Computer Problem!

[falcon409]

I have what I fear is a serious problem. Serious as in no more computer. Since I wasn't doing anything this afternoon I decided to disconnect my computer clean out some of the cobwebs get it nice and cleaned up and put it back together. I have done this probably a dozen times over the years with various computers, not a big deal. Did it today, put everything back together again and hit the power button and nothing. I thought at first that maybe the power supply had decided to quit I had no way to test it so I went to the store bought a new one installed it, same problem. One thing I did notice, if I cycle the on/off switch on the power supply then push the on/off button to turn the system on I get enough power to spin all of the fans then they quit. I'm at a loss right now because I have exhausted all my ideas. My real fear here is that it is the motherboard. :banghead::banghead:

[gman5250]

Hmmmm...

This may be related to your FPS issues you have been having.


Did you have a good look around your CPU?
Look for broken mounts or any sign of fluid or leakage onto the MOBO. When my number two box borked the CPU it began with limited/partial boot, or only powering up fans and shutting itself down.

[Butcherbird17]

There are a few things to try. First though is did you completely take apart the rig (remove motherboard from the case)
or just remove GPU, memory and CPU cooler? If the latter are they seated properly back in place. I would check the
CPU cooler and make sure it's seated in place. If the cooler has those plastic clips that you push in they could be broken
and the cooler not making contact with the chip and will do exactly what you described. I have had that happen on 2
rigs in the past.

Joe

[Dangerousdave26]

Years ago I had the same problem on a server I had just bought new memory for. This issue was the memory was not compatible to the server it was in. I sent it back to the manufacturer and they flashed the memory. I don't know what they did but it worked.

The symptoms were exactly what you described.

Remove all the memory and try to start it. It will not boot but should give you some type of error message like beeping to indicate it has no memory. If you get that try each stick of memory in the first shot to see if you boot.

If that gives you nothing remove anything that is plugged into the mother board. All USB / PCI / Hard drive. Again it will not boot but the bios should tell you non system disk error. If you get that start putting things back until you find the problem.

[Penzoil3]

I have had this happen, and web research lead to power supply leads touching things they shouldn't. Usually the spare leads. I played with them, moved things around and everything got well, and stayed well. I think I threw out a good power supply over this before figuring it out. It may not look like anything is touching either... Drove me crazy.
Sue

[falcon409]

First of all I would like to thank everyone who answered and gave their opinion. I appreciate everyone's input I would expect nothing less from the folks here at Sim outhouse. The problem has been corrected however I will not publicly divulge what I did to correct the problem that has taken me all day to figure out after multiple changes of power supplies. In military terminology, the corrective action would have been expedited had I read the job guide step by step and understood what I've read. I would like to think that I continue to be as quick and sharp minded as I was in my prime however after an entire day of troubleshooting it has come to my attention that age is creeping in on me and I have begun to question myself.

It's getting close to midnight here I will continue to reconnect what's left, namely the hard drives and reinstall the video card. After that I will bring the computer back to its resting place in my bedroom reconnect the cables and give it a test run before retiring.

Once again thank you for your interest in this problem and your assistance. It was greatly appreciated. Good night.

PS: If you really must know, PM me....after which you will be sworn to secrecy, lol

[zswobbie1]

I feel for you, I'm 64!
At the beginning of the year, I switched on my laptop (i5 4GB RAM) to be greated with 2 beeps & a black screen!
After taking it to the supplier (twice), the service manager pulled me aside & said that the laptop is 5 years old & it has a separate graphics card on the motherboard.
Due to age/heating, the graphics card no longer sits nicely on the motherboard, & both are no longer available...
However...
He told be to remove the back of the laptop & point a hairdryer to where the card sits.
After 15-20 seconds, switch on, & all will be fine.

This beeping happens only about twice a week, & the hairdryer starts the laptop up everytime. Once it's on, it stays on.
I do get strange looks at work whenever I haul out my hairdryer out of my backpack!

Regards,
Robin

[DaveB]

hahahahahahaha:biggrin-new:

You watch.. they'll all be taking one to work soon:encouragement:
ATB
DaveB:)

[Bushpounder]

I hope it wasn't a wall switch! ;) Glad you're back with us again.

Don

[stansdds]

First of all I would like to thank everyone who answered and gave their opinion. I appreciate everyone's input I would expect nothing less from the folks here at Sim outhouse. The problem has been corrected however I will not publicly divulge what I did to correct the problem that has taken me all day to figure out after multiple changes of power supplies. In military terminology, the corrective action would have been expedited had I read the job guide step by step and understood what I've read. I would like to think that I continue to be as quick and sharp minded as I was in my prime however after an entire day of troubleshooting it has come to my attention that age is creeping in on me and I have begun to question myself.

