Help me figure out what needs to be replaced

[wolf30]

My computer has been acting up lately. About a week ago, I got a few blue screens saying my computer is beginning a physical dump of the memory and I needed to restart the computer. After that, when I was using the computer, it would automatically restart by itself, especially during intensive browsing with chrome when I had multiple tabs open and then I wouldn't be able to get back into windows. It would just hang on a black screen right after the windows xp loading bar screen. I reimaged the machine and all seemed to be back to normal, and then a few days later again, the computer would restart itself and I wouldn't be able to get back into windows. I also noticed my rear case fan stopped spinning. It lights up but doesn't spin. I just ran memtest 86 in bios and it did two cycles and found nothing. I did run memtest in windows and it said there was an error and then my system crashed a few days before I ran memtest86 in bios. Here are my computer specs:

amd athlon 64 x2 dual core 3800+
1gb ram
asus a8n-vm motherboard
ati radeon 550 videocard
western digital 250 gb sata harddrive.

Ya I know its pretty old and I will be purchasing a laptop within the next week or two, but would like to still get the system working for my folks to use as a secondary computer. I checked my cpu temp in bios and it was around 59.5 degrees. I'm assuming its a combination of fan, ram, and harddrive? I plan on ordering the parts asap as soon as I know exactly whats the problem. Right now I have reimaged the machine for a third time, and its running quite slow compared to before.

[Mark77]

Almost sounds like a PSU issue, in some form or another, whether it be the main PSU, or the motherboard's embedded PSU's.

Machine is probably 6-7 years old, which sounds about right for the lifespan of a cheap generic PSU. Do you have another PSU you could swap in to try? That'd be my suggestion. If its the motherboards's PSU, you might be able to see bulging capacitors (or not).

Basically, in this instance, you're going to have to figure out whether its worth fighting with this, or whether you should just order your folks new parts, and sell whatever you can for a few bucks.

[wolf30]

Almost sounds like a PSU issue, in some form or another, whether it be the main PSU, or the motherboard's embedded PSU's.

Machine is probably 6-7 years old, which sounds about right for the lifespan of a cheap generic PSU. Do you have another PSU you could swap in to try? That'd be my suggestion. If its the motherboards's PSU, you might be able to see bulging capacitors (or not).

Basically, in this instance, you're going to have to figure out whether its worth fighting with this, or whether you should just order your folks new parts, and sell whatever you can for a few bucks.

I only got 1 psu. Its a theramtake 430w psu. If its a psu problem, shouldn't the computer not be able to power on at all? How would I be able to test my motherboard psu?

[Mark77]

I only got 1 psu. Its a theramtake 430w psu. If its a psu problem, shouldn't the computer not be able to power on at all?

No, when the output caps start to fail in a PSU, what you might see is that the system reboots under load, or otherwise has errors. This is because the caps can no longer suppress the ripple from the PSU itself.



How would I be able to test my motherboard psu?

A very specific test requires expensive test equpment in the form of an oscilloscope. For someone at home or even at a computer shop that doesn't have such equipment, its basically trial and error, swapping questionable parts with known-good parts, and working backwards.

[DavidY]

I have the same AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ CPU....it was released 6-7 years ago.

1 GB memory is pretty light IMO. I have maxed mine out at 4 GB DDR2 (DDR2 is very pricey vs. DDR3...running Vista 32 bit. Integrated 6150SE graphics.

Might be time to get a new PC....our PCs won't even run Diablo 3 (need 5000+ as a minimum).

Dave

[xalex0]

I'm assuming its a combination of fan, ram, and harddrive? I plan on ordering the parts asap as soon as I know exactly whats the problem.Until you rule out power-related issues testing these is of little merit.

How would I be able to test my motherboard psu?If it is outside warranty then if you are technically inclined you can take off the PSU cover and look whether any of the capacitors a bulging and/or leaking. Just don't touch anything inside. Check the capacitors on the motherboard too. Also it wouldn't hurt to clean out the dust from the case and oil/replace the faulty fan.

[Mark77]

If it is outside warranty then if you are technically inclined you can take off the PSU cover and look whether any of the capacitors a bulging and/or leaking. Just don't touch anything inside. Check the capacitors on the motherboard too. Also it wouldn't hurt to clean out the dust from the case and oil/replace the faulty fan.

That's technically not the mobo's PSU. But during that era, there were a lot of bad caps used.

[wolf30]

I have the same AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ CPU....it was released 6-7 years ago.

