Some Help Needed

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NASTY_LOS

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
193
A co-worker dropped off his PC to me to see if I could fix it. It's one of those HP Pavilions from BB (shivers). Anyways, when you turn it on, it doesn't go past that initial blue HP screen. It gives you options to press, ESC for Boot menu, F10 for (I don't remember), and F11 for system recovery. The PC won't allow it. Only when I hold down ESC or F10 while I turn on the PC does it show on the screen that it's been pressed but it just freezes. Nothing happens. I have made sure all the connections are secure. I'm stumped. Thanks in advance
 
Pull the hard drive , put it in another computer, and do a fitness test.
 
ultimate boot CD is fun (I'm pretty sure warren is right on the WD utility, at least some of the older versions)

also, tried clearing the CMOS at all?
 
I ran a couple of tests on the drive, both the quick and extensive versions. No dice. Utilities say that the drive is good. I looked for that CMOS jumper but cannot locate it or it is non-existent. Would taking that battery out do the same thing? If so, how long would I have to wait and should I turn it on with or without the battery? Thanks again guys
 
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Yes. Unplug the computer, remove the battery. Plug computer in , power up with battery removed.
 
Problem still there. I'm now completely stuck. Unless it takes some hours after taking the battery out to fully take effect?? Besides that, if it was the mobo, it wouldn't even turn on, correct?
 
gwarren007 said:
Yes. Unplug the computer, remove the battery. Plug computer in , power up with battery removed.
Click to expand...

:)

NASTY_LOS said:
Problem still there. I'm now completely stuck. Unless it takes some hours after taking the battery out to fully take effect?? Besides that, if it was the mobo, it wouldn't even turn on, correct?
Click to expand...

should take a few seconds, usually just popping the battery out will clear it, but warren's suggestion ensures it will work

if the board was bad, it could act screwed up, or it could fail to boot
time to try the system with devices removed, like HDs, opticals, memory sticks (cycle through all of them, 1 by 1) etc
 
As soon as I plug in the computer without the HD or the sticks the PC just keeps on beeping and didn't start. I did it without the drive and that screen came up with the same problem.
 
NASTY_LOS said:
As soon as I plug in the computer without the HD or the sticks the PC just keeps on beeping and didn't start. I did it without the drive and that screen came up with the same problem.
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no no, don't remove ALL RAM, just *some* of the RAM

if it has two sticks, take one out, try again, if fails, try the other
all other devices should be disconnected while doing this (Except CPU, PSU, cooling, etc, and video adapter)
 
NASTY_LOS said:
Problem still exists. I tried each stick and alternated slots also.
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well, that sucks

if you've got another system, try the components that you can out there (HD, memory, graphics adapter, etc), but one way or another you gotta break it to this guy that something is likely getting replaced
 
He's gung-ho about replacing stuff. I told him to just ante up and do an upgrade hahaha. But it's personal now! I need to know what is wrong with his PC.
 
NASTY_LOS said:
He's gung-ho about replacing stuff. I told him to just ante up and do an upgrade hahaha. But it's personal now! I need to know what is wrong with his PC.
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either a bad mainboard or CPU would be my guess, unless you can test the memory and confirm its all borked, or the graphics adapter

I'd put mainboard at the top of my candidate list though
 
There's no graphics adapter, at least not one that is removable. Sounds like an upgrade is necessary. Thanks for your help, obobski & gwarren!! I might as well replace his CPU also LOL
 
NASTY_LOS said:
There's no graphics adapter, at least not one that is removable. Sounds like an upgrade is necessary. Thanks for your help, obobski & gwarren!! I might as well replace his CPU also LOL
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so that rules out the potential of a removable card causing issues, makes me lean on the mainboard at fault even further

honestly I'd say its time for a new build (new mobo, CPU, etc), salvage what you can (memory, hard drive, opticals, fans, I'd probably leave the PSU alone (some of the higher power Delta units in HPs aren't bad, but most of them aren't worth it)), should be solid
 
