PC died – Replacement suggestions AM2 or Core2

[iknowmole]

Last September I built my first PC, up until now I have not had any problems the PC has the following specs.

Asus M2N-E motherboard
Kingston DDR2 667Mhz Ram 2X512mb (1GB)
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ CPU (Stock cooler never over clocked)
Leadtek 7600GT
Western Digital 250GB HDD (SATA)
Antec Sonata 2 Case (with Antec 450W Smart Power 2 Power supply)
DVD-Rom Drive and a DVD-RW Drive
Floppy disc / Card reader
(None of the parts have been over clocked)

Today the PC just died, I was watching a video on WMP (playing from the HDD) and about 20 minutes in the video froze, I exited full screen and tried to close the app however that didn’t work, I then tried to shut down the PC normally and then tried Ctrl+Alt+Del which didn’t work so I turned off the PC. There was a whizzing sound while the video froze.

I then tried to boot the PC but all that happened was the fans started up, the HDD and power lights blinked and then the PC shut down. I tried this a few times but the same thing happened, I then unplugged it and left it for 30 min, plugged it back in and the same thing happened. Each time it won’t display the bios.

I then tried starting it with the side open, the case fan, CPU fan and GPU fan all seemed to be spinning and the green power light was on, on the motherboard, the optical drives also seemed to be working (the power lights when on and off).

You should still be able to get into the bio even if the drives are out right, so I guess it’s the GPU, CPU, Motherboard or RAM that’s gone unfortunately I don’t have any spare parts to test with. Luckily it’s still under warranty so it should be able to return the broken part. Any advice or ideas on what has gone wrong would really be appreciated.

PS sorry this is such a long post thanks for taking the time to read it.

 

[phraun]

You can't get into the BIOS? I don't think you even need RAM to get into the BIOS, and if the PC is immediately shutting down, it's probably not the video card. Just to be sure; is there anything displayed onscreen when you try to boot up? I think that your trouble is with the mobo, CPU, or PSU.

 

[EricLegge]

If the monitor hasn't failed and just isn't showing anything, I would say that it's most probably a motherboard failure, followed by the possibility of a memory or power supply failure. It could be the processor, but they rarely fail.

If you have a spare monitor, try using it.

You could try installing one module of memory in the slots that allow for single-channel mode.

Since you don't have spares to swap, your best option is to take the base unit into a reputable repair shop.

 

[phraun]

@ Eric:
That's one hell of a web site you've got in your sig!

Also, since the computer is immediately turning off, I don't think it's the monitor. That doesn't make any sense to me.

Do you know if you need RAM in to reach the BIOS? I didn't think so, but hey, I don't know everything...

 

[iknowmole]

Thanks for the fast replies, the monitor is fine (I used it with an Xbox) so the problem is definitely with the PC, I don’t think the power supply has gone because the Mobo, drives and fans all have power, I haven’t tried running with one strip on RAM I will do once I find my anti static wrist band.

It might be worth noting that the motherboard doesn’t have any internal graphics card so is it possible that the graphics card has gone and the motherboard won't boot because of it? Also the internal speaker which beeps when the bios loads doesn’t beep.

 

[croc]

That MB wouldn't happen to have onboard video I suppose....

 

[iknowmole]

No the motherboard only takes PCI-E graphics cards and doesn't have an onboard card.

 

[vegie]

i have this mb it can be very unstable and break...... ive had two of these boards so far. got a spare motherboard??? if u do put ur main things in, just to find out what is broken.

 

[iknowmole]

Unfortunately the only other computers in the house are much older (Intel celeron and pentium 3) so that’s not possible.

Would a PCI graphics card that is about 6 years old work with the motherboard?

Also how likely is it that the CPU or RAM have gone?

 

[vegie]

oh sorrie i didnt see that u didnt have spare parts..... but try to borrow a mb. or if u got the parts from a shop next door talk to them. if u brought online, then u probley need to find out what the problem is....... and yes a pci graphic should work...... but that shouldnt be the problem.... unless u hear the hard disk boat up ur operating sys

 

[croc]

Yes! As long as you have a spare pci slot (and if you don't, then remove cards until you do. All you need right now is psu, cpu ram and some sort of graphics)..... Yank the 7600 out install the old pci card, and then see if you can get into bios....

