Dead pc

2008-08-01 16:16:21

#1

Horse: Member; +14|6564

So, i was running Spybot and when i came back later my pc was lifeless. At first i thought i'd switched it off but when i went to turn it on, nothing, nada ! I reached round and turned the mains off and i heard a slight noise as though it was winding down.

Now i'm a noob so does anyone have any educated guesses as what might be the cause or shall i just chuck it and get a new one?

it'll be a shame as i have photos/music etc on the hard drive.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

2008-08-01 16:19:38

#2

_j5689_: Dreads & Bergers; +364|6724|Riva, MD

How old is the P.C.?

2008-08-01 16:27:37

#3

Horse: Member; +14|6564

It's just over 3yrs old

2008-08-01 16:33:39

#4

blademaster: I'm moving to Brazil; +2,075|6653

unplug it from the outlet then wait few minutes then plug it back in. Maybe there was spike in electricity. I had the same problem once 2, the pc appeared dead so i had to unplug my belkin sergemaster from the outlet and then plugged it back in and it worked.

2008-08-01 16:36:25

#5

Horse: Member; +14|6564

Will do

2008-08-02 08:42:20

#6

Horse: Member; +14|6564

Ok, i uplugged it, pulled the side off and fiddled with all leads etc, no joy. The only sign of life is a really high pitched almost inaudible whine.

Any ideas?

2008-08-02 10:35:47

#7

_j5689_: Dreads & Bergers; +364|6724|Riva, MD

Horse wrote:
Ok, i uplugged it, pulled the side off and fiddled with all leads etc, no joy. The only sign of life is a really high pitched almost inaudible whine.

Any ideas?

Find out where the whine is coming from.

I'm guessing something on your motherboard died, either a piece of the mobo itself or the RAM or processor, nothing to do with the hard drive here.

Sounds like RAM though if I had to guess.

2008-08-02 10:40:11

#8

TheEternalPessimist: Wibble; +412|6628|Mhz

_j5689_ wrote:
Horse wrote:
Ok, i uplugged it, pulled the side off and fiddled with all leads etc, no joy. The only sign of life is a really high pitched almost inaudible whine.

Any ideas?
Find out where the whine is coming from.

I'm guessing something on your motherboard died, either a piece of the mobo itself or the RAM or processor, nothing to do with the hard drive here.

Sounds like RAM though if I had to guess.

PSU, motherboard or graphics card are more likely. If the HDDs start up I'd go with graphics card, if they don't then motherboard.

Pull bits out one by one and see if the whining goes away, try another PSU if possible too.

2008-08-02 13:02:23

#9

prototype: Member; +52|6319

If it was the PSU there would be no noise of any kind, or am I wrong?

I bet it is the graphics card.

You should not just throw away the whole PC, thats like junking your car if the brakes go bad.

Take it to your local PC shop and have them take a look at it.

2008-08-03 11:12:55

#10

Horse: Member; +14|6564

Ok thanks, i have an old graphics card i can try. I shall do so and let you know.

Also is there any specific order i can start pulling components out to try and eliminate the suspects

Many thanks

2008-08-04 10:36:13

#11

RastaBlasta: Member; +9|5755

prototype wrote:
If it was the PSU there would be no noise of any kind, or am I wrong?

Not necessarily. Mine went a few months ago. It screwed around for a while, worked when it felt like it, then died. If it was the GFX card, the computer would prolly boot up as normal, but with a blank screen. RAM will prolly give BSOD or reboots.

Try a cheap PSU, I bet that'll fix it. Generic PSUs (like mine) only usually last two or three years.

2008-08-04 13:11:34

#12

Horse: Member; +14|6564

Right i changed the GFX card.. no dice.

I'm kinda feeling it's the power supply as there are no signs of life. It's a HPC-420-302 DF with:

+5V / 40A
+3.3V / 30A
+12V / 18A
-5V / 0.3A
-12V / 0.8A
+5VSB / 2A

AC INPUT: 100-240V 8A
PEAK LOAD 480W

Can i buy any old cheapo PSU to try or do i need to be specific?

Many Thanks

2008-08-04 15:49:51

#13

r2zoo: Knowledge is power, guard it well; +126|6604|Michigan, USA

Horse wrote:
Right i changed the GFX card.. no dice.

I'm kinda feeling it's the power supply as there are no signs of life. It's a HPC-420-302 DF with:

+5V / 40A
+3.3V / 30A
+12V / 18A
-5V / 0.3A
-12V / 0.8A
+5VSB / 2A

AC INPUT: 100-240V 8A
PEAK LOAD 480W

Can i buy any old cheapo PSU to try or do i need to be specific?

Many Thanks

A quick way to test is to take the psu out of the pc and take it down to your local PC shop, if you ask one of the guys working there, generally they'll test your PSU for free, at least in my experience.

A cheap one should work, provided its enough voltage to run your system, which should be hard. Just dont want to run long term on a cheap one as your apt to have it fail horribly.

2008-08-06 05:33:05

#14

Horse: Member; +14|6564

r2zoo wrote:
Horse wrote:
Right i changed the GFX card.. no dice.

I'm kinda feeling it's the power supply as there are no signs of life. It's a HPC-420-302 DF with:

+5V / 40A
+3.3V / 30A
+12V / 18A
-5V / 0.3A
-12V / 0.8A
+5VSB / 2A

AC INPUT: 100-240V 8A
PEAK LOAD 480W

Can i buy any old cheapo PSU to try or do i need to be specific?

Many Thanks
A quick way to test is to take the psu out of the pc and take it down to your local PC shop, if you ask one of the guys working there, generally they'll test your PSU for free, at least in my experience.

A cheap one should work, provided its enough voltage to run your system, which should be hard. Just dont want to run long term on a cheap one as your apt to have it fail horribly.

Right the PSU is shagged. Can someone recommend me something that will suit from Overclockers to get me up and running again.

Thanks again.

2008-08-06 06:44:10

#15

FatherTed: xD; +3,936|6508|so randum

prototype wrote:
If it was the PSU there would be no noise of any kind, or am I wrong?

I bet it is the graphics card.

You should not just throw away the whole PC, thats like junking your car if the brakes go bad.

Take it to your local PC shop and have them take a look at it.

wrong.

i got a doa PSU, and all it did was tick very softly.

Small hourglass island
Always raining and foggy
Use an umbrella

2008-08-06 07:02:31

#16

wah1188: You orrible caaaaaaan't; +321|6468|UK

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productli … amp;mfrid=

I got the 550w one had it for awhile no problems at all and is nice and quiet.

BF2S Forums Dead pc

Horse wrote:

_j5689_ wrote:

Horse wrote:

prototype wrote:

Horse wrote:

r2zoo wrote:

Horse wrote:

prototype wrote:

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