PC is toast?

[leapingfrog0]

Hello,

I fix computers around town, and today I received a call from someone who thinks their computer was struck by lightning.

When you turn it on, all you get is a black screen... drives and fans power up, but no beeps or anything. The system will not POST. You need to push and hold the power button in on the case to turn it off.

So far I have:
- Reset the CMOS
- Replaced power supply
- Disconnected all devices except CPU, motherboard, power supply, and video.
- Reseated both sticks of RAM, then tried to run system with only 1 stick. Didn't work, tried other stick. Still nothing.
- Replaced video card

Still, the system will not work. I guess this narrows the problem down among the CPU, motherboard, and RAM.

Is it safe to say this PC is pretty much toast? Is it time for a new tower?

Thanks,
Andrew

 

[lobadobadingdong]

more that likely the motherboard is dead, and/or possibly the video card and/or proc, try removing the vid card, and use a known good proc, and see if you get the vid beep code. cases can be used over and over again, until you can't upgrade with current form factors, they never die...unless you beat the sensless with a club or LARGE hammer until they no longer resemble a case

 

[leapingfrog0]

Yeah, I think I'll offer to assemble them a new PC instead of messing with all that. I have no spare CPU's I can test. This one is a slow 266mhz. I think finding a replacement motherboard would be a tad difficult (?), so instead I'd get a new motherboard, and that would result in me having to find buy a new RAM and processor. Might as well go with a new system

I'd like to have a new case because this one is too old and doesn't have a place to mount any extra fans (except on the intake). No exhaust fan. I'm also not sure if I can replace I/O shield on this case to accomdate a new motherboard. The computer tends to run a tad hot as it is right now.. you can feel the case is pretty warm when the computer is running.

I will be reusing the CD-ROM and floppy drives and *possibly* the hard drive depending on if they don't want Windows XP (hard drive is a tad small). I would reuse their modem/sound card... but they're ISA and not PCI. This computer is about 5-6 years old, so I guess it's served it's time.

Thoughts?

Andrew

 

[NittanyLAncer]

Where I live has been DIRECTLY hit 3 times since I've lived here (4 years) and has had MANY strikes on the imediate grid.

My advice :

Pull out the RAM.Put it on your desk...leave it there. If the motherboard isn't bad it'll start beeping good. That's the best way I've ever found to figure out if a board is dead. Mobos will ALWAYS start complaining if they don't have RAM. And it's easier to remove than a CPU. And it checks RAM before any other checks that might freeze it. I had a Soyo KV7 that took me weeks to get working (was doing much the same your stuff's doing) except I knew it was live because removing the RAM made it unhappy.

If it doesn't beep :

Try resetting the voltage switch on the back of the PSU. A large spike might knock that out of whack. Pull the ATX connector out.....push it back in....start up the system, then reach around back and toggle it to the position opposite what it is, wait a little bit......then switch it back if it doesn't start. The European voltage setting won't put enough power through on the US outlets to power anything up. Most people forget this, and most poeple who's computers won't start imediatly start flipping that thing back and forth.

Lastly :

A power unit will a lot of the time take the damage from a strike. They're designed with diodes to loop any huge current back through until it disipates. The problem is that it will a LOT of the time it fries the circuits involved. I've never worked with PC CPUs.....but I know in my small robotics/RC applications that's the case. I'd put my money on the PSU being dead before any system components.

But a 5-6 year old system is probably in need of replacement anyway. Head over to the FS/FT forums =P

 

[leapingfrog0]

Thanks for the informative reply NittanyLAncer.

I did what you said (removed RAM and turned on the system). I still receive no beep codes.

I'd put my money on the PSU being dead before any system components.

That's what I had thought at first, but I tried starting the system with a brand new 300W power supply I bought last month and still nothing. The new power supply has been tested and is in good working condition.

Andrew

 

[NittanyLAncer]

Well.......if there's no beeping when there's no RAM the board is dead. Some things will hang some chipsets, unrecognized/dead CPU, AGP short or something. But since RAM checks almost ALWAYS happen before near anything else....nothing in the DIMM slots will cause a LOT of unhappiness.

And a 266MHz system is probably better off where it is right now.

Informative....heh.....more like the result of excessive unluckiness. Lived in Mississippi....one tornado. Lived in Rowhome here in Philly....no lightning (which apparently rowhomes here attract). Moved to the victorian twin with lots of trees far taller than the house, start getting pounded by lightning. And actually......I've had systems killed by the POWERGRID. Spikes and dips like crazy. Everything is now on UPSes. And the one time I don't have a UPS on a system the CD-RW explodes (no-one believes me that it actually exploded). That post is around here somewhere. You might find it ammusing.