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General Stuff => Hardware News & Views => Topic started by: Nelix on April 20, 2009, 09:59:31 PM

Title: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 20, 2009, 09:59:31 PM
Hi Lads, looking for some advice!

Went to switch on my PC this evening and it is not responding!  There is a ticking noise coming from it.  There appears to be power going to the PSU as there is a green light when power switched on.  I am thinking it is a HD problem but would appreciate your thoughts before I go doing anything drastic.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Lucutus on April 20, 2009, 11:41:49 PM
clear some space on your desk, pop open the case, power it up and and have a good listen, 'ticking/clicking' is usually the HD alright, do you get video?  if so, what's the error message you get?  check if your HD is getting picked up in the BIOS.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]the_syco on April 21, 2009, 12:37:43 AM
Plug out the power cable, press the power button a few times to ensure there's no power left, put the power cable back in, and try again.

If you aren't even getting the BIOS screen, it's bad. If the above doesn't work, remove the side of the case, plug out the power cable, press the power button a few times to ensure there's no power left, put the power cable back in, and check do any motherboard lights come on. Turn it on, and again, see if any motherboard lights come on. If none come on, it'll probably be either the PSU or mobo.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 21, 2009, 12:42:59 AM
Use a nix boot disc.  This will allow you to see if everything else is working ok.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 21, 2009, 07:56:43 AM
It wont even go to boot up screen.  It is completly dead.  Did all the remove power cable, press power button on etc.  Still nothing but the ticking noise.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Lucutus on April 21, 2009, 09:31:25 AM
did you open it up?  where's the ticking noise coming from?  use yore ears.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 21, 2009, 11:21:34 AM
did you open it up?  where's the ticking noise coming from?  use yore ears.

Ticking noise coming from the back at the PSU.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Shano on April 21, 2009, 01:30:57 PM
I think I had this on my old machine at some stage and  Myself/Dave/Alex could never figure it out. What used to happen to me was every tick would freeze the computer to eventually it crashed and wouldnt turn on...
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 21, 2009, 02:11:54 PM
Aye that ticking disease is a bast. 
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Grim on April 21, 2009, 04:45:44 PM
brothers pc used to do this turned out to be the ram
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]the_syco on April 21, 2009, 06:51:16 PM
did you open it up?  where's the ticking noise coming from?  use yore ears.

Ticking noise coming from the back at the PSU.
Sounds like the PSU is fucked. If it was RAM, it should beep. No beeping, no nothing, just ticking: sounds like the PSU is having problems running it's own internal fan.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Grim on April 21, 2009, 07:15:18 PM
 
Quote
If it was RAM, it should beep. No beeping, no nothing,

not always, like i said same thing happened to brothers pc ticking noise from psu turned out to be a bad stick of ram with no beeps or codes

that was 2 nearly and the psu is still running strong

nelix have you got your systems specs handy?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Shano on April 21, 2009, 09:27:47 PM
My brother took out the Ram etc etc and well one of them was dodgy so played without thaat Stick of ram and it seemed to ''slow'' down the beeping, happening less often but still beeped the odd time. Dave thought it might be somthing to do with the hardrive and what not
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 24, 2009, 07:48:26 PM
Not sure what is wrong but is is a good excuse to get a new shiney PC :?: Not sure about my budget as still looking at that but would appreciate any recommendations you may have.

Much have's:

Decent Processor
at least 3GB Ram
Gaming Quality Graphics card (will be getting back into some friday night gamage as soon as the baby is settled)
at least 19" monitor (have one for my work laptop but cannot use it for personnal usage)

I dont have time or patience to build one so looking at off the shelf.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]the_syco on April 24, 2009, 08:24:02 PM
Actually, have you tried it with another monitor, yeah? ON the off change that it's booting, but not displaying anything? Of is it totally silent when you switch it on?

Finally, open it, and look for any fans (CPU, GFX card, etc), and see do they spin when the machine is turned on.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 24, 2009, 08:30:11 PM
Actually, have you tried it with another monitor, yeah? ON the off change that it's booting, but not displaying anything? Of is it totally silent when you switch it on?

