Computer Blown???

Neil3030

POSTING FOR LENNY: YOU WILL SEE WHY

I was using the computer and what happened was, the screen went black as if it restarted or turned off. I pressed the reset button and nothing happened so i help the power button for 5 seconds. I have tried to turn it back on and there is no power going into it at all.

I checked the mother board and there are little black vertical cylinders about an inch long around the AMD cpu. Around 10 of them. There is a puncture mark at the top of one and it it has a tiny speck of black on it. Could this be the problem? Are they fuses?

Do I need a new mobo? Can anyone repair it? Is this puncture mark the problem? If repairable, what price are we talking here?
It is an 800mhz Athlon cpu. It is a time computer, not sure what mobos they use. Would I be better off just getting a new PC built?

Need advice.
Regards,
Lenny c/o Neil3030

longword

Originally posted by Neil3030
I checked the mother board and there are little black vertical cylinders about an inch long around the AMD cpu. Around 10 of them. There is a puncture mark at the top of one and it it has a tiny speck of black on it. Could this be the problem? Are they fuses?

Capacitors. You're screwed. New motherboard time. On the bright side, the odds are the memory and CPU are OK.

Lenny

Right, I changed the fuse in the plug,
and turn on the computer, it turned on grand, but the same thing happened 10 mins later..
:mad:

KdjaCL

Parts are using more power than the PSU can provide.

Or the PSU is crap and broken.

kdja

longword

If one or more of the big capacitors has failed, the board will no longer be able to supply a reliable Vcore voltage to the CPU, nor will it be able to feed the graphics card properly. This happened my last motherboard, though it failed slowly over a number of months. Check that each capacitor stands upright, very straight vertically. The top should be flat and closed, not bulging. Caps can also leak their electrolyte from the sides or bottom and fail that way.

Slashdot ran a story on failing motherboard capacitors recently. It's possible to replace a failed cap but it's a delicate job and you're probably as well to get a new board.

Lenny

The motherboard is actualy intergrated,
the sounds card and graphics card.. so I take it I have to buy those new componments then ?

KdjaCL

Whats the PSU power??

It may just be that (hopefully)

kdja

Lenny

It says on the back 230v on a steel plate
its not one of those flick over tabs where you can change the voltage

Offy

1 of your caps blew m8, it can be repaired but would probally cost more than a new mb.

longword

Originally posted by Lenny
The motherboard is actualy intergrated,
the sounds card and graphics card.. so I take it I have to buy those new componments then ?

Yup. Everything nailed to the board is a write-off, though feel free to get another integrated board.

Lenny

That pisses me off now,
So I am nearly better to buy a new computer and try and scrap parts off to someone else..
What would cause this by any chance would you know?
And anyone here wana build me a good enough computer at a decent price, bear in mind I'm a student!

longword

Originally posted by Lenny
That pisses me off now,
So I am nearly better to buy a new computer and try and scrap parts off to someone else..

All you need is a SocketA motherboard that supports your memory, whether it's 168-pin PC133 or 184-pin PC2100 (probably the former). Somewhere like komplett.ie will let you have a board with onboard VGA, sound, and 10/100 ethernet for about 100 euro delivered to your door. Installing it should be easy enough for anyone comfortable with a screwdriver and an anti-static wrist strap.

Lenny

I was looking at komplett this morning at the mother boards, didn't know what I was loking at

PiE

Try this one:

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?action=info&p=18240&t=845&l=2&AvdID=1&CatID=10&GrpID=5&s=pl

It'll support your AMD CPU and it comes with onboard Geforce2, sound & NIC all for the very nice price of 138euros incl. VAT.

You'll need some DDR RAM with it tho, like you will with most newer Mobo's.

longword

You could try this board which is cheaper and will take PC133 RAM. Not so good on the 3D graphics, but you're free to stick a GeForce or ATI card in it at a later point.