It's getting close to midnight here I will continue to reconnect what's left, namely the hard drives and reinstall the video card. After that I will bring the computer back to its resting place in my bedroom reconnect the cables and give it a test run before retiring.

Once again thank you for your interest in this problem and your assistance. It was greatly appreciated. Good night.

PS: If you really must know, PM me....after which you will be sworn to secrecy, lol

Hmmmmmm.... was the PSU's external power cord plugged into a live wall outlet? Many, many years ago I had a new office manager. One morning, she came running down the hallway yelling "the computer won't turn on! The computer won't turn on!"

I asked her if the power strip cord was plugged in as it was policy at the time to pull the cord from the wall outlet at the end of the day. She assured me that the power strip was plugged in. So, I went up front and looked at the computer, looked at the power strip and sure enough, the power strip cord was plugged in... to itself. :biggrin-new: That only happened one, but it's the sort of thing that I will never forget.

[txnetcop]

I hope it wasn't a wall switch! ;) Glad you're back with us again.

Don

I build gamer units for a living along with social security and small pension(divorces took most of it)and one build in particular was very special because it was for a couple of kids who where taking flying lessons. I was really excited to get it built for them quickly because this computer was truly a top drawer system and they told me not spare any expense. I bought the best equipment I could find at MicroCenter on sale. I put it together the same day. Normally before I build a unit I put every component on a test bed to make sure all the components work...not this time. The moment of truth came and NOTHING! I checked everything to make sure it was all connected right...NOTHING! I took it completely apart and made sure my motherboard was installed correctly and the power supply...NOTHING! It had to be the motherboard or power supply so I put them both on the test unit and NOTHING! So I tested a power supply that was working last month...the switch on the UPS where everything is connected was turned OFF! I hope these "senior moments don't accelerate...so don't feel bad FALCON!
Ted

[gman5250]

Darned CRS...again.

I can still get through a computer cleaning OK, but for me coffee is the challenge. I usually start at the computer in the early AM, but the first thing I do is start a pot of coffee. More and more frequently, I will be working and realize that I have woken up, but don't smell the coffee. A brief trip to the kitchen results in the realization that I have forgotten to plug in the pot. CRS.

I am curious Ed, as to the source of your malfunction, but I'll be content to grant you your privacy. lol

Glad you got the box working.

[Bjoern]

Wondered why the PC wouldn't turn on after cleaning it. Went into a bit of a panic and eventually realized that the main bus switch on the PSU was still off
Installed a new HDD that refused to work. Eventuall figured out that components need electricity to operate and plugged in the power cable
Wrote a sloppy console command and irrecoverably deleted Linux' equivalent to system32 during an upgrade procedure


I bet there's more.

If you can't talk and laugh about these embarassments, you'll be haunted by them for life.

[Willy]

Ed, I'm not even going to ask what happened, but just wanted to say that it can't be worse than some of the stunts I've pulled. Anyone who says they've never did something stupid, is not being truthful.

I went nuts once after a cleaning out of my comp because I couldn't get any picture on the monitor. After about a half hour of beating myself up trying to figure it out, I came to the conclusion that it would really help if I hooked the monitor cable to the tower.

[stovall]

This thread is a breath of fresh air for me. I look at the list of folk posting here, every one of them I count as an expert and definitely someone I would check with when I have a serious computer problem. All of the reasons mentioned here for dis-function have happened to me at least once. I say once because I am pretty good about remembering why the last disaster occurred. The only exception I believe is Willy not plugging the monitor into the tower. I just wrote that one down just in case.

The only time any of this becomes serious is when the recipient of the a dead computer is glad and is challenged to find out what is wrong. I actually know people like that. They definitely need counseling in a big way.

Dangerousdave26's comment about the motherboard and the beeps is the first thing I think about. The number of beeps is very helpful in identifying trouble.

A thread like this is always good to have every now and then to remind us how lucky we are when the machine turns on each morning. Thanks to all for their input. Hopefully my memory banks will remember all mentioned here the next time machine has a hiccup.

Ed, I will be thinking of you the next time I use the compressed air to blow out my machine.

[falcon409]

Well, enough of you have come clean that I feel compelled to add my embarrassment to the list. . .as "Goose" said to "Maverick". . ."The list is long and distinguished", lol

The switch on the Power Supply was off. I could go through how I justified this in my feeble mind after 9 hours of troubleshooting. . .but why bother, lol, lol.:banghead::dizzy::biggrin-new::biggrin-new:

[n4gix]

The switch on the Power Supply was off. I could go through how I justified this in my feeble mind after 9 hours of troubleshooting. . .but why bother, lol, lol.:banghead::dizzy:

Oh dear! I had that happen last week when in my eagerness to get my shiny new monster sim computer up and running, only to discover that it was dead, dead, DEAD!

