new computer won't boot Tried everything HELP!

[phypps]

I have a brand new computer which worked perfectly for one week then died
and won't boot.
It starts to flicker into life and then dies (but some fans stay on)
Occasionally it does POST and seems to be on its way but then dies after a
few seconds.

Manufacturers sent engineer to repair.
Removed Xi-fi card, TV tuner card, disconnected DVD drives and top of case
USB etc.
Disconnect all peripherals except monitor and keyboard.
In other words a bare bones system to systematically diagnose problem.

Didn't work.
Changed video card
Didn't work
Dismantled machine and changed motherboard.
Didn't work.
Changed PSU.
Didn't work
Swapped CPU (only 2 cores instead of 4 but just to see)
didn't work
Swapped memory and tried every combination of 1, 2, and 4GB.
Didn't work

On the odd occasions we were able to get into the bios menu he checked fan
speeds, voltages, temperatures, etc
Everything seemed to be OK.
come out of Bios and continue booting. Dies after a few seconds.
A couple of time we actually got to the windows desktop but died at
apparantly random points.

The engineer ran out of things to try and had to give up.
I am waiting to see what they come up with next.

Apart from the (very real possibility) of multiple faulty components, the
problem is identical in every respect no matter what they did, which is very
strange.

Possibly someone out there has seen something similar and could offer
pointers ?


Thanks in advance
Phypps

 

[Richard Urban]

Bad M/B. Bad power supply. Bad technician - he should have left you a clear
path to resolution prior to his leaving your home or place of business.

Time to elevate your complaint to a higher level.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Max]

Tried everything *but* the hard drive, eh?
Return the system for a refund, if possible. It may be a lemon.

 

[Richard G. Harper]

Computer=new.
Computer=faulty.

TAKE IT BACK for warranty repair work or replacement.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

 

[Julie Smith]

Did you try a different power outlet, surge protector?

 

[phypps]

They collected it yesterday (day after first engineer called to site) and
promised to have it fixed very quickly.
Can't complain about response so far so hopefully they will be true to their
word.

However, motherboard and PSU have been swapped out already (though replaced
with identical).
As they will almost certainly be replacing more (same?) components will the
configuration be deemed to have changed,
or as identical components will be used will the OS not know the difference?

The point is that I have activated Vista and several other programs
including Outlook and Office Home. Will I have a nightmare trying to
reactivate ? (Even more so if the hard disk is replaced and I get back what
is in effect a new machine)

Phypps

Computer=new.
Computer=faulty.

TAKE IT BACK for warranty repair work or replacement.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm

I have a brand new computer which worked perfectly for one week then died
and won't boot.
It starts to flicker into life and then dies (but some fans stay on)
Occasionally it does POST and seems to be on its way but then dies after
a few seconds.

Manufacturers sent engineer to repair.
Removed Xi-fi card, TV tuner card, disconnected DVD drives and top of
case USB etc.
Disconnect all peripherals except monitor and keyboard.
In other words a bare bones system to systematically diagnose problem.

Didn't work.
Changed video card
Didn't work
Dismantled machine and changed motherboard.
Didn't work.
Changed PSU.
Didn't work
Swapped CPU (only 2 cores instead of 4 but just to see)
didn't work
Swapped memory and tried every combination of 1, 2, and 4GB.
Didn't work

On the odd occasions we were able to get into the bios menu he checked
fan speeds, voltages, temperatures, etc
Everything seemed to be OK.
come out of Bios and continue booting. Dies after a few seconds.
A couple of time we actually got to the windows desktop but died at
apparantly random points.

The engineer ran out of things to try and had to give up.
I am waiting to see what they come up with next.

Apart from the (very real possibility) of multiple faulty components, the
problem is identical in every respect no matter what they did, which is
very strange.

Possibly someone out there has seen something similar and could offer
pointers ?


Thanks in advance
Phypps

 

[w_tom]

Apparent from your post. He tried to fix things rather than first
identify a problem. Therefore he was shotgunning. He may have even
made the problem exponentially more complex.

Furthermore, he is not an engineer - probably a tech. Certified
computer techs need not even know how electricity works to be A+
certified. Appreciate why shotgunning is so common among computer
technicians.

Is your problem electrical? No one can say. No numbers means
insufficient information. A knowledgeable tech would have first taken
numbers with a multimeter long before replacing anything. Information
obtained in but minutes. Part of a solution of stepping through the
problem, or as said in CSI: "follow the evidence".

Meanwhile a protector or different power outlet recommendations are
clearly bogus

Imagine that an original problem remained when that 'engineer'
replaced something with a 'defective' part or created anohter problem
by swapping parts. How now does he find the defect? He could next
replace the original defective part and still system looks defective.
Therefore he has no idea what is defective.

But that does you little good. It is their problem, 100%. You must
live with the consequences. This post is simply kowledge for future
events. Good luck.

 

[Cari \(MS-MVP\)]

OP said it wouldn't POST without the hard drive so that rules out your
theory. All you need to POST is motherboard, PSU, RAM and graphics card.