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Is my PC ready for the junkyard??? Motherboard faulty??
foxeymoxey
Posts: 52 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
Hi all,
My PC has started running into big problems. When starting up, it is intermittent whether you get anything on the monitor (using an AGP graphics card).
When you do get a picture, it sometimes gets as far as the win XP startup screen before hanging.
I have tried doing a fresh install, but again, when booting from the cd after a while the PC will hang. It will get to different points before freezing, but I am as yet to get past the initial win xp setup process.
The only thing I can think of is that the motherboard needs changing. It is a Leadtek Winfast K7N45DA (Socket A AMD). However, as this is a few years old, I can't seem to locate one anywhere.
In fact, socket A motherboards in general are increasingly rare. I spotted a PC Chips one in ebuyers clearance section but by the tim I got to order it it was out of stock!
Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there a way of testing the motherboard myself? And does anyone know where to get a replacement?
Thanks in advance....
My PC has started running into big problems. When starting up, it is intermittent whether you get anything on the monitor (using an AGP graphics card).
When you do get a picture, it sometimes gets as far as the win XP startup screen before hanging.
I have tried doing a fresh install, but again, when booting from the cd after a while the PC will hang. It will get to different points before freezing, but I am as yet to get past the initial win xp setup process.
The only thing I can think of is that the motherboard needs changing. It is a Leadtek Winfast K7N45DA (Socket A AMD). However, as this is a few years old, I can't seem to locate one anywhere.
In fact, socket A motherboards in general are increasingly rare. I spotted a PC Chips one in ebuyers clearance section but by the tim I got to order it it was out of stock!
Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there a way of testing the motherboard myself? And does anyone know where to get a replacement?
Thanks in advance....
Treat everyday as your last one on earth! and one day you will be right.
0
Comments
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You can still get Socket A motherboards from from http://www.micom.co.uk under the main boards section and it is Asrock brand around £25 - you might want to phone them first to check availability - they don't have stock numbers on their site.
Another option is to replace the cpu as well you should be able to get a cheap bundle deal on a celeron or amd's equivalent.
One point to mention is it will definately be worth checking your RAM for problems that can also cause errors like you discribe
https://www.memtest.org - download and run to check the ram0 -
I agree that memory may be an issue. Swap out your memory and see if that helps. Get and air duster and clean the inside of your PC. Reseat all cards. Then try again.0
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I had a leadtek K7N415DA in my system until it did exactly what you are experiencing.During a reinstall is would hang with about 10 or so minutes left to finish (tried it time after time)..
Annoyingly the MB didn't beep to give any indication of what was at fault..
In the end i figured that it must be the MB and bought an msi one wich has served me ok these last two years...
ohh i upgraded to an 333mhz board (from a 266) and later on upped my cpu to a 3000xp so if your going for a new MB it might be wise to think of doing the same..
seem to have a couple socket A boards here
http://www.cocc.co.uk/itemsid=AMDBOARD&iTpStatus=0&Tp=&Bc=&sTitle=components0 -
Thanks for the suggestions guys.
I downloaded memtest, but things seem to have taken a turn for the worst. Now, whenever I turn on the pc, it all powers up but I get absolutely no signal going to the monitor. (It doesn't even show the usual RAM & IDE checks prior to Windows starting)
Before I start swapping out memory sticks, does this still sound like a feasible possibility, or does this now all point to the motherboard?
johnmcn did you experience this or would you always be able to enter the windows setup?Treat everyday as your last one on earth! and one day you will be right.0 -
Strip the PC down to a bare minimum i.e. motherboard, one stick of memory, VGA card and hard disc you boot off. Take out (temporarily) network cards, usb cards, sound cards and disconnect CD / DVD drives etc. Make sure your CPU, memory and power connections are all properly seated. Then start adding bits one at a time.
I hope that helps
Kev0 -
I tried another graphics card and some memory i had laying around and it still wouldn't fire up XP successfully,at first i figured XP was just fubar and tried the repair,when that all failed i tried the format and full install several times and always hanged as it neared the end..
I'd see if someone has a spare graphics card laying around before totaly writing of the MB and maybe even check the bios settings for things like PSU output, temp etc0
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