Very interesting one for you!

[Shard92]

My bosses' Daughter has her computer in as she keeps having this reoccuring problem. The computer is :

P166
64mb Sdram
GA-5aa Gigabyte MB
Ati All in wonder PCI
Hollywood DVD card
SB16 sound
Generic NE2000 NIC
13GB WD HD

The problem is when she gets it home it will work a few times and then suddenly it won't detect the HD. Bring it back here everything works fine.

Some more background... She use to have an AMD K6-2 /450Mhz but it died on her. She didn't need anything very fast as long as it played her DVD's ( which the 166 does just fine with that hollywood card ) so we put in the 166. Everything was fine for awhile and now this. I know maybe the MB is having problems but then why can't I get it to have a problem here? Any ideas would be appreciated. I have several ideas of my own but since this is the boss's daughter I'd like to see if anyone else's opinions match mine.

GLSmith

[MacGyver]

CMOS Battery dying?

[DANIMAL]

Weak power supply or bad Molex's. I've been see that alot lately.

[Deity]

Power problems at the location? I had one person who managed to place his computer on the same circuit as his furnace. Every time his furnace kicked on, it would draw so much power that the system crashed. You wouldn't believe how long it took me to figure this one out.

[Ruslan]

Originally posted by Shard92:
<STRONG>
Some more background... She use to have an AMD K6-2 /450Mhz but it died on her. </STRONG>

Did that processor die due to overheating or suddenly?
I'd check CPU's core voltage regulator and recheck jumper settings first.You see, few times I've seen Intel 166MMX CPUs running ...with single 3,3v voltage regulator (what someone "garage tech" incorrectly installed <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0"> ).And that CPU even worked,but unstable... <IMG SRC="smilies/mad.gif" border="0">
Also I would check power supply. Bad power supply also could cause problems.

[scout970]

hmmm wor at the shop but doesn't at the house well that narrows it down doesn't it check the wiring at the house either an incorectly wired outlet or bad ground or too much load on the circuit

[Percy]

This doesn't sound like an external wiring problem if all that's happening is that it doesn't detect the hard drive. And a dead CMOS battery in a 166 probably wouldn't do it either, as the default setting for her BIOS is most likely Auto. Sounds more like a bad molex connector like Danimal said. It could also be a bad connector on the hard drive or a failing IDE controller or the hard drive itself could be about to die.

My $.02 worth. <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

[Archer]

I`d have to suggest as per last posts it could be a bad power supply i.e. suffering from spikes or poor voltage supply that is causing the problem.Could you suggest that she purchase an in-line power surge lead as a possible remedy.Also try running it from a different outlet in the house.

[Web Master]

Sounds like your Bios is going to fast for your Hard Drvie, theres a settings in the BIOS to make it check for the Hard drvie slower than normal, I can't remeber the exact term for it though. Or maybe your hard drive is going bad, it might not be spinning up everytime you boot, I see that often.

[Web Master]

Sounds like your Bios is going to fast for your Hard Drvie, theres a settings in the BIOS to make it check for the Hard drvie slower than normal, I can't remeber the exact term for it though. Or maybe your hard drive is going bad, it might not be spinning up everytime you boot, I see that often.

[Web Master]

Sounds like your Bios is going to fast for your Hard Drvie, theres a settings in the BIOS to make it check for the Hard drvie slower than normal, I can't remeber the exact term for it though. Or maybe your hard drive is going bad, it might not be spinning up everytime you boot, I see that often.

[tiffin_tom]

I agree with the posts about the power problem. The key here is that it happens at one place but not another.

That points to either power or un-seated connectors or cards.

I assume you've already re-seated the cards and connectors. I'd recommending in a UPS for her computer to smooth out the voltage coming in and keep it from dipping below 110.

I've seen many different problems that were caused by power fluctuations and it wouldn't surprise me if it was power that caused your AMD to die.

[Hell Gopher]

I'd agree with tiffin_tom, it has to be something at the source. Could be a power problem, or even something interfering with internal components (I dunno, a strong magnetic field or something?).

[Shard92]

Thanks for all the replies, I'm at home and won't be in to work until Tuesday but you gave me some good ideas. I was kind of wondering about some of them myself.

Some replies:

I believe ( I'll have to check with the boss ) her cmos battery has been replaced. I have reseated things. That was one of the first things I did and that seem to correct the problem until she got home. When she brought it back I did NOTHING just turn it on and everything worked, at the store of course. I've told them to try moving it but I'm unsure if that was done. Also She has a scanner / Printer and something else that escapes me plugged in at home. I also told them to remove them. Oh yes the other is a VCR ( into the allinwonder). Last thing I did was replace all the cables in the computer I'll let you all know on Tuesday if that corrected the problem. We are not sure but suspect heat may have taken out the AMD. She heard a loud noise and then start having problems soon after. From what she described I think something got into the fan. However we are not sure what happened. I reset the jumpers and the 166 I think is not mmx but I don't remember right now... Whatever I said in my original post. Yes I reset the voltage.

Here's another twist, my computer also has the same motherboard so my boss is trying to get me to upgrade so he can put my board into hers. ( he seems to be sure that is the problem, Maybe...) Unfortunately, I can't afford to upgrade and it's getting a little annoying with him asking all the time. Well I have to go....

GLSmith

[Ruslan]

Originally posted by Shard92:
<STRONG>
She heard a loud noise and then start having problems soon after. From what she described I think something got into the fan. </STRONG>

May be it's really something contacted with fan - for example,cable.
But it's may be also dying hard drive as well...