Arggh

Undertoad · 10-18-2001, 01:23 PM

One of my boxes has died, and I was wondering if anyone knows immediately and offhand what it is. The IDE activity light stays lit constantly, even right from powering it up. The box is entirely dead, won't even boot to BIOS or even video BIOS.

The box never showed any symptoms; I just woke up today to find it dead.

So: before I open this thing, is it a dead on-board IDE controller, or dead IDE drive? Or could it be something else weird like a low voltage situation?

This has been my Linux desktop box, and it doesn't do very much right now so it's not a high priority.

russotto · 10-18-2001, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Undertoad
One of my boxes has died, and I was wondering if anyone knows immediately and offhand what it is. The IDE activity light stays lit constantly, even right from powering it up. The box is entirely dead, won't even boot to BIOS or even video BIOS.

The box never showed any symptoms; I just woke up today to find it dead.

So: before I open this thing, is it a dead on-board IDE controller, or dead IDE drive? Or could it be something else weird like a low voltage situation?

This has been my Linux desktop box, and it doesn't do very much right now so it's not a high priority.

You can't tell without opening it; as long as everything's electrically connected to everything else, anything could be the cause.

jaguar · 11-06-2001, 04:38 AM

scientific method.
Put the drive in another boxen, put the drive in another boxen etcetc...
only way
Or just kick it a few times..

11-06-2001, 08:41 AM

Tony -

if it doesn't POST, there are 4 likely problems:

-RAM is shit
-CPU is shit
-PSU is shit
-MOBO is shit

or at least, that's what i'm getting from what you've said. it's also possible that

-VIDEO CARD is shit.

turn the box on, and put your nose right behind the fan blowing out from the PSU. do you smell anything that's a wee bit like burning? if so, it's probably a burned transistor in your PSU. it's also possible that it's a burned transistor some place else, and the PSU is sucking in the burning smell. but seriously. smell for a faint burning smell. it's kinda hard to detect, but once you know it, you recognize it instantly. look for that.

if you can't smell anything, try swapping out the video card and see if it'll come up now. i'm guessing not, since the IDE light stays on all the time. but try it anyway - it's always possible.

i'm guessing that the monitor isn't getting any signal whatsoever - if this is the case, like i said, there really aren't that many things. disconnect the following:

-any and all ide devices (hard drives, cd-rom, zip drive, etc)
-the floppy
-any cards other than video

and see if you can get it to POST (Power On Self Test). make sure you leave the case speaker connected - error beeps are *really* important. anyway, if it still doesn't POST (or you can't see it), that means that one of the following (or more) are not functioning properly:

-motherboard
-cpu
-ram
-power supply
-video card

which is what we were guessing anyway. then, replace the video card with a cheapie and see if you can get it to work. test the ram in another machine and see if it works. make SURE that the fan & heatsink are on the cpu properly - if they're not, that could be causing the problem.

let me know what's going on with it. i've got a ton of experience troubleshooting hardware, so we can probably narrow this down pretty quick. could almost certainly tell you in an hour if the machine was in front of me, but we'll just have to do this in a bit of an unorthodox manner.

good luck. lemme know what's happening.

oh yeah - make sure the monitor is still good. that's important too

try it on another computer.

also - try letting the machine boot - see if it goes, and you just can't see it. if it does, see if you can telnet in and shut it down properly. if that's the case, it's easier to narrow down the problem.

MaggieL · 11-06-2001, 02:20 PM

If it's putting out beep codes, they are what you need to track down. If it isn't, put a voltmeter on the "power good" line.

The absolute bible on isses like this is "Upgrading and Repairing PCs" by Muller. Let me know if you want to borrow my copy; I don't live that far from you.

Undertoad · 11-06-2001, 02:45 PM

Inspired by these suggestions and a general need to get this box up and running, I put it on power and hit the power switch, and it booted normally as if it had never had any trouble.

The only difference was that a mouse was plugged in, when it had somehow worked its way out of the socket before. Nothing that should stop it from getting to the BIOS.

I HATE HARDWARE.

11-06-2001, 04:06 PM

see. this happens to people all the time whenever i'm around. i've finally figured out what it is:

the god of hardware is looking for some laughs, so he fucks up your system. then i'm called in, and he's like "awww, phooey, this is gonna be no fun" and just drops it, hopping on to the next unsuspecting sucker. sad.

i can't tell you how many times someone says "hey, it doesn't work right, can you come over and fix it?" and i'm like "sure" and go to their house, only to find it working perfectly. they're like "huh, you must have the magic touch" and i'm like "yeah." i hate that, 'cause then i feel real bad charging them anything and, therefore, generally do not. but i've spent an hour of my time going to their house, looking at their computer, finding it working fine, checking it out anyway just to make sure, and then driving back home. phooey.

little things online are no biggy though, 'cause i can answer questions at my leisure. yeah!

glad it's working now though. seriously.

tw · 11-06-2001, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Undertoad
I HATE HARDWARE.

