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My computer seems to be doing weird things for the last week. Earlier in the week, sometimes when I boot it, it beeps and won't boot. I restart it, and it boots fine. Another time it does the same thing, but tells me I need to reset the CPU speed. I go into BIOS, but don't change anything, and restart. It works fine.
Today, I noticed it was running very slowly. It was only showing 256mb RAM, even though it had 1.5gb RAM in it. I swapped RAM around, and it kept only reading 256mb, no matter what slot I put it in. I tested each stick separately, and each one worked. Each slot worked, too, but it would never read more than 1 stick.
During reboots while testing this, one time it told me the power supply to my video card wasn't plugged in, and it wouldn't boot. It was plugged in, but I made sure anyway, and it booted okay next time. Still only 256 RAM, though. I took my video card out and put it back in. Then it finally read all of my RAM.
But now, when I boot, there is screen distortion. It flickers between vertical lines and grid-like boxes during boot and when loading windows. When I let it cool down for a bit before restarting, it takes longer for the distortion to kick in, and it gets worse over time. I also noticed that if I barely wiggle the power connector on my video card, the distortion either gets better or worse. If I hold it firmly in place, it seems to be better. This power connector is also quite hot (though I assume this may be normal, since it is the power source.
Also, a couple times when I have booted it, the fans come on and the lights are on, but nothing happens. The computer doesn't boot, and the screen is blank. It never does this more than once or twice in a row, though.
This computer is almost 5 years old, including all of its components. I hope that my video card is not going bad. It is an ATI 9800pro, just FYI. It sounds to me like my power supply might be going bad, due to the randomness of the problems. I have replugged my video card in a couple times to see if that helped. The best picture came after I unplugged the video card power connector, then plugged it back in. But it got worse within a matter of moments.
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How dusty are your components? I had a 9800 Pro in my Power Mac for 3.5 years. I finally got some compressed air in there after I started getting weird artifacts on my screen, and blew out an enormous cloud of dust. Unfortunately, the damage was done -- even replacing the heatsink and adding memory heatsinks couldn't save the card. Dust reduces the efficiency of heat transfer from the hot electronic components to the comparatively cool air.
Now I have a HEPA filter/fan module in my apartment, and dust the interior of my case about as often as I dust the rest of my apartment (approximately monthly).
Posts: 10886 | Registered: Feb 2000
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posted
It sounds more like a flaky motherboard (which could be due to a a bad power supply; the only way to really tell is stick a new motherboard in there and see if it starts to fail within a couple weeks [not a great solution, I admit]).
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Dusting is good advice. I would also replace the battery on the motherboard, the bios can get flaky as the battery fails.
Posts: 675 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I did some more tests, though I'm not sure they've helped me much. I took the video card out of this computer, and put it in my other one. It booted without any visual distortion, and that was without any drivers installed for that card. So, I think the video card may be okay.
After putting back in this computer, it still does the same thing. When I tried to boot it, it said my video card had no power plugged into it again. I didn't change anything, and just restarted it. It booted without any such warning, but with distortion still.
However, while in Windows, I thought I would try another test. I changed the resolution down to 800x600, and the distortion completely vanished. I put it back to its regular resolution of 1280x1024, and it was still fine. I rebooted to see if the problem would start again. It started to do it again. But swapping the resolution quickly fixed it. However, after restarting again, it won't stop being distorted now, no matter what resolutions I choose. So much for that.
The power supply is not hot to the touch, and its fan is still working. I have no way of testing the power supply or motherboard at this point, besides taking it in. I may just break down and get a new MB/CPU combo. If it still does it, then I will get a new power supply.
Unless this new info gives anyone any new bright ideas?
Posts: 32 | Registered: Dec 2006
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posted
Personally, I would upgrade the Power supply first. If you are still using the PS that came with your computer, it is likely a weak one anyway. I know my original power supply couldn't handle my newer video card. Also, a power supply is far cheaper than a MB and CPU.
Posts: 1901 | Registered: May 2004
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And it might be easier to return a power supply if you've installed it, tested it, and decided that you don't need it.
Posts: 9945 | Registered: Sep 2002
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If you have two computers you can swap the motherboard batteries as a test. Be sure to go into the bios and check the settings before booting the os.
Posts: 675 | Registered: Aug 2001
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For the most part, power supply testers will only tell you if the power supply is delivering voltage properly. It doesn't concern itself with current, which is one of the main killers of computer components. The suggestion to try replacing the power supply first is a good one, and with this kind of activity, you may want to replace it even if changing the power supply doesn't fix the problem. What is likely, though, is that your motherboard is dying. I would personally suggest replacing both the motherboard and power supply just to be safe (assuming replacing just the power supply doesn't fix the issue). And use an uninteruptable power supply (UPS) to keep power spikes and brownouts from causing further damage.
I don't really think a BIOS battery would cause distortion on a video card. The only thing the battery really does is deliver power to the CMOS chip when the computer is off. Failing BIOS battery would cause time fluctuations in the Real Time Clock (which could result in random but constant crashing) or constantly lost BIOS settings. It would also not be a likely suspect for causing a motherboard to recognize only a small amount of RAM. This really sounds more like general power issues to me.
In short, replace the PSU first, if that doesn't fix it, then also replace the motherboard.
edit: I don't think you'll also have to replace the CPU. At least, not at this point. The CPU is typically the last thing that is likely to cause intermittent problems, or unusual screwy problems. CPU problems tend to prevent the computer from even turning on.
[ April 03, 2007, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: Boris ]
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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I did swap batteries, but that didn't solve the problem. I think I'm off to get another power supply. If that doesn't work, then a new motherboard.
Posts: 32 | Registered: Dec 2006
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