justjuice

The other day I had my phone hooked up to my computer via usb. I pulled the cable out of my phone without removing it with the little taskbar icon and the computer froze, like a full on freeze nothing would move nor work. I hit the reset button and the computer wouldnt start back up. All the lights inside, including one on the corner of the motherboard, the fans and the HDDs started up but the keyboard didn't flash its lights as it normally would on startup and the monitor was blank, with the little led flashing every so often. I dont recall if there was ever a beep on startup or not but there isnt one now, even though everything inside the case seems to startup.

I tested the HDD by putting it into another computer and that's fine. I tested the power supply with a multimeter and that's fine. Then I noticed that the fan on my video card had seized up but would move a fraction (the section where it didn't have trouble freely spinning) when I turned the computer on. I took it out, took it apart and got it moving better but it wouldnt work after that. Thinking that it may be a video card problem I took it to a local repair place and asked them to test it for me as I dont have the means to do so and it turns out that aside from the fan the video card works fine. I was unable to find a fan anywhere so I bought a second hand video card that seems to work fine once in the computer. Unfortunately I still have the same problem.

The next thing I done was take everything out and sit the motherboard on some wood with the video card (tested with both) and ram attached. I hooked up the power supply and a monitor and started it up but nothing was showing on the monitor. Does this mean the problem lies within the motherboard or is there something else I havent done that might help?

I've read about some people saying that removing the battery might help but if I dont have to do that then I dont want to as it will reset a whole lot of settings right?

I'm at my wits end with this, what do you guys think?

dai

try a cmos reset
turn the computer off
remove the power lead from the back
take the side off
remove the cmos battery
move the cmos jumper from pins 1 and 2 to pin 2 and 3 and the back to pins 1 and 2
replace the battery
put the side on
replug in the power lead
boot the computer

there can be 2 solder points you touch with a screwdriver
2 pins you touch with a screwdriver or use a jumper
a cmos clear switch or button
there will be a diagram and instructions in your manual

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justjuice

I tried resetting the cmos and it still doesn't send any signal to the keyboard or monitor. Broken motherboard you think?

dai

start up with the ram or video card removed and see if you receive the bios beep code that it is missing

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justjuice

I think I found the problem but would like a second opinion on the matter. These three capacitors in the middle of the pic have outward facing tops, so I am guessing they have blown and that is the problem. Thoughts?

dai

yes they are swollen and could be the problem
is the board under warranty

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justjuice

No, I've had the computer for four years and it was built not bought so no general warranty on the lot. Would it be expensive to get the capacitors replaced?

dai

don't know as i usually just replace the board as i figure it's just a matter of time before more go

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justjuice

Good point, I aspire to afford the same luxuries I'll see what I can do with my board and update if anything good comes of it.

dai

have a read here
http://www.overclockers.com/tips1081/

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justjuice

Thanks for the link it gives me more hope than before :) I took out the old capacitors last night but wont be able to find any replacements until maybe tomorrow. My particular soldering iron was fairly big so I may have done some damage to the board, its hard to tell and I dont have a magnifying glass to check either, but hopefully its ok.

dai

see if you can get the new solid ones

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justjuice

Ok so due to work commitments I haven't been able to do much with it till just now. So I got some replacement capacitors and put them in and soldered them down. I put it all back together with hopes of seeing some life on the monitor on startup but it didn't happen :( Now I have no idea what it could be, it seems like I've exhausted every avenue of choice I had. Can anyone think of something I may be overlooking here?

dai

what are you running
video card
cpu
m/board
ram
power supply
brand
wattage

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justjuice

Its a P4 2.8ghz running XP Pro SP2.
Motherboard: GA-8IK1100
Graphics: Ati radeon 9600xt 128mb
Ram: 2x 512mb pc3200
Power supply: I think the brand is "switch power supply", its 400W. Model number PT-A400W

So clearly not the newest of setups but its all I have for the time being and I cant look at getting a new one for at least six months so I have to make do with what I have.

dai

from what i could find it is generic and only has 15amps on the 12v+ line
agp requires a min of 18amps

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justjuice

But the thing is it worked fine for years as it is, if it wasn't getting sufficient amps then why would it stop all of a sudden now instead of just not working from the start

dai

components don't last forever,see if you can borrow one to check with

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justjuice

I dont think I'll be able to get hold of a spare one. I tested the voltage with a multimeter already and that came up fine for everything but I didnt test amps. Im not too knowledgeable with multimeters and was lucky the one I used was easy to work with, do they all test the amount of amps running through a connection?

dai

the volts can be fine but if there are not enough watts to supply the amps in the first place,then there is nothing you can do to make it otherwise
i have no more advice to offer

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