Finally, open it, and look for any fans (CPU, GFX card, etc), and see do they spin when the machine is turned on.

It wont even switch on.  There is no blue light at the power button and just the ticking noise coming from what i believe is the PSU.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]the_syco on April 24, 2009, 10:30:41 PM
It wont even switch on.  There is no blue light at the power button and just the ticking noise coming from what i believe is the PSU.
Um, PSU sounds dead, then?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 25, 2009, 10:37:25 AM
budget now agreed for ?500-?600
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]ABE on April 25, 2009, 06:13:50 PM
i would try another psu  mabey fairy has an old one in cold storage that you could use to check if the mobo lights light up.

or is this one of them things u say to the wide  ** awh the pc is fu*Cked It cant be fixed we need to buy a new 1  :mrgreen:
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 25, 2009, 06:54:05 PM
budget now agreed for ?500-?600

Easy Peasy.  You dont game alot so pick one of the quad cores up from ELF, plus you can stick in your gfx card you have now as well.  Also nice offer on a Dell XPS at the mo :

21.5" TFT Full HD
6GB DDR3 1067 MHZ
Q8200 (2.33GHZ Quad Core)
640GB Hard Drive SATA
HD 4670
16x DVD+/-RW
Dell Laser Mouse
Dell Keyboard

Coming in just over ?600 delivered.  Not bad at all.  Linky (http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=D04X303&s=dhs)
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Lucutus on April 25, 2009, 09:46:51 PM
Dude, yore getting a dell!

Great deal there tbh
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 26, 2009, 03:30:08 PM
budget now agreed for ?500-?600

Easy Peasy.  You dont game alot so pick one of the quad cores up from ELF, plus you can stick in your gfx card you have now as well.  Also nice offer on a Dell XPS at the mo :

21.5" TFT Full HD
6GB DDR3 1067 MHZ
Q8200 (2.33GHZ Quad Core)
640GB Hard Drive SATA
HD 4670
16x DVD+/-RW
Dell Laser Mouse
Dell Keyboard

Coming in just over ?600 delivered.  Not bad at all.  Linky (http://configure.euro.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?b=&c=uk&cs=ukdhs1&l=en&oc=D04X303&s=dhs)
#



Had a look there and it is coming in at ?730 for those specs. the base model is good value for?660.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 26, 2009, 03:41:31 PM
http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/388140/xps-430-q8200-3gb-ddr3-640gb-hdd-hd/ (http://www.hotukdeals.com/item/388140/xps-430-q8200-3gb-ddr3-640gb-hdd-hd/)  More info here Neil.  Decent GFX on that system as well.

Add this discount coupon Neilx at checkout :

Quote
$46QTSRCQGRJWZ
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Suppafly on April 26, 2009, 07:25:21 PM
thats really good value
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 27, 2009, 08:40:37 PM
thinking about going for this:

Base Intel? Core? 2 Quad Core Processor Q8200 (2.33GHz, 1333MHz, 4MB cache)
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista? Home Premium SP1 - English
Memory 4096MB 1333 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [4x1024]
Keyboard Dell Multimedia USB Keyboard Black - UK
Monitor 21.5in S2209W Full HD Widescreen Black UK/Irish (1920 x 1080)
Video Card 512MB ATI?Radeon? HD 4670 graphics card
Hard Drive 640 GB Serial ATA non Raid (7200 Rpm)
Floppy Drives and Additional Storage Devices 19-in-1 Media Card Reader
Mouse Dell Laser Mouse USB (6 buttons scroll) Black
Optical Devices 16X DVD+/-RW (Read/Write DVD, CD)
Sound Cards Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio

All in at ?640.00
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 27, 2009, 08:56:43 PM
Damn good value, you could join us in the odd nights gameage too on that.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Grim on April 27, 2009, 09:24:48 PM
if you can find the server
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Lucutus on April 27, 2009, 09:37:39 PM
It'll have to do Nelix



































fucker
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]the_syco on April 27, 2009, 09:47:02 PM
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista? Home Premium SP1 - English
Memory 4096MB 1333 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [4x1024]
Windows will read a max of something like 3.2GB's of that RAM. Get Vista 64bit for it to see all the RAM, and also to see any future RAM upgrades.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GiT]Legion on April 27, 2009, 11:14:54 PM
Microsoft Operating System Genuine Windows Vista? Home Premium SP1 - English
Memory 4096MB 1333 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [4x1024]
Windows will read a max of something like 3.2GB's of that RAM. Get Vista 64bit for it to see all the RAM, and also to see any future RAM upgrades.

See also any future Windows OS releases
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 28, 2009, 08:57:47 AM
Damn good value, you could join us in the odd nights gameage too on that.

Will this run all the old skool games like BF|V, 1942 plus some of the new games like COD4?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 28, 2009, 10:40:53 AM
Yes with all the bells and whistles on too!
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Lucutus on April 28, 2009, 11:22:25 AM
Why isn't that computer ordered and in DHL van yet Nelix?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 28, 2009, 11:22:34 AM
excellent.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 28, 2009, 11:23:17 AM
Why isn't that computer ordered and in DHL van yet Nelix?

Will hopefully be order today:)
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 29, 2009, 02:59:43 PM
Well?  Did ye order?  Will you be joining the gaming ranks again for Wed and Fri night beers and gameage?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 29, 2009, 05:49:10 PM
Not ordered yet!!!!  Will be this week as get paid on Friday:)   Will deffo be looking to get back into gaming now that the kids are well settled and sleeping through the night.

What is everybody playing?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 29, 2009, 06:50:47 PM
COD4 at the moment, before that was BFV.  Hell the old games are the best who knows where we will go to next!
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 29, 2009, 10:00:27 PM
Thats it all ordered:) Please allow 10 working days for delivery.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 29, 2009, 11:59:51 PM
N1, nice machine there and price is pretty good too.  Get yer nam installed again along with cod4.  You'll be amazed by the gfx on this new rig.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 30, 2009, 07:51:01 AM
I have lost one of my nam disks so may need to borrow one from you.  Have to purchase COD but looking forward to some friday night funage.

Changed some of the specs on the rig:

Base
 Intel? Core? 2 Quad Core Processor Q8200 (2.33GHz, 1333MHz, 4MB cache)
 
Memory
 6144MB 1066 MHz Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM [2x2048 + 2x1024]
 
Keyboard
 Dell Multimedia USB Keyboard Black - UK
 
Monitor
 21.5in S2209W Full HD Widescreen Black UK/Irish (1920 x 1080)
 
Video Card
 512MB ATI?Radeon? HD 4670 graphics card[/size]
Hard Drive
 640 GB Serial ATA non Raid (7200 Rpm)
 
Floppy Drives and Additional Storage Devices
 19-in-1 Media Card Reader
 
Microsoft Operating System
 Genuine Windows Vista? Home Premium SP1 (64 Bit) - English
 
Mouse
 Dell Laser Mouse USB (6 buttons scroll) Black
 
Optical Devices
 16X DVD+/-RW (Read/Write DVD, CD)
 
Sound Cards
 Integrated HDA 7.1 Dolby Digital Audio
 
Speakers
 No Speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
 
Shipping Documents
 English Documentation with UK/Irish Power Cord
 
Gedis Bundle Reference
 D04X303
 
Standard Warranty
 1 Year Premium Warranty Support
 
Enhanced Service Packs
 1Yr Premium Warranty Support
 
Order Information
 XPS Desktop 430 Order - UK
 
Dell System Media Kit
 Resource DVD - (Diagnostics & Drivers)
 
