Computer Has Went Kaputt?

[Tom Saurus]

Last night I was recording with my computer as usual, and all of a sudden my computer screen went black. I thought perhaps that the hydro somehow had a surge or something. But it wasn't that. The hydro never even flickered it stayed on. I have an one of those battery backup power supplys that I plugged the computer, the monitor and my satellite reciever into.

Well anyway there was a burning smell in the computer. The fan was still working on the power supply, the case fan was still working, the fan on the videocard was still going. When I shut the computer off, and restarted it, all that seem to work are the fans. No sound or picture to indicate Windows has booted up. I can't even pop open the DVD Burner to put a disc in.

My computer tends to run hot, usually 50 degrees or so, when I am recording with the video card it is running at 60 or 55 degrees Celcius. I tend to use DVD Shrink and other programs that make my computer really heat up fast, sparingly. I have seen where the computer is running at 48 degrees and within a minute DVD Shrink has put the temperature up to 66 Celcius. Once the computer has reached 72 Celcius, I pause DVD Shrink, and wait for the temperature to drop. I am thankful for that pause button.

I hope my drives are still alright, I had tons of video files, and other data on all three drives. I am usually at my computer for hours each day. Often recording, burning a DVD at the same time, surfing the internet.

I am going to try to take it into the shop today, and I hope the technician can find out what is wrong. Does anyone have a clue what it might be? I am thinking my Pentium 4 ship got destroyed or damaged from too much heat. There was definetly a burning smell in the case. I thought my Mom had smilled something on the oven rage and the smell was coming from there. I thought my computer had something built into the mother board if it was getting too hot that it would shut itself down.

Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated. I am rather pathetic, the computer was a big part of my daily life. In some ways it was burdensom, because I am one of those people that like to record a whole series from there Satellite Receivers, to watch when it ever suits my fancy. I was recording an episode of Alias, and I am really getting hooked on that show.

I really hope that I can salvage stuff from my C Drive, I had bits and pieces of a storyline that was on one our Soap Opera's that has been playing out since January. If I can get past this crises with my computer, I am going to have a second computer built, to take some of the burden off of this one. I was thinking I could link the two together and record on one, and edit video footage and burn dvd's on the other. Of course this time, I am going to have it loaded down with fans, to keep it cool.

If anyone can give me some advice, please do? I am kind of guessing at what the problem is. I hope it is something simple that can be easily fixed, and that I can learn from all this and hopefully recover my data that I have spread over my three drives. Thanks in advance for whatever information you can give me on this subject.

[offline]

Since your fans are working, almost certainly so is the power good and thus the power supply is intact. This is not good news. It would have been better if your power supply had simply fused. You might be lucky but the chances, I'm sorry to say, are against you. Best of luck and keep us posted on how things go.

As for advice - don't turn the machine on and get it to an expert . If you feel comfortable doing it, take out your hard drives, and see if you can have them tested separately.

[Nelson37]

Disagree with what Offline just said.

Just replaced a PS that would spin the fans, but no boot. New PS and she is running fine. This is quite common.

The fact that the DVD drive will not open is very telling. You could disconnect mobo power and paper clip the PS switch lead and test this again.

Remove the power supply and take it some distance from the PC and run the sniff test. Good odds the PS has popped something and that is where the smell is coming from. Next question is did it take anything else with it.

[offline]

Actually Nelson37 is probably right. I was thinking in terms of p8-p9 power units for some odd reason. ATX ps units can blow powergood and still supply a steady 5 volts for the fans. Blame old age and galloping senility on my part.

I'd still, at a minimum, unplug the hard drives before doing anything.

[jagabo]

Most fans use the 12V lead.

[SingSing]

Tom, wish you luck.

[MOVIEGEEK]

I think your motherboard or CPU is fried,I just hope your HD isn't fried and you can extract the data.

[offline]

Most fans use the 12V lead.

No you don't understand. The power good pins give +5V output. Without that there is no 12 volt supply through the mainboard - no fans, no nothing.

[redwudz]

I would suspect the PS first. Hopefully if it died, it didn't take anything else with it. Most CPUs and motherboards are protected against overheats. If you were having temps in the past that were dangerously high, you would have likely had auto shutdowns of the computer and reboots.

