Please help revive my PC!

January 11, 2007 3:33 PM

Please help me figure out what’s wrong with my PC.

My computer has died. I built it myself about 5 years ago and haven’t had a problem with it until now. I noticed yesterday that my iPod would not connect to it, and then it wouldn’t shut down. The screen eventually locked up. I hit my reset button which didn’t faze it. I then unplugged it. Plugging it back in and pressing the on button doesn’t do a thing. My only theory is that the motherboard may be shot. The problem is that I have no idea how to diagnose it.

Does anyone have a suggestion for my next step? Should I assume it is the motherboard and buy a new one? I’d hate to spend the money and effort in replacing it if it is not actually the issue. Sorry if this would be more suited for an IT forum or something. I just know I can trust you all.

Brief specs: Pentium 4, ASUS P4B motherboard w/Intel 845 chipset (I know, it’s stupid to run a P4 with SDRAM, but that was all I could afford at the time when RDRAM was around…)

posted by aceyim to Technology (8 answers total)

The old-school ATX motherboard reset trick to try is:

With the PC plugged in, hold in the power button. Continue to hold the power button in while unplugging the power cord from the back of the PC. Continue to hold in the power button for ten seconds. While still holding in the power button, plug the power cord back in. Release the button. Press the button again. There is a slim chance the power supply will reset and the PC will power up again.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:37 PM on January 11, 2007

It could be the power supply or motherboard. Unfortunately since the system will not boot there is not a good way to troubleshoot this problem, other than swapping out suspected bad hardware. I would try the power supply first as they are considerably less expensive than replacing the motherboard.
posted by entropy at 3:38 PM on January 11, 2007

Also, most mobos have an LED on them somewhere which will indicate whether or not any power is getting to the mobo at all from the power supply. Check yours for just such an LED.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 3:38 PM on January 11, 2007

Remove all components one at a time and attempt to boot. Starting with

1. Each ram module. *youll need to put at least one back after

2. Each card

3. each drive

4. reseat the processor

5. reseat the ram (if you didnt in step 1)

6. remove all wires from the case to the motherbaord like lights, USB, sound, etc.

Check to see if the power supply is still giving power. Does the HD still spin (unplug the data cable from the HD but leave the power cable)

You can pretty much narrow things down to motherboard or power supply with this method. Also, even if the PS is giving power it may not be giving the 12volts the MB needs.

The good news is that at 5 years you probably should be replacing this thing anyway.
posted by damn dirty ape at 3:47 PM on January 11, 2007

Your motherboard dates right from the middle of the bad cap era.

In addition to damn dirty ape's debugging steps, you should check to see that the power supply still works on its own, by unplugging it from everything (particularly the motherboard), and testing it.
posted by Chuckles at 3:58 PM on January 11, 2007

The ASUS site has a pretty detailed troubleshooting guide that should get you started. Then do what damn dirty ape and Chuckles said.
posted by gemmy at 8:37 PM on January 11, 2007

There's also the slight possibility that your problem is as simple as the reset/power cables being disconnected from the motherboard as well. Always always always check the simple things first. THEN try damn dirty ape's guidelines.
posted by cellphone at 6:57 AM on January 12, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm going to pop my case open this evening to see if I can tell if the motherboard is receiving power. If so, then I think I'm just going to take it as an opportunity to rebuild it.

Thanks again for everyone's input!
posted by aceyim at 8:18 PM on January 13, 2007