help me diagnose this?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Falco98
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Falco98

My brother found his PC several days ago frozen (and on the last-frozen
screen, it read a CPU temp of 84C apparently). Now when he boots, he gets
no post, and (as far as i can tell), no sounds/beeps. Of course, i'm not
completely sure he has a PC speaker installed, but i figured he did....
Anyway. Any tips on how to diagnose this? Let's assume the PC speaker is
there / working.. would no beeps indicate a dead Mobo? I'm figuring it's
either MB or CPU, but he figures it's CPU or both. I'm kindof at a loss for
how to help him without waiting weeks and ordering multiple sets of
replacement stuff.
Thanks
~Mike
 
Falco98 said:
My brother found his PC several days ago frozen (and on the last-frozen
screen, it read a CPU temp of 84C apparently). Now when he boots, he gets
no post, and (as far as i can tell), no sounds/beeps. Of course, i'm not
completely sure he has a PC speaker installed, but i figured he did....
Anyway. Any tips on how to diagnose this? Let's assume the PC speaker is
there / working.. would no beeps indicate a dead Mobo? I'm figuring it's
either MB or CPU, but he figures it's CPU or both. I'm kindof at a loss
for
how to help him without waiting weeks and ordering multiple sets of
replacement stuff.
Thanks
~Mike
Click to expand...

So the temp. goes up to 84C due to fan failure or some other problem which
caused the CPU to get hot as HELL. The PC freezes up at that point, but the
temperature keeps rising, and it's already WAY past normal operating range.
Shit, you really need OUR help to diagnose this? Maybe if the CPU caught
fire it might give you a clue? At 84C, it was most of the way to combustion
temp. But if it really got that hot, it wouldn't surprise me if there was
some collateral damage, as well. In other words, I think your brother's
guess is probably pretty accurate. CPU and mainboard toast. Let's hope
that's all that's bad. -Dave
 
So the temp. goes up to 84C due to fan failure or some other problem which
caused the CPU to get hot as HELL. The PC freezes up at that point, but the
temperature keeps rising, and it's already WAY past normal operating range.
Shit, you really need OUR help to diagnose this? Maybe if the CPU caught
fire it might give you a clue? At 84C, it was most of the way to combustion
temp. But if it really got that hot, it wouldn't surprise me if there was
some collateral damage, as well. In other words, I think your brother's
guess is probably pretty accurate. CPU and mainboard toast. Let's hope
that's all that's bad. -Dave
Click to expand...

well, i'm just hoping the motherboard *might* still be intact.. if so (or
if *either* is intact, let's say), i wanna replace only what's necessary.
if not, he wants to upgrade to a P4 anyway, but i wanna be sure i'm not
sacrificing working kit to do so (cuz at this point we may as well just get
his box up in working order, donate it to our parents, and build him a new
one from the ground.. but i wanna make sure we're not throwing away working
stuff)
thanx ;-)
~Mike
 
Falco98 said:
well, i'm just hoping the motherboard *might* still be intact.. if so (or
if *either* is intact, let's say), i wanna replace only what's necessary.
if not, he wants to upgrade to a P4 anyway, but i wanna be sure i'm not
sacrificing working kit to do so (cuz at this point we may as well just
get
his box up in working order, donate it to our parents, and build him a new
one from the ground.. but i wanna make sure we're not throwing away
working
stuff)
thanx ;-)
~Mike
Click to expand...

The only way of proving if the mainboard has fried is to install a
replacement processor. The problem with this is that if the board is
damaged it could result in you damaging the new processor. So there is a
risk of wasting money trying to prove the point. Another thing to ask
is.... Can you still get a processor that will work on that board?? In this
fast moving game... Processors come and go so fast you can't keep up. If
you do buy one, be warned that you might damage it trying it in the board.
 
Falco98 said:
well, i'm just hoping the motherboard *might* still be intact.. if so (or
if *either* is intact, let's say), i wanna replace only what's necessary.
if not, he wants to upgrade to a P4 anyway, but i wanna be sure i'm not
sacrificing working kit to do so (cuz at this point we may as well just get
his box up in working order, donate it to our parents, and build him a new
one from the ground.. but i wanna make sure we're not throwing away working
stuff)
thanx ;-)
~Mike
Click to expand...

Don't write it off until you've at least tried something. Like Dave C.
said, the temp could have gone up beyond 84 and the CPU and/or mobo
*could* be fried. But it could also simply be that some connectors
need a firm push. I've seen a lot of cases like that, esp with elderly
systems. Unplug mains power, unplug and replug the motherboard power
connector, reseat the RAM(s). Many apparently dead systems need
nothing more than that.

Also open the case and see if the fans are spinning, do the case
lights glow ? If it's really dead, it may be only CPU or mobo and not
both. ATM I'd bet on its being the CPU.
 
well, i'm just hoping the motherboard *might* still be intact..
Click to expand...

Probably not. Any components underneath the CPU will have been fried as
well.


--
Conor

Greedo shot first. Greedo ALWAYS shot first. You did not see Solo shoot
first.
It never happened. Never, ever. Not in any version. Remember: Greedo
shot first.
 
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