Hardware Problem?

A friend just handed me a HP Pavillion (Genuine Intel III and W98 ME) to
clean up and pass on to young ones. I put all the pieces together and was
able to get it going and navigate through a very crowded HD, but did not do
anything at that time. A day later, I turned On the main switch and
all appeared to be OK with the Icons on the desktop and the system ready to
be used, when, suddenly, the screen blanked out. The Monitor power indicator
light from green turned to red, while the Tower became inoperative and could
not be reset. I tried to do a complete restart then and later on, but keep
noticing that the Monitor light stays green for a brief time, then it turns
red, while a clicking sound can be heard. The Tower won't power up, at all. I
am not sure, at this point, what the problem could be or what to look for
inside the tower, unless something very obvious should get my attention. Any
suggestions?

Try reseating all the internal cards ram, video, ect and hard drive/cd
player cables. these can often become loose or dislodged when the box is
moved around.

--
I`m not a complete idiot, there`s still a few bits missing
"BAP" wrote in message
...
A friend just handed me a HP Pavillion (Genuine Intel III and W98 ME) to
clean up and pass on to young ones. I put all the pieces together and was
able to get it going and navigate through a very crowded HD, but did not
do
anything at that time. A day later, I turned On the main switch and
all appeared to be OK with the Icons on the desktop and the system ready
to
be used, when, suddenly, the screen blanked out. The Monitor power
indicator
light from green turned to red, while the Tower became inoperative and
could
not be reset. I tried to do a complete restart then and later on, but keep
noticing that the Monitor light stays green for a brief time, then it
turns
red, while a clicking sound can be heard. The Tower won't power up, at
all. I
am not sure, at this point, what the problem could be or what to look for
inside the tower, unless something very obvious should get my attention.
Any
suggestions?

From your limited description, it sounds like the power supply is kaput. I
worked on a machine that had a similar sounding problem and the guy
continued to try to get it to boot before bringing it to me. He ended up
frying every component (all the drives, ram, mobo, etc.) because of a bad
power supply. Since you are asking here, it seems unlikely that you have
the technical know how for troubleshooting this problem so you probably need
professional help. The problem is that the machine is only worth about $75
or so in good working condition and that is about what a computer shop will
charge you an hour to repair it.

--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"BAP" wrote in message
...
A friend just handed me a HP Pavillion (Genuine Intel III and W98 ME) to
clean up and pass on to young ones. I put all the pieces together and was
able to get it going and navigate through a very crowded HD, but did not
do
anything at that time. A day later, I turned On the main switch and
all appeared to be OK with the Icons on the desktop and the system ready
to
be used, when, suddenly, the screen blanked out. The Monitor power
indicator
light from green turned to red, while the Tower became inoperative and
could
not be reset. I tried to do a complete restart then and later on, but keep
noticing that the Monitor light stays green for a brief time, then it
turns
red, while a clicking sound can be heard. The Tower won't power up, at
all. I
am not sure, at this point, what the problem could be or what to look for
inside the tower, unless something very obvious should get my attention.
Any
suggestions?

I reseated the two PCI cards in the Tower and checked all the accessible
cables and connectors and all appeared OK. There was a fairly amount of dust
and deposits within the Tower. I cleaned all as best as possible, but it
seemed to be for nothing. The Monitor, disconnected from the Tower, acted the
same way. Indicator...green...click...red.
The Tower, itself, acted the same way.
Thank you, kimbo_, for your reply.
***
"kimbo_" wrote:

Try reseating all the internal cards ram, video, ect and hard drive/cd
player cables. these can often become loose or dislodged when the box is
moved around.

--
I`m not a complete idiot, there`s still a few bits missing
"BAP" wrote in message
...
A friend just handed me a HP Pavillion (Genuine Intel III and W98 ME) to
clean up and pass on to young ones. I put all the pieces together and was
able to get it going and navigate through a very crowded HD, but did not
do
anything at that time. A day later, I turned On the main switch and
all appeared to be OK with the Icons on the desktop and the system ready
to
be used, when, suddenly, the screen blanked out. The Monitor power
indicator
light from green turned to red, while the Tower became inoperative and
could
not be reset. I tried to do a complete restart then and later on, but keep
noticing that the Monitor light stays green for a brief time, then it
turns
red, while a clicking sound can be heard. The Tower won't power up, at
all. I
am not sure, at this point, what the problem could be or what to look for
inside the tower, unless something very obvious should get my attention.
Any
suggestions?