 

[iknowmole]

OK I’ll try that once I can find the card and the antistatic wristband, I’ll let you know how it goes, however it might take a while because I can’t seem to find anything today.

 

[iknowmole]

I have finally found the PCI card and tried that, still couldn’t get to the bios. I have also tried only using one strip of RAM in both of the channels, again this didn’t work.

I am fairly convinced the power supply is ok because I checked a couple of the voltages and they seemed normal, also the motherboard power light is on and all the fans and drives run until it shuts down.

This leaves the CPU, and the Motherboard. Now the motherboard is still doing some things (the switches and HDD lights works, and all of the components seem to get power) however its possible that part of the motherboard is dead. As for the CPU, well it seems unlikely to me but still possible.

Any ideas or suggestions are very welcome.

 

[wallis]

try reset cmos on the mobo with battery out then remove as much stuff from the mobo as possible i.e. dvdrom, Floppy Drive, cdrom andy pci cards that arent needed.

try with 1 stick then 0 sticks of ram....plug in a speaker to the speaker header on the mobo and listen for any bleeps....different bleep codes are for different failures.

 

[jonisginger]

You do need RAM to get into BIOS or it beeps at you, try resetting CMOS btw!

 

[iknowmole]

I have disconnected all of the drives and checked all of the connections to the motherboard, I have also cleared the CMOS and tried starting it up with 1 and 0 strips of RAM however the same situation occurs. Is it possible the CPU has died?

 

[wallis]

a speaker on the mobo will be able to tell you if the cpu has died......check all the capacitors on the mobo...make sure none are bulging or even leaking.

 

[iknowmole]

I have got the speaker connected however it does not make any sound, I did also have a quick look at the capacitors however I couldn’t see any which had obviously blown.

 

[wallis]

with what parts you are trying to start the comp with i guess the next thing to do is find out one by one what components DO work so you can rule them out...whether that be asking a friend to try them in his comp...if not youll have to take them to a shop......or if you have a little cash lying around...buy the cheapest pci gfx card and ram you can find and put them in the comp then you know you can rule them out.

and computers are suppoed to make our lives easier

good luck with that man

i heard that if the ram isnt getting enough voltage that you can have similar symptoms to what your getting but if the comp has been fine in the past without changing this setting then maybe not....

 

[iknowmole]

I do have a friend who has an AM2 computer so I will ask if I could use that to test components, I guess there is not a lot more I can do until then. Thanks for all of the advice.

 

[iknowmole]

Thanks for all of your replies the advice is appreciated. I took tried swapping the components with my friend’s PC and found the fault with the motherboard; I then returned the board to ebuyer who comfirmed the fault. However ebuyer did not have a replacement so have given me a refund (£60). I now have a few choices.

I either buy another AM2 motherboard (any advice on a good make, preferably available on ebuyer)

Or

Sell the 3200+ and upgrade to a core2 CPU and board.

Which do you think is the bust route?

 

[maximiza]

going by tangable real products available I would go with core 2 duo. This is comming from a s939 owner.

 

[Mousemonkey]

Or wait 10 more days and go for some Quad core muscle. (Also coming from a 939 user!)

 

[sweetpants]

Here's an idea...

Take the CPU completely out and try it. See if you get beep codes. If you do motherboard is fine, most likely cpu/power supply. I would suspect processor if the motherboard throws beep codes at you.

 

[iknowmole]

Thanks for the advice. I think I might go down the core 2 route.

Does anyone have any info on the price cuts?
Will having 667Mhz Ram cause a problem with core 2 CPUs (performance wise)?
Any motherboard or chipset recommendations?

I am not looking to spend too much money, probably about £130 for a motherboard and CPU as I think the GPU and RAM will cause a bottleneck.

Also does anyone have any info on this AM2 mobo? http://evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=122-M2-NF59-TR&pwindow=specs&family=20
Which I can get for £60