I would take a sniff at the PS fan output and if you smell a strong burned smell there, probably the PS.

Fans are mostly all 12VDC, but the drives may run off a separate 12VDC rail.

But anyway, good luck.

[Tom Saurus]

Thank you all so much. I was just walking around in a daze, when I went up town. I am so used to going in and doing something on the computer. It is hard to believe how attached I am too that technological marvel. I got the computer dropped off at the computer shop. The technician is backed up working on other people's computers, so it may be a week or more.

I am planning on launching a topic, on what I need to get for my spare computer I want the technician to build for me. I think I really have to take some of the burnden off of my current computer.

The technician is going to test each part until he finds out where the problem is. He is leaning toward maybe a capacitor blew on the motherboard.
I am hoping that my hard drives are all right. I had alot of video files stored on there. The part that has me concerned the most, when it comes to my software, is Tmpgenc DVD Author 1.6, I was able to buy a few years back by money order and they give me a code that activated it forever. I am hoping I have that code backed on disc somewhere, so that I can reinstall it. Back a few years ago, they seemed more motivated to actually work with potential customers. Now they seem so cold. A few years ago, after my trial version ran out, a gentleman at Tmpgenc was kind enough to give me an address in California where to send a money order to purchase it. I have never regretted buying Tmpgenc DVD Author 1.6, though I have grumbled because I wanted a way to make the text stand out better when designing your menu templates.

Sorry for going on and on. I appreciate the advice that you all have given me. It was kind of you take the time to give me this information. SingSing, that you for wishing me good luck. I am hoping I get it back by Tuesday Night, on the Drive In Classics channel they have been putting on "Ma & Pa Kettle" Movies, and they are so enjoyable and it may be along time before they decide to air them again. Once again, thank you all.

[jman98]

I strongly suggest you consider replacing the power supply. You'd be surprised at what kind of weird problems can be blamed on a faulty power supply. A couple of months ago my PC started locking up on me for no reason when doing some video encoding and then refused to boot, even though the power supply seemed to be working. I replaced it and it totally fixed my problems.

[Tom Saurus]

jman98: Thanks for your input. The technician installed this power supply back in March of this year. I don't mind buying another one. If it is the powersupply and the rest of the computer is fine, then I am will be extremely grateful.

I just was thinking, when I was up town, I should of went to the local Radio Shack and bought a Stand Alone DVD Recorder. That might of been a big assett to me to tide me over until the computer is fixed. I could burn the shows to DVD+RW and cut the commercials out later on with Womble Mpeg Video Wizard. Then erase the discs when everything was organized.

[yoda313]

I should of went to the local Radio Shack and bought a Stand Alone DVD Recorder. That might of been a big assett to me to tide me over until the computer is fixed

Yep they are nice. You can get one without a harddrive for around a $100 US these days. Probably less if you look around. Though fyi some don't have stereo rf tuners so you'd have to use something like a stereo vcr as the signal source to record in stereo. But other than that very handy.

[Tom Saurus]

Perhaps I can learn something from this experience. I think when the Ma & Pa Kettle movies come on, I will tape them comercials and all in SP mode of vhs tape. Then if my computer gets fixed, I will record these in to the computer, and edit out the commercials. There will be a loss in quality, I usually record with the S-Video cable with the capture card, directly from the satellite reciever. But it shouldn't look too bad.

The technician said it may take a week before he looks at the computer. He told me that he can build build me my "new computer" to go along with my current one. Would it be alright if I launched a thread to help me figure out exactly what I need to get to make my "new computer" a really stable, dynamic machine?

[nelson133]

What some of the other posters were trying to suggest (and I agree) is that you would be better off learning to trouble shoot and fix your own computer problems. You couls buy a lot of parts for what someone would charge you to do some simple work. Building your own computer from scratch isn't hard either and there's lots of info available both from the members on this site and many other sites. Whether or not you save money building your own, you can control the quality of what goes into the box. Every commercial builder cuts corners somewhere. Nyah Levi

[free is better]

this time around consider getting a power supply from one of the known suppliers of heavy duty units. i would start with the power supply as the easiest to replace and most likely culprit. by the way how is the temperature in the room that the computer is in ? Are you running more than one cpu intensive task at the same time ? even with a new computer you need to address tthe temperature issues decrease your chances of a repeat disaster.