One of those dust bunnies tripped over a cable. It happens sometimes when ........ damn dust bunny again . . . . . .

10-18-2001, 01:23 PM	#1
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Arggh One of my boxes has died, and I was wondering if anyone knows immediately and offhand what it is. The IDE activity light stays lit constantly, even right from powering it up. The box is entirely dead, won't even boot to BIOS or even video BIOS. The box never showed any symptoms; I just woke up today to find it dead. So: before I open this thing, is it a dead on-board IDE controller, or dead IDE drive? Or could it be something else weird like a low voltage situation? This has been my Linux desktop box, and it doesn't do very much right now so it's not a high priority.

11-06-2001, 04:38 AM	#3
jaguar whig Join Date: Apr 2001 Posts: 5,075	scientific method. Put the drive in another boxen, put the drive in another boxen etcetc... only way Or just kick it a few times.. __________________ Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life. - Twain

11-06-2001, 02:20 PM	#5
MaggieL in the Hour of Scampering Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Jeffersonville PA (15 mi NW of Philadelphia) Posts: 4,060	If it's putting out beep codes, they are what you need to track down. If it isn't, put a voltmeter on the "power good" line. The absolute bible on isses like this is "Upgrading and Repairing PCs" by Muller. Let me know if you want to borrow my copy; I don't live that far from you. __________________ "Neither can his Mind be thought to be in Tune,whose words do jarre; nor his reason In frame, whose sentence is preposterous..."

11-06-2001, 08:41 AM	#4
dave Guest Posts: n/a	Tony - if it doesn't POST, there are 4 likely problems: -RAM is shit -CPU is shit -PSU is shit -MOBO is shit or at least, that's what i'm getting from what you've said. it's also possible that -VIDEO CARD is shit. turn the box on, and put your nose right behind the fan blowing out from the PSU. do you smell anything that's a wee bit like burning? if so, it's probably a burned transistor in your PSU. it's also possible that it's a burned transistor some place else, and the PSU is sucking in the burning smell. but seriously. smell for a faint burning smell. it's kinda hard to detect, but once you know it, you recognize it instantly. look for that. if you can't smell anything, try swapping out the video card and see if it'll come up now. i'm guessing not, since the IDE light stays on all the time. but try it anyway - it's always possible. i'm guessing that the monitor isn't getting any signal whatsoever - if this is the case, like i said, there really aren't that many things. disconnect the following: -any and all ide devices (hard drives, cd-rom, zip drive, etc) -the floppy -any cards other than video and see if you can get it to POST (Power On Self Test). make sure you leave the case speaker connected - error beeps are really important. anyway, if it still doesn't POST (or you can't see it), that means that one of the following (or more) are not functioning properly: -motherboard -cpu -ram -power supply -video card which is what we were guessing anyway. then, replace the video card with a cheapie and see if you can get it to work. test the ram in another machine and see if it works. make SURE that the fan & heatsink are on the cpu properly - if they're not, that could be causing the problem. let me know what's going on with it. i've got a ton of experience troubleshooting hardware, so we can probably narrow this down pretty quick. could almost certainly tell you in an hour if the machine was in front of me, but we'll just have to do this in a bit of an unorthodox manner. good luck. lemme know what's happening. oh yeah - make sure the monitor is still good. that's important too try it on another computer. also - try letting the machine boot - see if it goes, and you just can't see it. if it does, see if you can telnet in and shut it down properly. if that's the case, it's easier to narrow down the problem.

11-06-2001, 02:45 PM	#6
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	Inspired by these suggestions and a general need to get this box up and running, I put it on power and hit the power switch, and it booted normally as if it had never had any trouble. The only difference was that a mouse was plugged in, when it had somehow worked its way out of the socket before. Nothing that should stop it from getting to the BIOS. I HATE HARDWARE.

11-06-2001, 04:06 PM	#7
dave Guest Posts: n/a	see. this happens to people all the time whenever i'm around. i've finally figured out what it is: the god of hardware is looking for some laughs, so he fucks up your system. then i'm called in, and he's like "awww, phooey, this is gonna be no fun" and just drops it, hopping on to the next unsuspecting sucker. sad. i can't tell you how many times someone says "hey, it doesn't work right, can you come over and fix it?" and i'm like "sure" and go to their house, only to find it working perfectly. they're like "huh, you must have the magic touch" and i'm like "yeah." i hate that, 'cause then i feel real bad charging them anything and, therefore, generally do not. but i've spent an hour of my time going to their house, looking at their computer, finding it working fine, checking it out anyway just to make sure, and then driving back home. phooey. little things online are no biggy though, 'cause i can answer questions at my leisure. yeah! glad it's working now though. seriously.

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