Old computer problem - Power Management or another issue?

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Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

I have an old slot 2 PII-233 (QDI mainboard), 196 megs RAM, Win 2000Pro,
9 gig HDD, 32 Meg Savage3 video card (most of components are circa
1997). The computer is very stable and dependable albeit very slow by
today's standards. I have it as one of 4 computers on a home LAN and use
it for surfing the net, file sharing and word processing which it does
quite capably.

The problem is that while the computer runs great, it is a nightmare to
restart. Typically if I cold boot or even warm boot, the power light
flashes and the HDD light stays lit. Hitting restart 10-20 times or
powering off a number of times will usually allow it to miraculously
spring to life, eventually. I am afraid to turn the damn thing off.

Now, I know it is old and needs replacing but at this stage I am almost
getting something for nothing.

Could it be just plain old tired and worn out components, defective
power switch, PS problem, or Power Management? Any other thoughts? I
have moved memory around, vacuumed the interior, reseated all cards and
checked obvious wire connections.

Ron

 

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Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 21:27:03 GMT, Rockin Ronnie
<joinernospam@ns.sympatico.ca> wrote:

>I have an old slot 2 PII-233 (QDI mainboard), 196 megs RAM, Win 2000Pro,
>9 gig HDD, 32 Meg Savage3 video card (most of components are circa
>1997). The computer is very stable and dependable albeit very slow by
>today's standards. I have it as one of 4 computers on a home LAN and use
>it for surfing the net, file sharing and word processing which it does
>quite capably.
>
>The problem is that while the computer runs great, it is a nightmare to
> restart. Typically if I cold boot or even warm boot, the power light
>flashes and the HDD light stays lit. Hitting restart 10-20 times or
>powering off a number of times will usually allow it to miraculously
>spring to life, eventually. I am afraid to turn the damn thing off.
>
>Now, I know it is old and needs replacing but at this stage I am almost
>getting something for nothing.
>
>Could it be just plain old tired and worn out components, defective
>power switch, PS problem, or Power Management? Any other thoughts? I
>have moved memory around, vacuumed the interior, reseated all cards and
>checked obvious wire connections.
>
>Ron

On a system that age there could be an accumulation of dirt
or other environmental residue buildup that isn't very easy
to clean off by simply dusting/vacuuming. This isn't
necessarily the problem but it's worth mentioning.

Typically it is caused by failing or insufficient power
supply. You could rule out the start switch by temporarily
disconnecting it and shorting the two switch pins on the
board together.

The motherboard wasn't great quality to begin with and it
could be aged to the point of this, but if system does run
fine once it has successfully POSTed, that's probably not
the problem.