[psx_pirate]

Don't rely on stock coolers .... video work can put a lot of load on your cpu .... get a decent cooler, ... i had problems with my cpu temperature reaching 70 - 80 degrees celcius during heavy video work and using only the supplied stock cooler, i upgraded to a Zalman CNPS9500 and now the temperature never goes above 34 degrees even on the hottest days ... ok they're not cheap but its cheaper than replacing the cpu and as many of the Zalman coolers are designed to fit all but the oldest proccessors you can re-use it if you upgrade in the future...

Have a look at http://www.zalmanusa.com

[JerryB]

Last night I was recording with my computer as usual, and all of a sudden my computer screen went black. I thought perhaps that the hydro somehow had a surge or something. But it wasn't that. The hydro never even flickered it stayed on. I have an one of those battery backup power supplys that I plugged the computer, the monitor and my satellite reciever into.

Well anyway there was a burning smell in the computer. The fan was still working on the power supply, the case fan was still working, the fan on the videocard was still going. When I shut the computer off, and restarted it, all that seem to work are the fans. No sound or picture to indicate Windows has booted up. I can't even pop open the DVD Burner to put a disc in.

My computer tends to run hot, usually 50 degrees or so, when I am recording with the video card it is running at 60 or 55 degrees Celcius. I tend to use DVD Shrink and other programs that make my computer really heat up fast, sparingly. I have seen where the computer is running at 48 degrees and within a minute DVD Shrink has put the temperature up to 66 Celcius. Once the computer has reached 72 Celcius, I pause DVD Shrink, and wait for the temperature to drop. I am thankful for that pause button.

I hope my drives are still alright, I had tons of video files, and other data on all three drives. I am usually at my computer for hours each day. Often recording, burning a DVD at the same time, surfing the internet.

I am going to try to take it into the shop today, and I hope the technician can find out what is wrong. Does anyone have a clue what it might be? I am thinking my Pentium 4 ship got destroyed or damaged from too much heat. There was definetly a burning smell in the case. I thought my Mom had smilled something on the oven rage and the smell was coming from there. I thought my computer had something built into the mother board if it was getting too hot that it would shut itself down.

Any advice you can give me is greatly appreciated. I am rather pathetic, the computer was a big part of my daily life. In some ways it was burdensom, because I am one of those people that like to record a whole series from there Satellite Receivers, to watch when it ever suits my fancy. I was recording an episode of Alias, and I am really getting hooked on that show.

I really hope that I can salvage stuff from my C Drive, I had bits and pieces of a storyline that was on one our Soap Opera's that has been playing out since January. If I can get past this crises with my computer, I am going to have a second computer built, to take some of the burden off of this one. I was thinking I could link the two together and record on one, and edit video footage and burn dvd's on the other. Of course this time, I am going to have it loaded down with fans, to keep it cool.

If anyone can give me some advice, please do? I am kind of guessing at what the problem is. I hope it is something simple that can be easily fixed, and that I can learn from all this and hopefully recover my data that I have spread over my three drives. Thanks in advance for whatever information you can give me on this subject.

Hi,
I think you already have gotten some pretty good advice already...... on what the issue and possible ramifiction....

I will just add this for the future....
first... make sure your power supply big enough for what your doing...!! and it has a good exhust fan to take out the hot air....
but also look at what you have and the air flow.... for example now you have graphic card that has it's own fan... that tell me going to be generating a lot of heat and it need to get rid of it and not accumulate inside... the case.. also what kind of cpu chip intell or amd? amd has a long history of generating alot of heat.... many of my friends will add one or two fan... one case a extra intake and extra exaust.... espcially with amd systems... just some thoughts

[redwudz]

JerryB said:

amd has a long history of generating alot of heat

That holds true for some models of AMD and Intel CPUs. But newer CPUs from both manufacturers have made big improvements with creating cooler running CPUs. The AMD Athlon AM2 3800+ CPU in my HTPC is presently running 31C with a case temp of 35C and it's in the middle of a 1 hour encode. It runs cooler at idle. This is with a stock CPU fan at 1250RPM and a 5% overclock.

