Computer Woes

[SpringDog]

Hey all, sad news on the computer front tonight, my computer is kaput. Well, here's how it all started. Two nights ago I was playing City of Heroes when I started to notice some weird graphical errors. I was alt-tabbing out to use instant messenger, which usually creates graphical "hiccup," so I thought nothing of it. Then today, when I got back from work and tried to turn my computer on, I was unable to get past the SoftMenu BIOS setup. So I go into the setup to see if anything is amiss and find that graphical errors are occuring in the setup screen too. What I mean by graphical errors is that there is actual corruption of what is being displayed, i.e. it looks like the display is being torn apart and shaken all around. So I turn the computer off and try reseating things, only to find that it will not start up at all any more. The one time the computer managed to make it to the Windows login screen the error manifested itself as a bunch of purple and blue vertical lines while the screen got all jumbled up. So here's what's going on now: I press the power button and the fans (system/case/motherboard/etc) turn on for maybe a split second then turn off again. The light on the motherboard remains on, but nothing else comes on. I think I've narrowed it down to either: 1) the PSU, 2) the video card (though I doubt that), or 3) the motherboard. I'm pretty sure it's not the CPU, as I didn't get any error beeps while it was still powering on. I think it's either the PSU or the motherboard that's shot, as those are the only two items I can think of that would prevent the rest of the system from powering on. Can anyone help me out?

Some other things to think about:
1) If the PSU went bad, what would that look like? Would it explain the corrution of the display and inability to start up?

2) If the motherboard went bad, what indications would I have that would tell me this? Would that explain the corrution of the display and inability to start up?

3) Do you think it could be something else?

Again, thanks ahead of time... I want my baby to be healthy again!

 

[Qwertyman]

its the videocard, my friend had all wavy lines and crap too. so it must be that.

 

[Ice Czar]

in decending order of probability
video card
RAM
mobo

any of which could have been fubard by the PSU or heat
ESD & Electromigration Rant

time to cross part and test
what PSU is it?

The symptoms
Just about any intermittent problem can be caused by a faulty power supply. I normally look there first when the symptoms are a little weird. Common power-related symptoms include:

Any power-on or system startup failures or lockups
Spontaneous rebooting or intermittent lockups during normal operation
Intermittent parity check or other memory-type errors
HDD and fan simultaneously failing to spin (no +12V)
Overheating due to fan failure
Small brownouts that cause the system to restart
Electric shocks that are felt when the case is touched

There are also some obvious clues that should lead you to suspect a faulty power supply. These include:

A system that is completely dead (nothing happens when the system is turned on)
Smoke
Circuit breakers popping when the PC is turned on

Id guess video however (the artifacts) and likely something else since it wont boot
what killed it being either ESD, Bad Power or Heat

 

[RancidWAnnaRIot]

^^ what he said.. man, Ice Czar is like the know all, is all at [H].

 

[Fryguy8]

You said the machine is turning back off?

Try pulling video card and see if you can get the comp to stay on, that will at least be a positive sign. If it still turns off with no vid card then you are fucked.

 

[SpringDog]

Wow, you guys are fast!

I should probably post my system specs to give you guys a better indication.

* Intel Pentium 4 2.4C @ 2.88 (12x240)
* ABIT IC7 w/1GB Mushkin PC3500 DDR
* SLK 900-U w/Vantec Thermoflow 92x25mm Fan
* Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro
* Raidmax Black Mid P4 350W ATX Case (I think the PSU is Enermax???)

Now, I'm pretty sure it's not the video card, as a bad video card wouldn't prevent the system from powering up. The power doesn't ever stop per se, but its like it doesn't have enough oomph to get things running. I liken it to those lazy days where you're just watching TV and you feel you need a snack, so you decide to get up and fix something, but just after getting up you decide that it's too far to the kitchen/too much effort to fix something and you just sit back down again.

 

[SpringDog]

You said the machine is turning back off?

Try pulling video card and see if you can get the comp to stay on, that will at least be a positive sign. If it still turns off with no vid card then you are fucked.

Yeah, I tried pulling the video card out and starting it up... still no dice.

 

[Mike2002]

If you are using the power supply that came with the Raidmax case then I am pretty sure that it is not an Enermax supply rather it is a supply that most people on the boards here would not use. Just something to think about.

 

[SpringDog]

Good news everybody, it turns out that it was the PSU after all! I stopped by Fry's on my way home from work yesterday and picked up a good power supply (Antec 350W) and a new motherboard, hoping that I'd only have to use one of them. I decided to pop in the PSU first, as that would be the easiest to test, and wouldn't you know, everything worked flawlessly again! Looks like I'll be returning that motherboard after all!

Thanks again everyone for your help!

 

[Ice Czar]

Glad it worked out
and that the video card survived
and keep in mind not to overload that PSU with too much new stuff
drop by the Power Supply Forum to figure out how much safety margin you have for additional components

Is that a True Power Series Antec?