hi
my dads computer started to have problems a few weeks ago. The problem is,
that when it is turned on after 3 seconds it will turn itself off again. It
uses a TNT2 PCI graphics card. I am telling u this as it displays the
graphics card info before doing a memory test in the BIOS at startup. Here
is the system specifications:
Celeron 700MHz Socket 370 66MHz FSB
128MB SDRAM
i have tested it with a new power unit...problem persists
i put a new motherboard in as well and tested it with both power
supplies.....problem persists
could changing the case solve the problem?
please help me
i must get my mum from playing solitaire on my computer ;-(
thanks
sp
So you've changed the motherboard, power, CPU, memory... Essentially
you're working backwards towards my first suggestion, to unplug all
non-essential devices then see if the problem persists.
Start out with only CPU, 1 memory module, video card. Heatsink installed
but it's fan NOT connected. No keyboard, mouse, floppy, or other drives
connected. No case wires connected. Power on the system by shorting the
two power button pins together. If it stays on for more than 3 seconds,
enter the BIOS. If the bios has a health monitor type screen, enter that
and observe temp and voltge. The CPU temp should be steadily rising due
to the heatsink fan being disconnected, but on a 700 MHz Celeron you could
leave it running for a LONG time before it's terma sensor shut it off,
unless the heatsink has somehow been dislodged from the CPU, in which case
it's pretty irrelevant if the fan was running.
So if you have that very minimal configuration still shutting off after 3
seconds, remove the heatsink, clean off any goo and apply fresh thermal
compound then reinstall it. If the heatsink base is very smooth (and
considering the low heat output of a Celeron 700) you could TEMPORARILY
reinstall the heatsink after only cleaning it off, without any compound
for futher testing... but eventually you should reapply thermal compound.
If it still shuts off after 3 seconds the video card is all that's left,
unless the motherboard was installed in the case with a motherboard
standoff in the wrong location. Sometimes a standoff in the wrong
location won't interfere with the machine running right away, but after
many thermal cycles or moving the system, it will start to short out the
back of the board.
Now to back up a bit, if the system wasn't shutting down after 3 seconds,
after stripping it down to the minimal configuration described above, then
add back components one at a time... probably easiest on you to add back
the case power-on switch first, then keyboard, then mouse, floppy, etc,
and lastly the hard drive(s), powering on/off inbetween each addition to
recheck for the problem.
