Hi everyone,
For the last week or so my computer has been nasically lifeless and I'm starting to turn prematurely white trying to work out what the problem is.
To start with here's a bit of background, about a week leading up to the current issue when I went to turn on my computer in the morning I'd get a brief light up on the front then nothing. If I switched the comps power off on the psu then turned it back on after a little while I could usually get the computer to start up properly and everything would run fine until the next day when I'd have the same problem. About a week ago this no longer proved effective though and now if I turn the comp on and off at the psu then try turning it on at the front I'll get the brief flicker of lights then nothing.
I've been looking at troubleshooting pages for the last week trying to determine what my issue is and I believe that I've pinned it down to either the psu or the cpu but I lack the technical ability to really be sure and before spending the money to replace the part/s I'd like to get some advice from the community.
Some of the tests I've run;
1. unplugged all unneccessary hardware/no difference
2. cycled through all 3 ram cards using different slots/no difference
3. tested psu by shorting green to black wire with pin/no difference BUT if I don't have the 12v cable connected to the slot which my motherboard guide tells me is for the cpu I'm able to short green/black wires and get the comp to start up, hard drives spin, ram lights up and fans turn on.
This last test seems to indicate to me that the issue is to do with either the cpu or the psu. I tried removing the cpu and leaving the cpu power connected to see if I could get a startup via the short method but had no luck. Now one thing I've noticed as I've been tinkering is that the thermal seal between the cpu and its fan seems to have deteriorated/possibly no longer exists. I'll be picking up some thermal paste to replace the seal later today, will a computer boot without the seal present? All tests using the short method were done without the cpu fan being plugged in so if this does make a difference please let me know.
I know I've probably already typed too much but I'm not sure what is and isn't relavant. Parts wise my cpu is a pentium 4, I've got a foxconn 955x7aa motherboard (which doesn't have any leds for troubleshooting) and my pwoer supply is a 450w antec unit.
I'd really appreciate any help forum members can provide as I really am out of my depth with this.
Thanks for any replies,
Owen
For the last week or so my computer has been nasically lifeless and I'm starting to turn prematurely white trying to work out what the problem is.
To start with here's a bit of background, about a week leading up to the current issue when I went to turn on my computer in the morning I'd get a brief light up on the front then nothing. If I switched the comps power off on the psu then turned it back on after a little while I could usually get the computer to start up properly and everything would run fine until the next day when I'd have the same problem. About a week ago this no longer proved effective though and now if I turn the comp on and off at the psu then try turning it on at the front I'll get the brief flicker of lights then nothing.
I've been looking at troubleshooting pages for the last week trying to determine what my issue is and I believe that I've pinned it down to either the psu or the cpu but I lack the technical ability to really be sure and before spending the money to replace the part/s I'd like to get some advice from the community.
Some of the tests I've run;
1. unplugged all unneccessary hardware/no difference
2. cycled through all 3 ram cards using different slots/no difference
3. tested psu by shorting green to black wire with pin/no difference BUT if I don't have the 12v cable connected to the slot which my motherboard guide tells me is for the cpu I'm able to short green/black wires and get the comp to start up, hard drives spin, ram lights up and fans turn on.
This last test seems to indicate to me that the issue is to do with either the cpu or the psu. I tried removing the cpu and leaving the cpu power connected to see if I could get a startup via the short method but had no luck. Now one thing I've noticed as I've been tinkering is that the thermal seal between the cpu and its fan seems to have deteriorated/possibly no longer exists. I'll be picking up some thermal paste to replace the seal later today, will a computer boot without the seal present? All tests using the short method were done without the cpu fan being plugged in so if this does make a difference please let me know.
I know I've probably already typed too much but I'm not sure what is and isn't relavant. Parts wise my cpu is a pentium 4, I've got a foxconn 955x7aa motherboard (which doesn't have any leds for troubleshooting) and my pwoer supply is a 450w antec unit.
I'd really appreciate any help forum members can provide as I really am out of my depth with this.
Thanks for any replies,
Owen