It's using a 450W PS. The biggest heat producers now are the hard drives, but they have a fan in front of them. The video card is on board and has a small passive cooler.

Anyway, you don't have to use CPUs that run extra hot and demand 'leaf blower' cooling systems to get performance. I do have at least one intake fan and one exhaust fan on every PC I build and most of them run fairly quiet.

[Tom Saurus]

Update On Status Of Computer

I am still waiting for the technician to figure out what is wrong with my computer. He tested the power supply and said it seems to be fine. He thinks that it is the motherboard. I dropped the computer off on Saturday, September 23rd, 2006. He finally started working on it on Friday, September 29th, 2006. That is when he said he ordered in a motherboard. He said it would take three business days. Since a motherboard was order, I thought it might be a good idea to get a better case, because of the issue of heat building up in the computer. He said that because he likes to order everything all at once, that it wasn't a good idea, because it would mean more shipping fees. So I just dropped it, he said I was phoning too much, so I try not to phone very often.

The part came in on Wednesday, October 4th, 2006. I thought now, finally he will get to work on it, maybe on Thursday, I will atleast know where the problem lies. I had a medical appointment up town on Thursday, and on Thursday he told me hadn't started on it yet, but probably Friday he would be working on it. I dropped off my disk for the ATI All In Wonder Card, because he said he had to update alot of stuff, for the new motherboard to work with the various existing components. He said he might be able to back up my data on another hard drive, incase a complete reinstall is necessary. But he figured I wouldn't have to have a complete reinstall of Windows XP Pro.

Friday, arrived and he said he had another computer on the bench and he would finish it and maybe just maybe on Saturday, he would start working on mine. Well I phoned a half hour before his work hours end on Saturday and he tells me that he isn't done with the other computer yet, which he described as a refurbished computer that he is getting ready. Which makes me think, that is probably one of those computers he sticks in the shop window and sells off. I am getting kind of ticked about this, if I am in line, behind someone else, that is fine. But he is wasting time, putting parts together for one he is going to just stick in the window, why can't that wait until after my computer is completed. He usually works on Sunday, but because of Thanksgiving here in Canada, which is this Monday, he is taking those two days off, which I understand. So he said Tuesday, he figures he will get that other computer finished in the morning and then start working on mine.

So I figure I am just going to try to forget the computer even exists until next Friday. If he hasn't got anything done by then, I think I will go pay him for what he has done, and take it some place else. I really wish I had the ability to build computers myself, and I would cut out the middle man. Unfortunatly out of all the technicians in that town, this guy was the one I trusted the most and felt he was most competant. I don't mind waiting in line, but as the weeks go by, it is really getting monotanous.

I am half scared to get the computer back, I get a feeling it will never work as well as it once did. I think maybe I am really too hyper about the computer getting fixed, after all it is just a machine. It cost me nearly two thousand dollars to have it built.

I trying to plan out having a new computer built. On the 24th of October, 2006 I was on my sisters computer, on the Internet, and her modem got hit by a surge, and it won't work now. Her computer is a Windows 98 and is 300mhz and I had a network card installed in it so that we could use my DSL Internet and keep the phone line free. It can't seem to handle the Internet very well, I get the blue screen of death and the computer freezes up quite a bit while I use the Internet. Another computer guy up town, put the network card in, and he was very anxious for business. I figure the network card problems are just do to the fact that a 300mhz computer just can't handle this much of a strain. So I will have to probably go back and have a dial up modem installed and the network card took out.

I guess I am rambling on and on. Maybe there is some place on the internet where I can learn how to build a computer or how to fix my own. Any advice would be appreciated. Sorry for rambling on and complaining so much. I really have alot to be grateful for, and I should just go with the flow, and not worry about the computer. It might be fixed someday.

[redwudz]

Sorry for your problems. If you are interested in building a computer, instead of suggesting or posting links, my suggestion is to do a Goggle search for 'building a computer'. You will see lots of links. Go though them till you find one that is easy for you to follow and study it. Once you understand the basics, you can read though a few more sites and get a fairly good understanding of the process.

Even if you decide not to build a computer, understanding what the parts do and how they are connected will make it much easier to do repairs or replace parts yourself or even diagnose problems. There's not that many parts in a computer case.

You have the power supply, motherboard, video card and PCI cards, memory cards and CPU and cooler. Then there are the drives, optical and hard drives and maybe a floppy drive. That's eight basic parts, not so hard to understand. They usually all have standardized plugs and sockets, so all but a very few will only attach in one way. The case also likely has fans, but they are really part of the case.

Most all devices have drivers to make them operate. The OS or operating system supplies most of these. The others are added later and are usually included with the device.

Looking at a computer that way, they are not so complicated mechanically. The main tool you need is a simple Phillips screwdriver.

[Tom Saurus]

redwudz: Thank you for the advice. I think I will do a search on Google. Even if it just to understand computers better, that is something. Once again, thanks.

[fLYtRap]

I think your motherboard or CPU is fried,I just hope your HD isn't fried and you can extract the data.

I agree. Unfortunatelly its propablly bouth of them. I just had a simillar situation with my computer and I had to replace motherboard and cpu. I don't know how old its your machine, but it looks like it didn't cool it properlly anymore. Most likely thermal grease went bad and that causd cpu socket to blow from heat.

[TBoneit]

I have to ask, What the heck kind of computer repair shop works that way? I'd be ashamed to work the way you are describing your computer repair. He thinks it is the Motherboard? He isn't sure?

I work in a small computer store doing repairs and customers are handled on a FIFO basis unless it is something really quick like just change a power supply then the other guy does that while I deal with software and other hardware issues. We'd never keep a customer waiting while we refurb a computer we hope to sell. (We sell used computers that have been tested and bad parts replaced and have, knock wood for luck, never had to fix one under the warranty we give since we test them carefully. I don't set the prices, for example: we sold a used HP 1.8Ghz P4 with 80Gb HDD cdrom, DVD Burner, 256Mb, licensed XP Home, Firewire, ethernet, 56k, sound etc. for $199 and the customer was happy. She's bought used form us before. Some may say we sold to high, but it was all tested and we stand behind it and since she was buying for someone else she wanted a brand name so they'd be happy with it.

The last three computers we changed Motherboards in also needed power supplys. All three were E-Machines fwiw.

Average turn around is a day and that includes changing Mobo, Fixing windows and doing the security updates for windows / Antivirus. Sometime if we really get busy it takes two days.

The only time it takes longer is when we have to wait for the customer to authorize parts. When the computer is dropped off we give a price range and mention we will call if any parts are needed. Then the customer has to authorize needed parts or pay the minimum $49 fee.

I don't claim to know it all, I'm still learning despite working at the same store for over 10 years now and having A+ certification, A Breeze to hit the 95+ score on with no classes taken. and a Telecomunications degree. I'm still learning and will be until after I retire whenever that is.

I Guess I'm amazed this has been going on since Sept 23 and still isn't resolved.

Tech dosen't even stock parts? No cases?
Huh!

[ahhaa]

TS-
First, we are missing some info that might help you, such as- was there a lot of dust & such in the computer? Does the UPS have a hefty power rating- good enough for all you have plugged in? The heat buidup hasn't been explained if your fans were running.

Second, reconsider the whole picture. Sounds like the tech is gaming you to make sure he builds you a new machine. You need to separate the 2 deals.

I'd go further. Obviously you are into video. Recording video is very time-consuming. Doing it on a computer puts a lot of hours on; what did you spend- 2 Gs? At a quarter of that cost, you can get a nice Panasonic state-of-the-art standalone DVR with a huge HD; for a hundred a Lite-On or other straight-to-disc machine that would take most of the load off your computer.

