I think my computer is toast. (1 Viewer)

[MikeH]

About 6:30 last night turned my computer everything was normal did what I had to do and then shut it down. 8:00 I remembered I had something else to do, turn it on this is the only thing that happened.
It did the memory test of my RAM and then the screen went to black and nothing else happened after that. I shut it down and tried to get into the CMOS and it went to black again. Checked all connections but repeated attempts produced the same result.
It's been awhile since I've done any serious hardware troubleshooting but does this sounds like my motherboard kicked the bucket?
It's a old Cyrix 166+ system so it's not a tragedy by any means. Just wish I could get my stuff off the hard drives. Looks like Christmas might come a little early.
Thanks for your help,
Mike

 

[CRyan]

OOoph. That stinks. Well, I am not sure the system is worth the time to troubleshoot. I mean you can build a new system with your spare parts for CHEAP! Anyway, can you tell from your monitor if it is still getting a video signal? Some monitors have a green/amber light that indicates status for the monitor. It is possible that your power supply just went bad during the last boot-down or you had a power spike and fried a stick of memory, the mother board or even the CPU. Heck all three could be shot.
OTOH, this could be symptomatic of somthing in particular that someone here will know about.
At least you can take the HD out and boot it up as a slave in another computer and save your data.
C. Ryan
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http://www.elitestoragedesigns.com/RyanOAR.bmp

 

[SteveMc]

Since you got a video screen for the RAM test it is definately not a dead MB or video problem. After the screen blanks, can you hear if the hard drive is still active (loading windows?). Maybe a monitor problem?
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Crash
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[MikeH]

After the screen blanks, can you hear if the hard drive is still active (loading windows?). Maybe a monitor problem?

I was thinking the same thing but the hard drive has no activity and I never hear my Windows startup sound. After it blanks the screens light changes back and forth from amber to green.
Mike

 

[Bill Catherall]

Change your CMOS battery. I'm betting that will fix the problem.
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Bill

 

[SteveMc]

Yes, I agree with Bill, try changing your CMOS battery. If its dead and you've lost all you settings, the defaults may not be working as they should.

 

[SamRoza]

Also make sure to check that all of your RAM, cards and CPU are properly seated. Any of these unseated will also go through the RAM check and fail immediately after.
Sam