FW: [Wlug] Local service/repair recommendations
-----Original Message----- From: Martin, Eric [mailto:MartinE@worc.k12.ma.us] Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2004 10:12 AM To: 'Clint Moyer ' Subject: RE: [Wlug] Local service/repair recommendations Def, also, what's your video card? If you have a spare PCI video card kicking around I suggest you try that. I had a suped up machine that did that because the power supply wasn't beefy enough...also, do you have a power supply tester? What does the manual / website say about a red light? What's the manufacturer / model of the mobo? Eric -----Original Message----- From: Clint Moyer To: Worcester Linux Users Group Sent: 9/16/2004 12:26 AM Subject: Re: [Wlug] Local service/repair recommendations Start by trying to boot with the bare minimum components. Plug in only the CPU, one stick of RAM, video card, and keyboard. If you get absolutely nothing on the screen, try replacing memory first.
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Thank you for all that responded. I'll try to summarize the answers to all the follow-up questions in one reply. When I turn the power on, nothing happens except a red LED on the motherboard lights up. The CPU fan doesn't spin, the computer doesn't beep - nothing (so no beeps or POST codes). The weird thing is that when I turn the power switch off, the LED stays lit for another 5-6 seconds. I'm not sure if that means anything though... In case it matters, the mobo is an Abit NF7 with a single DIMM of 512MB RAM (Crucial), an AMD Athlon 2400+ processor, an ATI Radeon 9600XT video card and it's powered by a 400W power supply. I bought all the parts from New Egg about 7 months ago, put it together and haven't had a single problem save for this. I've tried running it bare bones and moving the DIMM into a different slot. I have a spare computer, but the connector from the power supply doesn't seem to have the same plug as the one on my board. I don't have any extra RAM or a processor to try swapping things out with unfortunately. I've tried Googling the symptoms and the red LED on the mobo to no avail. It seems the only mention of the red LED problem was answered with the typical "check your connections, the mobo's fried, etc..." - no real diagnostics. I stopped in at a computer shop on 122A in Holden this afternoon and was quoted a $35 "bench fee" for taking a look at it and $75/hr to do any work. Like I said before, all the parts are still under warranty through New Egg and I'd happily send them back but I need to figure out what's not working. And I realize this is a Linux list and this is kind of off-topic. That being said, you folks are pretty bright and knowledgable so I figured I'd throw this out there. I do appreciate all the suggestions/comments so far. Thanks, Track
On Thu, Sep 16, 2004 at 05:30:21PM -0400, track@trackspace.com wrote:
Do the power supply fans spin? the Abit NF7 with MB LEDs has two power LEDs - the red one, when lit, indicates standby by power. The green one, when lit, indicates the machine is powered up. You seem be stuck in standby mode. Try the front panel power switch a few times. (Count to 10 between each try, see if green MB LED turns on) If that doesn't work, try "aggressively" using the front panel switch. Sometimes the front panel switch start to fail and they have a hard time turning on the signal that tells the system to power up. These types of power switches are called "soft switches". used to use them at Apollo in the early 1980's. When they went bad, there was no way to turn a machine off. (or on). Have you tried clearing the CMOS?
-- Linux/Open Source. Now all your base belongs to you, for free. ============================================================ Idealism: "Realism applied over a longer time period" Jeff Kinz, Emergent Research, Hudson, MA.
Jeff Kinz wrote:
That's just the capacitance stored up in the MB caps. That's the reason people say to wait 10 seconds between powering off and powering on. This also would seem to be a sign that the PS is feeding power.
Do the power supply fans spin?
I assume not, since he says above "nothing happens" :-)
Good point. Maybe this is what you meant but also try holding the button for 5-10 seconds as well.
Just trace the switch wires back to the MB jumper header then manually jumper the connection yourself. If there are 2 wires the jump is obvious--3 wires you may want to check the MB manual to make sure you jump the right ones. Only need to jump briefly...this will eliminate the switch as the culprit. Also try unplugging the PS from the wall for 30 sec to cold cycle everything. Also, you can check the PS simply enough (assuming it's an ATX): -unplug it from the MB (leave at least one HDD connected for a load...PS will power off if no load) -compare the MB connector to the one here: http://xtronics.com/reference/atx_pinout.htm -if the same, jump (with paper clip...be careful!) pin 14 to 15 together -PS should power on (fan(s) spin, HDD(s) spin up)
Forget PC shops, IMO...they're only going to do the simple tests you can find on lists like these anyway ;-) BR
On Thu, Sep 16, 2004 at 08:55:23PM -0400, Brett Russ wrote:
Over the years I have found that some values for "nothing happens" do NOT approach zero. It all depends on what "Nothing happens" means to the person who is using the term. I've been burn on it enough times, that I don't make the assumption that they really mean "Nothing happens" anymore... ;-) Instead - I use very specific questions in a stepwise fashion to determine what they are really seeing. Its the only way to keep your sanity intact when doing a remote diagnostic. This neccesarily means that some information will get repeated. -- Linux/Open Source. Now all your base belongs to you, for free. ============================================================ Idealism: "Realism applied over a longer time period" Jeff Kinz, Emergent Research, Hudson, MA.
Brett, Thanks for the reply. I took your advice and tried a couple of things. First, I jumpered the on/off switch connection on the mobo and still got the same results (nothing spins up, red LED on mobo comes and stays on). Secondly, I jumped the 14 and 15 pins (with a bent paperclip) on the ATX connector while leaving one HDD (and absolutely nothing else) plugged in - nothing happened. If I understood you correctly, that should at least power the HDD up? Are there any other visual/aural clues that I'm looking for? Should the paperclip get warm assuming there's a current passing through it? When I plugged the cord in from the wall into the socket in the back of the case, I did hear that "click" (for lack of a better word) you hear when you plug anything into a socket. I know at least the juice is getting into the box... Based on this, would you assume the power supply is the likely culprit and that the next logical step would be to try testing my hardware on another ATX power supply? My only concern is that the LED lights up, which to me would mean the mobo is getting >>>some<<< power. Let me know when you get a chance and I REALLY appreciate your advice and suggestions! :) Thanks, Tim
track@trackspace.com wrote:
I'd assume that both the PS fan and the HDD would spin up. You might not hear the HDD spinup, you might have to unmount it and feel for the gyro effect. But without the PS fan spinning, I doubt it's powering the drive.
Should the paperclip get warm assuming there's a current passing through it?
No, there shouldn't be current flowing through the clip.
I don't usually hear a click when plugging in a PS to the wall. Maybe this is a sign that it's bad.
I would definitely try another ATX supply if you can. At this point I am not sure what could be wrong if it's not the PS. BR
participants (4)
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Brett Russ -
Clint Moyer -
Jeff Kinz -
track＠trackspace.com