Dead system

[zrx1100]

Hi,
I am trying to fix a friends Packard Bell iMedia pc (about 3 years old). Cannot get any life out of it. I suspected the power supply but tried it in one of my pcs and it works fine. On the P Bell, got a light on the motherboard and a green network light next to the rj45 network socket at the back when connected. But press the on switch does nothing. Does this mean the motherboard is ok and it is something else? Cheers in advance.

 

[dglienna]

That machine is probably a LOT older than 3 years, as PB is long gone. You would probably have a hard time finding any good parts, so I'd just save what I could (which probably isn't worth anything anyways)

My first actual PC that I bought was a PB 386!

-David
2006 Microsoft Most Valueable Professional (MVP)
2006 Dell Certified System Professional (CSP)

 

[zrx1100]

They seem to say it is about that old, it has a pentium 1V in it so it isn't too old, just wish I could get it going for them.

 

[wolluf]

Have you tried disconnecting everything apart from keyboard and graphics card/monitor? (to see it will will boot to bios settings?) Are the fans powering up? Tried different memory. If fans are powering up - could be a dead processor.
Have you tried clearing the CMOS (usuallu a jumper on the board - or if not, just remove battery for a while - then replace and try again.

 

[satrow]

The PB name has been used by the DSG group in Britain and Europe for some years now, the model names don't give many clues to what's exactly in the box.

If you can give us the details from the stickers on the back, we'll try to get the specifics for you.

Follow Wolluf's generic troubleshooting to begin with (and check you are using the keyboard and mouse in the correct locations (I've known PB's with the ports marked incorrectly).

 

[zrx1100]

Thanks for the input, still no joy though. Disconnected (power & ribbon) all, memory out so all I had was graphics (on-board), processor, keyboard/mouse attached. By the way it is an iMedia 5064 with pentium 1V and 256 ddr memory. Do you think it is a possible power switch problem, I have seen before about guys saying to short it to test, how do you do that then. The power switch is on a mini board with no wires attached directly to it, just some wires coming off that board and going to the motherboard via a 9/10 pin plug.

 

[zrx1100]

Also one thing to mention if it is important, when I put the power lead in the back the 3 keyboard lights do come on initially for less than a second.

 

[dglienna]

Never seen that happen with a bad PSU.

-David
2006 Microsoft Most Valueable Professional (MVP)
2006 Dell Certified System Professional (CSP)

 

[zrx1100]

If this gives any more clues to the problem, I have heard from the owners that the pc had been rebooting occasionally on it's own in the past few weeks before this 'dead' state occured. Finally, I have taken out the cmos battery for a few minutes but with no change, still no power up, no fans etc.

 

[wahnula]

It should be required by law that every PC tinkerer have a spare PSU laying around. It solves so many mysteries.


This is the excuse you have been waiting for to upgrade yours, and put your old one in the ER bag. Indulge yourself, you need to have that shiny new quiet dependable bling PSU that you've had your eye on. They're better now, you know.

Go ahead and get it, you will never regret having a spare PSU, ever. That goes for you, too....and you...oh yeah and you miss...



Or...get a $30 cheapie...but get one.

Lesson over...smoke 'em if ya got 'em

Tony

 

[zrx1100]

As I mentioned in my original post I tried the PBell psu in another of my pc's and it works ok, but not when it is in the PBell.

 

[zrx1100]

Any other ideas out there please, getting desperate now. I have even taken the motherboard out of the case and tried to power up with just memory & cpu attached, still nothing, no fans etc. There is an amber led light on the motherboard when the supply is on, should that be there or is it telling me something?? The board looks ok, nothing obvious like a blown capacitor etc.

 

[zrx1100]

I ended up taking it all apart and re-assembling it, but still no joy when I hit the power button. This time though, I left the power cable plugged into the psu for a few minutes (the longest time since looking at this problem) and the cpu fan suddenly starting to work and the blue led lights lite up the front panel. Sometimes the psu fan goes around and then stops but that is about it. No beeps, nothing on the screen (still in standby mode), no hd activity.

 

[Grenage]

I would suspect the motherboard, however the CPU is a possibility.


Carlsberg don't run I.T departments, but if they did they'd probably be more fun.

 

[edfair]

The rebooting and the partial power up then dying kind of leads to the the possibility that the power supply is marginal and shuts down because it thinks it is overloaded.
Normal power up sequence is for the powerup signal from the front panel to hit a latch on the motherboard which ends up activating the powerup line to the power supply. Green wire, pin 14, on ATX. But you also have to consider the possibility that the powerup switch could be shorting and closing down the board after 5 seconds or so.
Testing of the front panel switch is removing the M/B switch/led wires and shorting with a screwdriver blade the 2 pins that control power. May take some experimenting to find the combination but nothing you can touch on the pins will cause damage if you connect the wrong ones.
The light on the M/B and by the RJ45 are controlled by the standby power portion of the PS and associated parts of the M/B. The processor and all associated circuitry are fueled by separate sections under control of the standby section of the M/B.


Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.