. so i did this starting somewhat slowly...on...then off..waiting thirty seconds, and repeating. eventually i got to where i wouldnt even hold the power button to shut it off, i would just flip the power supply switch to off (yes im well aware that this is not good for the computer lol) well the wierd this is, it finally just booted up..... i was...to put it simply, astonished that my drunken stumblings actually made it start rather then blow up. well the next day, when i decided that i would tinker again, i shut it off. tried to start it up again and somewhat to my suprise it started right back up. i did it a few times, and it had no troubles whatsoever. so i left if off for the day while i was away at class. it was off for probably 4 hours er so, and i tried it again, and it was DOA. this confused me again and made me think it could possible be a powersupply issue. This made a little bit of sense because right after you shut off your computer, the powersupply has more saved up energy then it would after leaving it for a few hours (beings that i usually turn off the powersupply as well when i leave for long periods. aka more then a day. this would have the powersupply have no built up energy) HOWEVER, it still did not make sense to me why it suddenly started up again the night before.
anyways, since i didnt have the money for a new powersupply, or anything for that matter at the time, i simply didnt shut off my computer. i was on it 90% of the day anyway, and i currently had a direct tube coming off of the air conditioner keeping it super cooled in any condition, so leaving it on at all times wasnt an issue.
well a few months later, i brought it to my parents house because a bunch of my highschool buddies, now in college, all came home for christmas break. so ofc we had some massive lan parties and WoW parties. at first it didnt give me any troubles but then it wouldnt start. same issue.... however i never could get it started back up again. so , due to lack of any other untried options, i unplugged everything except for the motherboard/vcard and it started right up.... so i shut it down, plugged in everything, and tried it.... no start... eventually after trying and failing the same thing a few times i said **** it and started it with just the mobo/vcard plugged in, let it boot as far as it would go, plugged in the rest of the hardware such as the all the harddrives, cd drives, floppy drive, and a few other expansion cards i had (YES YES i know this is not only bad to do while the computer is running, but also risky of electricuting myself and blowing my hardware) and THEN hitting the reset button. it worked, started up and went to windows.
SO....after that whole ordeal, i went out and bought a new powersupply. OFC Antec because imho anything else is a gamble, and antec makes exceptional powersupplies. not to mention my build is with an antec case, so i didnt have to worry about it fitting. so i swapped out the PCU's and have only the problem a few times since.
well about a month and a half ago, it decided to start doing it again, only this time it completley gave out and nothing i could do would start it up. i tried everything, and this time the powersupply is NOT an option because it is brand new.... i even took them up on the warrenty, claimed it was faulty, and had it replaced for free...well...still no go. so the only thing i can think of now is the motherboard.
i tried the memory just in case...took out all 4 sticks, put in only 1...and no go. i tried it with all 4 sticks. as i am pretty positive all 4 sticks wouldnt go bad at the exact same time in the matter of 4 hours (thats how long the computer was off from the time it was working to the time it was dead)..i also tried all 4 memory slots as well just to see if i could get any difference. i unplugged anything and everything, cleaned everything thoroughly of dust, put everything back, and tried everything again. Now i was down to the processor being fried sumhow, cuz the heatsink and fan were really dusty (due to me leaving my case open because the rear 120mm fan died and it was getting too warm.) so in the process of taking the heatsink off to clean it/ inspect and re-cover the processor with artic fox paste, i broke one of the clamps on the heatsink... so that abruptly ended my troubleshooting to try to find the problem.
i wouldnt dare attempt to boot the computer up without a properly set heatsink due to the fact that you will most certainly fry your processor in a matter of seconds (though most of the newest processors are made to power down once it reaches a critical temperature)
SO my question to you guys (and gals) would be....what should i replace first???
i would very much like to replace only one thing because im not in a situation where i have money to spare...so i want to pick the best option.
as i see it right now, the options are.....
1. Motherboard
2. Processor
3. Videocard
These are the only possible things that i reasonably can see.....
but thats why i am asking as well. mayb you guys can think of something i can not, and i want to know which one of those you think i should fix, if not something else.
right now i think the motherboard will be what i trash and replace, because it would make the most sense. the processor is a possibility...but a slight stretch...and the vidcard would basically be a shot in the dark because it doesnt really make sense that it could be that...so anyways.. there you have it.
![[Image: mrruthmn.png]](http://miniprofile.xfire.com/bg/sh/type/1/mrruthmn.png)
![[Image: untitled5kl4.jpg]](http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/3803/untitled5kl4.jpg)
so its in need of replacing, but seeing as how i have no money, i can barely afford to try to fix it. SO until i can get $1100 for my new build, ill have to try to make it work.