computer problems....

**KeyMastur** · 09-25-2003, 01:42 PM

ok, need a little help here. my dad's pc is kaputz. when i try and turn it on, the drive lights come on and the red power light comes on. no action past that. any ideas what could be the culprit ? bad motherboard ??

it was always crashing on him. i always thought it was the motherboard / processor combo. he has the AMD i forget how fast combo that he bought at Fry's (which I don't like buying motherboards from)

**navydevildoc** · 09-25-2003, 01:47 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

ok, need a little help here. my dad's pc is kaputz. when i try and turn it on, the drive lights come on and the red power light comes on. no action past that. any ideas what could be the culprit ? bad motherboard ??

Which drive light? The floppy or the built in hard drive light?

Either way, disconnect both drives, as well as the CD-ROM and see if it at least comes alive. Also, does it make any beeping sounds when you turn it on? Those "beep codes" can help you narrow down the problem.

**KeyMastur** · 09-25-2003, 01:53 PM

Originally Posted by navydevildoc

Which drive light? The floppy or the built in hard drive light?

Either way, disconnect both drives, as well as the CD-ROM and see if it at least comes alive. Also, does it make any beeping sounds when you turn it on? Those "beep codes" can help you narrow down the problem.

no, both the CD rom drive lights come on. no flickers or anything. just idles there. no beeps.

i know the beep codes - one's for bad memory, two's for somethin else, etc. or somethin like that.

**navydevildoc** · 09-25-2003, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

no, both the CD rom drive lights come on. no flickers or anything. just idles there. no beeps.

i know the beep codes - one's for bad memory, two's for somethin else, etc. or somethin like that.

Yeah, OK, disconnect all the drives and try it, if the signal cables are backwards on IDE drives it can keep the machine from even POSTing and doing a memory check. Ditto for a fried drive.

**TheMudMan** · 09-25-2003, 01:59 PM

If the machine isnt posting and you get no beeps it could be a bad motherboard, ram, or cpu. You could try reseatting the memory... or take one out at a time and see if you get the machine to post.

**KeyMastur** · 09-25-2003, 02:02 PM

Originally Posted by navydevildoc

Yeah, OK, disconnect all the drives and try it, if the signal cables are backwards on IDE drives it can keep the machine from even POSTing and doing a memory check. Ditto for a fried drive.

disconnected all the drives and it started up. couldnt' go anywhere though.

then reconnected the HD and it started up just fine. wonder if it's a bad floppy or CD drive ?? could one of these caused it to crash so many times when they were using it before ?

**ENraged** · 09-25-2003, 02:09 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

disconnected all the drives and it started up. couldnt' go anywhere though.

then reconnected the HD and it started up just fine. wonder if it's a bad floppy or CD drive ?? could one of these caused it to crash so many times when they were using it before ?

If you reseat everything like he said and it works it could just be a corroded end. or vibrated loose. Mine did this a few months ago tore it apart and put it back together and it was fine?!?! tore it back apart and checked all the plugs and all most all of them had some amount of rust on them. after cleaning runs like a charm. Same thing with my printer tore that apart and cleaned her all out and prints like a made man now

**KeyMastur** · 09-25-2003, 02:12 PM

Originally Posted by ENraged

If you reseat everything like he said and it works it could just be a corroded end. or vibrated loose. Mine did this a few months ago tore it apart and put it back together and it was fine?!?! tore it back apart and checked all the plugs and all most all of them had some amount of rust on them. after cleaning runs like a charm. Same thing with my printer tore that apart and cleaned her all out and prints like a made man now

yeah but he's had problems since the beginning with this thing for some reason.

the floppy drive does look like shit. i think he picked it up at work in their computer area where they've got tons of shit laying around. gonna try and get a new one and see how she works. they're cheap anyways.

**navydevildoc** · 09-25-2003, 02:13 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

yeah but he's had problems since the beginning with this thing for some reason.

the floppy drive does look like shit. i think he picked it up at work in their computer area where they've got tons of shit laying around. gonna try and get a new one and see how she works. they're cheap anyways.

Yeah, you can get new ones for like 20 bucks... but it's good to hear that it is working!

**KeyMastur** · 09-25-2003, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by navydevildoc

Yeah, you can get new ones for like 20 bucks... but it's good to hear that it is working!

well it's working, but who knows how stable it'll be once it's back up and running.

**ENraged** · 09-25-2003, 02:15 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

yeah but he's had problems since the beginning with this thing for some reason.

the floppy drive does look like shit. i think he picked it up at work in their computer area where they've got tons of shit laying around. gonna try and get a new one and see how she works. they're cheap anyways.

friend of mine also had this problem. He just recieved all his machine parts he bought from compgeeks.com amd for the life of him could not get the damn thing to even post. All the pretty lights lite up but no post?!?!? sent it back got a new mobo and all was well and good

**KeyMastur** · 09-25-2003, 02:20 PM

can a bad floppy drive keep a computer down ??

**ENraged** · 09-25-2003, 02:23 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

can a bad floppy drive keep a computer down ??

Never seen that one happen

**navydevildoc** · 09-25-2003, 02:24 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

can a bad floppy drive keep a computer down ??

Hmmm... not quite sure on that one... IDE drives (hard drive, CD-ROM) can for sure, but floppies *might* be able to if the board on the floppy is fried and is sending some nasty voltage where it doesn't belong...

**ENraged** · 09-25-2003, 02:24 PM

Dumb question considering this is a bb site but do you smoke anything? cigs/herb

**ENraged** · 09-25-2003, 02:25 PM

or another member of the family??

**KeyMastur** · 09-25-2003, 02:27 PM

Originally Posted by ENraged

Dumb question considering this is a bb site but do you smoke anything? cigs/herb

who are you talking to ??

and what exactly is the dumb question - your's or mine ??

**BigMike J** · 09-25-2003, 02:28 PM

i know that bad ram cam keep a computer from booting up too, or no ram at all.

**KeyMastur** · 09-25-2003, 02:29 PM

Originally Posted by BigMike J

i know that bad ram cam keep a computer from booting up too, or no ram at all.

yeah, but usually you get the beeps right ?? i'm also thinking that the RAM that's installed is shitty and will probably need to be replaced

**ENraged** · 09-25-2003, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

who are you talking to ??

and what exactly is the dumb question - your's or mine ??

easy big fella i meant mine. do you or any of your family member smoke anything???

**KeyMastur** · 09-25-2003, 02:35 PM

Originally Posted by ENraged

easy big fella i meant mine. do you or any of your family member smoke anything???

why are you asking ? my dad smokes cigs, but nowhere near the computer, hell not even near the house b/c he still thinks he's hiding it from my mother.

**ENraged** · 09-25-2003, 02:42 PM

Originally Posted by KeyMastur

why are you asking ? my dad smokes cigs, but nowhere near the computer, hell not even near the house b/c he still thinks he's hiding it from my mother.

nicotine is the biggest killer of pc's i have ever seen. Gets everywhere sticks to everything and eats the pc just like cancer. when i used to repair machines we had some that you could smell them from 2 rooms aways when i would tear the case off it was covered in brown smoke colored sludge. so i always ask this question now when people have comp problems. Its kind of like bend over and cough