Help need- PC problems

[Phoenix87]

Hey guys,

Well about two weeks ago i computer offically crap out on me and I would really like this comunity's advice on whether or not it is fixable or should i just get a new com.

All the events happened within a 2hr period. I was surfing the net when my mouse stop responding, not to worried i check my port connection and reboot my com. When it got back up my mouse was working fine, however after about 5 min my mouse and my keyboard both became non responsive. Now a little worried I checked the connections again and rebooted and again same thing happen. Whenever I would reboot my com, my mouse and keyboard would be fine...oh for about 5min then it would rather be my mouse stopped working or my keybored or both . A lil frusterated I thoght to myself "maybe my mobo was dusty", being i havent cleaned it in a while. Well i open the case and bust out my ozone freindly non ESC canned air and cleaned everything out.
This is when my whole computer crap out on me. When I plugged my power cord into my com the computer automatically turned on. Well kind of. See I could hear the fan turn on but my com will not boot up. I dont hear it check the floppy drive or it do all that POST(i think that is what it is called) procedures. I however do see the CDrom light on. So now the com wont even shut off, the only way I could get it to power down is to unplug it and whenever i replug it the same thing happens: fan come on, cd rom light stays on, nothing happens, I cry...

So if any of you guys care to help me with this problem I would be grateful. This whole ordeal has giving me a huge headache. Thx

 

[reggie_da_man]

Try reseting the CMOS, or taking it apart and just re-building it.

 

[SYL\X/3K]

if one solution dosen't work try the next,


try any of these options :
(((GROUND URSELF BEFORE TOUCHING ANYTHING)))
-use a different Power Supply (Short the green and black wires with a paper clip to test PS)
-reseat ur video card and RAM (if that doesnt work use default mobo video)
-if u hav a manual reset the CMOS by pulling out the battery in the mobo for couple minutes, then use that manual to reconfigure the settings (if the PC boots up)
-reassemble everything from barebone (remember to ground urself before touching anything)
-check if there are any beeps when u power it up
-check if the capacitors ar poping up in the mobo(if so replace them or get a new mobo)
-check if the heatsink is properly seated
-boot with only the CPU(fan&heatsink), PS, RAM, monitor plugged in the rest leave it unplugged
-might be dead BIOS, flash it or use hotflashing or agent smith's in stickies. (Software)
-might be bad grounding try a different power cable
- if u OC ur PC put the setting to default
- u might of shorted the mobo or ESD happened
- now ur screwed if any didnt help

 

[Phoenix87]

Thx for the input, ill try all these tonight

 

[Phoenix87]

Actually before I start doing all this I really want more info on resetting my CMOS.

I dont have the manual for my mobo so will reconfiguring the CMOS be a problem or will it automatically do everything itself once i put the Coin battery back in.

Thx for the help.

-hmm just noticed a typo on the subject. "help need?" lol I feel a lil dumb

 

[SYL\X/3K]

by reseting the CMOS battery ur pretty much reseting the configuration of ur BIOS.
if u know the setting of ur BIOS ur good if not write it down or save the configuration on a floppy if its a new model mobo.

1. GROUND URSELF
2. unplug the power cable from the PS, as well as turning off the back switch
3.using tweasers or something sharp pull the watch battery out.
4. wait like 5-10 minutes and then press n hold the power button in front of ur computer for like 10sec.
5. now put the battery back in and plug the power cable in
6. now set up ur BIOS and ur set

*if resetting the BIOS didn't work then its the Power Supply thats dead , since the keyboard/mouse stops responding

 

[0p71mu5pr1m3]

Like sylwek said, try resetting your cmos, and if that doesn't work, it sounds like your PS is probably dead.

 

[Phoenix87]

Thx guys for all ur input, but i check the PS and it was fine. Decided to just get a new mobo/processor/case and try and salvage as much as I can from my old computer. I heard emachines installs crappy mobo in there com anyways. Im actually going to try my hand at building a com . Although my budget is tight i think i can stretch my dollar more if i install the parts myself, hopefully I dont screw up. Anyone know any good intel-duo core Mobos around 100 buck ;-)

 

[COD2_fanatic]

if your budget is to tight you may not want to go Conroe, go AMD or one of the Pentium D's (<- Yes i said something other than Conroe)

 

[Phoenix87]

Thanks for the reply COD,

Hmm well from the information I am getting from a local computer store guy, the new duo core processor "decimates"(exact word he used) older P4's and AMDs. This kinda confused me, being a tech newbie, I always thought better clock speeds equal better processers and when I saw that some duo's clocked in at 1.**Ghz, I thought, "How can it be faster than P4s?" Im assuming it's processing more with each cycle. I dont know. Can anyone explain this to me or provide a link?

Anyways, I have a budget of around 500-600 dollars for

-Motherboard
-Processor- with this budget should I go for a dual core or should i go for the older technology
-Case
-Maybe PS, dunno if my current 250w will be enough(probably not)
-Video card- though I think I can live with a cheap 100 dollar one for a month, but being a gamer i am definitely going to have to upgrade. Do u necessarily need a video card to run basic programs?

This is my first attemp to build a PC so hopefully all goes well, any tips or links would be appreciated. I am also interested in trying my hand in OverClocking but I recongize the dangers of doing it. I really do not want to blow up my shiny new computer. Should I wait for my computer kung fu to grow or is OC pretty simple if you do research on how to do it.