HELP-dead computer

[R. Wink]

Left the house and came back to a dead computer. Computer locked..screen saver on the screen but not running,
fans running but nothing else. Powered off and restarted..no POST, no beep, no nothing. This computer has always run @ or
below 50 degs. when checked. Part of a wireless LAN with 2 other similar computers and 2 notebooks. Has been running
without problems for nearly a year with the exception of power supplies (this is the third in this computer, started with a
250 watt, then a 300 watt, then the present 400 watt in the unit)

Asus P4-533 FSB M/B with retail 2.4 CPU, heat sink & fan, 1 GB Samsung RamBus memory, 400 Watt LiteOn P/S,
Floppy (as A), 30 GB Seagate Barracuda (as C), 40 GB IBM Deskmate HDD (as D),
LiteOn CDRW (as F), Liteon CDRO (as E), GForce 32MB Video card, PCI Sound Card
Front & Rear 80MM case fans (front fan blowing across the hard drives).

Installed new ROM battery with no change
Bought & installed new Antek 550 W P/S with no change

Anybody have any thought as to what could be a problem or where to check
R. Wink

 

[kony]

Left the house and came back to a dead computer. Computer locked..screen saver on the screen but not running,
fans running but nothing else. Powered off and restarted..no POST, no beep, no nothing. This computer has always run @ or
below 50 degs. when checked. Part of a wireless LAN with 2 other similar computers and 2 notebooks. Has been running
without problems for nearly a year with the exception of power supplies (this is the third in this computer, started with a
250 watt, then a 300 watt, then the present 400 watt in the unit)

Asus P4-533 FSB M/B with retail 2.4 CPU, heat sink & fan, 1 GB Samsung RamBus memory, 400 Watt LiteOn P/S,
Floppy (as A), 30 GB Seagate Barracuda (as C), 40 GB IBM Deskmate HDD (as D),
LiteOn CDRW (as F), Liteon CDRO (as E), GForce 32MB Video card, PCI Sound Card
Front & Rear 80MM case fans (front fan blowing across the hard drives).

Installed new ROM battery with no change
Bought & installed new Antek 550 W P/S with no change

Anybody have any thought as to what could be a problem or where to check
R. Wink

If I were guessing, the guess would be that those lesser power supplies
were stressing the motherboard long-term, and this premature aging has now
finally caused the motherboard failure... this is exactly why a power
supply that powers a system may still not be appropriate for that system,
and when those power supplies were beginning to fail, that's a HUGE wear
on the motherboard up until they've failed to the point of no function at
all.

Double-check the new power supply to confirm that it's AC input voltage
switch is set correct per your location.

Even so, video cards can fail too, particularly if the fan failed.... a
video card fan is "usually" the first component to fail in an otherwise
fair quality system. Check that fan, and the CPU fan.

Remove any nonessential parts from the system (including keyboard, mouse,
drives, USB devices, etc) and clear the CMOS. If you have access to
another system or video card, swap the video to see if card works or
system works with a different card. If no success at that point it's most
likely you need to replace the motherboard.

 

[beav AT wn DoT com DoT au]

kony wrote:

Even so, video cards can fail too, particularly if the fan failed.... a
video card fan is "usually" the first component to fail in an otherwise
fair quality system. Check that fan, and the CPU fan.

</quote>
A video card failure will normally result in a flurry of beeps. I would
suggest that either the mobo, ram, or CPU has bitten the dust...

--
-Luke-
If cars had advanced at the same rate as Micr0$oft technology, they'd be
flying by now.
But who wants a car that crashes 8 times a day?
Registered Linux User #345134

 

[w_tom]

First problem: attempt to fix things before even identifying
the problem. Who knows how many new complications have been
introduced. Replacing the ROM battery, for example, was
either wild speculation or just a desperate prayer.

When the house is sagging, do you enter attic to fix the
problem? Same with computer. Foundation - the one thing upon
which everything is built is power supply system. More than
just a power supply. Verify integrity of that foundation - the
power supply *system*. Procedure described in "I think my
power supply is dead" in alt.comp.hardware on 5 Feb 2004 or
at http://tinyurl.com/yvbw9