got a busted gateway from uncle, should i refurb it?

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evident

evident

Lifer
Apr 5, 2005
12,110
727
126
It's a skt 939 system

Athlon 64 X2 3800+
1GB Ram
250GB memory

basically, i think the mb is shot and my uncle just left his system at my house to try and fix it. The PSU turns on, the the motherboard does not post and there are no beeps.

Is it worth me getting a vid card and mb to get this system back running? Would windoze 7 run on it okay?
 
mpilchfamily

mpilchfamily

Diamond Member
Jun 11, 2007
3,559
1
0
Not really. Cause the motherboard may not be the only problem. It could be the PSU or any other system component. Just because you get some power doesn't mean the PSU is good. But if you want to throw $30 into a new board and spend the money for a new OS then go for it.
 
VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,570
10,205
126
I would fix it up, I kind of like those AMD X2 3800+ chips. If you don't fix it up, you can always sell the CPU on ebay for $50+.

Supposedly, Asrock was going to release an NEW S939 mobo, based on 780G (785G?). I wonder what's happened to that.
 
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Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
Buy an ATX power supply tester to check the output voltages from the PS.

1. It's much cheaper than buying a MB.
2. It can be used for multiple rig in the future.
3. Every builder/tinkerer should own one.

BTW, Pull the CMOS battery and check the voltage on it.
 
fffblackmage

fffblackmage

Platinum Member
Dec 28, 2007
2,548
0
76
Blain said:
Buy an ATX power supply tester to check the output voltages from the PS.

1. It's much cheaper than buying a MB.
2. It can be used for multiple rig in the future.
3. Every builder/tinkerer should own one.

BTW, Pull the CMOS battery and check the voltage on it.
Click to expand...
Can you check the battery voltage on that PSU tester? I was just thinking it would be better to get a digital multimeter instead.
 
B

Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
No, it only checks the ATX PS output. You'd need a multimeter the check the CMOS battery voltage.
 
JackMDS

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
29,542
419
126
With 2GB of RAM such a computer can do very nicely with Win 7.

First step is to find out wether it is the motherboard or something else.

If it is the motherboard I would "terminate" the computer.

Otherwise it might be worthwhile to fix it.

If the CMOS battery checks OK, I would carefully take out the Motherboard ,put it on a static bag and connect it to a known to be good PSU and a monitor.
 
Ika

Ika

Lifer
Mar 22, 2006
14,264
3
81
AMD X2 systems are still pretty nice systems for daily tasks like browsing and office work. You can even game on one, but it might not be too great. If your parents need a new computer, this would be perfect.
 
evident

evident

Lifer
Apr 5, 2005
12,110
727
126
changing cmos battery didn't work. i have a fresh cr2032 battery and still get the same problem when i popped it in. I might just part it out and sell it at this point. or sell it as is on fleabay. The last thing i need is more orphaned computer parts, especially since this 939 board still uses DDR1.
 
ChaiBabbaChai

ChaiBabbaChai

Golden Member
Dec 16, 2005
1,090
0
0
separate parts into two bins: eBay and garbage. DDR1 is expensive dude! Not sure who would want to buy it, but they're probably looking on eBay right now. :D
 
Meghan54

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,684
5,225
136
I'd try another power supply, just to make sure that isn't it. Cheap way to check.

But I understand the orphaned computer thing. I got an HP Media Center computer dropped on me.....someone brought it over to get fixed. PSU was bad, cpu fan was clogged with dust.

After fixing it up enough to run, found it was infested with viruses and Trojans. Rather than pay for the repairs done and needed, it got left.

So, now it's running sweetly, just needs more memory---came with 512MB of RAM, pitiful. (P4 3.0GHz Prescott cpu) But it has its remote with it, dedicated video/audio in/out/capture card, etc. Wasn't a bad system back when it was made and will make, with more memory, a good grandma system for someone.

Sometimes it pays to rehab the old stuff......sometimes it doesn't. Just depends on what you've got to dump into it.
 
I

imported_NoGodForMe

Senior member
May 3, 2004
452
0
0
Co-Worker had a Dell that died. I replaced the MB and that brought it back to life. It was a different MB, not an exact replacement. I did a complete re-format and installed office and other utilities. Some of the connectors to the case buttons didn't match up, so I left them off, like the 5 in a card reader, he didn't need it.

It's a matter of finding out what MB is on the machine currently, and doing a bunch of research to find one that is similar that will run the CPU and Memory.
 
evident

evident

Lifer
Apr 5, 2005
12,110
727
126
Blain said:
He doesn't know if the problem is with the MB or other components.
Click to expand...


yep. Need to find a PSU that i can hook up to this. worst case, i'll just use the one from my main rig, hopefully all the wires can reach w/o me disconnecting them all
 
evident

evident

Lifer
Apr 5, 2005
12,110
727
126
update: Tried another PSU, pretty sure that the motherboard is shot. The system still doesn't post, but all the fans and drives are getting power.

seems like i can ebay the cpu for at least $50. seems like everything else is junk :(. i feel like if i can replace hte motherboard i can at least sell this on craigslist or something as a full system for $200, correct me if im wrong though
 
Last edited:
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Blain

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
23,643
3
81
evident said:
i feel like if i can replace hte motherboard i can at least sell this on craigslist or something as a full system for $200, correct me if im wrong though
Click to expand...
It's all about supply and demand. The craigslist shoppers could Buy This PC for $190 shipped.
How does that stack up against your rig? ^_^
 
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