CattyNebulart
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Re: D'oh! (slaps forehead)
11-07-2007, 02:54 AM
Well a UPS does go bad after a few years when the battery wears out. The last company where I worked swapped the UPSes for new ones every two years.
Also I'd get a power supply that is overrated for your needs because it needs to be handle peak demand otherwise that is when it will shut down, and as noted power supplies almost never can supply their stated power level, and even if they can they tend not to be able to deal well with sudden changes in power requirements, especially not when they start getting near their limit. Also being near to capacity load wears out a powersupply much faster. There are a lot of valid reasons why people advocate to use a hugely overpowered power supply, and I tend to agree with them.
Oh and if you suspect the power supply is bad you really shouldn't run your computer. The chance of a catastrophic failure where you see the magic blue smoke that makes your computer work escape is tiny, but even without that it can damage your new hardware, sometimes in subtle ways.
Sorry to advocate spending more money but it does seem like the best option. Of course I wouldn't trust a technician who told me this either. ^_^
Hope you feel better soon.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
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Re: D'oh! (slaps forehead)
11-08-2007, 04:24 PM
Okay, well, running the computer further is no longer an option. It can't much farther than the POST beep any more. I tried last night twice, then gave up rather than risk damaging the system per Catty's warning. So as soon as the cash allows, I'll be buying a new PS based on the recommendations here.-- Bob
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One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Actually, if it's degrading like that, it kind of make me doubt that the PSU is the problem. A marginal PSU should cause pseudo-random reboots (actually linked to irregular power draws like DVDs spinning up and such). If it can't even get past post, it shouldn't be drawing enough power to make the PSU flake.
My gut-feeling when I see problems like this after a new build is poorly-seated RAM or questionable RAM/Mobo compatibility. Try reseating your memory. If that doesn't work, try other RAM slots or swapping sticks, or only one stick (if you're running two or more; test all combinations). If you manage to get it running, get, burn, boot, and run a copy of memtest86+.
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Re: ...
11-09-2007, 04:35 PM
And I was just going to order the Antec PSU in a few moments...
Okay, I'll give that a try tonight. I remember wondering if I'd seated the memory modules with enough force, but the clips at the ends did click into place, so I thought I was okay. As for swapping, this is a small-footprint mobo; there are only two sockets for memory, and I have two modules. Should be easy enough to manage.
I just grabbed memtest86+, too, in ISO, floppy and USB key forms so I have all my options covered.
Oh, and yes, my CPU is an E2140, as you surmised.-- Bob
---------
One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
CattyNebulart
Unregistered
Re: ...
11-09-2007, 09:08 PM
I doubt it's a memory issue, since the computer ran for a bit but steadily degraded. Of course making a remote diagnosis is hard, so the chances that we are wrong are rather high.
Still based on my experiences this sounds more like a power issue than a memory issue. Or a firmware issue, since I have had very similar problems with a Nfocre4 firmware that isn't fixed because people are too busy passing the blame around. In which case the only solutions seems to be to chuck the MB. (Well I suppose technically you could try firmware updates, or replacements. But if the board is still under warranty swap it for another one.)
Still if I had to bet my money would be on the powersupply. Which is why I usually keep 2 computers around so I can swap components to find the fault. Much more reliable than guessing blindly.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
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Re: ...
11-09-2007, 09:53 PM
I'll give the memory a try, and what the hell, I've practically built a new PC, I might as well go for the new PS and round it out. And if I still haven't fixed it by the end of that, the mobo goes back to the shop.-- Bob
---------
One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Re: ...
11-10-2007, 02:24 AM
Bob,
Do you have access to a POST card? If so, put it in and let us know what is says. If not, here are few things to try:
1) Remove all add-ons from the motherboard and power the unit up. If the motherboard/power supply are not dead you should hear the POST codes for missing equipment (memory, video.)
2) If you hear the POST codes in step 1 then add in the video card and verify POST(should now hear missing memory POST codes.)
3) Add in the memory and verify POST, if it fails try swapping the memory in the slots. I've had some motherboard sfail, even after making sure the memory slots were clean and the memory was inserted properly. A swap of the memory between slots and the boards started working.
4) Then, add in the hard drives, cd, dvd, etc equipment one at a time. I've had some machines that would not boot because a hard drive was going bad. The motherboard would not even POST, but once the drive was pulled it booted fine.
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Re: ...
11-12-2007, 05:02 PM
Okay, here's the latest report. Reseating the memory didn't do a thing. During checking that, I attempted to boot a few times, and only got as far as the pre-GUI Windows startup (once) before the machine rebooted itself. Most of the time I would get the motherboard's brand graphic, get through the post, and then boom.
The hard drive was working extra hard, btw, before booting; I heard multiple clicking sounds from it before the boot "caught". So much as I hate to consider it, maybe the drive is indeed going. Even so, I'm going to order the new PS on general principle in a few minutes.
bmull, no, I don't have access to a POST card. I will try your suggested course of action tonight.-- Bob
---------
One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Danger, Will Robinson...
