Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!
Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!
-
Congratulations derfloh on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!
disconnected 3.5 floppy now system won't boot
- Thread starter fitness36
- Start date
Sounds like you may have disconnected more than the floppy. Presumably by accident. Or you have disturbed a dodgy connection that was never properly in place. Check all cards are seated and all cables inc power leads are in place securely.
What happens if you re-connect the floppy?
What happens if you re-connect the floppy?
- Thread starter
- #3
I reconected the floppy, still nothing. I double checked all the cable connections, I must have accidently bumped something and I have no idea what. I tried holding in the power button and it still won't shut off. CD drive still wont eject. It's as if it were locked. I am going to plug in to another monitor to see if that may be it. Also has quite a bit of dust inside. So I will clean that all up and see what happens
A good clean is always a good thing to do. But do it with the mains lead in, but switched off at the mains end (so that the PC is still earthed)
I always use a vacuum cleaner with a soft head - but many people say you shouldn't, you should use a can of 'air' to blow the dirt away.
Once cleaned, try re-setting the power supply.
Switch off at the rear. Pull the power cord. Press the power button on the front of the PC for 30 seconds or so to discharge any residual power held in capacitors.
Turn on at the mains. Plug the power lead back in. You should hear a faint pop as the PSU absorbs the power. Switch on at the rear and then at the front in the normal way.
If you originally removed the floppy drive with the mains attached and powered up - there is a small chance you may have damaged something. Modern PSU's and mobo's are never powered down by the front switch. You can often verify this fact by the noting that the network connection LED's are still on when the PC is supposedly off.
When working on a PC - I always switch off at the mains, but leave it plugged in to maintain an earth connection.
I always use a vacuum cleaner with a soft head - but many people say you shouldn't, you should use a can of 'air' to blow the dirt away.
Once cleaned, try re-setting the power supply.
Switch off at the rear. Pull the power cord. Press the power button on the front of the PC for 30 seconds or so to discharge any residual power held in capacitors.
Turn on at the mains. Plug the power lead back in. You should hear a faint pop as the PSU absorbs the power. Switch on at the rear and then at the front in the normal way.
If you originally removed the floppy drive with the mains attached and powered up - there is a small chance you may have damaged something. Modern PSU's and mobo's are never powered down by the front switch. You can often verify this fact by the noting that the network connection LED's are still on when the PC is supposedly off.
When working on a PC - I always switch off at the mains, but leave it plugged in to maintain an earth connection.
I would suggest that you wait for cleaning. If you screw something else up while cleaning you will then be dealing with multiple problems. Much better to deal with one problem in hand.
What type of video? AGP cards have a history of backing out from heat cycling and that would give the screen diaplay.
Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
What type of video? AGP cards have a history of backing out from heat cycling and that would give the screen diaplay.
Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
Follow stduc's advice to the "T", he is absolutely correct on all accounts. Don't listen to ed, his advice is not sound (dust conducts electricity and is number 2 on the list for most common pc killers, a fact you may have inadvertently just discovered). Soooo your system sounds pretty messed up. Are you getting any beep codes when powering on? Do you know how to decifer a beep code? Is there a power light on the MB at all? Is the hard drive spinning? Let us know how you're making out and we'll go from here.
-Chris
-Chris
Advice to OP still stands. Those with "obsessive compulsive housewife" syndrome create more problems than they fix with their cleaning.
I'm not saying not to clean the dust out. But if it was working before the floppy was disconnected it should work afterwards to at least the video splash screen.
Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
I'm not saying not to clean the dust out. But if it was working before the floppy was disconnected it should work afterwards to at least the video splash screen.
Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
Bad advice ed, you should know better, or maybe you don't.
Dust is NEVER good for a system and it's possibly the culprit here. When a system exhibits such odd behavior the proper course of action is to follow what stduc wrote. When you're "checking" connections, you're checking for good connections and I don't care WHAT you're working on, the presence of dust and dirt can degrade your connections or even make connections that shouldn't be.
Dust is NEVER good for a system and it's possibly the culprit here. When a system exhibits such odd behavior the proper course of action is to follow what stduc wrote. When you're "checking" connections, you're checking for good connections and I don't care WHAT you're working on, the presence of dust and dirt can degrade your connections or even make connections that shouldn't be.
Not intending a flame war here but with the exception of boards out of an elevator control room or where metal or carbon dust is in the air I have yet to see one where dust has killed a system. And I have worked on my share of dirty machines.
This doesn't mean you don't clean them. Just don't try to PM the problem off because you'll PM more problems on.
If it is an airflow, fan, or heat build up because of either then I agree on the dirt issue. Otherwise, it is pure speculation on the part of the repairman who doesn't have the knowledge or tools to trace what the real problem may be. With the advent of surface mount and major integrated chips you can't troubleshoot like maybe 15 years ago. Then you could use a logic probe or scope and see what was happening.
Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
This doesn't mean you don't clean them. Just don't try to PM the problem off because you'll PM more problems on.
If it is an airflow, fan, or heat build up because of either then I agree on the dirt issue. Otherwise, it is pure speculation on the part of the repairman who doesn't have the knowledge or tools to trace what the real problem may be. With the advent of surface mount and major integrated chips you can't troubleshoot like maybe 15 years ago. Then you could use a logic probe or scope and see what was happening.
Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
- Question