Sidelined with a system rebuild

[Mandi]

I've been upgrading an old Gateway P2-350. Everything was going fine, I was being a Good Girl about restarting after each new component so I didn't have to wonder which device was involved if there was a malfunction :yeah:. New CPU - check. New RAM - check. New video card - check.

Last new device - a case fan. Because, you know, heat is bad, and this never had a case fan before.

I plugged it in, turned the system on to make sure it was blowing (and blowing in the direction I had in mind.) Everything was fine, so I shut it down . . . although I admit I just turned it off, interrupting a full boot - it wasn't connected to the monitor and mouse at that point, and I couldn't be bothered.

Well, it's been dead since that last shutdown. It simply never started up again. I replaced the power supply, I tried jumping the power-on pins . . . I'll test the switch itself tonight, but if jumping the pins didn't work, I'm dubious that the switch is the problem. I've been less than successful (http://www.aota.net/forums/showthread.php?t=18059) with pin-jumping a Mostly Dead™ computer before so I'm not positive I'm jumper-ing the right things.

Anymore thoughts on paths to try? I have this sinking feeling I'm in the land of no return . . . that is, tracking down a motherboard replacement for this old proprietary system.

[Randall]

I've never heard of hardware damage caused by shutting down during prematurely. (Heck, I still haven't managed to screw up Windows doing that, though I do try to avoid it when possible.)

Might be one of those Unexplained Coincidences.

But before you give up on the motherboard, have you tested any of the other components (RAM, video) in a working system, or given the old CPU a try?

Randall

[lynxtrax]

Did you reset the bios?

[Buck]

[Charlie Brown]Aaaaauuuugggghhhhh[/Charlie Brown]

Don't talk about BIOS updates! I managed to flash 2 of my PC's with the wrong BIOS file, and have rendered them useless.

[lynxtrax]

No, not update the bios. Usually, you can reset the bios by popping out the cmos battery and jumpering the lvrm jumper on the motherboard.

Do you get any power at all? Usually the power circuit goes to the fans first. If there was a problem with the fan, it could have mucked the bios. I would

1. disconnect the new fan, blow out the case and try to reboot

2. if that didn't work, I would then reset the bios and reboot

3. if that didn't work, I would take the motherboard off and look for any gunk that could be causing a short on the underside.

Some motherboards and some cases use non-standard connectors. For example, Dell wires their power supplies and fans with the black and white wires switched. No particular reason other than you have to replace parts with Dell parts. It's possible either your mb or the fan you bought has non-standard wiring. I don't know about gateways.

hope it helps
-chris

[Mandi]

I didn't make it back here to report success yeseterday. The switch did test as good, BTW. I also did try to reset the BIOS, nada. (But it never hurts to flush it out, I guess.)

I started by reverting my to the original CPU - and voila! Life! I started plugging in components systematically again . . . got to a 2nd optical drive and CRASH!

Ah-ha . . . so it wasn't the CPU. I really didn't think it was, because I did pretty good research about what sort of upgrade would work vs. what was fantasy, LOL.

Turns out this 2nd optical drive with the "stuck door" has some fairly serious additional baloney going on, and is now a guest at the bottom of my trash can.

I think this will end up a decent "extra" machine when I'm finished, compared to the crashy, overfull disk, under-RAM'd (that's an adjective, right??) POS condition it arrived in. Found a home for several orphan cards and disks loitering about.

And dirty . . . oy, they do NOT have those kind of cockroaches here, so it had been awhile since this had seen the business end of a vacuum hose.

Thanks as always for turning up the wattage on the light at the end of my tunnel :)!

Oh, and not that it has much to do with this thread, but I am now officially boycotting the retail outlet of a certain red-uniformed computer "superstore." Apparently my ovaries generate an invisibility sheild around me when I visit their store. I'd consider it my super power, except I really wanted some (%$(%^# service.

[lynxtrax]

... I am now officially boycotting the retail outlet of a certain red-uniformed computer "superstore." Apparently my ovaries generate an invisibility sheild around me when I visit their store. I'd consider it my super power, except I really wanted some (%$(%^# service.