1 GB memory is pretty light IMO. I have maxed mine out at 4 GB DDR2 (DDR2 is very pricey vs. DDR3...running Vista 32 bit. Integrated 6150SE graphics.

Might be time to get a new PC....our PCs won't even run Diablo 3 (need 5000+ as a minimum).

Dave

I don't really game. I believe my system only uses ddr 1 pc3200. Its like $25 for 1gb. I probably won't be putting more than 2-3 gbs of ram in the system. I'll definitely be replacing the parts if its worthwhile. I won't spend more than $150 on it. I just need to figure out what the hell's wrong with it.

[wolf30]

If it is outside warranty then if you are technically inclined you can take off the PSU cover and look whether any of the capacitors a bulging and/or leaking. Just don't touch anything inside. Check the capacitors on the motherboard too. Also it wouldn't hurt to clean out the dust from the case and oil/replace the faulty fan.

I vacuumed and air compressed everything today. Say I purchase a new psu, would anyone do? Are their specific models that I need or would any brand new model suffice? Last thing I want to do is purchase a new psu and then find out I can't use it and store won't accept it.

[xalex0]

That's technically not the mobo's PSU.I'm sorry for misunderstanding. I assumed the term was referring to the main PSU, not the voltage regulator circuit.

[xalex0]

I vacuumed and air compressed everything today. Say I purchase a new psu, would anyone do? Are their specific models that I need or would any brand new model suffice? Last thing I want to do is purchase a new psu and then find out I can't use it and store won't accept it.As long as your case accepts standard ATX size PSU and the actual(in cheap nonames it can be lower than advertized) power output is not lower you should be fine. The only problem with using a new PSU is that there is a non-zero chance of it being defective as well.

[craftsman]

Another thing I would do on random issues like you are experiencing is to reseat everything as well as clean the contacts that you can. Dirty contacts cause a lot of strange issues.

My desktop had an issue powering up and gave a misleading beep code a few weeks ago - it pointed to a power supply issue. I decided to clean out the box and reseat all of the components before getting a new power supply. I found that one stick of RAM was causing the issue and if it was removed from the system, the system was fine. I cleaned the contacts and reinstalled them memory on the chance that the contacts were dirty and not the memory was bad. It's been working ever since.

[Mark77]

I'm sorry for misunderstanding. I assumed the term was referring to the main PSU, not the voltage regulator circuit.

Pure voltage regulator circuits on mobos haven't really been used since 1996-1997 or so -- SMPSU's have been 'the standard' on motherboards ever since. For obvious reasons of efficiency. Pretty difficult to drive 100A through regulators and not create a lot of heat and waste! :O.

[xalex0]

Pure voltage regulator circuits on mobos haven't really been used since 1996-1997 or soYou must be confusing it with VRMs.

[Busybuyer888]

I doubt the PC OP has is worth more than $50. Does OP really want to spend 20 hours and $150 to resolve the issue? (What if spending $80 and problem is still not resolved?)

It is one thing for a techie to waste an evening swapping parts between computers to see what is the problem, but to actually spend money to buy parts to test out what is wrong is not good use of time + money.

If it is P/S, OP is going to try, I would get the $20 cheapy from a computer store. Another $10 for case fan.

BB has some refurbished PC (dual-core) in the $150 range.
http://www.bestbuy.ca/en-CA/category/refurbished-desktop-computers/31065.aspx?path=d55f106da6f5e2d965d65eaa4bf0e68een 01

I'm sure there are people willing to sell their older PCs (fully functioning) for $50 too.

[sods]

Another thing I would do on random issues like you are experiencing is to reseat everything as well as clean the contacts that you can. Dirty contacts cause a lot of strange issues.

My desktop had an issue powering up and gave a misleading beep code a few weeks ago - it pointed to a power supply issue. I decided to clean out the box and reseat all of the components before getting a new power supply. I found that one stick of RAM was causing the issue and if it was removed from the system, the system was fine. I cleaned the contacts and reinstalled them memory on the chance that the contacts were dirty and not the memory was bad. It's been working ever since.

I actually had the same issues OP is experiencing and this was the cause. Although it wasnt the contacts, just a faulty dimm. OP should try removing one stick and see if it is stable.

[DavidY]

1. Reinstall and check the all the connectors, memory, etc.
2. If the computer remains iffy, buy and install a cheap power supply (meets or exceeds your existing wattage) from a store that doesn't have a restocking fee (eg. Future Shop/Best Buy).
3. If the computer still doesn't work, get a new or used computer...not worth troubleshooting anymore IMO. Return the PS for a full refund.

Dave