Dunno whats wrong with my Computer

Jacastto

My computer recently died on me, and although i am going to get a new one soon, i would like to have a go a fixing it, because it is still a decent computer and i may yet be able to sell it.

It had been having trouble starting up and sometimes resets for no reason, which i put down to the power supply, but recently it has been having other errors.

when i turn it on, sometimes it just wont boot (which is again probably the power supply) but then sometmes when it does manage to boot it gets to the windows loading stage and then i get a strange pixelation all over the screen and it wont load any further.

Im not sure if it is still because of the power supply or (because of the pixelation) a video card problem or even a HDD issue. It is an old machine from about 2002. should i even bother or just let it go?

Thanks for your help.

Jacastto

Freakazoid81 · 03-22-2009, 12:14 | posts: 43 | Location: Germany

i wouldn't start the pc again until the psu is replaced. psu failures can cause all probs u described and many more

Jacastto · 03-25-2009, 09:46 | posts: 32 | Location: Australia

can i remove anything or unplug/take out something so that it still works without replacing the PSU

hallryu · 03-25-2009, 10:28 | posts: 10,837 | Location: England

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jacastto

My computer recently died on me, and although i am going to get a new one soon, i would like to have a go a fixing it, because it is still a decent computer and i may yet be able to sell it.

It had been having trouble starting up and sometimes resets for no reason, which i put down to the power supply, but recently it has been having other errors.

when i turn it on, sometimes it just wont boot (which is again probably the power supply) but then sometmes when it does manage to boot it gets to the windows loading stage and then i get a strange pixelation all over the screen and it wont load any further.

Im not sure if it is still because of the power supply or (because of the pixelation) a video card problem or even a HDD issue. It is an old machine from about 2002. should i even bother or just let it go?

Thanks for your help.

Jacastto

If you want to fix it, then it is a process of elimination my friend. Start with the PSU, any burning smells? Can you test with another PSU or alternatively try all the removable hardware on another system. Once you know they are working you can rule them out!

Omagana · 03-25-2009, 11:27 | posts: 2,201 | Location: Scotland

You mention the PSU like 3 times, which makes me wonder have you had known problems with this PSU before?

viren · 03-25-2009, 11:23 | posts: 2,326 | Location: Pune, India

Before actually replacing your psu try one of your friends psu. This way you would know that it a psu issue only. Although it seems more like a psu problem.

Jacastto · 03-27-2009, 06:43 | posts: 32 | Location: Australia

i have had problems with the psu before but these problems are not quite the same. it seems like the psu is probably the problem but ill try the other parts in another PC when i get my new one anyway. Thanks for your help

Jacastto

dune2 · 03-27-2009, 11:29 | posts: 3,376 | Location: Old Europe

PSU is a very possible culprit, so if you plan to purchase new stuff anyway, one option would be to just buy a PSU now and use it again later in the new rig. Before you do that though, check if heat could be an issue. Open your PC and make sure that all fans, especially the PSU fan, are spinning when you push the power button. If they do, cut power completely and make sure that all cables from the PSU are fully in place. Then disconnect everything you don't need, such as dvd-drives, 2nd memory stick, sound card, extra hdds, and see if the computer start up correctly. If it does, it means that the PSU can't handle the total load. One final possibility (but less likely) is that your ram sticks are failing. That wouldn't really account for the garbled colors, but if you have nothing else to do, try running the system with just one ram stick at a time and see if that makes the system stable. If one of the ram sticks is dodgy, get a new pair. Memory is cheap these days!