My emachines just suffered from sudden death

[Guest]

I have an emachines T2596 that was working great for just over two years
since bought. Last night it just suddenly died. The computer shut itself off
without any warning whatsoever. I tried to turn it back on without success. I
unplug the power cord and waited 10 minutes. I then turned it on again and
everything worked fine for another 30 minutes. Then again suddenly it shut
itself off.

That was the last time I was able to turn my computer on again. My first
instinct was to replace the power supply so I rushed down to the store first
thing in the morning and bought a new power supply of medium quality and
rated 100 watts more than the one I had in my computer.

Alas even with the new power supply the computer refused to turn on. There
was nothing. No sound, no light, no reaction whatsoever when I push the on
button.

Is there anything else I can try before replacing the whole motherboard or
having to buy a new computer? Thanks in advance.

 

[Noozer]

I have an emachines T2596 that was working great for just over two years
since bought. Last night it just suddenly died. The computer shut itself
off
without any warning whatsoever. I tried to turn it back on without
success. I
unplug the power cord and waited 10 minutes. I then turned it on again and
everything worked fine for another 30 minutes. Then again suddenly it shut
itself off.

That was the last time I was able to turn my computer on again. My first
instinct was to replace the power supply so I rushed down to the store
first
thing in the morning and bought a new power supply of medium quality and
rated 100 watts more than the one I had in my computer.

Alas even with the new power supply the computer refused to turn on. There
was nothing. No sound, no light, no reaction whatsoever when I push the on
button.

Is there anything else I can try before replacing the whole motherboard or
having to buy a new computer? Thanks in advance.

Does your CPU fan spin freely?

Take a close look at the mainboard... at the capcitors (tall cans). Any have
brown stuff around them or are swollen at all?

What if you unplug all your HDD/CDRom to reduce the power load. Does it make
a difference?

 

[Brian A.]

Sounds like over heating. Have a good look at the heatsink on the CPU
under the fan for dust buildup and clean it out. While you have the case
open you may want to invest in a rear fan and install it if one isn't
installed. I just replaced a mobo, cpu and PS on a T1842 along with adding
a front and rear fan which the machine never had.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your response. You're right about dust buildup. There is
considerable amount of dust around the heatsink and fan of the CPU. I will
follow your good advice and invest in a rear fan. I have some follow-up
questions if you don't mind:

Generally speaking is there a mechanism (BIOS?) that the motherboard uses to
shut itself off when overheated? Or are you saying the motherboard (meaning
certain components on it) died from the overheat and it is time for a new MB?

Again thanks in advance.

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the response. It made no difference when I disconnected the HDDs
and DVD/CD drives to reduce the load. All the capacitors looked fine. The fan
on the CPU does spin freely though I notice considerable dust accumulation
there.

If it was indeed a case of overheat is it usually the CPU that die more
often than any other components? Is the BIOS chip also prone to overheating?
Is it a good idea to try to just replace the CPU or I should just forget
about the motherboard and invest in a new one?

Again thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[Brian A.]

You should have a motherboard manual that was provided with the machine.
Check through it to see if there is a setting for "Shutdown Temperature",
it should be in the BIOS section for PC Health Status. If you do not have
the manual, have a look in the BIOS.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Guest]

.....I have an emachines T2596 that was working great for just over two years
since bought. Last night it just suddenly died......

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Try resetting the BIOS - eMachines and some Dell PCs often lock you out in
this way.

In the absence of a mainboard booklet (which you almost certainly didn't
get) look for the CMOS battery on the mainboard (usually a flat shiny disc
about 20mm across). Near this (usually) will be either a) three pins with a
jumper on two of them, or b) two pins with no jumper.
MAKE CERTAIN that the mains plug is not in and then either move the jumper
from pins 1+2 to pins 2+3 for about 5 seconds, then put it back to pins 1+2,
or simply join together the two open pins (with a screwdriver etc) for 5
seconds.
Re-insert the power lead and switch on. You may need to re-enter some BIOS
info when the PC starts up, but probably not. If you don't, it will almost
certainly start and run anyway, but a couple of settings may not be set for
maximum performance. My experience of eMachines is that the settings will be
set to lowest performance anyway, to ensure maximum reliablility.

 

[R. McCarty]

I don't think a BIOS reset or defaulting would help here. An abrupt shut
off is more likely heat or power related. I would open the PC (remove the
shell or side panel) and inspect for dust. Examine the exhaust fan of the
Power Supply. Most PC's need cleaning on a yearly or bi-annual basis.
It would probably be a good idea to enter BIOS setup and check the
sensor readings for heat and voltages. Or if you can get the PC running
use a monitoring tool (like Motherboard Monitor) to log data and see if
a voltage rail drops below the +/- limits.

