Almost dead computer

[Roger]

My computer suffered an instantaneous lock-up while editing video. There
were no noticeable problems before it happened. The entire image on screen
froze and the audio card stuck on a continuous tone.
It required a hard reboot to do anything and when the machine restarted
these were the symptoms:-

The monitor reported "no input signal" & nothing is visible onscreen apart
from the monitor's warning.
There were no POST signals.
The power & disc lights came on & there were some of the internal sounds of
a computer booting but they seemed "wrong" & didn't go on for long enough -
little HD activity.
After about 10sec. the fan on the graphics card began to stop & start.
Motherboard Monitor gave no warnings of overheating.
Asus SmartDoctor gave no warnings either.

I have tried the VGA output port - No change
I have replaced the 9600 with a PCI graphics card - No change

QUESTION:-
Is my graphics card dead, is the MoBo dead or is it something else?

If it's a MoBo problem, is there any way to test it other than a swap? If it
means a new board I'd like to upgrade but that means a new graphics card &
RAM

Any help gratefully received, Roger


Gigabyte GA-81876 Ultra P4
Asus ATi Radeon 9600XT AGP socket
DVI Connection
XP Pro
Home built computer operating with no problems for over 2 years.

"Time Flies at Old Warden" -
http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttleworth/index.htm
The British Columbia Aviation Museum - http://www.bcam.net/index.htm
The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum -
http://www.airmuseum.ca/contents.html

 

[Dave]

My computer suffered an instantaneous lock-up while editing video. There
were no noticeable problems before it happened. The entire image on screen
froze and the audio card stuck on a continuous tone.
It required a hard reboot to do anything and when the machine restarted
these were the symptoms:-

The monitor reported "no input signal" & nothing is visible onscreen apart
from the monitor's warning.
There were no POST signals.
The power & disc lights came on & there were some of the internal sounds
of a computer booting but they seemed "wrong" & didn't go on for long
enough - little HD activity.
After about 10sec. the fan on the graphics card began to stop & start.
Motherboard Monitor gave no warnings of overheating.
Asus SmartDoctor gave no warnings either.

I have tried the VGA output port - No change
I have replaced the 9600 with a PCI graphics card - No change

QUESTION:-
Is my graphics card dead, is the MoBo dead or is it something else?

If it's a MoBo problem, is there any way to test it other than a swap? If
it means a new board I'd like to upgrade but that means a new graphics
card & RAM

Any help gratefully received, Roger

It sounds like a severely flaky power supply -Dave

 

[DaveW]

It's very possible that your power supply unit failed. I would try
replacing that before taking on a motherboard replacement.

 

[Paul]

My computer suffered an instantaneous lock-up while editing video. There
were no noticeable problems before it happened. The entire image on screen
froze and the audio card stuck on a continuous tone.
It required a hard reboot to do anything and when the machine restarted
these were the symptoms:-

The monitor reported "no input signal" & nothing is visible onscreen apart
from the monitor's warning.
There were no POST signals.
The power & disc lights came on & there were some of the internal sounds of
a computer booting but they seemed "wrong" & didn't go on for long enough -
little HD activity.
After about 10sec. the fan on the graphics card began to stop & start.
Motherboard Monitor gave no warnings of overheating.
Asus SmartDoctor gave no warnings either.

I have tried the VGA output port - No change
I have replaced the 9600 with a PCI graphics card - No change

QUESTION:-
Is my graphics card dead, is the MoBo dead or is it something else?

If it's a MoBo problem, is there any way to test it other than a swap? If it
means a new board I'd like to upgrade but that means a new graphics card &
RAM

Any help gratefully received, Roger


Gigabyte GA-81876 Ultra P4
Asus ATi Radeon 9600XT AGP socket
DVI Connection
XP Pro
Home built computer operating with no problems for over 2 years.

"Time Flies at Old Warden" -
http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttleworth/index.htm
The British Columbia Aviation Museum - http://www.bcam.net/index.htm
The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum -
http://www.airmuseum.ca/contents.html

I think this is your motherboard here:

"GA-8I875 Ultra"
http://www.giga-byte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=1714

In addition to trying another power supply (since power
supply failures are a common fault), I would visually
examine the motherboard. There is a big chip at the
end of that green AGP slot. It looks like the ICH5 Southbridge.
ICH5 Southbridge chips have been known to fail, and in
many cases the root cause is static electricity attacking
a USB port. There is a picture at the top of this page,
showing what a failed chip looks like. The chip can also
fail without visual symptoms, but usually the USB ports
stop working, and the computer can still be booted.
When there is a burn mark, the damage internally to the chip
is more severe. In a case like this, you get the motherboard
repaired under warranty, if there is any warranty left,
or you end up replacing it.

(Note - I cannot verify this link right now, as the
site is undergoing an upgrade... Maybe they'll be
up and running tomorrow.)
http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84122

A simple test you can do for a motherboard, is just use
the processor and motherboard, and start it up. Without a
video card or any memory, the processor executes the BIOS
code, and it will try to beep the computer speaker if
the RAM and video are missing. If you cannot get any beeps
from the computer speaker, then the processor is not
executing any BIOS code (for whatever reason). At least
that eliminates the RAM and video card, if what remains
still won't do anything.

Paul

 

[Ed Medlin]

It sounds like a severely flaky power supply -Dave Ditto-Ed

 

[JAD]

inspect the capasitors(large black or gray cylinders) on that mainboard.
bulging tops leaking fluid. If all is well, PSU.

 

[Roger]

Thanks very much for all the comments, I'll have a good look for symptoms on
the motherboard and see if it looks ok but the PSU seems to be getting most
of the blame.
I have an old PSU which doesn't have the extra power connector (as required
by a Pentium 4?). If the normal connector will fit my MoBo, would this be
safe to see if the boot sequence runs?
--
Regards, Roger

"Time Flies at Old Warden" -
http://www.shuttleworth.org/shuttleworth/index.htm
The British Columbia Aviation Museum - http://www.bcam.net/index.htm
The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum -
http://www.airmuseum.ca/contents.html

 

[JAD]

Thanks very much for all the comments, I'll have a good look for symptoms on
the motherboard and see if it looks ok but the PSU seems to be getting most
of the blame.
I have an old PSU which doesn't have the extra power connector (as required
by a Pentium 4?). If the normal connector will fit my MoBo, would this be
safe to see if the boot sequence runs?

Nope......your gonna need a new(er) PSU