Ron, I am not sure if there was much to add to my 'limited description' of
the problem. At that
point, I thought that it might have been a problem of common occurrence.
You are correct! I do not have 'the technical know how for troubleshooting
this problem' and I
have to agree with you that it might be wise to forget this particular task.
However, I would appreciate if you would shed some light on some attempts
made taken after
reading your reply.
Unlike Towers that I have come across, the one in question has no Main
Switch. The resistance
meter on its power connector shows continuity, regardless whether I push the
Reset(?) Button or
not. In others, I get the same response, but only if the Main Switch is in
the ON position.
I assume that, in all cases, the Voltage, while it might be applied to the
Primary Windings of the
Power Supply, is not really applied to the Mother Board or any of the Cards.
If this is the case,
what initiates the starting process for a healthy PC?
Also, what would lead to the catastrophe you touched on
"the guy continued to try to get it to boot before bringing it to me. He
ended up frying every
component (all the drives, ram, mobo, etc.) because of a bad power supply"
Thank you, Ron, for your reply!
****

"Ron Badour" wrote:

From your limited description, it sounds like the power supply is kaput. I
worked on a machine that had a similar sounding problem and the guy
continued to try to get it to boot before bringing it to me. He ended up
frying every component (all the drives, ram, mobo, etc.) because of a bad
power supply. Since you are asking here, it seems unlikely that you have
the technical know how for troubleshooting this problem so you probably need
professional help. The problem is that the machine is only worth about $75
or so in good working condition and that is about what a computer shop will
charge you an hour to repair it.

--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"BAP" wrote in message
...
A friend just handed me a HP Pavillion (Genuine Intel III and W98 ME) to
clean up and pass on to young ones. I put all the pieces together and was
able to get it going and navigate through a very crowded HD, but did not
do
anything at that time. A day later, I turned On the main switch and
all appeared to be OK with the Icons on the desktop and the system ready
to
be used, when, suddenly, the screen blanked out. The Monitor power
indicator
light from green turned to red, while the Tower became inoperative and
could
not be reset. I tried to do a complete restart then and later on, but keep
noticing that the Monitor light stays green for a brief time, then it
turns
red, while a clicking sound can be heard. The Tower won't power up, at
all. I
am not sure, at this point, what the problem could be or what to look for
inside the tower, unless something very obvious should get my attention.
Any
suggestions?

=?Utf-8?B?QkFQ?= wrote in
:

I reseated the two PCI cards in the Tower and checked all
the accessible cables and connectors and all appeared OK.
There was a fairly amount of dust and deposits within the
Tower. I cleaned all as best as possible, but it seemed to
be for nothing. The Monitor, disconnected from the Tower,
acted the same way. Indicator...green...click...red.
The Tower, itself, acted the same way.
Thank you, kimbo_, for your reply.

SNIP

I have had a DISTURBING NUMBER of HORRIBLE heart-stopping
incidents with video, audio, AND computers, where the WEIRDEST
things would happen (like returning after a day's location shoot
and having bad sync on the video recording - which was fine when
checked during the taping), and it was always a bad cable.

IOW, try another cable. You never know.

By main switch do you mean a switch in addition to the on/off button? If
so, I have not seen one of those in years. What I think happened on the
computer I mentioned is that the power supply was working sporadically and
when it did, it was sending out more voltage than it should have been. So
the guy kept trying to boot it and when it did, it was frying stuff. I have
spare parts laying around and a couple of extra PCs so I can troubleshoot
the way many shops do--replace parts. Once I smelled the power supply, I
pulled and replaced it and the PC still would not boot. I changed all the
parts but the mobo/CPU and still no go. The parts I pulled from that
computer would not work in another so I ended up tossing the whole thing in
the garbage.
--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"BAP" wrote in message
...


Ron, I am not sure if there was much to add to my 'limited description' of
the problem. At that
point, I thought that it might have been a problem of common occurrence.
You are correct! I do not have 'the technical know how for troubleshooting
this problem' and I
have to agree with you that it might be wise to forget this particular
task.
However, I would appreciate if you would shed some light on some attempts
made taken after
reading your reply.
Unlike Towers that I have come across, the one in question has no Main
Switch. The resistance
meter on its power connector shows continuity, regardless whether I push
the
Reset(?) Button or
not. In others, I get the same response, but only if the Main Switch is in
the ON position.
I assume that, in all cases, the Voltage, while it might be applied to the
Primary Windings of the
Power Supply, is not really applied to the Mother Board or any of the
Cards.
If this is the case,
what initiates the starting process for a healthy PC?
Also, what would lead to the catastrophe you touched on
"the guy continued to try to get it to boot before bringing it to me. He
ended up frying every
component (all the drives, ram, mobo, etc.) because of a bad power supply"
Thank you, Ron, for your reply!
****

"Ron Badour" wrote:

From your limited description, it sounds like the power supply is kaput.
I
worked on a machine that had a similar sounding problem and the guy
continued to try to get it to boot before bringing it to me. He ended up
frying every component (all the drives, ram, mobo, etc.) because of a bad
power supply. Since you are asking here, it seems unlikely that you have
the technical know how for troubleshooting this problem so you probably
need
professional help. The problem is that the machine is only worth about
$75
or so in good working condition and that is about what a computer shop
will
charge you an hour to repair it.

--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"BAP" wrote in message
...
A friend just handed me a HP Pavillion (Genuine Intel III and W98 ME) to
clean up and pass on to young ones. I put all the pieces together and
was
able to get it going and navigate through a very crowded HD, but did
not
do
anything at that time. A day later, I turned On the main switch and
all appeared to be OK with the Icons on the desktop and the system
ready
to
be used, when, suddenly, the screen blanked out. The Monitor power
indicator
light from green turned to red, while the Tower became inoperative and
could
not be reset. I tried to do a complete restart then and later on, but
keep
noticing that the Monitor light stays green for a brief time, then it
turns
red, while a clicking sound can be heard. The Tower won't power up, at
all. I
am not sure, at this point, what the problem could be or what to look
for
inside the tower, unless something very obvious should get my
attention.
Any
suggestions?

sounds like ron is not really interested, ... try re-sending your post
with another header, you may get more positive results.
"BAP" wrote in message
...
Ron, by 'Main Switch' I mean a Power Switch that, usually, is near the
Power connector on the rear panel of the Tower. I currently happen to have
4
Towers. Mine, the most used, is the second oldest. The oldest...'spare
part'
one... was purchased in the mid 90's. This one has a Push-Button Power
Switch
and a Reset button, both on the front panel. The one that I use...the work
horse'.. has only a Reset Push-Button switch on the front panel. The more
recent units, an Asus and the HP, have a Toggle Power Switch in the rear
panel and a Reset Switch on the front panel. To get the latter two to
work, I have to turn the Power Switch ON first, then I have to push the
Reset Button. The oldest unit needs the Power Push-Button Switch to be ON,
but does not require the Reset Button to be pushed. On the 'work horse'
unit,
there is no need to push the Reset Button to get it going. It just
needs to be plugged in to a power outlet.
Ron, I do not know if this makes any difference, but I hope that it
answers
your question.
I have not looked at the Power Supply of the 'spare part' unit, but it is
scary to think of using it as a replacement, seeing all those wires coming
out of the doubtful Supply of the HP.
Thank you for your inputs!
***
"Ron Badour" wrote:

By main switch do you mean a switch in addition to the on/off button?
If
so, I have not seen one of those in years. What I think happened on the
computer I mentioned is that the power supply was working sporadically
and
when it did, it was sending out more voltage than it should have been.
So
the guy kept trying to boot it and when it did, it was frying stuff. I
have
spare parts laying around and a couple of extra PCs so I can
troubleshoot
the way many shops do--replace parts. Once I smelled the power supply,
I
pulled and replaced it and the PC still would not boot. I changed all
the
parts but the mobo/CPU and still no go. The parts I pulled from that
computer would not work in another so I ended up tossing the whole thing
in
the garbage.
--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"BAP" wrote in message
...


