Video failure question

[ThinClient]

The short of it: Is the computer hosed? :awe:

The long of it:

This computer gets used maybe once a day or once every other day, for email mostly.

Thursday of last week, user says the monitor has horizontal lines moving across it and total system lock-up. He shuts it off by holding the power button, but it won't turn back on. 30 minutes later, the machine powers on but stays on just long enough to boot to Windows and open the email client before displaying these lines again.

The machine then stops booting at entirely. It will seem to power on, with fans and HDD activity (the drive clicks ever so quietly, haha, it might be dying too) and the USB devices like the mouse will flicker the laser once or twice and then stay on as if USB initializes properly or something. However, no video.

Google says that these lines might be due to updated video drivers running on old hardware which makes sense as this machine is pretty old with onboard video. I threw in a spare (read: much newer) PCI-E video card but I still get no video on any output. :|

Ideas?

 

[denis280]

PSU. failure probably.

 

[ThinClient]

What if the PC turns on once every half hour if I were to remove the PCI-E video card? I just got some more information from the user (important information is ALWAYS late and missing from the user, it seems) that the machine would sometimes boot and stay on for a few minutes before giving horizontal anomalies then locking up.

I'll be able to try this in a little bit.

Does this change anything?

 

[denis280]

What if the PC turns on once every half hour if I were to remove the PCI-E video card?

Sure why not.But still take a look at that psu

 

[ThinClient]

Thanks for the non-answer, I guess.

This wouldn't be a PSU problem if that were the case, would it?

 

[denis280]

Thanks for the non-answer, I guess.

No. do try with onboard.could be fine.but when you put the pci-e. the psu is probably getting to is final stage.

 

[denis280]

this machine is pretty old with onboard video

forgot this part. PSU

 

[ThinClient]

Would appreciate advice from someone who doesn't call it "rams" though :awe:

Can you even explain why you can't stop saying PSU? hehe. Like, what's the problem? What's going wrong? Why would dying PSU give horizontal bars moving across the monitor and then lock up like it's overheating? Why would it take 30 minutes for the machine to start up again? It seems like it's taking that amount of time to cool off after overheating.

Can you explain why you think it's the PSU? Teach me something

 

[denis280]

Well i say the PSU.because the lack of power to the gpu.
probably someone who doesn't call it (rams) will Jump in

 

[VirtualLarry]

Could be mobo capacitor problem.

What are the specs on the machine? Is it an older HP with an AMD AM2 X2 5600+ or 6000+? I've seen a couple of those machines in the past year that died. I blame cheap crappy OEM mobos, although temps on those CPUs were never great either.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Would appreciate advice from someone who doesn't call it "rams" though :awe:

Can you even explain why you can't stop saying PSU? hehe. Like, what's the problem? What's going wrong? Why would dying PSU give horizontal bars moving across the monitor and then lock up like it's overheating? Why would it take 30 minutes for the machine to start up again? It seems like it's taking that amount of time to cool off after overheating.

Can you explain why you think it's the PSU? Teach me something

Btw, the PSU is the first thing you check when a cheap OEM rig goes south. Experience says glitches are either heat-related, power-related, or the mobo is going (usually due to "capacitor plague").

Lesser possibilities are RAM or even CPU failure, but those are rare for non-overclocked rigs.

 

[sm625]

Sometimes the chipset/northbridge doesnt have good enough cooling so it might have fried the TIM under the heatsink. The TIM may be shot to the point where it overheats quickly now.

 

[SMOGZINN]

The PSU could be dying, and as it heats up it becomes less efficient until it falls below the minimum acceptable power ratings for the video card (or motherboard, or…). This can occur on different rails at different times. Then it needs to cool down before it is able to feed a minimum acceptable power source to the devices.

But, it could also be a dying MB. The fact is the only way to know for sure is to isolate the parts and test.

 

[Virgorising]

Well i say the PSU.because the lack of power to the gpu.
probably someone who doesn't call it (rams) will Jump in

Jeeze....LIGHTEN UP Thinclient! "Rams" usually refers to a group of humans, all of whom have the Sun in Aries.:whiste)

And typos are part of life. And you can have someone who nails every term accurately but can't nail or diagnose the real problem.

 

[Virgorising]

The PSU could be dying, and as it heats up it becomes less efficient until it falls below the minimum acceptable power ratings for the video card (or motherboard, or&#8230. This can occur on different rails at different times. Then it needs to cool down before it is able to feed a minimum acceptable power source to the devices.

But, it could also be a dying MB. The fact is the only way to know for sure is to isolate the parts and test.

Exactly.

(I always felt for Oppenheimer, learning he had healthy ambivalence and anguish re what he was pivotal in developing. Technology development without conscience.....can be hugely pernicious.)

 

[Virgorising]

Thanks for the non-answer, I guess.

This wouldn't be a PSU problem if that were the case, would it?

Forgive me, but I do wish you would think about and EXIT furious assignment giving mode, wherein you are demanding some kinda immediate accurate diagnosis/ solution from very smart, very kind humans.....while, incredibly, also running snark and dissing those humans.

Ever hear of troubleshooting? It's a JOURNEY, ESP, given, nobody generously moved to help IS THERE WITH YR SICK PUPPY. And, count yr blessings HELPERS ARE WEIGHING In, cause, in this thread, I think that may be for a finite interval.

 

[ThinClient]

Jeeze....LIGHTEN UP Thinclient! "Rams" usually refers to a group of humans, all of whom have the Sun in Aries.:whiste)

And typos are part of life. And you can have someone who nails every term accurately but can't nail or diagnose the real problem.

The emoticons should have told you that I was being silly. :awe:

 

[ThinClient]

Thanks for the info, all Apparently it's the mb that's deciding to take a flying leap.

Anyone up for some target practice with the mb? :awe:

 

[Virgorising]

The emoticons should have told you that I was being silly. :awe:

Clearly, I did not get that. Esp re "thanks for the non answer."

The lyrics, but most of all "the music" always trump the smilies, esp when the similies are not in concert with either.