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Hardware diagnosis software for old machine

Sure, find an identical machine (or close enough) and one by one, swap the components out. Make sure that the other system is destoyable since it could be possible that you would fry the second system during this testing procedure.
 
Originally posted by: TheStu
Sure, find an identical machine (or close enough) and one by one, swap the components out. Make sure that the other system is destoyable since it could be possible that you would fry the second system during this testing procedure.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, this is pretty much what the professionals do when trying to determine the point of failure. There are a few shortcuts, such as a power supply tester, but not many.
 
The system crashes or freezes at the first screen (where it lits the hard drive) the keyboard doesnt respond which leads me to believe it's motherboard related??? we switched hard drives and it had no affect, I believe its the motherboard, anyone agree? or can point me in the right direction?
 
Well, first, I would reset the CMOS if you have not already done that. I don't mean inside the bios either, clear it using the jumper on the motherboard. All it takes is something to get messed up in CMOS and it won't boot.

If that doesn't work, remove everything but videocard, processor, and memory from compture (actually, only 1 stick of memory should be in) then see if it boots, if it gets as far as teh keyboard error, then shut off, plug in the keyboard, and try again, if it gets to HD boot error (no hard drive is plugged in yet) then shut down and plug it in, and see how it goes. It could be as simple as a bad ribbon cable.

I would also suggest reseating the memory, and video card at the get go as well because as time goes on, they can work themselves to a position that gives them a bad connection. This is caused from the constant temp changes of the hardware.

anyhow, it is all going to be trial and error, and you just have to test until you find it. It could also be a bad power supply, bad processor (or seated wrong). I had a motherboard that wouldn't boot brand new, it turned out that the processor was not quite pushed down in the socket as far as it should be and it got a bad connection.

Also, with the memory, if you have more then one stick, and you can't get it working, try the other, all it takes is 1 bad stick to cause many problems..

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Daniel.
 
Originally posted by: NWRMidnight
Well, first, I would reset the CMOS if you have not already done that. I don't mean inside the bios either, clear it using the jumper on the motherboard. All it takes is something to get messed up in CMOS and it won't boot.
If that doesn't work, remove everything but videocard, processor, and memory from compture (actually, only 1 stick of memory should be in) then see if it boots, if it gets as far as teh keyboard error, then shut off, plug in the keyboard, and try again, if it gets to HD boot error (no hard drive is plugged in yet) then shut down and plug it in, and see how it goes. It could be as simple as a bad ribbon cable.

I would also suggest reseating the memory, and video card at the get go as well because as time goes on, they can work themselves to a position that gives them a bad connection. This is caused from the constant temp changes of the hardware.

anyhow, it is all going to be trial and error, and you just have to test until you find it. It could also be a bad power supply, bad processor (or seated wrong). I had a motherboard that wouldn't boot brand new, it turned out that the processor was not quite pushed down in the socket as far as it should be and it got a bad connection.

Also, with the memory, if you have more then one stick, and you can't get it working, try the other, all it takes is 1 bad stick to cause many problems..

Good luck, and keep us posted.

Daniel.
Click to expand...

I did think of that but....Guess what....I couldnt find the jumper switch.🙁

 
It's not a "switch" but a little usually black or white jumper as I'm sure you are aware 🙂 . Usually located within the vicinity of the battery. Some really old Motherboards don't have it, and that may be the case. So your other choice is to remove the battery, and let it sit without the battery in for 30 minutes or so (also make sure the computer is unplugged as well). If it is soldered in, the last option, which I don't usually recommend, is short out the battery. You may also want to find out what motherboard it is, and see if you can locate a manual with a diagram online.

 
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