dead computer and more problems

sithlink · Post by **sithlink** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 10:10 pm

this morning i found out that the computer i leave on all the time as a server wasn't working. i tried
resetting it and it would not POST, the screen was just blank (fans were spinning but computer
was not moving). i gave it a while and tried again, no luck.
i opened the case and tried changing the video card...no luck, it still wouldn't start. next i took out
and reinserted all the cards, no luck. i then tried using a different hard drive...still wouldn't work. i
moved the ram around, cleaned the fans, and changed the power supply...nothing.
im thinking that there is something wrong with the cpu or motherboard. its a athlon 700 running on
a MSI KT7 Pro. what do u think the problem is?

to make things worse, i use that computer as a server to share internet to my other computers.
now i don't have internet on my home network.

anywayz, i am going to take apart the broken computer because it never seems to stop giving me
problems. i plan on replacing the motherboard, cpu and build on a new case.

im thinking of re-building the system with a celeron A w/ 256k cache. i am not going to go with
AMD because i have had bad experiences with them. could someone recommend me a
RELIABLE and cheap motherboard for the celeron A? i don't need all the bells and whistles, i just
want something reliable and easy to build on.

it seems like P4 motherboard prices have gone down. i wouldn't mind going with a P4 as long as
the price is low. does anyone know of any P4 boards that are comparable to the price of a socket
370 board?

today has been a really frustrating day...
hope tomorrow will be better

any help is appreciated
thx a lot.

Sean · Post by **Sean** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 10:12 pm

Maybe some dust got where it shouldn't have been. Did you take off the HS, to see, if well, the Athlon was fried? Could be possible.. if their are no beep signals, or anything..

sithlink · Post by **sithlink** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 10:21 pm

there were no beeps or anything when i turned it on....
i'll remove the heatsink...how will i know if the cpu is fried? (other than burn marks, hehe)

Sean · Post by **Sean** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 10:44 pm

maybe take it out and check to see if any pins are charred. I really don't know. I have never seen a fried CPU.. Anyone? I know one of the many members here has..

d_b · Post by **d_b** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 11:02 pm

have you tried a pci vid card? i have a mb that has a bad apg and it would do the same thing you are describing.

good luck

dan

blade · Post by **blade** » Sat Apr 06, 2002 11:03 pm

That problem is usually either ram, video card or cpu related and sometimes the power supply and even the mobo. Only way to be sure is replace them all if you have extras or try them on another system. But since you changed the video card and power supply that leaves the cpu, ram or the mobo. Or d_b's sugestion which I keep forgetting about.

I've had fried cpu's and none looked fried, they just didn't work. Cracked a core but that was obvious.

:; If you don't have another cpu do you have a friend who has a system where you could test that cpu on?

As for a good celeran a mobo, is it slut 1 or fcpga?

i am not going to go with AMD because i have had bad experiences with them

I understand feeling that way but the newer AMD's are not at all like the older ones. AMD is not only on the right track I feel they have surpassed Intel. But das me.

sithlink · Post by **sithlink** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 10:07 am

Originally posted by blade

As for a good celeran a mobo, is it slut 1 or fcpga?

i was thinking of a socket 370 fcpga...

poop · Post by **poop** » Sun Apr 07, 2002 11:49 am

Is this computer ONLY an internet router?

If so, I would recommend finding an old pentium with a TX based motherboard. They are quite stable, and a pentium should be plenty fast enough to route your traffic. You can also buy stand-alone routers that are really cheap ($80). I guarantee that is more reliable than any self-assembled PC.

Shadow250 · Post by **Shadow250** » Tue Apr 09, 2002 4:25 pm

hey!! i have a self assembled amd pc and it ROCKS!!! intel bombs!!! boooo!

honz · Post by **honz** » Tue Apr 09, 2002 8:23 pm

id say burnt cpu man. id have 3 now =( and most of the time u can't tell the diff. sometimes little things like burnt pins, but usually it looks jus fine, jus won't do notin. if u got somewhere, ne where to test it, thats wat id do. im leaning toward a burnt cpu, how long have u had it in there? ne overclocking? u got a surge protecter?

LoneWolfX1X · Post by **LoneWolfX1X** » Tue Apr 09, 2002 10:28 pm

like blade said its either CPU/RAM/VID or possibly PSU

another problem I've seen a lot is improper motherboard grounding...sometimes over time the mobo can bend a lil from stresses (ie case io slots that are slightly off....large HSF's...)

Here's a lil tip I do on every system I build...

Take a small sheet of cardboard and slide it between the mounted mobo and the mobo tray...

standard cardboard fits snugly and will help keep the mobo off the tray....

As for going Intel...I figured I'd try the northwood just because I'd been AMD for so long....lemme tell you I'm hella glad I did...Fast as hell...Runs a LOT cooler, and no matter how drunk I am I couldnt kill that core If I wanted to

on the P4 mobo front...If you can get by with a lack of working temp monitor you can not go wrong with the MSI 645Ultra...fastest, stablest, and cheapest board I've owned in a long time....