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August 31st, 2001, 07:23 PM
#1
Amptron nightmare (Shall I blow it up?)
My brother asked me if I would take a look at his girlfriends computer before he returns to uni this September. I was told all that needed doing was to format C and reinstall Windows 98SE because it was running a little slow. So I agreed to this 30 minute job. The computer was brought to me and I was shocked to see the condition it was in. There were no screws in the case, the case was filthy, there was a big hole in the front were a CD ROM or Writer should be. I brought the computer to my work room and decided to give it a run. I romoved the case to take a look inside only you find to my horror it contained the worst possible motherboard that could ever have been installed. It's either an Amptron or PC CHIPS all in one piece of s*#t. Who ever manufactured this board was too ashamed to leave their company name or logo on it. There was no drivers disk with the computer (he said he had lost it) or manual. There was so much dust inside the case and all over the components you could grow potatoes in there and wires all over the place. I plugged in my monitor and mouse and keyboard and proceded to give it a test run and surprise surprise the HD had errors and the boot sector was knackered. I used a win98 boot floppy and reinstalled Win98SE over the existing files which eventually got the thing working after scandisk fixed the errors. I then proceded to locate all the necessary drivers which did not take too long thanks to this brilliant site. Now, I knew I could not leave the inside of the box in the disgusting state it was in so I took the box back downstairs to clean it up. I removed the CPU fan to blow out all the dirt and dust and proceded to vaccume everything else with a Dyson vaccume cleaner. The computer now looks brandnew, I even cleaned all the sludge of the 64meg stick of memory. Only problem now is the damn thing wont boot. The power comes on and the lights flash and the CPU fan begins to spin but nothing comes up on the monitor. The bloody thing WILL NOT BOOT, not even into bios, the monitor does not kickin at all. I have tried a different memory stick and checked all the connections but nothing happens. There is nothing wrong with the monitor as I am using now on my computer. Is there any body out there who can assist me with this problem. I have had enough for today and will try again tomorrow, my head is hurting. Any input regarding this matter will be greatly recieved. Thanks for your time with this post.
I have a proper toolkit now complete with a little torch!!!
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August 31st, 2001, 07:24 PM
#2
PS: I have tried re-setting the BIOS.
I have a proper toolkit now complete with a little torch!!!
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August 31st, 2001, 07:29 PM
#3
Hum...maybe it's just the power supply!
Had the same problem one day. Maybe you should ask to your brother's girlfriend if the computer made a big "BOOM" and just closed one time.
This is probably the power supply if this is right.
Also you should try a new motherboard because when it's cheap, you pay for the cheapest part and the chip often burn.
So, good luck!
My Computer:
PII 350 mhz (still good!)
Soyo SY-6IWM Intel i810 chipset (Disabled)
256 mo RAM PC-133
HSP56 MicroModem (XP drivers)
Sound Blaster 16 (XP drivers)
Radeon 32 mo SDR (6.13.3276 XP)
Windows XP Pro FR (Build 2600)
Logitech Optical Wheel Mouse
Logitech SoundMan Speakers
CD-ROM 40X
LG 16X10X40 CD Writer
Epson Stylus C60
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August 31st, 2001, 07:36 PM
#4
Adm¡nistrator
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August 31st, 2001, 07:44 PM
#5
[quote]Originally posted by charlescpu:
<strong>Hum...maybe it's just the power supply!
Had the same problem one day. Maybe you should ask to your brother's girlfriend if the computer made a big "BOOM" and just closed one time.
This is probably the power supply if this is right.
Also you should try a new motherboard because when it's cheap, you pay for the cheapest part and the chip often burn.
So, good luck!</strong><hr></blockquote>
I had the thing working before I cleaned it up. There is power because all the lights flash and the fans are working. Its just not activating the monitor now. Nothing at all shows up on screen. Maybe it would have been better for me if the damn thing had gone BOOM! before it arrived here.
I have a proper toolkit now complete with a little torch!!!
