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  1. my pc stopped giving out video. i went to bestbuy and they said that the mobo is dead. is this ture? is there anyway to fix it?

    any info would be great thanks
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  2. You mean you took it to Best Buy and after they looked at it determined that the mobo was dead? Or did you just leave the PC at home ask the guys in the computer dept?

    Have you determined that the problem is not the monitor? Have you been fiddling with different video modes (resolution, scan rates, etc) both in your OS and on the monitor controls? Even so, you may still be able to add a video card (PCI, AGP, etc). I'd give that a try before buying a new mobo... unless you just want to buy a new mobo.


    Darryl
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  3. From the extremely limited information given, how the hell would you expect anybody to answer this?

    BestBuy is in the business of selling new computers, and their "techs" are damn near worthless.
    I wouldn't trust one to find the power switch.

    How about some useful information? Any indication of power to the unit? Lights, fan noise, startup beeps? Is there more than one VGA connection available? Do you know whether the monitor works?
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  4. Member oldandinthe way's Avatar
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    If your video is on the motherboard, there is an excellent chance the mobo is dead.

    If there are available compatible expansion slots and the video on the mobo can be disabled (check with the manufacturer), you can buy a video card rather than a mobo.

    If you are as technically challenged as you appear, the solution for you is a new computer. If you have to pay a repairman to change a motherboard you might as well buy a new machine.
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  5. best buy people are idiots. thats why i posted here. i also didnt have the PC to give more info. the PC is my brothers and thats all he told me. now that i have the pc i can give more info. when i plug in the PC, the PC turns on be its self. the fans are going really fast. no beeps at all. the monitor works i just tryed it. theres one video and its on the mobo. would a video card fix this problem? no im not "technically challenged" i just wrote what he told me
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    the fans are going really fast. no beeps at all
    Get another psu and try again
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  7. Originally Posted by Bjs
    the fans are going really fast. no beeps at all
    Get another psu and try again
    would a PSU problem cause a no video problem?
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  8. Member oldandinthe way's Avatar
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    A bad power supply could make anything in the system fail. The fact that the fans are running does not mean all of the required voltages are present.

    If all that is happening is that the fans are running it can be many possible failures. No video is not how I would describe the situation.

    If the system appears to boot (hard disk activity, Windows sound effects etc but you see nothing on the screen that would be "no video".

    What you have described is a dead system! The power supply is one of the most common and cheapest failures to remedy.

    If it does not fix the problem, you will have to gradually eliminate every major component in the system to isolate what the failed assemby is. Start by disconnecting all of the drives and see if you see the bios messages on the screen.

    PS the geeks at BestBuy haven't given you any bad information. Based on what you told them - no video, the recommended repair procedure is replace the mobo if the video is on the mobo. They make more on repairs than they make on selling a new system, so they aren't telling you the mobo is gone to sell you a system.
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  9. Unless you want to do this yourself, call the geeks at BestBuy and ask them if they bench-tested this unit with a Known Good power supply, AND with all hardware isolated from the mobo.
    That means unplug ALL drives, remove ALL cards, and RAM. That leaves you with either CPU or mobo, or both, assuming it still fails. The indicator would be no beep codes. Only way to isolate further is swap the chip.

    Whether or not swapping the CPU is worthwhile depends on the age and type of the unit.

    How long did they have the unit in the shop? 3-5 minutes? Most likely all they did was plug in a power cord and turn it on.

    If a tech at BestBuy told me "the sky is blue", I would stick my head out the window and look up.
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  10. Originally Posted by Nelson37
    Unless you want to do this yourself, call the geeks at BestBuy and ask them if they bench-tested this unit with a Known Good power supply, AND with all hardware isolated from the mobo.
    That means unplug ALL drives, remove ALL cards, and RAM. That leaves you with either CPU or mobo, or both, assuming it still fails. The indicator would be no beep codes. Only way to isolate further is swap the chip.

    Whether or not swapping the CPU is worthwhile depends on the age and type of the unit.

    How long did they have the unit in the shop? 3-5 minutes? Most likely all they did was plug in a power cord and turn it on.

    If a tech at BestBuy told me "the sky is blue", I would stick my head out the window and look up.
    yes they only had it for 5min. so i guess all they did is just turn it on. whats the odds of it being the mobo or the power supply? exp (70%mobo and 30%power supply)
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  11. A competent tech could do a proper test in 3 to 5 minutes. They don't have any of those at most Best Buy.

    The "odds" are good it is the Power Supply, but more importantly, a new PS is cheaper, faster to replace, and can be used on most any PC. Mobo is more expensive, takes 20-30 minutes, and may already be obsolete.

    Something to keep in mind on the "odds" is that they apply to ALL failures, not yours individually. Each single case is its own crapshoot.

    I keep extra PSU in stock all the time. Chips and mobo represent too much risk of loss due to obsolescence.

    Most times you are looking at mobo replacement, it makes economic sense to replace with a newer, better board and chip. Which reminds me, it could be a dead CPU, but really low odds on that one. If it is slightly out of date, and you purchase a somewhat obsolete mobo for it, the odds go up.

    Is this by any chance an Intel D845 board out of an E-machine or Compaq, with a 2.5 to 2.9 Celeron on it? I'm sitting on two dead ones right now, got more use for the fans and heat sinks than the chip.
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