Ron, I am not sure if there was much to add to my 'limited
description' of
the problem. At that
point, I thought that it might have been a problem of common
occurrence.
You are correct! I do not have 'the technical know how for
troubleshooting
this problem' and I
have to agree with you that it might be wise to forget this particular
task.
However, I would appreciate if you would shed some light on some
attempts
made taken after
reading your reply.
Unlike Towers that I have come across, the one in question has no Main
Switch. The resistance
meter on its power connector shows continuity, regardless whether I
push
the
Reset(?) Button or
not. In others, I get the same response, but only if the Main Switch
is in
the ON position.
I assume that, in all cases, the Voltage, while it might be applied to
the
Primary Windings of the
Power Supply, is not really applied to the Mother Board or any of the
Cards.
If this is the case,
what initiates the starting process for a healthy PC?
Also, what would lead to the catastrophe you touched on
"the guy continued to try to get it to boot before bringing it to me.
He
ended up frying every
component (all the drives, ram, mobo, etc.) because of a bad power
supply"
Thank you, Ron, for your reply!
****

"Ron Badour" wrote:

From your limited description, it sounds like the power supply is
kaput.
I
worked on a machine that had a similar sounding problem and the guy
continued to try to get it to boot before bringing it to me. He
ended up
frying every component (all the drives, ram, mobo, etc.) because of a
bad
power supply. Since you are asking here, it seems unlikely that you
have
the technical know how for troubleshooting this problem so you
probably
need
professional help. The problem is that the machine is only worth
about
$75
or so in good working condition and that is about what a computer
shop
will
charge you an hour to repair it.

--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"BAP" wrote in message
...
A friend just handed me a HP Pavillion (Genuine Intel III and W98
ME) to
clean up and pass on to young ones. I put all the pieces together
and
was
able to get it going and navigate through a very crowded HD, but
did
not
do
anything at that time. A day later, I turned On the main switch and
all appeared to be OK with the Icons on the desktop and the system
ready
to
be used, when, suddenly, the screen blanked out. The Monitor power
indicator
light from green turned to red, while the Tower became inoperative
and
could
not be reset. I tried to do a complete restart then and later on,
but
keep
noticing that the Monitor light stays green for a brief time, then
it
turns
red, while a clicking sound can be heard. The Tower won't power up,
at
all. I
am not sure, at this point, what the problem could be or what to
look
for
inside the tower, unless something very obvious should get my
attention.
Any
suggestions?

If you mean the power cable to the Tower, I have changed that. Regarding the
Monitor, it powers up, but the indicator light...green..click..red. The
indicator stays red while the screen remains dark.
Thank you for your suggestion!
****

"thanatoid" wrote:

=?Utf-8?B?QkFQ?= wrote in
:

I reseated the two PCI cards in the Tower and checked all
the accessible cables and connectors and all appeared OK.
There was a fairly amount of dust and deposits within the
Tower. I cleaned all as best as possible, but it seemed to
be for nothing. The Monitor, disconnected from the Tower,
acted the same way. Indicator...green...click...red.
The Tower, itself, acted the same way.
Thank you, kimbo_, for your reply.

SNIP

I have had a DISTURBING NUMBER of HORRIBLE heart-stopping
incidents with video, audio, AND computers, where the WEIRDEST
things would happen (like returning after a day's location shoot
and having bad sync on the video recording - which was fine when
checked during the taping), and it was always a bad cable.

IOW, try another cable. You never know.

