Processor question

[imiloa]

I had a spare PII 400 lying around so I decided to sell it on ebay. I tested it the day before I listed it and it was fine. I sold it to a guy and he received it and said that everything was fine with it. Its now a week later and he's saying that once the computer boots up into windows the computer keeps beeping. He says that its a sign that the processor is "going bad" I've never heard of such a thing...is that possible? I thought that if it was bad, the computer wouldn't even POST. Thanks for your answers in advance.

 

[Mitzi]

It is possible but I think he's talking cr@p! It sounds to me like your buyer is trying to pull a fast one for his incompetence!

You need to ask him some troubleshooting questions.....

Does it start beeping after the PC has been left on for a while? (the machine could be overheating)
How many beeps?
Is graphics card/memory plugged in correctly and firmly?
Does the machine run okay in DOS?
Does the screen go blank the the PC become unusable when it starts beeping?
Does this happen soon as it loads Windows everytime he switches on the PC?
Has he tried a format and reinstall first? (What CPU/MOBO was he originally using?)

Did you extensively test the CPU before you sent it out or did you simply plug it in, check it was working and then turn it off?

Let us know you get on

 

[imiloa]

I extensively tested it and it worked fine. He said

<< it boots up fine, goes into windows then it beeps Intermittently which means there is a serious problem with the processor. >>

It doesnt necessarily mean its the processor right? I emailed him and told him to make sure everything is seated properly in the mobo. In my auction, I put that I would guarantee not DOA, but no other warranty. When he received it, he emailed and said everything was fine...so that was the not DOA guarantee. If there was something wrong at that time, he should have said something.

 

[ttn1]

It sounds to me like this is a case of tough luck to the buyer. It sucks, but it's not really the sellers problem anymore.

I would probably try to help him out with ideas, but I definitely wouldn't give a refund or anything.

FYI, I have had PCs and worked with PCs since about 1986 and I have yet to see a processor fail. The 286 I had in
college still booted up fine last year, until I decided it was time to get rid of it. I have heard about fried
Athlons, but I have yet to kill one. As for 400Mhz and below, never seen one go bad. I have had all sorts of other
hardware issues, but no CPU failures. I would bet on memory, motherboard or power supply, long before blaming
the processor.

These problems are usually very hard to track down, unless the person has memory to swap or possibly another MB to try.

 

[jefflhunt]

imiloa,

The problem here could be any of a number of things. What you need to do is have that customer provide some kind of documentation showing that this beeping after Windows starts actually is an indication that the processor is bad. I have never heard of such of a thing to tell you the truth.

To avoid him slapping you with some negative feedback, I would certainly try to provide him some troubleshooting assistance as he doesn't sound too incredibly smart with computers. Get as much info as you can about the situation and use the forum here to help you help him.

Jeff

 

[WarCon]

I thought that the machine beeping while running is the temp or fan speed sensors giving warnings. I don't know what mobo he has, if you can get that info it would make decoding the intermittant beeps easier. He probably is clueless and didn't even use thermal compound to mount a heatsink and he is getting temperature warnings. You might ask him what his bios temps read and what his fan speeds are.

I just realized it was a PII 400, so it is probably a slot with the fan/heatsink assembly attached so themal compound is irrelevant. Might be a fan sensor though or if he has no case cooling it might be temp.