Fortunately, it only took about an hour before I realized I'd forgotten to turn on the power supply's master switch. Yet another Senior Moment. :banghead:

[falcon409]

Oh dear! I had that happen last week when in my eagerness to get my shiny new monster sim computer up and running, only to discover that it was dead, dead, DEAD!

Fortunately, it only took about an hour before I realized I'd forgotten to turn on the power supply's master switch. Yet another Senior Moment. :banghead:
Thanks Bill, in a very Senior Way, that makes me feel much better, lol.

[Milton Shupe]

I am just happy that at 71, I still enjoy FS and all its anomalies, and still contribute in some way to the pleasures of others.

With that said, Spokes2112 just outdid everything I have ever done with a single post in the F8F thread. :-/ LOL

In developing with all the many techniques and technologies involved, there are so many senior moments that arise (some of the few things to do that these days) that one wonders how I get this stuff done. Well, always good for a laugh in the end. :-)

[napamule]

HA! I don't feel like the 'Lone Ranger' anymore. I've done ''ALL of the Above'' at least once. So I get a 'perfect' score! :mixed-smiley-027:

[dexthom]

Yes I'll be 84 this year and I made a mistake once, I thought that I was wrong.

[lownslo]

The switch on the Power Supply was off.

If that's the first time you've done that then you're still one fewer times than I've done it (and like you spent more time than I should troubleshooting the problem)! :encouragement: I build several computers each year (on spec) and have learned that if it doesn't fire off the first time then check the PSU switch first!

Glad the box-o-bits is back working again. :applause:

Greg

[Willy]

I pulled a good one this afternoon. Accidentally knocked my old joystick off the desk last night and it landed on the hat swtich. The result was I couldn't go left with the view. Made for an interesting rest of the flight last night. I use an old MS Sidewinder that they quit making about 2000. But I've got a few FFB parts sticks and a non-FFB one that's a twin to my usual stick that I figured would work if I had to use it. So I went down to my shop and took snagged the switch and wiring harness out of one of the FFB sticks and figured I go put it in at my desk in the a/c.

Got it apart and when I went to put it back together, I couldn't remember how it all went back together. This was the first time I'd had a non-FFB Sidewinder that far apart. Put all the parts in a box and carried them to the shop. I was trying to avoid taking the backup stick apart so I was mixing and matching parts from the FFB sticks and my ol' trusty one. A bit later I realised that the only things the same between FFB and non-FFB sticks is the handles and switches. So I ended up taking the back up apart to see how to put my main one back together.

I was putting them both back together at the same time and the darn handle spring on the back up stick launched itself across the shop and into a pile of old junk. Doubt I'll see that one again. But I did get my stick back together using the best parts out of all of them. And now I have another parts stick and no backup Sidewinder.

Pieces, Pieces everywhere.....

[falcon409]

Wow, that right there is pretty scary Willy, lol. I've considered taking the CH Throttle apart and cleaning it as some of the buttons don't work any more. . .but after the Power Supply fiasco. . .probably not, lol. Glad you came away with something that works though, lol

[Duckie]

LOL! This is like open mic night at the comedy club! I can laugh really hard at every story here because I've done it!

:biggrin-new: :very_drunk:

[Roger]

That was very brave of you Willy! I think, seeing that pile of bits, I have said sod it and got the credit card out of hiding.

[Willy]

That was very brave of you Willy! I think, seeing that pile of bits, I have said sod it and got the credit card out of hiding.

What? A new stick?? Heresy, I say! Heresy!!

Actually, I have a Saitek Cyborg stick that has about 5 hours on it and is in it's original box and wrapping. I tried it out and decided that it wasn't half the stick that the ol' Sidewinder is. Like comparing a VW Bug to a Rolls. I bought it and when I had to calibrate it, it lost it's allure. You never have to calibrate a Sidewinder Precision Pro. They're always spot on in that regard.

[Penzoil3]

:adoration: They train springs at the factory to do that. Ask any mechanic. Just like C-clips... sproing ! Bleep, where did that go ? They are also trained to hide when landing.
LOL
Sue

[Naismith]

Like comparing a VW Bug to a Rolls.
That made me laugh thinking Oh no you wouldn't I said. I had to drive an old Rolls once, no idea what model, which had the old fashioned worm gear steering mechanism. Recall the old movies it was like trying to steer a barge. Horrible experience. :biggrin-new: Give me a VW any day.