Ron, by 'Main Switch' I mean a Power Switch that, usually, is near the
Power connector on the rear panel of the Tower. I currently happen to have 4
Towers. Mine, the most used, is the second oldest. The oldest...'spare part'
one... was purchased in the mid 90's. This one has a Push-Button Power Switch
and a Reset button, both on the front panel. The one that I use...the work
horse'.. has only a Reset Push-Button switch on the front panel. The more
recent units, an Asus and the HP, have a Toggle Power Switch in the rear
panel and a Reset Switch on the front panel. To get the latter two to
work, I have to turn the Power Switch ON first, then I have to push the
Reset Button. The oldest unit needs the Power Push-Button Switch to be ON,
but does not require the Reset Button to be pushed. On the 'work horse' unit,
there is no need to push the Reset Button to get it going. It just
needs to be plugged in to a power outlet.
Ron, I do not know if this makes any difference, but I hope that it answers
your question.
I have not looked at the Power Supply of the 'spare part' unit, but it is
scary to think of using it as a replacement, seeing all those wires coming
out of the doubtful Supply of the HP.
Thank you for your inputs!
***
"Ron Badour" wrote:

By main switch do you mean a switch in addition to the on/off button? If
so, I have not seen one of those in years. What I think happened on the
computer I mentioned is that the power supply was working sporadically and
when it did, it was sending out more voltage than it should have been. So
the guy kept trying to boot it and when it did, it was frying stuff. I have
spare parts laying around and a couple of extra PCs so I can troubleshoot
the way many shops do--replace parts. Once I smelled the power supply, I
pulled and replaced it and the PC still would not boot. I changed all the
parts but the mobo/CPU and still no go. The parts I pulled from that
computer would not work in another so I ended up tossing the whole thing in
the garbage.
--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"BAP" wrote in message
...


Ron, I am not sure if there was much to add to my 'limited description' of
the problem. At that
point, I thought that it might have been a problem of common occurrence.
You are correct! I do not have 'the technical know how for troubleshooting
this problem' and I
have to agree with you that it might be wise to forget this particular
task.
However, I would appreciate if you would shed some light on some attempts
made taken after
reading your reply.
Unlike Towers that I have come across, the one in question has no Main
Switch. The resistance
meter on its power connector shows continuity, regardless whether I push
the
Reset(?) Button or
not. In others, I get the same response, but only if the Main Switch is in
the ON position.
I assume that, in all cases, the Voltage, while it might be applied to the
Primary Windings of the
Power Supply, is not really applied to the Mother Board or any of the
Cards.
If this is the case,
what initiates the starting process for a healthy PC?
Also, what would lead to the catastrophe you touched on
"the guy continued to try to get it to boot before bringing it to me. He
ended up frying every
component (all the drives, ram, mobo, etc.) because of a bad power supply"
Thank you, Ron, for your reply!
****

"Ron Badour" wrote:

From your limited description, it sounds like the power supply is kaput.
I
worked on a machine that had a similar sounding problem and the guy
continued to try to get it to boot before bringing it to me. He ended up
frying every component (all the drives, ram, mobo, etc.) because of a bad
power supply. Since you are asking here, it seems unlikely that you have
the technical know how for troubleshooting this problem so you probably
need
professional help. The problem is that the machine is only worth about
$75
or so in good working condition and that is about what a computer shop
will
charge you an hour to repair it.

--
Regards


Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo



"BAP" wrote in message
...
A friend just handed me a HP Pavillion (Genuine Intel III and W98 ME) to
clean up and pass on to young ones. I put all the pieces together and
was
able to get it going and navigate through a very crowded HD, but did
not
do
anything at that time. A day later, I turned On the main switch and
all appeared to be OK with the Icons on the desktop and the system
ready
to
be used, when, suddenly, the screen blanked out. The Monitor power
indicator
light from green turned to red, while the Tower became inoperative and
could
not be reset. I tried to do a complete restart then and later on, but
keep
noticing that the Monitor light stays green for a brief time, then it
turns
red, while a clicking sound can be heard. The Tower won't power up, at
all. I
am not sure, at this point, what the problem could be or what to look
for
inside the tower, unless something very obvious should get my
attention.
Any
suggestions?