Need little help once more....turns out he's a stingy one. He doesn't want to get some new up to date hardware. This old CPU is an AMD Sempron with a born on dating of 2005. I'm figuring a Phenom II ($90 @ NE) would fit the bill and blow his old processor out the water. Also I need a micro mobo. What do you guys suggest? TIA
 
NASTY_LOS said:
Need little help once more....turns out he's a stingy one. He doesn't want to get some new up to date hardware. This old CPU is an AMD Sempron with a born on dating of 2005. I'm figuring a Phenom II ($90 @ NE) would fit the bill and blow his old processor out the water. Also I need a micro mobo. What do you guys suggest? TIA
Click to expand...

yeah a Phenom II is great
if he won't listen to reason and insist that you need to keep that Sempron to save money, explain that he can spend ~$250 and get 4-6x the performance, or spend $250 and stay the same, see how much he really wants to waste

what PSU does this existing box have? it may not be sufficient for many upgrades
 
The PSU definitely needs to get changed. It's a Lite-On and whole information sticker is kind of all non-existent. I think I can make out a 250W LOL
 
NASTY_LOS said:
The PSU definitely needs to get changed. It's a Lite-On and whole information sticker is kind of all non-existent. I think I can make out a 250W LOL
Click to expand...

I would honestly tell this guy its time for a new computer and start the ground up, Sempron means its running DDR so right now you're already going to need to buy:

new PSU
new mainboard
new CPU
new RAM

why not just finish it out and grab a new case and HD and do it right :)
 
Socket is AM2 and RAM is DDR 2 PC2-6400

He's a car guy and I tried to put it into his lingo....engine, transmission & catalytic converter need to get replaced. Would you rather rebuild the parts or just junk the car and get a new one? Bottom line is that the mobo, CPU, PSU and RAm are getting replaced.
 
There's no model number at all. No stickers on the side or on the back. All it says HP Pavilion.
 
Hmm... try connecting another keyboard and mouse to that HP computer. Also, is there another CMOS battery you can swap with?
 
I switched batteries even left the battery off over night. I used my old keyboard also. Didn't work.
 
It may be worth checking to see if any of the capacitors are bulging or leaking anything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

I just had to replace a leaky capacitor on an old NF7-S I use as a backup computer. Although I dont remember if it would even post likes yours.... worth a quick check.
 
Try inspecting the mobo in the HP computer and see if there is any of the Electrolytic Capacitors have bulging tops. See the photo here
 
smesx you beat me to it! I laughed when I seen your post up when I submitted it. I did not see your post until after I posted mine.
 
gwarren007 said:
No entirely true. This sempron can run DDR3 :)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103698
Chances are his is ddr2, but we need to know the mainboard/ram first to see the socket he has.
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oh, they have new models out, didn't actually know that
thanks for the info warren (I honestly though they killed Sempron off some time ago)

unless its a bad cap, I'd honestly say yes to replace components

2GB of DDR2 is workable, limits your options some, but saves you money, so thats always good

just look for a new AM2/AM2+ or LGA 775 solution that fits into whatever budget he may have, new PSU is still suggested
 
Okay, so I finally got him to reach into his pocket. Here is what I have so far:
Gigabyte GA-MA785GM - 79.99
Corsair 400CX - 54.99
AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus - 99.00 Not too sure about the CPU. Still leaning on a Phemom x2
Most likely getting DDR2 2 x 2GB Don't know which ones.
 
Well, if you already have 2gb of the stuff, why not?

Run with that unless you really want to shell out $100 on ddr3
 
Well, I figured 80-100 on some new RAM. It's already allocated. But would DDR3 be that much of a benefit for this set up?
 
NASTY_LOS said:
Well, I figured 80-100 on some new RAM. It's already allocated. But would DDR3 be that much of a benefit for this set up?
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Besides allowing for better CPU upgrades and cheaper RAM upgrades in the future, not much of a benefit. With that said, if building a brand new system, definitely try to go for DDR3 RAM if budget permits.

However if 2GB of RAM is enough and a savings of $80 to $100 is really needed, stick with a DDR2 based setup.
 
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