The title says it. I've made at least four threads on the subject, each getting less and less help. But I'm desperate. I've recently become addicted to playing Oblivion (PS3 I rented), and I really would like to play it on PC. Besides that there are many other reasons, many other games I'd like to play, but can't. The system I'm trying to revive is: CPU: Pentium 4 2.6GHz GPU: ATI HD260-0 Pro PSU: Some 300W Generic brand. RAM: Two 512MB sticks, DDR HDD: One is 38.8GB, and the other is a 200GB. Before you say, "IT SUCKS BAD GET A NEW ONE BARF PUKE", I know. But considering the PC I'm on has a AMD Duron 800MHz processor, 386MB of RAM, and a Geforce FX5200 in it, using that PC wouldn't be so bad. Here's the gist of what happens. I turn it on, power gets sent from the PSU to all of the components, fans turn on, but no beeps. If I misplace the RAM, it beeps, but when it's normally placed, nothing happens. I might try putting the FX5200 in it to see if the video's the problem, but I'm pretty sure it isn't. So what's the diagnosis? I'm already saving up for a new build, ($700), and I'm almost halfway there, but I'd like to play some at least slightly modern games until then. This current PC can't even play Morrowind without the game exceeding the SDRAM's capabilities and shutting the PC down. Please help. I'm actually getting depressed without a gaming PC. Sorry if this is the wrong forum.
A 300 watt PSU? The power supply unit in today's modern computer assumes a role probably more critical than any other single component in your system. A poor PSU can also cause other components to fail in your computer. The right Brand names = Quality Some approved Brand names follow... Seasonic - any model Corsair - any model Thermaltake - "Toughpower" series only Coolermaster - "Real Power Pro" series only PC Power & Cooling - any model Silverstone - any model Unless you are not into some serious gaming a 650 watt or higher will take care of your needs...PCI-E requires 26 amps at 12 volts. That's a 650W...Quality...PSU. If you are a serious gamer a 750 Watt, or a little higher will be all that you would need. Power Supply Information and Selection - Tech Support Forum
More on topic, tarkata14, are you building this PC or did this machine work previously and then broke?
No, it's an old PC my family bought a few years ago, not a brand name though, just a small PC shop's build. It worked up until a around June/July of last year, then it started having problems. The first I can think of was the peripherals, such as the keyboard and mouse would not respond after certain lengths of time. I couldn't hit Ctrl+Alt+Del, and the lock keys, (Which I use to test if a keyboard is responding or not), wouldn't do anything. A few days after that, it started acting up when I turned it on. On the system check screen, (BIOS maybe), it would sometimes not make it past the RAM check, or the HDD check, really random spots. Then it wouldn't work very well at all. It would turn on successfully maybe one tenth of the times, then get to the Windows loading screen, and the peripherals would stop again. Last time I got it to turn on was a few months ago, then I left it alone, randomly testing it sometimes to see if it would work. Also, I'm positive it isn't a problem with the PSU. I took the PSU from a friends PC, (He got a new PSU), and the one I took was as good as new, no dust or anything. Also, 300W is enough to run that PC, it started out with only 200W, and it ran fine on that.
That's strange. Can you go into BIOS and see what kind of things it says about your components there? Also, there are ways to try to figure out faulty components. For example, you can take out everything non-essential. Do you have on-board video card by any chance? If so, take out your ATI card. Take out one of the RAM sticks. Take out one of the HD's (the non-essential one). Take out your sound card (unless you're using on-board). Strip to the minimum, then try to boot and see how far it gets. Then, you can start switching components. Like, exchange the RAM sticks, then boot again. Next maybe exchange the HD's ... etc. There's a way to tell by the POST beeps but I'm not very familiar with that at all. There should be different patterns, I think. Like sometimes 1 beep sometimes 2. Maybe. Sounds like you've already tried some of these steps, not sure how helpful this is. Alternatively, I did a quick search and found some other forum discussing a similarly strange (but different) computer malfunctioning, and someone suggested a list of diagnostics programs to D/L. Look here
If you can find/or have your motherboard manual...it will explain the beeps...they are different from system to system. If you can not...then follow what the above poster has suggested.
Ah then that's simple. You can always download your MoBo's manual in pdf from manufacturer website, if you can't find your original one. Any decent diagnostics program like CPU-Z (currently my favorite) will tell you what MoBo brand/model you have.
I can't get to BIOS, I can't get to anything. Nothing happens when I turn it on, as I've said before. Also, I've tried swapping parts, using the integrated graphics, using the bare minimum of parts, nothings worked. I think I'll work on resetting the CMOS. Any tips on how to do that. Again, I get no beeps or anything when I turn on the PC. Nothing happens besides power being sent to the components.
For resetting CMOS, I believe you do two things. One is take out the circular "watch" battery. And two is, there should be a jumper (or switch perhaps?) somewhere on the board for resetting CMOS. See in your manual if you have it, or it might be labeled on the MoBo. Perhaps you don't need to take out the battery, not sure. By the way, another thing you might want to try is to replace said battery. When that battery runs out, it will cause issues too, but I don't think it will give you this kind of problem... but just in case.
