[Traxxas]

Hi, so I did something rely stupid last week, you see I vacuumed out my computer , so when I plugged it in and turned it on everything powers on correctly, but the screen dose not come on or wake up , so I assumed it was my graphics card, so I popped another video card in (an ATI Card) and it worked!, so the just to make sure it was the video card I popped the old one back in and it was dead, so I replaced it with my working one and now it dose not work, so I assumed that somehow fried my working video card, and that was not the end of the world because I wanted a new card anyways, so I bought a 512MB GeForce 7300 GT and popped it in and it dose not work, so it looks like my other video cards are fine and I eliminated the video card being the problem, so then to troubleshoot things further, I removed the Hard Drive and the Optical Drive from the computer, so when I tried powering it on, I still had the same problem, so then I tried taking out the ram and that did not work, so then I tried putting it back in one stick at a time with no success, and the last thing I tried was going over all the wiring and making sure it was all seated properly, again no success.

So anyway, I have eliminated the Video Card, Hard Drive, Optical Drive, Ram, and Wiring. so that leaves the Processor and Motherboard, so I am wandering witch one it is, and just to let you know, I have tried another monitor, with no success.

And all the fans start spinning when I power it up and it makes all the little beeps it would normally make, BUT IF I HAVE A KEYBOARD OR MOUSE PLUGGED INTO IN THE LIGHTS ON THEM DO NOT COME ON.

I would think if the motherboard was bad the monitor would still get a signal, but I have been wrong before

And the thing that creeps me out the most is how after I vacuumed it out, I was able to get it running once with the ATI card and the the next time I tried, it did not work

Here is my setup:

Asus P5W DH Deluxe
4GB 2x 2GB DDR2
500GB HD
Philips Optical Drive
Q6600 Intel Core 2Quad Processor

Basically I want to know weather a new Motherboard will be a guarantied fix.

Thanks.

[lawson_jl]

Wow this is a close one but I'd lean towards the CPU being the issue not the motherboard. I think it's about 50/50 with the symptoms you described. You didn't say you got any beep codes. That's why I am learning towards the CPU since your system even getting off the ground so to speak. If you are getting beep codes then look them up that will pinpoint the issue.

[Traxxas]

Originally Posted by lawson_jl

Wow this is a close one but I'd lean towards the CPU being the issue not the motherboard. I think it's about 50/50 with the symptoms you described. You didn't say you got any beep codes. That's why I am learning towards the CPU since your system even getting off the ground so to speak. If you are getting beep codes then look them up that will pinpoint the issue.

OK thanks, but like I said, the thing that is strange is that the computer started up once after I vacuumed it out, and the motherboard and processor worked fine that once, so I am guessing that one of them burnt out after that start up, so witch one do you think would be more likely to have burnt out, and the other thing is that after I vacuumed in out it was the third time I tried starting it up that it worked, and that after that it did not, so this makes me think that it is some kind of a loose connection somewhere.

But let me know what you think, and if everyone says the same, I think I will take it to the shop and see if they can test the processor.

I guess the other thing I could do is go to a used computer shop and buy an old processor for $10-20 and see what it dose.

[Rich-M]

Sounds more like the psu to me. It takes a lot to blow a cpu the next thought would be the board. Was the unit on at all while you were working with the video card as you could have shorted out the video slot. Do you have onboard video you can try or maybe another type of video card such as a pci video card?

[Traxxas]

Originally Posted by Rich-M

Sounds more like the psu to me. It takes a lot to blow a cpu the next thought would be the board. Was the unit on at all while you were working with the video card as you could have shorted out the video slot. Do you have on board video you can try or maybe another type of video card such as a pci video card?

When I was changing the video cards I always turned the computer off, but it was still plugged in, but I don't think that would short it out, and no, I do not have a pci card to try, so I think I will spend the $20-30 and get someone locally who has extra Power Supplys, Processors, Boards, and stuff like that to come to my house, because if I buy a new MB, there in a 30-60% chance it will work, and I think you might be right about the power supply because I rely gave it a good vacuum out.

Thanks.

[DoubleHelix]

Never never never work on a computer while it's plugged in.

[Traxxas]

Originally Posted by DoubleHelix

Never never never work on a computer while it's plugged in.

OK, that's good to know, it is kind of funny, because one of my video card installation guides says:

1. Remove old drivers......

2. Turn computer off.

3. Install new video card

And they never say anything about unplugging it?

But after what has happened, I will never do anything major on a computer without first reading online on how to do it correctly.

But everyone make mistakes in life, and I should be glad that this one will only cost $100-200 to fix.

[DoubleHelix]

Unplugging it is assumed.

[Traxxas]

Yaaaaaaaaa!!!

So I got it working!

I just reset the bios with the jumpers on the MB and what not.

So everything is up and running, I had to redo the heat sync compound on the processor, and just to make sure it is not overheating, I downloaded Real Temp 3.00, so I am wandering what I should try to keep the temp at, here is a picture of the program monitoring my Q6600: