Power up problem

[suhaila]

I'm not sure if this is the correct spot for this question...sorry if it isn't.

I have an older 1.2GHz Athlon (VIA chipset, K7V board, I think). Comp was put together by someone that sold it to me on eBay several years ago, and it's been great until recently.

I started having random reboots and WoW gave me an error that's associated with bad RAM. I downloaded a MS diagnostic to confirm. Replaced the bad stick of RAM about a month ago.

After replacing the RAM, the comp wouldn't boot. The plug that went into the motherboard from the power supply was discolored, so hubby pulled a supply out of another comp and switched them out. The only other thing that was odd at that point was that one of my harddrives wasn't being recognized (not the boot drive).

He hooked everything back up, and everything was great until I powered the comp off. I couldn't get it to come on the next morning. It'd go part way through boot up, and then shut off, and the power light would flash. After unplugging the comp for a bit, I was able to get it to power up. Anytime the comp was turned off completely, it'd take many tries of unplugging/replugging/booting to get it to start. When I've pressed "restart" from Windows XP it restarts without a problem. I've just left the comp on for the last 3-4 weeks, to avoid the power up problem.

We had a brief power failure this morning, and I'm stuck trying to get the comp to turn on...so far no luck. Are there some particular things that we should look at for the problem? A friend suggested that the motherboard was fried, but I can't believe that the comp would have worked so well for weeks (as long as it wasn't completely powered down) if that were the case. I'm hoping it might be something affected when the power supply or RAM was changed out.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

 

[Grimmy]

It's possible that the bios battery is dead.

I'm guessing you've had that MB for a long while, the bios battery on the MB usually last anywhere from 3 to 5 years.

You should be able to see it on the MB:

It looks like its on the right hand side edge if you were looking it in a tower, up right.

 

[suhaila]

Thanks, Grimmy! Actually, I'm pretty sure that the battery is dead. The comp hasn't held the date/time when switched off at the back for a couple of years. The few times that the comp has been completely powered down, I've always reset the date/time manually. Is Radio Shack a good place to look for one? I'm embarrassed to say that I had no idea that the battery could be the culprit.

Thanks!
Suhaila

 

[Zorg]

You should be able to find the battery almost anywhere button batteries are sold. Get the number off of it and call first, or check the local drug store.

 

[Grimmy]

^Agreed.

Should be able to actually find them anywhere... Target, Walmart, anywhere where they sell watch batteries basically.

I think they are also standard type... 3v - CR2032

 

[Onus]

Even Wal-Mart has many of the common sizes now. Radio Shack, as mentioned, is another source. Others include Best Buy, Circuit City, or office supply stores like Staples and OfficeMax.
It may be that your system's required startup current just barely exceeds the rating on that PSU, so it is cutting off. You might confirm this by temporarily disconnecting non-essential items like non-boot hard drives.

 

[badge]

I bought a pack of five at the dollar store for a dollar.

 

[badge]

Grimmy, jtt83 and Zorg reply to a 'help, in distress' with the computer thread. OP, or anyone for that matter, is good hands.

 

[Onus]

lol, thanks for the vote of confidence.
I had another thought on this though, based on some systems that have been dying at work. When you have your machine open, look at the capacitors on the motherboard for bulging or the appearance of leaking around them. A system old enough to have a dead CMOS battery is also old enough to have bad capacitors, especially on a cheaper VIA chipset mobo. Among other symptoms, they could cause power problems.

 

[badge]

I agree with that. Let's go over to graphics and argue about 4870 vs. 280 synthetic benchmarks all day. I forgot to add, 'instead of just enjoying the card if you have one'.

 

[badge]

There was one over there the other day that asked why when he burned rubber and left smoke, his FPS was reduced to smush? He blamed it on nvidia (of course) and asked if users of ATI cards noticed this same 'smush' when burning rubber. I forgot the exact diagnosis, but if was determined that 'smush' was the result of how the process of smoke was created. I am so glad I know now.

 

[badge]

OP, my apologies for going off topic. Hopefully the new battery will solve the problems you are having.

 

[suhaila]

It did take the CR2032 lithium battery, which we just replaced. When we plugged it back in and turned the switch on in the back, it immediately came on - without pressing the power switch in the front. The power light stays on and the hard drive light flashes, but nothing else happens - the monitor stays with the yellow light on. I can see that power is getting to the CD writer and CD/DVD drives, but not the floppy (no light). The busy light stays on on the CD/DVD drive. I tried booting from a floppy, but didn't see anything happen. Everything appears to be plugged in snuggly. Is there a setup that I need to do following battery replacement? How should I proceed?

A side note - the ribbon cable is pretty old and worn looking.

Thanks again for the help...I truly appreciate it! I'm encouraged that there's power to it now, but need to be pointed in the right direction.

 

[Grimmy]

That must have be kinda scary, or catch you off guard to turn on like that.

I suppose since the battery was dead, there maybe no point in resetting the bios, which you should be able to find in your MB manual. There should be 3 pins near the battery that has a jumper on it. All it does is stop the battery current to the bios chips, which resets your bios.

Well... you said it came on when you plugged it in. I'm guessing the ACPI power management must have been set to resume power up, if power is lost.

So, try holding the power button in for more the 4 secs. If its a soft switch, it normally takes 4 secs for the PC to shut down. Then reset the bios, and power it back up to get into the bios making sure it is set properly for your CPU/voltage/Memory timings.

That's bascially all the advice I can think of right now. Perhaps some of the other guys could give some more tips, on basic trouble shooting to where you take things out (stick of ram) or re-seating components like the video card.

Edit:

<- of to bed...

 

[suhaila]

Resetting the bios fixed the problem, so I'm back up and running. Thank you so very much for your time and patience, Grimmy and everyone else! Your help is greatly appreciated.

I know it's an old computer, but I'm really attached to it. I have three old hard drives worth of data on it, which I'm backing up to our newer computer now. My hubby keeps bugging me to get a new comp, but it's like an old teddy bear, or an old comfy chair...you get the idea. Again, tyvm!

 

[badge]

Great, glad to hear it. 8)