I believe it's a graphics problem

[raemun]

Alright. So, Hi. before I go any further I'll just say, I never do get feedback, anytime I post on a tech forum, maybe my questions are too daunting. So I challenge you guys out there or gals. Take a crack at this one. (read it in an Irish accent, it sounds funnier)

So, these are my PC specs:

Dell Inspirion 530
Core 2 Duo @ 2.50GHz
Windows 8 Pro 64 Bit
4 GB R.A.M
GeForce 210 (horrid never buy)
1TB of HDD Space
250 GB Primary HDD

And this is my problem;

About a year ago I had a Radeon 4650 Graphics card, worked lovely, did a bit of gaming with it, Sims 3, Sleeping Dogs, BF: Bad Company 2. Worked. Finally... one day, my computer started whirring (you know, fans would spin, then shut off, then spin again, the shut off) and it'd do that for a very, very long time. Never booting. So I took out the graphics card, used onboard graphics, it booted. But when I put in the graphics card again, and try to boot it, it'd give me the same problem. Then I'd have to let the computer sit for like a couple hours before I booted it up again without the card else it'd just continuously whir.

So about a month ago, I bought a GeForce 210 (know nothing about graphics cards, I just thought the video memory is what counted, how wrong was I)
Plugged that in, used it, ran Assassin's Creed III choppy at 800 x 600, Sims 3 choppy. I was really upset, so this morning I heard like a squealing coming from within my PC. I quickly shut down, picked apart, cleaned. Dust out everything, wiped all fans, bingo. I put it back together, no boot. Same problem as before, whirring, whirring, whirring... really annoying.

Took out the graphics card, tried onboard, my monitor does not read. I put back in graphics card, my monitor reads, but no boot. I walked away, to restrain myself from hitting the damn thing with a bat. And I go back, pick apart once more, put everything on the bed, take out everything only leave in processor, and that is it. It whirs twice, then starts going into no R.A.M inserted. Nice, there's hope.

I put it back together (still on the bed, not back in the tower) uhh, it whirs, boots after one, but then it's stuck at the Dell Screen... so, I turn it off. Give it 5 minutes, go back turn it on again, it whirs, but no cutting out, just constant fan spinning, and nothing. So now. I bring this, to brilliant minds of Tom's hardware, hoping, someone can help me. And that it doesn't prove to be daunting.

Oh, buying a new PC is not an option at the moment, plus I really do need to use the PC this week. Can't be using my mum's cause she uses it for work.

 

[Mahisse]

Could be you psu failing on you. How many wattage does it provide? ... And which component is making the whirring noise?

 

[paulemannsen]

yeah, would be i good idea to start where the whirring is coming from...

 

[popatim]

Well its power supply or motherboard.
Whats the power light on the front of your pc doing when its in this funky mode?
- blinking amber is usually a device. Remove everything and try with just 1 memory stick. if it still blinks try with a different memory stick. When it works, shut down and install just 1 thing and boot back up. Repeat till you find the faulty device.
- solid (always on) amber is usally a power supply issue.

That Dell came with a 300w power supply (PSU) if you hadn't upgraded it. If you could borrow one from a working computer (don't ask your mom because if you fry her pc your dead meat) and try it in yours would help. Or just go out and get a new one. Most people would recommend a tier1 quality PSU but your system is old enough to not warrant that. Maybe something like an antec basiq bp350 for $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371003

Hopefully you don't have a "slim" pc (530S)

 

[Spooderman]

The power supply thing makes sense; once you use a graphics card with more wattage, your power supply may not be able to handle it. It may have been fine for a while, then when you put in the 4650 it may have suffered from aged capacitors and not have had enough power. When you took it out and put in a 210, that may have been just low power enough to run, but now it won't either. The onboard graphics require little power, but eventually the whole system will stop working. I would investigate further into the power supply possibility.

 

[raemun]

Where the whirring comes from?
The fans spin, like really, really, really loudly, like it's starting to boot. Then it stops, and repeats itself. I'm thinking that's where the whirring is coming from.

To the PSU, I tried a newer PSU and had the same problem. (Not sure of the wattage on it, but it was a black PSU with two fans, and a wide variety of cords, borrowed it from a friend.) but it never booted.

Then as I said, I left it out, and came home one day, took out the graphics card, cause I figured, it was fried (no way to test it) booted it up, and it worked like a charm. Got the 210, put it in, and it worked perfectly. I could shut down, restart, everything, no worries.

But as I said, today, the squealing, the shutting down, cleaning, putting up, and nothing. So I'm wondering really, if it could not be the PSU, and is really a graphics card error ? I would hate to think I destroyed my 4650 on a whim.

But a quick update as well. A few minutes ago, when I had it out of the case, and had everything on the bed connected, R.A.M back in, HDD's connected, Graphics Card in, it booted. Normally, but it stuck at the Dell screen where it says Press F2 or F12 for whatever. I didn't press anything, I just left it there for a while.
Then I took it back down, put it back in the case, and it's back to the same thing.

So I mean... what are my options if after trying a newer model PSU nothing happened?

As I said, I really, cannot afford to buy a new PC at this point, it's going to cost me $21.00 to change the graphics card.

I'm just really tired, and once again, any help would be appreciated.

 

[Mahisse]

Just to make it clear. The whirring sounds come from the fans on the graphic card or the fan on the back on the pc (meaning the psu)?... And you need to know how much wattage your friend's psu was and confirm that it actually worked at the time. Just trying to rule out the psu.

 

[raemun]

On the PSU it says 1100 watts

 

[raemun]

The whirring is coming from the fan over my processor as far as I can tell. You know how the fans whir loudly when you push the power button on your PC to boot it up? That's how it is.

 

[jnkweaver]

Dell is notorious for using cheap power supplies. I wouldn't trust the sticker wattage if it came from Dell. I am confused whether the 1100W you are talking about came from your friend or is the Dell.

It sounds like two problems. If it is a stock cooler it is normal noise for the cpu fan to whir. If it is not a stock cooler than I would say a failing CPU fan. It also certainly sounds like a failing power supply. What is the make and model of the power supply?

 

[Mahisse]

Please try what is suggested in this thread http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f210/solved-dell-inspiron-530-wont-turn-on-585588.html

 

[jnkweaver]

First if you are really tired, put it aside and go to bed. So many mistakes are made when you are tired.

Make sure you have no static build up by touching anything metal that is grounded. The scew on a power outlet faceplate works.

Try booting with one stick of ram in. Try each stick in turn until it boots. Listen to the post beeps. If you get any it means something.

If you have onboard video then try booting without the cards.

 

[raemun]

to jnk yea I'm going to go to bed, and try the ram with one stick boot in the morning. WIll post back and follow up. I'll also try the clearing the CMOS though I did that sometime recently... Like, 3 weeks or so ago.

 

[raemun]

Hey guys, so I did the R.A.M test, still whir, then goes into the the boot thing.
But I swapped out my graphics card, the GeForce 210, for the GT 240 (is this a good card by the way?) and it booted straight up.
So was it the card all along?

 

[jnkweaver]

Hey guys, so I did the R.A.M test, still whir, then goes into the the boot thing.
But I swapped out my graphics card, the GeForce 210, for the GT 240 (is this a good card by the way?) and it booted straight up.
So was it the card all along?

It does appear that way. Did it load with all the memory?

The GT240 is still a pretty dated card. It is better than your original HD4650 by quite a bit though.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html

 

[raemun]

Well thanks all this was appreciated really. And yea, it did load with all the memory jnk.

 

[raemun]

Best answer selected by raemun.