That's too funny! I have no idea what super store has red uniforms, but I can second the notion that women recieve better technical expertise and assistance on the internet than in person.

We only have one local parts store and it floats in an ocean of testosterone. Their faces literally turn up into a sneer when a woman walks through the door. I can only imagine that it's the attitude of the hiring manager and he hires like-kind. In any case, I seem to always regret doing business with them. Invariably I receive incorrect information and parts that don't work together in some way that's well documented on the internet. Although I'm a firm believer in supporting the local economy, it isn't worth the aggravation to buy parts locally anymore unless I'm absolutely desparate.

Besides, most online superstores (like newegg.com) have great menu systems that act as choosers for selecting parts that will work together. I trust those forms way more than I trust the fluffed up ego of the sneering man across the counter.

I read 2 books recently that you might find interesting -

Unlocking the Clubhouse (http://tinyurl.com/5c34p)
A study of computer science students at Columbia U. that examines successful strategies and attitudes of women in cs.

Women Don't Ask: Negotiation & the Gender Divide (http://tinyurl.com/6p6a6)
A synthesis of numerous gender studies within the context of negotiation and professional work

[Randall]

And dirty . . . oy, they do NOT have those kind of cockroaches here, so it had been awhile since this had seen the business end of a vacuum hose. If I ever find an insect inside a PC (alive or dead), I will officially freak out.

Randall

[Bruce]

If I ever find an insect inside a PC (alive or dead), I will officially freak out.Insect nothing, a friend of mine told me a story of having to troubleshoot a system that had problems because a mouse had decided to make it its home. :shocked:

[Randall]

But at least mice are cute and fuzzy. :winky:

Besides, if you plug it into a USB port everything should be just fine...

Randall

[PaulKroll]

If I ever find an insect inside a PC (alive or dead), I will officially freak out.
Don't ever work in retail computer sales and service. Many times when I did, the tech would crack open a computer and something, or several somethings, would run out of the machine as he desperately slammed the nearest blunt instrument on them. At least once a machine had roaches coming out before it was opened, so we shrink-wrapped it and let them starve for a week before he opened and cleaned it.

Just one more reason I was so, so done with retail. (Shoplifters, customers who look but buy mail order, and the complete morons who walk in and try to sell you junk when your door clearly has a No Soliciting sign...)

[Snarpy]

My printer quit working once, and when it was taken apart to be fixed a mouse nest was found to be the culprit.

Snarpy

[Mandi]

I think I've got the whole thing pulled together, just waiting on a new-to-me video card upgrade.

The only thing that I'm wondering about is a POST that seems really slow, it seems like it takes almost a full minute between when it finishes reporting the BIOS settings and RAM, detects the CPU/mouse/keyboard and then . . . . . we wait. Finally, it reports the Primary/Secondary IDE devices and we move on. Is there something important it's doing during that time, or is there a setting I could tweak? The BIOS is definately set to use QuickBoot (or whatever it's called.)

I did flash the BIOS to the most current version, and the CPU is a P3-450.

I'm wondering if I'm just spoiled with more modern gear, and have come to expect a fully booted machine in 30 seconds or less, KWIM?

[Randall]

The only thing that I'm wondering about is a POST that seems really slow, it seems like it takes almost a full minute between when it finishes reporting the BIOS settings and RAM, detects the CPU/mouse/keyboard and then . . . . . we wait. Finally, it reports the Primary/Secondary IDE devices and we move on. Are all of the drives being detected? When I've seen a delay at that point, it usually meant the system was having trouble getting the IDE info.

You might want to double-check your jumper settings.

Randall

[Mandi]

They're right, but it might be interesting to compare the master/slave settings I've got to cable select settings . . . . hmmm . . . .

I'm noticing that it is, in fact, a little faster with the 450, than the boot speed I was seeing with the original P2 in there. (I know, I know, 450 is a still a weenie little processor . . . but it also was $5 on Ebay, and significantly improved this machine. Tiny budget, this go around.) So perhaps it's just a function of being spoiled.