 

[Brian A.]

....I have an emachines T2596 that was working great for just over two
years
since bought. Last night it just suddenly died......

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Try resetting the BIOS - eMachines and some Dell PCs often lock you out
in
this way.

In the absence of a mainboard booklet (which you almost certainly didn't
get)

Emachines provides the mobo manual with the machines.


--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Guest]

Emachines provides the mobo manual with the machines.

Conflicts start where information lacks.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pray tell what the point of that post was Brian, other than an attempt to
elicit ridicule and to highlight your apparent superior knowledge?

My post was given in good faith and was sound advice. What you should have
posted is that manuals 'should' be provided.... in the same way that recovery
CDs 'should' be supplied with all PCs from PC World...but we all know that
they aren't necessarily.

I quiet agree that overheating appears to be a likely cause of the shutdown,
but the BIOS may now have 'locked' preventing the guy starting up again,
following a cool-down.

There are ways of correcting what you believe to be incorrect information
without being supercilious - learn some!

 

[Michael Stevens]

In

I have an emachines T2596 that was working great for just over two
years since bought. Last night it just suddenly died. The computer
shut itself off without any warning whatsoever. I tried to turn it
back on without success. I unplug the power cord and waited 10
minutes. I then turned it on again and everything worked fine for
another 30 minutes. Then again suddenly it shut itself off.

That was the last time I was able to turn my computer on again. My
first instinct was to replace the power supply so I rushed down to
the store first thing in the morning and bought a new power supply of
medium quality and rated 100 watts more than the one I had in my
computer.

Alas even with the new power supply the computer refused to turn on.
There was nothing. No sound, no light, no reaction whatsoever when I
push the on button.

Is there anything else I can try before replacing the whole
motherboard or having to buy a new computer? Thanks in advance.

I would suspect your CPU is toast because of overheating, this is from
reading the replys and your replies to the replies.
If you replaced the power supply, make sure you connected the power supply
connecters exactly as they were originally connected. The statement that it
worked for 30 minutes before shutting down makes me feel it is an
overheating of the CPU. If you have a another CPU available that is
compatible with your MB that you could swap out just to rule out the CPU as
the problem, that would be an option.
With an eMachine, you pretty much get what you pay for and for the money it
is pretty much a good value. Your best bet would probably be to purchase a
new system and connect the eMachines hard drive as a slave to extract the
info.

--
Michael Stevens MS-MVP XP
(e-mail address removed)
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com
For a better newsgroup experience. Setup a newsreader.
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

 

[Michael Wayne]

Make sure that you ALL the feature connectors connected.

There is a Small 4 Pin Connector that is required Pentium 4 Processor
motherboards. If this one connector is Not connected. it Will Not power on.

Hope this helps

Michael Wayne

 

[Peter Foldes]

Emachine? I would forget it. Just go out and get another system preferably not a emachine. Everything is propriatory inside a emachine and it is tied to the manufacturer of said machine. You had a Hard drive failure and you are not able to replace it with another one unless same make ,model,year. manufacturer, etc, etc.

 

[Brian A.]

You're off your rocker. You had stated:
<quote>
In the absence of a mainboard booklet (which you almost certainly didn't
get)
</quote>

All I was stating was that Emachines provides the mobo manual with their
machines, as they do. If you feel it is
<quote>
an attempt to elicit ridicule and to highlight your apparent superior
knowledge.
</quote>

I'm sorry you feel that way as it was not my intent in any way.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Brian A.]

If the hard drive is still good the OP was to change components/parts as
I did, a Repair install could be done which re-enumerates devices and the
drive can still be used with all apps/data present as the master boot
drive.

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Guest]

My emachines came with a skimpy manual on such basic topics as how to turn
the computer on, how to open the case, how to replace/add HDD, CDROM etc...
It also came with a recovery CD and some documentation for the monitor and
how to hook the computer up. That's it and nothing about the motherboard.

Actually I did find a small sticker inside the case that diagramed all the
jumpers and their setting including one for CMOS. Per your instruction I
reset the CMOS before hitting the ON button again.

Unfortunately the computer is still dead as a doornail with no reaction
whatsoever.

At this point I think the only thing left for me to do is to get a new
MB+CPU combo.