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August 31st, 2001, 07:53 PM
#6
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August 31st, 2001, 08:04 PM
#7
Here is the boards spec:
S7 with a K62-450 processor
SiS 530/5595 chipset.
Onboard 64-bit graphics accelerator.
Onboard 10/100 Base-T Ethernet adapter.
Onboard V.90 HSP 56K Voice/Data/Fax modem.
Onboard 3D Surround Sound system.
Integrated hardware monitoring circuit.
Advanced ATX power management with support for Wake on LAN, Wake on Modem, Wake on RTC and keyboard power controls.
100/66 MHz FSB for the latest socket-7 processors.
100% Linux compatible (Linux drivers available).
Baby ATX form-factor.
Onboard Serial, Parallel, USB, PS/2 Keyboard, PS/2 Mouse, Microphone, Line-in, Line-Out, and VGA ports.
I'll bet you are all drooling now!
I have a proper toolkit now complete with a little torch!!!
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August 31st, 2001, 08:19 PM
#8
Adm¡nistrator
did you try an AGP card? I see you mentioned PCI and onboard but not AGP.
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August 31st, 2001, 08:44 PM
#9
you blew a ton of dust and dirt around in the case and now it won't boot...yank all connections to the board and clean all contacts...pull the CPU and blow out the CPU socket...use new drive cables if you have em.
good luck!
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August 31st, 2001, 09:53 PM
#10
Its possible during cleaning that you may have knocked some of the jumpers off like maybe the CMOS jumper.
Also check that all the cables etc are plugged in snug.
Good Luck
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August 31st, 2001, 10:01 PM
#11
There is no AGP socket to try an AGP card, the boards AGP capabilities are only on-board. There are only two PCI slots and one ISA slot on this marvelous board.
I will strip the whole thing down again later today and do as suggested regarding cleaning all the connectors and check the processor and socket for any dust that may have eluded my powerful vaccume cleaner. I cannot understand how any computer can end up as filthy as this one was. I have never sealed up a box before to prevent dirt and dust escaping from inside the case before like I had to do with this one when I first inspected it on its arrival. ARRRRGHH, some people aren't fit to own a computer.
I have a proper toolkit now complete with a little torch!!!
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August 31st, 2001, 10:07 PM
#12
[quote]Originally posted by Anna:
<strong>Its possible during cleaning that you may have knocked some of the jumpers off like maybe the CMOS jumper.
Also check that all the cables etc are plugged in snug.
Good Luck </strong><hr></blockquote>
I suppose there is the possibilty that I may have accedently done something with the vaccume cleaner. I will check everything when I strip it down later today. I have a special vaccume cleaner designed for computer maintenance but it would have been quite useless for this job, only the Dyson carpet vaccume was upto this very dirty job.
I have a proper toolkit now complete with a little torch!!!
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September 1st, 2001, 02:18 PM
#13
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate PC CHIPS for being the first ever MB manufacturer to make a MB I cannot get to work! Keep up the bad work PC CHIPS and I hope you have very few years left before you go bust! Good riddance and I will never accept a job again if it entails working on the s#*t you manufacture.
Thanks to those who offered suggestions with this post!
I have a proper toolkit now complete with a little torch!!!
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September 2nd, 2001, 10:27 AM
#14
Registered User
Oh these integrated boards are just great aren't they! Ok, i've always found that the ram sockets on these POS boards cause loads of problems - try the mem in a different socket, or remove and refit it to its current socket several times to try and ensure a good contact. Make sure you disconnect and remove everything except the ATX power supply loom, the soft power switch and the memory. Make sure the RESET switch is not jammed in. If your still getting no display then its either bad PSU, bad memory, bad CPU or bad board. May be wise to try removing the mobo and running it out of the case, perhaps your cleaning spree moved something behind the mobo that is causing a short.
P.S. The Voodoo2 card is a 3D card only, it has no 2D capabilities so disabling the onboard gfx wouldn't prove anything.
orange
Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning -+- Rich Cook
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September 3rd, 2001, 08:21 PM
#15
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