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Computer woes
urchin
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Ok, I have a compuer problem and I have no idea what is causing it so this is a fairly long diagnosis...
My new motherboard and GPU came in a couple days ago and last night I finally got around to putting them in my case. I still used the same CPU (an AMD x2 socket 939), RAM, hard drives, etc. Anyway, it was my first time in quite a while doing this and I had forgotten how to do most stuff so I asked a friend who is experienced in that area to help out. We got everything plugged in and booted the computer. Everything appeared to work except there was a high pitched squeal that keep going on and off - I couldn't tell what was making it but it sounded like it came from the CPU area of the mobo. Anyway, after a while the noise stopped cutting out so it was just one long squeal (turning the computer off and then back on didn't help). A few minutes after that happenned the pitch went way up and then the noise just stopped. Nothing seemed to change on the computer screen, but something smelled funny in the case (sort of like something burnt). During this time, the capacitors between the cpu section of the board and the ports that lead out to the back of the computer were much hotter than the rest of the capacitors on the board (even though there was a fan next to them). I had finished installing XP Pro a bit after that and began installig programs and the like. The computer was funning perfectly like this for at least an hour when all of the sudden, the computer just turned off. Something smelled funny again like before. Now the computer won't boot. Every once in a while if I press the power button the fans start to spin up for a split second and the leds light up, but then they power off.
Looking back now, I know that the person that helped me out normally uses thermal pads instead of thermal grease and that he had no idea (like me) how to apply it properly. Ends up we used wayyy too much. I took off the cpu and heatsink and cleaned some of it off and reattached everything. The computer still behaves the same way.
Any ideas what could be causing the problem or if the thermal grease might be in any way related? Thanks!
My new motherboard and GPU came in a couple days ago and last night I finally got around to putting them in my case. I still used the same CPU (an AMD x2 socket 939), RAM, hard drives, etc. Anyway, it was my first time in quite a while doing this and I had forgotten how to do most stuff so I asked a friend who is experienced in that area to help out. We got everything plugged in and booted the computer. Everything appeared to work except there was a high pitched squeal that keep going on and off - I couldn't tell what was making it but it sounded like it came from the CPU area of the mobo. Anyway, after a while the noise stopped cutting out so it was just one long squeal (turning the computer off and then back on didn't help). A few minutes after that happenned the pitch went way up and then the noise just stopped. Nothing seemed to change on the computer screen, but something smelled funny in the case (sort of like something burnt). During this time, the capacitors between the cpu section of the board and the ports that lead out to the back of the computer were much hotter than the rest of the capacitors on the board (even though there was a fan next to them). I had finished installing XP Pro a bit after that and began installig programs and the like. The computer was funning perfectly like this for at least an hour when all of the sudden, the computer just turned off. Something smelled funny again like before. Now the computer won't boot. Every once in a while if I press the power button the fans start to spin up for a split second and the leds light up, but then they power off.
Looking back now, I know that the person that helped me out normally uses thermal pads instead of thermal grease and that he had no idea (like me) how to apply it properly. Ends up we used wayyy too much. I took off the cpu and heatsink and cleaned some of it off and reattached everything. The computer still behaves the same way.
Any ideas what could be causing the problem or if the thermal grease might be in any way related? Thanks!
urchin on
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Posts
I had an Athlon burn up once, and it smelled like self-combusting electronics have to me before - burning olive oil.
http://www.thelostworlds.net/
I still have my old mobo...I guess if I'm desperate I could put in the old setup and see if it powers on.