simple fix for bad PCI slot?

You have my apology that this is slightly off topic.

I have one bad PCI slot in a Dell motherboard made or designed by Intel.
Several different cards that are known to be good fail to be detected
in that one slot.

Is there some component that's easy to test and replace---maybe a
capacitor---whose failure would explain the failure of the slot? Thanks.

Matt

Matt wrote:

You have my apology that this is slightly off topic.

I have one bad PCI slot in a Dell motherboard made or designed by Intel.
Several different cards that are known to be good fail to be detected
in that one slot.

Is there some component that's easy to test and replace---maybe a
capacitor---whose failure would explain the failure of the slot? Thanks.

Matt

Maybe it's a recessed pin in that PCI Socket.

In article ,
says...
You have my apology that this is slightly off topic.

I have one bad PCI slot in a Dell motherboard made or designed by Intel.
Several different cards that are known to be good fail to be detected
in that one slot.

Is there some component that's easy to test and replace---maybe a
capacitor---whose failure would explain the failure of the slot? Thanks.

Usually it's a build up of dust and cigarette grime on the pins. Have
you tried cleaning them with a fibreglass pen?


--
________________________
Conor Turton

ICQ:31909763
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rcm wrote:
As other posters said, check for damaged pin or dirt.


Thanks. I will check for dirt, but I don't think it's that, as the
machine is only about nine months old and is not in a particularly dirty
environment. It is near the bottom of the case, where some dust tends
to gather, though.

I don't think I'd ever put anything in that slot until recently. But I
figured moving cards in and out of the slot a half dozen times would
scrape loose any dirt.

I did get the machine for an amazingly low price, and it was one of the
very last Dimension 4500's built, so I guess it's just possible they
were getting rid of boards that had small defects.

Matt wrote:

I have one bad PCI slot in a Dell motherboard made or designed by Intel.
Several different cards that are known to be good fail to be detected
in that one slot.

Best clue is, did it ever work OK for any card?


Maybe it's a recessed pin in that PCI Socket.

In any case, this is the #1 problem.
Otherwise, knowing no more, it's anybody's guess.

I'm not sure what that means or how to check for it or fix it.
I guess it'll make more sense when I take a close look at it?
Yes... The socket makes card connections using springy things.
If stuck in, no connection. If mangled, bad connection.


----- My favorite quote -----
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
- One test is worth ten thousand words -

Matt wrote:
You have my apology that this is slightly off topic.

I have one bad PCI slot in a Dell motherboard made or designed by Intel.
Several different cards that are known to be good fail to be detected
in that one slot.

Is there some component that's easy to test and replace---maybe a
capacitor---whose failure would explain the failure of the slot? Thanks.

Matt


With a flashlight and magnifying glass, I observed that one of the
slot's pins was bent over and crushed nearly to the bottom of the slot.
Presumedly, it was sticking out too far after manufacturing, and the
first time I inserted a card, the pin got crushed and so the slot didn't
work. I used one side of a tweezers to pry the pin back up and
partially into the recess in the plastic where it was supposed to be. I
couldn't get it all the way back in, but with care I can insert a card
without mangling it again. I'll use that slot for my LAN card, which
is the card least likely to require removal.

Thanks to those who helped me solve this.

Matt

Matt wrote:

Thanks to those who helped me solve this.

Apply it to all electronic mysteries. It works
Logic, and common sense solves the vast majority of problems.
If it worked once, it's gotta work again.
- Or the culprit is something (the last thing?) YOU did.

Mechanical things are the most likely problems.
It's #1 if you don't know if it ever worked.
It's still #1 even if it once worked.

Heat, and connections, are the most likely mechanical problems.
Your eyes, and nose, are your best diagnostic tools
If it looks burnt, and smells burnt it's burnt.

Electrical failure is the least likely cause.
(It also tends to be the least understood, hardest to find,
and so, most likely to be suspected.)

This approch will fix 90% of your problems.
Learn to do it well, and throw away
any "problems" that don't quit.

Or, to get 99%, learn enough to diagnose symptoms.
Symptoms can point to the bad component/sub-assy/card.
I replaced the coil (whatever, I forget) in the display I'm now using.
(A friend helped by confirming my diagnosis)
It helped that he also knew it was a common problem
on displays resurected from the trash heap.

Good luck.

--- Still my favorite quote ---
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)