replicant
08-31-2001, 01:36 PM
Recently my girlfriend brought me her computer with a problem:
For some reason or another, she explained to me, that when she tried to shut it down, it wouldn't. Because of this, she got into the habit of simply pulling the power cord out of the electrical socket to kill the juice. This, as a Computer Tech, I'm aware is bad. Very bad.
At first, naturally, I looked towards the power supply. Using my 'frankenstein machine' (a term which I think speaks for itself http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif I took out my old power supply and switched it to the other machine. No luck. Both PS's work fine in my old computer but neither of them work in hers, so I was able to rule that out. Next I tried figuring out where exactly in the computer itself the problem lied; ultimately connecting both supplies to the power connector on the motherboard alone -- I'd found the problem. This, again, worked like a charm on my computer but hers was still reacting as if the power button were connected to nothing at all.
So now I know it's the motherboard, or the power connector at the very least (which certainly doesn't make things easier). Now, my question is this: Is there any way in which I can remedy this myself? I was going to take a look at it over the weekend and then on Monday I was going to contact the manufacturer of the board itself and see if they couldn't help me, possibly send me a replacement board (though I'm not sure how this procedure works). I would try the manufacturer of the computer itself, Gateway, but she tried that in the beginning and informed her that the computer's warranty is up. My plan B was going to be to take a run uptown and see if I couldn't simply purchase a compatible replacement board and just rebuild her machine. I'm hoping that because the machine is a few years old (old enough for the warranty to run out) the board won't cost me an arm and a leg.
Any comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated & I thank you in advance. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif
For some reason or another, she explained to me, that when she tried to shut it down, it wouldn't. Because of this, she got into the habit of simply pulling the power cord out of the electrical socket to kill the juice. This, as a Computer Tech, I'm aware is bad. Very bad.
At first, naturally, I looked towards the power supply. Using my 'frankenstein machine' (a term which I think speaks for itself http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif I took out my old power supply and switched it to the other machine. No luck. Both PS's work fine in my old computer but neither of them work in hers, so I was able to rule that out. Next I tried figuring out where exactly in the computer itself the problem lied; ultimately connecting both supplies to the power connector on the motherboard alone -- I'd found the problem. This, again, worked like a charm on my computer but hers was still reacting as if the power button were connected to nothing at all.
So now I know it's the motherboard, or the power connector at the very least (which certainly doesn't make things easier). Now, my question is this: Is there any way in which I can remedy this myself? I was going to take a look at it over the weekend and then on Monday I was going to contact the manufacturer of the board itself and see if they couldn't help me, possibly send me a replacement board (though I'm not sure how this procedure works). I would try the manufacturer of the computer itself, Gateway, but she tried that in the beginning and informed her that the computer's warranty is up. My plan B was going to be to take a run uptown and see if I couldn't simply purchase a compatible replacement board and just rebuild her machine. I'm hoping that because the machine is a few years old (old enough for the warranty to run out) the board won't cost me an arm and a leg.
Any comments/suggestions are greatly appreciated & I thank you in advance. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif