Computer won't boot, Huge Problem

[DrDude]

Alright this all started when i got my new pc and i gave me old Pc to my sis. My old computer was P Celeron 1.2ghz 256mb ram, intergrated video card, it was a compaq. then my sister told me she planeed on buying The Sims 2 and Singles. I told her computer was good enough to run it. So she told me to upgrade it. She gave me $200 and i chipped in $100 cuz i am nice brother alright so i orded from newegg a 9600Xt, Pentium Celeron 1.3ghz, another stick of 256mb ram and a Allied Power Supply. So when the parts came yesterday I first put the Allied 400W power supply, then the stick of ram and then the 960XT, but i couldnt put the processor because i couldn't take the heatskin off. So i started up the comp it worked great, just to test it out i put in UT2004 and it worked flawlessly. Then my dad came home he helped me take out the heatskin and put the New 1.3Ghz Celeron in. I turned the computer on and it worked, but after a minute or two after, I smelled something burning, So i shutdown the comp. opened it up, took out the new Celeron and put the old one in. After that i tried to start the computer but the led of the comp would come on for a sec then shut down, but i could still hear the computer running and the cd and dvd drives open and close. Also the monitor just shuts off automattically and no picture comes. I know the monitor works because when i take vga cable out it says no signal and when i put it in, it just shuts off. Oh man guys you got to help me!

 

[Ryoga]

Ouch. Sounds like the new CPU overheated, and you probably have damaged the motherboard, too. Look around on the CPUs and the motherboard to see if you can find any damaged (black) components.

 

[Harvey]

Dude! Get a space bar and carriage return. I damned near went blind trying to read through that blur of text., :Q That said, your sis is lucky to have a brother who wants to help her like that.

It sounds like you may have put the heatsink (not heatskin) on incorrectly. Did you use thermal compound? If so, did you use only a very thin coating? If you didn't, there may not be enough thermal conduction to your heatsink. The same is true if you used too much.

The burning smell is a bad sign for the 1.3 GHz chip, but if you're lucky, the 1.2 GHz chip may just have protected itself and gone into thermal shutdown so it may work once you get it right.

I do question going from a 1.2 GHz to a 1.3 GHz chip. That's not enough of a change to be worth the effort. Beyond that, I would question spending as much as you did to try to upgrade an old Compaq. For the money you spent, plus whatever you could sell the old system for, you could have gotten most, if not all, of the way to a complete new system.

You still have the new vid card and power supply. Add a decent Athlon and mobo combo, a case, some RAM, a hard drive and some small stuff, and you're there.

I hope the new chip didn't fry. It'll be one more thing to sell. Good luck.

 

[imported_Pipeline]

Originally posted by: DrDude
After that i tried to start the computer but the led of the comp would come on for a sec then shut down,

By LED you mean the power light on the case, right?

but i could still hear the computer running and the cd and dvd drives open and close.

OK. This means the power supply is still delivering power to your drives.

Also the monitor just shuts off automattically and no picture comes.

Do you get the initial POST screen?

I know the monitor works because when i take vga cable out it says no signal and when i put it in, it just shuts off. Oh man guys you got to help me!

* See if you can narrow down where the burning smell came from - if it's from the Power Supply, then you could have blown a capacitor and the PS is no longer providing enough electricity to run your components.

If the Power Supply is blown, you:

1. Have to get another Power Supply with enough juice to run your new components. An upgraded video card probably has higher power demands than the stock PS can handle....

2. Have your electricity/surge surpressor/UPS checked because you shouldn't be blowing caps.

For further troubleshooting, you can try to narrow-down the number of variables:

- Unplug or disconnect your hard-drive, cd, floppy, and dvd drives (you can just remove the power cables and leave the IDE ribbons attached).

- Also, just leave one of your memory sticks in preferably in slot 0 (take the others out).

- Next, ensure your CPU is seated correctly and fully. Also ensure that your heatsink/fan is properly installed and connected - NEVER try to run a CPU without cooling.

- Ensure that your video card is seated correctly. I had a few AGP cards that would stop halfway into the slot - I had to really push down in order for it to seat fully. DON'T gorilla-punch it and crack your mobo or card.

If you're not getting POST screen, then it may be worth it to try a different video card (PCI/AGP/or onboard)

- Visually check the motherboard, look for anything that might be shorting out. To take this one step further, you could remove the mobo from the case, and just have Power supply, video card, and monitor.

Hope this helps.

 

[DrDude]

For what i see there is no black part around the Motherboard, and the chip didn't burn, it just smelled like it.

I dont get any POST screen or nothing. The monitor just has a yellow light and no picture comes. I tried the orginal configuration the comptuer was in before the Upgrades, and it still didn't work, no POST screen,

 

[imported_Pipeline]

You could try to reset the BIOS. Check the manual for BIOS-reset procedures.

After you reset the BIOS, you should have the original power-supply, CPU, ram, drives installed (no aftermarket parts). This will set the motherboard to the original, intended timings for the stock hardware.