This is my first experience with emachines. From what I gather so far is it
generally accepted by the community that emachines computers are of inferior
quality and poor reliability because they sell for cheap? If that's the case
I will go for brand-name when shopping for my next computer.

It was worth a try. Anyway thank you very much for trying to help.

 

[Guest]

Thank you all for your advices. I tried pretty much all that I could but was
unsuccessful.

Just one last general question: is it generally acknowledged that emachines
and similar low-priced brands have inferior quality and reliability than the
brand-names? I'm trying to decide whether my next computer will be another
try at bargain or should I just fork over and pay for big name?

Thanks again.

 

[R. McCarty]

Build your own or hire a local professional to do it for you.

However Dell has got the margins down so low that it's not
possible for a local computer shop to directly compete with
them on pricing. Build a desktop PC isn't too complicated
and there all kinds of web sites that have instructions and
help on doing it. Shop around for parts - Just yesterday, I
upgraded a customer with a 3.0 Gig Celeron that had a $50
rebate - end cost $41 and the MB was only $46.

 

[Smoker~]

Thank you all for your advices. I tried pretty much all that I could but
was
unsuccessful.

Just one last general question: is it generally acknowledged that
emachines
and similar low-priced brands have inferior quality and reliability than
the
brand-names? I'm trying to decide whether my next computer will be another
try at bargain or should I just fork over and pay for big name?

Your best bet is to go to a local mom and pop shop, tell them how you use
your computer and have them build you one. Brand names are no bargain in the
long run or even in the short run if you have problems. We can't help you if
you're going to hqave to be deqaling with restore disks, etc. If you have a
problem with a plain old computer you can get help here or elsewhere pretty
fast.

Brand names usually aren't upgradable so you have to buy a new machine all
over again. With the regular computer you can upgrade parts as you have the
money and not have to shell out a heap all at once. There's no advantage to
buying a brand name.

 

[Elle]

I believe Consumer Reports noted that, yes, E-machines are
inferior quality and will not last as long.

In the last 14 years I have bought three brand name
computers: Compaq, HP, and Gateway. HP's and Gateway's
technical support were underwhelming. I was cursing Gateway
within 24 hours of receiving the computer--internal modem
wouldn't work, and they wouldn't cooperate until I said I
was sending it back, per my legal warranty. Under this
threat, Gateway bought me an external modem.

One either teaches one's self how to maintain one's hardware
and software; or one pays through the nose; or one learns
through blood sweat and tears that brand name tech support
is pretty mediocre. I decided to stop paying.

I'm on my fourth computer, one for which I bought the main
parts separately and then assembled them myself. This was in
the last two months.

What I learned from researching the experience is that these
days, the brand packages can definitely be cheaper. The key
word is "package." Dell is the first package I'd consider
(despite its nasty shipping charge for some locations). Dell
does give a credit if you don't want the monitor. But if you
have a monitor already, it should be a little tempting to
either build your own computer or use a shop like Computer
Renaissance (or PC Club) to help you pick parts and give you
support with assembly.

If you don't buy a brand name package from Dell or HP or
wherever, then one item that definitely jacks up the price
is buying an independent operating system. Say you had
Windows 2000 on your old E-machine. That cannot be
transferred to your new computer, generally speaking.

I bought a fairly ordinary motherboard and CPU (about $130),
512 Megabyte RAM ($25), a very nice case and power supply
($90), and Win XP SP2 Home ($105, discounted because I
bought the mobo and CPU at a shop that has deals like this).
That cost me $350 altogether. It went together pretty easily
(but I have some experience in assembling mechanical and
electrical parts). Worked great for a few weeks, then it
wouldn't boot properly. Baffled, I took it to the shop,
hoping it was my mobo/CPU that had failed and I wouldn't
have to pay more because of the warranty. It was a bad
stick of RAM. Diagnosis cost me $40. RAM was replaced under
warranty. So I was up to about $400 in costs, and this was
using my old hard drive, CD Rom drive, floppy drive,
monitor, and speakers.

If I had it to do over, would I do this again? Yes, because
long-distance tech support from companies like HP and
Gateway has proven to be pretty poor. Plus I have little
patience anymore with non-native English speakers, which
certainly are the rule today for computer tech support. I
was also tired of my computers lasting only three or four
years and then my ditching them. Now I can do a little
hardware diagnosis and just replace a power supply, say. I
am aiming to keep my current computer going for eight years
(knock on wood), though I expect the hard drive and power
supply will die before then. Of course, the technology may
change so much that even if all parts work well, the
software won't do.