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#1
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Hardware problem
We bought a 'put-together' computer 12/02, from an
individual who puts them together. The computer started having unpredictable lock-ups right away. Then about 4/03, the geforce 2 mx agp card went south and a geforce 4 was put in. Now that card is gone. This is a Transcend akt4/b motherboard, AMD duron 1.3 ghz processor, duro 400w pwr sply, 512 megs memory running Windows XP professional. When the computer locks up, you can hear noise it puts into the house wiring thru a house wiring intercom we have as it re-boots. I'm thinking the motherboard or power supply are the culprit. Any way to test the mb and ps? It is a socket A mb. thanks russg |
#2
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"Russ Gilbert" wrote in message ... We bought a 'put-together' computer 12/02, from an individual who puts them together. The computer started having unpredictable lock-ups right away. Then about 4/03, the geforce 2 mx agp card went south and a geforce 4 was put in. Now that card is gone. This is a Transcend akt4/b motherboard, AMD duron 1.3 ghz processor, duro 400w pwr sply, 512 megs memory running Windows XP professional. When the computer locks up, you can hear noise it puts into the house wiring thru a house wiring intercom we have as it re-boots. I'm thinking the motherboard or power supply are the culprit. Any way to test the mb and ps? It is a socket A mb. thanks russg Well the frequent lockups you are experiencing may be due to the RAM. I realize this is far-fetched because of the problems you've been having with the video card, but it's worth a shot. Try running MemTest86, which is downloadable for free from www.memtest86.com, and see what comes out. Otherwise, it's probably the result of a bad AGP port or something on your motherboard (unfortunately, I don't think there's a way to test that for free....you can buy little cards that test your PCI slots, etc. for things like that but I'm not sure if they make them for AGP). As for the power supply: That is unlikely, but possible. How many watts does your power supply generate and how much stuff do you have on your computer (PCI cards, USB devices, etc.). -- MiniDisc_2k2 To reply via email, replace nospam.com with cox dot net. |
#3
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Thanks Mini.
(my computer kills my agp cards. test memory, could be mother board, doubts power supply.) It is a Duro 400 watt power supply. I've read some threads that Duro is a very bad power supply, causing damage on people's computer. The docs on the mb say I should have at least 250w. I would guess the agp geforce 4 mx 440 draws a fair amount of current, it is a AGP 2.0 card, and I can't find out if my motherboard agp slot is AGP 2. There are 2 CD Roms, a reader and a burner, one floppy, one hard disk and a modem and a usb pci card. I heard enermax and pc power and cooling are good power supplies, and that Duro is a bad one. I can't check the memory with the memtest86.com checker until I can get a display going. There is no onboard video, and the BIOS is set for AGP, so I guess I look for the cheapest AGP card I can find and try a new power supply.. If I still can't get a display, then the motherboard goes. thanks |
#4
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Thanks, Dave.
(Duro bad, Enermax not so good, suggests Antec or Sparkle. PC Power and Cooling probably overpriced.) I don't have another AGP computer to try the two AGP cards I think are dead. If I could try them and they work then it would be the power supply or motherboard that would be my problem, would help to narrow things down. It is interesting you say the BIOS would detect a PCI video card if I put one in. I do have a spare PCI graphics adapter, and I couldn't get a display when I tried it, maybe I'll try it again. I figured it was because the BIOS is set for AGP. Regards |
#5
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"Russ Gilbert" wrote in message ...
It is a Duro 400 watt power supply. I've read some threads that Duro is a very bad power supply, causing damage on people's computer. The docs on the mb say I should have at least 250w. I would guess the agp geforce 4 mx 440 draws a fair amount of current, Duro is so bad that it makes Powmax (Leadman, Raidmax) look like high quality in comparison, and it wouldn't surprise me if the protection circuitry that prevents excessive voltage or current was left out. Since this is a ready-built computer and you had been experiencing problems with it from the very beginning, why won't the shop that sold it to you replace or repair it under warranty? If they won't, then I suggest that you write to your credit card company because you may be able to get at least a partial refund even though the normal 60-day legal protection period has expired, because that limit doesn't always apply, and the parent companies for most credit cards extend protection to a whole year. The computers I've tried would default to whatever video card was installed, PCI or AGP, whether or not the BIOS was set to use AGP. But I wouldn't risk ruining a PCI card until I knew that it wouldn't be damaged as well. You should test the power supply without anything attached to it by shorting its green and black wires together with a bent paperclip). If this doesn't make the supply's fan spin, try attaching a 10-20 ohm resistor, rated for at least 10 watts, between any pair of red and black wires (you may have to remove the paperclip first). If the fan still shows no signs of life, then the supply is probably bad. But if the fan does spin, measure the voltages with a meter, black probe to ground (black wire), red probe to a red wire for +5V, yellow wire for +12V, orange or brown wire for +3.3V. The purple wire should have +5V on it as long as the supply is plugged into the AC and any switch on the rear is turned on. Except for the latter, the voltages may be off by over 10% because of the lack of any load. A load can be provided by a motherboard, but you risk damaging it if the power supply puts out too much voltage. A power supply tester is not a very good investment because it won't tell you if the voltages are within normal specification, and it won't provide much of a load. I can't check the memory with the memtest86.com checker until I can get a display going. If only the display is bad, you actually can still use Memtest86 because it sends out information over the serial cable, so another computer connected with a null modem cable and running something like Hyperterminal (or an old DOS-based program, like Telix) could display the results. |
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