[pchelpers] Re: Lost main computer (forwarded on behalf of PC)

John Durham wrote:
> I lost my main computer.
> It was a gigabyte N4SLI-A9 with a AMD 64 3700 cpu.
> I upgraded to a AMD 64 X2 4200.
> At first I installed the new cpu, and hooked everything back up and it 
> wouldn't power on.
> I disconnected all the cables and took it to my work bench. I plugged in 
> the power and it started.
> So I took it back to my table, hooked it back-up and it started right up.
> I left it running for a week. Yesterday I turned it off (for some reason 
> I can't remember) and it would not power back up. The Power supply 
> checked out and so did all the cables. I even tested the panel switch. I 
> went through the process of disconnecting all cables and cards. Once or 
> twice it fired up, but I couldn't get it to repeat it by doing the same 
> thing over again.
This could be an earth loop via the mounting screws. If there are any 
metal screws into metal standoffs (2 or more), try replacing some with 
plastic ones, or insulating the mounting more.
> I came to the conclusion that my motherboard was out. So using my other 
> computer I went online and ordered another one.
Maybe, or not.
> The yestersday morning for the fun of it I removed the new cpu and put 
> the old one back in. Of all things she powered right up.
> After turning it off and on and it still stayed running I then concluded 
> my new cpu went bad.
> So I went to Newegg and RMA it and sent it off by UPS.
Could be right, although there might be some static damage causing 
intermittent behaviour. It might also be experiencing problems with 
dirty contacts (particularly on the memory cards).
> This morning I woke up to two error messages.
> The first was a "delay write fail"
> And the next 30 was "Failed to save file e:\. Data was lost. Please save 
> file to another location"
These suggest a partially functional IDE/SATA interface or cable. Try 
booting the PC from a floppy and run some memory/hardware tests from 
there. This will eliminate motherboard/memory causes.
> After clicking 30 times to get rid of all the messages I found that 
> explorer wouldn't open.
> I then rebooted. The post screen came up sitting at "detecting Hard drives"
> It sat there for a while and I knew I would have to do a power off reboot.
> So I powered off and the computer now won't power back up.
Again, strip it down to minimal to be sure of what works in a basic test.
> So I do not know if the new cpu was bad or not. My new MB will be here 
> Thur. Hopefully the old cpu is still good and I can use it until the 
> other new one gets back.
When you look into that, the CPU mounting and cooling is vital to  get 
right. If the heat sink is not in excellent contact with the CPU, a 
number of these effects may result (including thermal shutdown).
> Seems like I have been having this problem a lot this week. I was mowing 
> grass Monday on my riding lawn mower which I just got and rebuilt when I 
> turned it off and parked it. When I got back on I found the transmission 
> was locked down.
> 
> Pc
Please let us know the results.
-- 
Regards, John Durham <http://modecideas.com/contact.html?sig>
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