hardware problems

Hi guys, I have had a problem computer for some time now, and it is time to fix it or use the parts for a new pc.

It is a Medion, which is a german PC, I have had it for some time. Up to a few months ago it was working fine, until it gave me a windows error that had a IRQ/ Driver error. This was shown through a blue screen. I thought that the hard drive was infected with a bug or something.

The blue screen error would come up everytime I turned on the computer until the computer started giving me an error at startup before windows started.

I gave up on the hard drive so I decided to replace it. I had built a new computer around this time so I just recently got the new hard drive. I installed the new hard drive and had some video problems. I put in a PCI video card and it started up. I installed windows until there was a problem in the secondary setup, it gave me the blue screen again.

Loosing more and more hope, I thought I would try to install Ubuntu, the installation went well until i got an error that kept coming up Cannot Enable Port 2. Maybe the USB cable is bad?

At this point I am starting to think that the motherboard is the problem, either a electrical error or a crack or something.

I have taken out the small battery and done almost everything I could to fix this computer, as far as PSU goes, I replaced that right in the beginning from a 250 watt to a 400 watt.

What do you think the problem is? Is it with the hard drive? I am going to be going to tigerdirect tomorrow and getting a new motherboard. I need this computer fixed by monday, do you guys have any suggestions on what the problem could be? I do not want other things to be effected or broken by this problem, so I hope that the $20 i will be spending on the motherboard will be the last.

www.ultimatebootcd.com

try testing the memory ;-)

I have checked the memory at the time that it would boot into windows, it was fine.

check the motherboard for popped caps.

what are popped caps? what doyou mean by that?

i think he's talking about bulging or leaking transistors on your motherboard. they look like soda cans )

welll i am testing the memory with my ubuntu cd, lets hope everything is alright!

Just for clarity caps = capacitors. Transistors are a bit different.

i dont notice anything wrong with those


OH SHIT! now that you mention it, i do notice some of them like popped a tiny bit and some of them have like a goo coming out of them? or am i crazy?

[quoteff2d998973="Vector"]OH SHIT! now that you mention it, i do notice some of them like popped a tiny bit and some of them have like a goo coming out of them? or am i crazy?[/quoteff2d998973]
Yes, that would be bad. The electrolyte (the "goo") inside the caps was formulated from a flawed recipe (another company was trying rip off the patented formula). The faulty electolyte would eventually break down and expand, causing the caps to swell and burst and the electrolyte to leak out. This changes the capacitance effect of the circuit, which usually causes intermittent problems due to fluctuating power levels (capacitors are typically used to filter and regulate power on motherboards). It can also cause catastrophic failures if the bad cap causes a short or open in the circuit.

The bad cap problem was rampant on motherboards a few years ago, when nearly all the mobo manufacturers bought some large batches of counterfeit capacitors from a shady vendor. I've lost one mobo to bad caps personally, and considering how many I have, that was lucky -- a friend of mine has lost several.

However this should only affect older boards, as the bad caps were weeded out a couple years ago. I've not seen any bad caps on boards purchased within the last 2 years or so.

[quote9d0b5d7c99="dmorris68"][quote9d0b5d7c99="Vector"]OH SHIT! now that you mention it, i do notice some of them like popped a tiny bit and some of them have like a goo coming out of them? or am i crazy?[/quote9d0b5d7c99]
The bad cap problem was rampant on motherboards a few years ago, when nearly all the mobo manufacturers bought some large batches of counterfeit capacitors from a shady vendor. I've lost one mobo to bad caps personally, and considering how many I have, that was lucky -- a friend of mine has lost several.

However this should only affect older boards, as the bad caps were weeded out a couple years ago. I've not seen any bad caps on boards purchased within the last 2 years or so.[/quote9d0b5d7c99]

Dell got a large batch of those I believe. The hyper-popular SC-400 Server, which regularly sold for $150 AR, and came fully stacked (my main desktop PC is a P2.2, 1GB RAM server that cost me $170, before I returned the HD, and replaced it with another Dell price mistake $22 200GB HD, and then resold quite a few of the same PC), and generally resold for about $350 is notorious for having bulging caps. Dell replaced MBs for a while, but now it takes an act of God to get them to replace a MB.

Thanks for the help guys, I got a new motherboard, and I have installed everything, had to do a swap on the sync/fan holder but its all good....

only problem is, and this happens to me every time, i am having trouble connecting the power button to the motherboard, aka i have everything set up, i just cant turn on the computer! lol


its a Intel® Desktop Board D865GVHZ

where do i put the power button to turn it on?

http//www.intel.com/design/motherbd/hz/hz_con.htm

please help

You should plug the power switch connector to pins 6 & 8 on the front panel motherboard header. Polarity shouldn't actually matter since an ATX power switch is just a dry contact used to short the pins together.

well, i have done that and it has not turned on? could that mean something is not correctly installed? it has been frusterating me so much, i apreciate your help


edit when i turn the psu on i do see a little light so the board is getting power


edit2 i am starting to think i am going to need a new case, i have never been so frusterated on a pc

okay well i have done that, now when there is no pci it makes one beep and the cpu fan turns on and off


when i put a pci card in, it doesnt make any beeps, the computer runs, but there is no video

[quote94cc91f532="doylnea"]my main desktop PC is a P2.2, 1GB RAM server that cost me $170, before I returned the HD, and replaced it with [b94cc91f532]another Dell price mistake $22 200GB HD[/b94cc91f532], and then resold quite a few of the same PC.[/quote94cc91f532]

Nice. Wish I knew about that one. )

meh