Meltdown

Ijen · 06-29-2009, 02:30 AM

System spec – built around six years ago. Has served me well... up to last week.

Mobo – MSI 865pe Neo2
CPU – P4 2.8 Ghz
RAM – 2Gb DDR 400
GPU (RIP) – Radeon 9800pro 128Mb
IDE drives – CDRW, DVD ROM // Primary HD (Windows XP), Secondary HD
SATA1 drive (Ubuntu)
PSU – 460w (Can't remember the brand but it's not Generic)

A few days ago, the fan on my Radeon9800pro melted and dropped off. The card carried on working however I noticed the bad smell, turned the computer off and removed it. Then I went out and bought a replacement AGP card.

Originally I couldn't get the new card (a Powercolor Radeon x1650pro) to work at all. Just... nothing. Only the computer fans worked. By changing the power cables around I eventually got the computer booting. I noted that under one power cable configuration I tried, the PSU made a bad smell.

So, having found a power cable configuration that lets the computer load the BIOS, I found it doesn't load all my drives. Most of the time it misses both the CD and DVD drive and the primary IDE drive. It finds the SATA drive every time.

The MBR on the primary IDE drive doesn't respond, even when the drive shows up in the BIOS. The MBR on the SATA drive (Grub, for Ubuntu) responds but throws an error (code 21). I think it's because it's dependent on the primary IDE drive.

Every now and again it finds the CD drive so I run ERD Commander 2005, however I can't do anything useful in there besides look at the secondary IDE drive.

I've tried repeated tests, disconnecting everything except the bare essentials and each drive individually. The results are inconsistent. I haven't managed to get either Windows or Ubuntu to load

Just now, I put my old Radeon9800 back in - it's just missing the fan but the heatsink is there and, when I tried it, the computer started up and proceeded to behave in exactly the same way as the x1650 pro. This leads me to suspect the graphics card isn't the issue here.

As far as I can see, the prime suspects are the motherboard and the PSU. I don't know if they were damaged when the 9800pro overheated or if I damaged either of them in the process of fitting the new card, by using a bad power cable configuration or something. Or something else?

Yes, I know, I should get a whole new system. I'm looking into it but in the meantime I'd also like to fix this one if at all possible. Any advice or suggestions would be very gratefully appreciated.

Cheers,

Ijen

**Tyree** · 06-29-2009, 11:51 AM

Knowing the brand of PSU would help. Low quality PSU's are known for damaging other hardware.

06-29-2009, 02:30 AM	#1 (permalink)
Ijen Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 13 OS: Vista sp1	Meltdown System spec – built around six years ago. Has served me well... up to last week. Mobo – MSI 865pe Neo2 CPU – P4 2.8 Ghz RAM – 2Gb DDR 400 GPU (RIP) – Radeon 9800pro 128Mb IDE drives – CDRW, DVD ROM // Primary HD (Windows XP), Secondary HD SATA1 drive (Ubuntu) PSU – 460w (Can't remember the brand but it's not Generic) A few days ago, the fan on my Radeon9800pro melted and dropped off. The card carried on working however I noticed the bad smell, turned the computer off and removed it. Then I went out and bought a replacement AGP card. Originally I couldn't get the new card (a Powercolor Radeon x1650pro) to work at all. Just... nothing. Only the computer fans worked. By changing the power cables around I eventually got the computer booting. I noted that under one power cable configuration I tried, the PSU made a bad smell. So, having found a power cable configuration that lets the computer load the BIOS, I found it doesn't load all my drives. Most of the time it misses both the CD and DVD drive and the primary IDE drive. It finds the SATA drive every time. The MBR on the primary IDE drive doesn't respond, even when the drive shows up in the BIOS. The MBR on the SATA drive (Grub, for Ubuntu) responds but throws an error (code 21). I think it's because it's dependent on the primary IDE drive. Every now and again it finds the CD drive so I run ERD Commander 2005, however I can't do anything useful in there besides look at the secondary IDE drive. I've tried repeated tests, disconnecting everything except the bare essentials and each drive individually. The results are inconsistent. I haven't managed to get either Windows or Ubuntu to load Just now, I put my old Radeon9800 back in - it's just missing the fan but the heatsink is there and, when I tried it, the computer started up and proceeded to behave in exactly the same way as the x1650 pro. This leads me to suspect the graphics card isn't the issue here. As far as I can see, the prime suspects are the motherboard and the PSU. I don't know if they were damaged when the 9800pro overheated or if I damaged either of them in the process of fitting the new card, by using a bad power cable configuration or something. Or something else? Yes, I know, I should get a whole new system. I'm looking into it but in the meantime I'd also like to fix this one if at all possible. Any advice or suggestions would be very gratefully appreciated. Cheers, Ijen

06-29-2009, 11:51 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tyree Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: May 2009 Location: Illinois Posts: 4,759 OS: XP Pro-7RC-Mandriva My System	Re: Meltdown Knowing the brand of PSU would help. Low quality PSU's are known for damaging other hardware. __________________ Posting your PC specs will help us to help you quicker and more efficiently.