Now, media center computers are about to go thru big changes- Vista is about to replace XP, and the whole Hi-Def thing is coming to a head- not to mention Christmas deals. It is not really the best time to have a pricey custom computer built. It might be a good time to build your own, if you knew somewhat more about them. You can buy a sexy case; you can probably salvage a lot of your blown computer components, etc.
But considering everything- and I rarely recommend this- you could also go to Dell or Gateway & get a semi-custom machine for a reasonable price that has a nice long warranty- which you won't get from this guy who's got your old machine. You could even go down to a big box store & pick up a cheap media center machine (also with a warranty) and then take your time rebuilding your old machine, learning as you go.

All I'm saying is consider your options well; then go ahead. For example, if you had a backup way to do your recordings- you could get your old machine back, then replace parts yourself (from ebay or online vendors) : upgrade the PS, upgrade the mobo, etc (it is unlikely that the HD or DVD drives etc caused this problem.

Your biggest problem is this guy monkeying with your HD. If you got another computer, you could plug the old HD into it and lose nothing- as long as he doesn't tinker with it. How much does he say you owe him at this point?

[TBoneit]

ahhaa, I hadn't even thought of he might be trying to convert repair into new. Around here we can make more repairing than building a new computer. I was thinking more along the lines of "Is the guy for real" with reference to the tech. What kind of repair shop has to order anything they need and have it shipped in. Don't they stock common parts?

"he said I was phoning too much" ??? Once a day? OK, several times a day. I have to say it sounds like he isn't interested in repairing so much as, how can I say this? Hmmm...

Sell a new or refurb and take your old parts which he'll then speedily repair (refurb) and sell.

[INFRATOM]

Give us more info, what's that hydro are you refering to water cooled CPU system. Those temperatures you are mentioning 50 celcius or centigrade is around 200 deg farenheit and you were watching it going to 72 celcius sounds like you were barberquing. Sometimes its hard to justify to build a new fast computer but if it burns out like that I would go for one of those new dual or quad cores.

[oldandinthe way]

Since you haven't identified the manufacturrer of your computer (or so it seems in my read through), it is hard to tell whether your repair shop is just unable to service computers or long parts delay are explicable and a function of your machine.

Power supplies can fail and take out the motherboard.

Excess heat is the enemy of all components.

An older case with inadequate cooling may be obviously deficient to an experienced tech.

It is possible to have a "quality" motherboard and "quality" case and still have hot spots which cause early failures. Theoretically a homebrew system is more likely to have such problems than a factory built machine, but life isn't all theory.

And not all manufacturers take the time to test their machine designs.

I personally recommend buying a branded computer at a nearby big box store. With a warranty. Prices are as low as $200 with some of their sales.

Until you have gained more knowledge, a homebrew, built by you or your local store is probably going to be an infinite hassle if any failure occurs.

[ahhaa]

Tbone- I used to work for an office supply guy who bought himself a R*dio Sh*ck franchise. I noticed a certain modus operandi- some people's computers (always people who knew almost nothing) would sit there for weeks & months- literally. When the people enquired, he always had a story for them, but I never saw him doing the things he described. It boiled down to 'tried this, tried that; getting costly'; quite a few people abandoned their old machine instead of paying the 'repair bill'. He's a big fan of W98 too, never had a good thing to say about XP. After 6 months or so, the abandoned computers would be 'refurbed' with 98 and set on the resale shelf. He also made money by locking in local offices to bizarre 'systems' that only he could understand and repair. For example, in one spot where they needed daily backups of invoices, he networked the computers & added individual zipdrives, even tho the computers already had CD burners installed. the tech version of the shade tree mechanic, I guess.

[Nelson37]

Tom, IMO you are being badly hosed.

Do you live in a really remote area? If someone called me to work on a 300MHZ PC, I would strongly advise them not to spend a dime on that machine and put the service call towards a new one. It's like an old car with over 200,000 miles on it, one day it don't start, you don't even open the hood, you just walk away. Not worth the effort.

This tech with no cases in stock, and apparently little else and takes over a month to fix a PC?
Power supply "seems fine"? Five minutes, a phillips screwdriver, and a $45.00 power supply and I bet you'd be back in business. At the least, you would then be certain you need a board and/or chip, a little Internet searching and maybe an hour assembly time and you would be working and upgraded, as well. What you have paid in labor would probably cover the parts.

It is not hard at all. We will walk you thru it.