Can I bring my PC back to life?

[largeruk]

Bit of a long shot but....

I'm desperately in need of someone who can take a look at my ailing PC. Long story short - it was making weird noises (the power supply, CPU fan, something else?) for a few weeks then, following a power cut (which may be coincidental), has since failed to boot. There is power to the PC, I can hear a low strange hum and whirr but nothing beyond that.

For personal family health reasons, I'm not currently able to devote the time to investigating the possible cause and also don't have the technical expertise/knowledge to do so, let alone fix whatever the issue may be.

I also don't have the funds to pay out to a firm to investigate & do some diagnostics. I only have a limited amount of funds to fix the machine and am hoping that only 1 or 2 parts have failed and need replacing which will swallow the funds I have.

Is there someone out there who would be willing to help out a fellow member out and spend a little time to take a look at the machine for me to identify the cause(s) of the problem?

I am based in SW London and would be happy to bring the base unit to you if that works better for anyone.

I realise this is a bit of a long shot but thought I'd ask.

Many many thanks to anyone who can help.

 

[largeruk]

UPDATE: in the absence of anyone able to help, I had little choice but to take the unit to a repair shop who have advised me that, in all likelihood, the mobo has failed. The guy swapped out the PSU - still failed to power up. He also took out the RAM and the unit again failed to post. On this basis, he reckons the mobo has failed/fried. The guy seems genuine and has not tried in any way to sell me any components.

Before I get into the expense of having what is now a very outdated mobo/cpu/ram combo replaced, I'd like to ask the assembled gurus if there is any possible way to either:-

1. validate this diagnosis, or
2. to bring the mobo back to life?

I have looked at this thread and wondered if I should try to clear the cmos using the method described in the thread. (My mobo is an Abit IX38 QuadGT so assume I need to use the method described here). Or would I just be wasting my time?

Many thanks for any advice or assistance offered.

 

[Plec]

From the tests you've had carried out it looks/smells/sounds like the motherboard. But if the rest of the system (PSU in particular) is as old as the motherboard it could be that another component took out the motherboard - i.e. did the 'repair guy' test your PSU?

Complete system spec would be handy - especially brand/model of PSU.

There's no harm in clearing the CMOS - certainly a valid test - you can use the jumper pin or just briefly touch the 'relevant' pins with a screwdriver/or similar.

This:

• unplug computer from the wall
• press the case power button for a few seconds to deplete all power
• Look for the Clear CMOS pins (use your manual)
  
• and then briefly touch the two pins with a screw driver (shorting them - clearing cmos) - or use the jumper cap if you have one
  
• plug pc back in
• power on and hit delete if it powers on..

But - have you ever changed the motherboard battery? If not i would swap this out - you need a CR 2032 - similar steps as above and will clear the CMOS at the same time. I would leave the battery out for 10 minutes.

So:

• unplug computer from the wall
• press the case power button for a few seconds to deplete all power
• Remove old battery
• leave out for 10 minutes
• replace with new battery
• plug pc back in
• power on and hit delete if it powers on..

You may need to do CMOS reset after this - if the motherboard isn't dead.

 

[largeruk]

@Plec

Have replaced the mobo CR2032 battery as advised and yes, it will now post to the BIOS screen. However, it will not boot up further as I presume all the settings loaded into the BIOS have now disappeared and it does not see the boot SSD drive on which I have Win7 loaded. It sees all other SATA drives (3xHDDs + 1 optical drive) but not that one.

The BIOS, presumably because it's now only using default options, also isn't seeing the RAM properly - it sees the RAM as "DDR2 816 (Dual Channel Mode)" whereas I'm fairly sure it was previously running at 1333Mhz - would this be right?

How do I get the BIOS to recognise/see the SSD boot drive? The SATA Channel 1 setting in 'Standard CMOS Features' shows "None".

How do I also restore all the other BIOS to those that were previously used and loaded?

In terms of specs, I've managed to find out the following:-

• CPU: Intel Core2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.40GHz
• RAM: 2 x 2gb of Corsair XMS2-8500 1066MHz 5-5-5-15 (CM2X2048-8500C5D)
• PSU: Antec NeoPower 550
• MB: Abit IX38 QuadGT

Many thanks again for the advice and assistance.

 

[Quartz]

If it won't see the SSD, try changing the cable and try changing the port into which the SSD is plugged.

 

[Plec]

AHCI mode probably needs enabling for the SSD - the CMOS reset would have defaulted to IDE.

But it's wise to reattatch cables to SATA/Drives after a dead battery...

Don't worry about the memory for now.

 

[largeruk]

Progress! Managed to get the BIOS to recognise the boot SSD drive and the PC can now boot into Win7.

What do I now need to do to optimise the BIOS setting for the CPU and RAM that were there before the CMOS was cleared?

I see in the BIOS that it has a 'uGuru utility' that enables changes to various settings (voltage, CPU clock, DRAM etc). At the moment these are set to BIOS defaults (eg. DDR2 is set to 816, rather than the rated 1066 or higher). Can someone please give me some guidance?

Thanks again.

 

[Plec]

I would test the system on defaults for now.

Use and abuse the system over the weekend and if it remains rock solid then set your memory to 1066MHz. Then re-test the system.

If you're hinting at clocking the system - again you need to ascertain that the system is stable at stock, including memory at 1066MHz.

Additional: those sticks will require 2.2V @ 1066MHz 5 5 5 15

 

[largeruk]

I would test the system on defaults for now.

Use and abuse the system over the weekend and if it remains rock solid then set your memory to 1066MHz. Then re-test the system.

If you're hinting at clocking the system - again you need to ascertain that the system is stable at stock, including memory at 1066MHz.

Additional: those sticks will require 2.2V @ 1066MHz 5 5 5 15

Sound advice. Will do. How would I 'abuse' the system? I assume you mean stress test it but how?

 

[Plec]

Sound advice. Will do. How would I 'abuse' the system? I assume you mean stress test it but how?

Just use the system as you would normally - gaming, browsing, youtube etc...

I wouldn't necessarily torture test your ageing system as we don't want to trigger a dormant issue that may be quite happy sleeping if it isn't heated to within a degree of irritation.

That said, i would like to know your idle and load temps - download CPUz and GPUz.

You could then run Prime95 (simple 'BLEND' test - give the CPU a break) for 5 minutes, while watching Core Temp - and post back these results. *If temps accelerate towards 90 degrees+ stop the test.

Do the same for the GPU - this time running Furmark no more than 5 minutes - again if temps creep past sanity level terminate the test.

Post back result - including idle temps (post idle temps now).

EDIT: Did your local 'repair guy' blow out the dust from your heatsinks - CPU and GPU?