Dead tower, could use some help

[grassmatt]

My in-laws dropped their tower off at my house while I was working, saying it was dead.

I tried to boot it, no fans spin up, silently dead. The cdrw light does flash for a brief moment.

I then opened the case, reset the cmos, cleared out a colony of dust bunnies and tried again. The cpu fan and the psu fan both spin about 1/16th of a turn and stop. No fans start up and the hd makes no noise.

The computer had previously run great, without any problems since I built it for them a couple of years ago.

The mobo is an ECS all aboard basic model.
K7SOM+

I has the built in Duron type cpu, 1600mhz with onboard vid/sound/lan. The system is an email/online banking monster and I dont want to strip my computer down to test out parts if I dont have to. (Like if someone here is brilliant and has the answer )

I did connect my psu to the mobo/hd of the parents computer and it was the same. DEAD

Thanks for your thoughts

Aaron

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

First thing to do is try the Easy button. If neither the button or the ink fairy works, check the ram, GPU, and CPU.

Take the MB out of the box and do a minimal install. The easy button never works for me either.

 

[grassmatt]

I cant take the cpu out since the it is one of this version of the ECS mobo is one of the built in type. CPU is stuck to the board, I checked the capacitors. Nothing is poppped or split. No burn marks or anything that would indicate a problem. I pulled out the mobo and connected it to my own, perfectly working Antec psu with the same results.


Aaron

 

[Billzie7718]

I would try resetting the CMOS jumper first.

 

[XweAponX]

"The mobo is an ECS all aboard basic model.
K7SOM+"

The fact that it is an ECS and that it is a Duron places it in the 1999-2000 year range. That combo was a popularly sold item from Frys at the time. I built one or two machines baset on that set, but the first Duron I made was nothing but problems, and I decided that those chips were just plain bad. So, I used mostly Athlons and later, Semprons. I have only had two K7's go bad out of maybe 30 I have handled.

Of all the K7SOM motherboards I dealt with only one is still working and that one, has a Sempron on it. ECS Motherboards are 50/50 to me, either they are real good and work a long time, or they are real bad and fry within a month, or in some cases, immediately.

You either have a dead CPU or a dead Board. If you have a similar MB you can test the CPU. If it happens to be the CPU, You should be able to buy a used athlon or sempron for no more than 35 dollars at any shop that sells used computer parts: If they want more, walk away. Look for a "Thunderbird" processor- Those would be the Athlons in the darker grey ceramic case. However, you can buy a brand new Sempron 2500+ XP from New Egg:

http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819104204

for 45 dollars... If you can find a MB for it, you may want to do that.

As far as used CPU's go: A good shop would allow you to bring in your Box and slap the CPU in it to test it (And not charge you 75 bucks for 2 minutes of work).

If your box is good: You can probably get a good CPU/Motherboard combo from NewEgg. Stick with an Athlon and try to find a SIS Chipset which is what the ECS motherboard you have there uses- That way, you can just use the same hard drive and it will not give you the blue screen while it detects new drivers. Wheneever I have to get a new CPU/MB for any system, I try to find the exact same chipset if possible, and I use all the same Add On Cards.


EDIT- My bad: you said:

"I has the built in Duron type cpu"

I did NOT see that little bit of grief: Well, I had the exact same thing happen one month ago. I was forced to buy a new Mobo/CPU.

I am sorry, cos some ECS MB's are good enough to keep going.

However, if you can find a MB that matches the chip I posted, you can just replace the whole MB/CPU - And stay away from built-in CPU's from now on.

I suggest making the rounds of all computer shops near you that sell used parts, you may get lucky and be able to get something comparable for less than 80 bucks.

I'll bookmark this thread, and if I see something, I'll post it here.

 

[grassmatt]

Yah, I figure that the mobo is burnt/dead and its not worth fixing. I built this for my inlaws a couple of years ago and I dont mind it if they have to buy something newer rather than
me tearing my hair out to find parts etc.