Accidental Damage Support
 No Accidental Damage Support
 
Online Backup
 DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year
 
Microsoft Application Software
 Microsoft? Works 9 - English
 
Protect your new PC
 No Security/Anti-Virus Protection - English
 
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on April 30, 2009, 09:05:36 AM
No problemo, what disc was it?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on April 30, 2009, 01:57:07 PM
Seems I am missing disks 1&2.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on May 12, 2009, 11:12:30 AM
My new PC has been shipped:)  should have this within the next couple of days.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on May 12, 2009, 05:16:32 PM
Grats.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GiT]Kel on May 13, 2009, 11:30:13 AM
I got a copy of quake wars if want it!
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on May 13, 2009, 12:27:55 PM
Mostly playing COD4 at the moment, especially Obscurity Mod as its damn bloody good.  Also have a few other mods to try yet.  All you need to install at the moment would be that tbh.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on May 13, 2009, 02:35:46 PM
Need to get a copy of COD4.  Waiting here for the thing to be delivered today acording to courier.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GiT]Kel on May 13, 2009, 02:56:22 PM
picked up a copy, think Fran already has it. But if u guys don't mind I'll join yous online soon for gamage.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on May 13, 2009, 10:09:47 PM
New PC all delivered and set up:)
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Grim on May 13, 2009, 10:17:16 PM
gtz m8
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on May 15, 2009, 08:50:43 AM
anyone have a link for the Obscurity Mod?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on May 15, 2009, 01:06:43 PM
Turns out it wasnt the HDD that had gone on the old PC.  Have it now installed on the new one:)
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on May 15, 2009, 02:07:47 PM
this may be a silly question but here goes.  I want to add a second DVD drive to pc.  It had a IDE connection but I am not sure if my mobo supports it.  How do I find out?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Lucutus on May 15, 2009, 02:27:49 PM
anyone have a link for the Obscurity Mod?

Just connect to the server, ip.theirishguard.com:28961  it should download form there for you.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Lucutus on May 15, 2009, 02:28:57 PM
this may be a silly question but here goes.  I want to add a second DVD drive to pc.  It had a IDE connection but I am not sure if my mobo supports it.  How do I find out?

Look up the model of your motherboard on the internet, find the specs from the manufacturer, then check the specs to see if it supports IDE.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on May 15, 2009, 02:41:25 PM
this may be a silly question but here goes.  I want to add a second DVD drive to pc.  It had a IDE connection but I am not sure if my mobo supports it.  How do I find out?

Look up the model of your motherboard on the internet, find the specs from the manufacturer, then check the specs to see if it supports IDE.

Cheers Tony.  There is one IDE connector and it is being used by what looks like the front planel connectors.  The IDE cable has only one connector and it would require taking out fans etc to replace with a new cable with 2 connections.  Might get an IDE > SATA converter to see if that does the trick.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on May 15, 2009, 02:58:48 PM
Neilx just buy an external HD case for that HD, ?20 or so should get one.  To get obscurity just fire up COD4 and bring up console.  Type in "/connect ip.theirishguard.com:28961" and the mod will download automatically from the server.  Might get some games in late tonight if peeps are around.
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: Nelix on May 15, 2009, 03:19:56 PM
Neilx just buy an external HD case for that HD, ?20 or so should get one.  To get obscurity just fire up COD4 and bring up console.  Type in "/connect ip.theirishguard.com:28961" and the mod will download automatically from the server.  Might get some games in late tonight if peeps are around.

Dermot, have the HD installed, was looking to add another DVD drive but ran into probs.  Will see if I can get on later:)
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]Nietzschean on May 15, 2009, 08:08:32 PM
thats not an ide port if its going to the front panel connectors, just looks like it(they can look very similar)


Given your pc is brand new there is a decent chance it has no IDE ports at all , if thats the case you'll have to get a sata->ide convertor, or buy a new dvd drive
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [GIT]Fairy on May 15, 2009, 09:59:47 PM
Will you really need another DVD drive?
Title: Re: Dead PC
Post by: [TiG]the_syco on May 16, 2009, 06:06:50 PM
Dermot, have the HD installed, was looking to add another DVD drive but ran into probs.  Will see if I can get on later:)
A lot of the HDD external boxes have a front panel which you can leave off, and use a DVD drive in it. What does the current DVD drive in the PC not have, that the one you want to put in has?