11-13-2007, 01:54 AM
Progressive degeneration combined with drive head noises makes the drive incredibly suspect. Before you do anything, I'd pull the drive, find a friend who'll let you muck about in their case, mount it there (read-only if possible), and back up anything remotely critical. Likely, any damage (if there is any) at this point will be limited to system and boot files, so you (should) be able to salvage the things that really matter.
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Re: Danger, Will Robinson...
11-13-2007, 02:26 AM
I have to agree with Xeno on this. Your HD is in grave danger, and I do mean grave.--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
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It's the memory
11-13-2007, 04:49 PM
I began the process that bmull laid out when I got home last night, and discovered that what I had thought was a hard drive click was in fact some kind of click-like chirp coming from elsewhere in the system. Very hard for the hard drive to click at bootup when there are no wires at all connected to it. Even harder for it to do ventriloquism under such circumstances.
Furthermore, bad behavior only started happening when I put the memory modules in. I spent some time fiddling about with them in different slots and whatnot, then dug through the mobo's manual to see what it could tell me about memory problems. Surprise, surprise, I found a table of "Qualified DDR2 533 DIMMs" for the mobo that I had overlooked in previous readings of the manual. Surprise, surprise, my memory wasn't on it. According to the manual, it uses PC2-4200 memory modules; the DIMMs I got from the shop were PC2-5300. So it's time to go back to the shop and complain.
In the mean time, though, I have a new PS coming. Newegg ships from a warehouse about five miles from me, it turns out. I ordered it yesterday morning; it should be in my hands when I get home tonight. -- Bob
---------
One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Re: It's the memory
11-13-2007, 04:52 PM
Quote:
Very hard for the hard drive to click at bootup when there are no wires at all connected to it. Even harder for it to do ventriloquism under such circumstances.
But that isn't a reason to skip doing a backup once the box is up and running again, right?
-Rob Kelk
"Actually, my goal is to write neat stories. The money just makes it possible for me to write them faster and then buy neat toys."
Ryk E. Spoor, 7 November 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012
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Re: It's the memory
11-13-2007, 04:55 PM
Probably not.
(mutters to self, "now how the hell do I do that again?" while searching for unused backup software)-- Bob
---------
One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Re: It's the memory
11-13-2007, 10:27 PM
The fact that your ram is rated higher than your board requires (the rating just indicates the maximum bus speed it will work with) means that it shouldn't really be giving you a problem, unless the modules are bad, or they are incompatible for some other reason. Check the Mobo manual and see if it requires 'Buffered' or 'Unbuffered' memory. Most memory these days is unbuffered, but it's just one more thing you need to keep in mind when buying.
As for backups, forget backup software. Just burn your 'Documents and settings' folder to CD/DVD, and whatever other archival directories you use. Heck, with black friday so close, I strongly recommend finding a good deal on a USB hard drive and backing up to that. Or at the very least a 2 gig USB memory stick (you can get them for $5 on sale).
"Not this again!" Minerva said. "Albus, it was You-Know-Who, not you, who marked Harry as his equal. There is no possible way that the prophecy could be talking about you!" - Harry Potter and the Method of Rationality, Chapter 84
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Re: It's the memory
11-14-2007, 12:07 AM
Speaking of that being fun.
I just had my main Windows box freeze up and, on rebooting, announce that a system file was corrupt and I need to feed it the Windows 2000 disk and run a Repair installation.
Simple, right?
Nope. Apparently the disk is bad, too.
Sigh.
And that was my primary CoH machine, too.--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
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It's not the memory
11-14-2007, 04:25 AM
It was the power supply.
By the way, that Antec is freaky quiet. The hard drive makes more noise than the PS fan.
Slightly longer story... on the assumption that my assessment was correct, I took the memory back to the shop. The tech behind the counter asked me several questions and said, "It's the power supply". But he tested the memory -- in a live system -- just to reassure me. Then he sent me home and said, basically, if the new PS didn't do the trick, come back with all the stuff they sold, and they'd troubleshoot it gratis for me. Well... don't need that now, but I gave the shop a call and thanked the tech for his help. -- Bob
---------
One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
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Re: It's not the memory
11-14-2007, 05:10 AM
Glad to hear it, Bob.--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.
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Re: It's not the memory
11-14-2007, 12:04 PM
Glad to everything worked out.
This seems to be the time of hardware failure, cause my laptop fans have just given up the ghost. They were making strange noises whenever it got too hot, then in rather quick succession (over a 24 hour period) they both gave up the ghost.
It still boots and runs, but any attempt to have fun (aka use the processor to any degree) causes it to sound like a badly oiled helicopter and stop working until the temperature has drops.
New fans are in the mail. Replacing old ones on my own should be fun.
(this should also explain my total lack of presence on CoH).-Terry
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"Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint Exupery
The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?
-Terry
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"so listen up boy, or pornography starring your mother will be the second worst thing to happen to you today"
TF2: Spy
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