Bizzare computer

[zachtheterrible]

I took apart my computer to yank some RAM from it and put it in my new computer, and in doing so, made some loose connection somewhere. I don't think that I zapped anything because it was cold and foggy weather, and I touched the computer case to ground myself. When I tried to turn the computer on, the hd would spin up and the fans would turn on, but it wouldn't even past post (beep), and I could see nothing on the screen. About an hour later, I got fed up with the computer :evil: and punched it, or in more less violent terms, gave it a love tap. Wuddya know, it booted up fine. It does this every time, just like clock work. My best guess is that it is the power good wire to the cpu because the loose connection only needs to be wiggled once, and i believe that the power good only happens when the computer starts up (am i wrong??). BUT I tried wiggling the cpu and all the wires to it, and nothing happened. I tried wiggling everything else, and it seems that it is only the "love tap" that will get the computer to work. I'm stumped. Any help? PLease??

 

[chaotic-mind]

Make sure the new RAM is inserted ALL the way into the sockets. Remove it and reinsert it if you want to be really sure. If that doesn't work, check all of your peripheral cards and connectors.

 

[chaotic-mind]

By the by, a great online PC mag and forum is extremetech. The forum is **broken link removed**

 

[bsodmike]

Something some people forget is to switch off the PSU (via the PSU switch if it has one) - if you switch it off from the wall plug then it's fine. This is to kill the 5vsb line and if you install ram while this is active you're running the risk of killing them.

 

[andrew2022]

my computer goes similat if it loses power (as in accidently unplugged, power failure etc)... leave it with no power for an hour then switch on and itz usually fine...

 

[pike]

ahh yes i heard this problem to. It is a well known fact for any computer genius that mixing multiple sticks of ram into a computer will result in ramdom resets and boot failure.

It is best to stick to only one stick of ram in a computer, if not atleast stick to the same model and brand of ram.

 

[grrr_arrghh]

if whacking it one is the only thing that gets it bot up properly, then it is almost certainly a loose connection somewhere - its the mopst likely cause.
Unplug and re-connect everything in your computer, then see what happens. If all else fails, take the whole thing apart, and put it back together (remembering where everything went).

The only other thing it could really be is a heatsink somewhere has come loose. 'tapping' your comp may knock it into place for a bit. Just check all ur heatsinks.

althoug, something else to think about: your motherboard may have a setting where it will shut down if you have tried to overclock it (to prevent damage to the cpu). Use ur 'love tap' method of booting it up, and check the bios settings, see what it is set to (I can't see why tapping it would it from shutting down, but its the only time i've ever heard of a comp start to boot up, then shut down before the post beep thingy).

 

[zachtheterrible]

Thanx for all the replies everyone. I've got sojme questions though. bodsmike said to unplug the psu . . . what is the psu? Do you just mean the wall supply? Cuz i unplugged that. I also inserted ram into every socket n switched things around. Grr arggh said that it might be a heatsink. Is that only a one time thing that needs to be connected for a second? I'm away from my computer right now (at a friend's house) so ill try your suggestions in a couple of days. Thanx!!

 

[grrr_arrghh]

Grr arggh said that it might be a heatsink. Is that only a one time thing that needs to be connected for a second?

sorry, maybe I didn't make myself clear. The heat sink is the big flowerry metal bit on your proccessor (it will have a fan on top of it). IT MUST BE IN PLACE!! If it is not, the proccessor will overheat, and this will cause a shutdown. (Its not that much of an uncommon problem). I was suggesting that maybe it was coming away from the proccessor, so not giving adequate cooling, therefore triggereing a shutdown. Possibly when you affectionately patted your PC, it knocked it back into place for long enough.

It was just an idea.

 

[samcheetah]

hi zachtheterrible. there can be hundereds of reasons for the problem you are experiencing. is the new ram module compatible with your motherboard. i mean if u have a computer that accepts 100 MHz modules u should not use the 133MHz modules. as u said that u took that module from an old computer it might be not in working condition.

there can be a number of other reasons. the PSU(power supply unit) could be bad. u might have blown something on the motherboard because of your static. but as u said that u grounded yourself before opening the case so that is less likely to have happened. the capacitors of the voltage regulator for the CPU could have a problem.

as bsodmike said

Something some people forget is to switch off the PSU (via the PSU switch if it has one) - if you switch it off from the wall plug then it's fine. This is to kill the 5vsb line and if you install ram while this is active you're running the risk of killing them.

the module could have been good and u might have killed it.

pike is also right. u have to have matched pairs of modules for both of them to work in the same way. but this problem is mostly seen with dual channel ram configurations. i dont know if this is the case with u or not.

The only other thing it could really be is a heatsink somewhere has come loose. 'tapping' your comp may knock it into place for a bit. Just check all ur heatsinks

heatsinks do come loose but i dont think this is the problem here. and this will shut the computer if the motherboard has temperature protection. and a slight displacement of the heatsink cant do much harm. although i dont say this cant be the reason. this could be the case but that depends on the motherboard and the amount of heat the processor is generating. and its very rare for heatsinks to act in the way u are saying. if the heatsink is that loose that it goes back into place by a tap then it should have dropped by now.

zachtheterrible hasnt mentioned about overclocking so ill rule that out too.

i would recommend using another module of ram. tell us the specifications of your computer so that we can recommend a better solution. until and unless u describe the system all of us will be making wild guesses from references to cases seen in the past.

i hope that helped

 

[zachtheterrible]

Thanx for all your help. The computer that i am trying to fix is not a new one, but my old one. The RAM in it works fine. It is the ram that has always been in there. I was trying to put the ram from my old computer into my new one but it doesn't fit. I guess i wasn't clear enuf. Anyways, its a 500 MHZ athlon processor, asus k7 motherboard, 256 megs of ram; two sticks that have always worked fine, 20 gig hd, I think a 300 watt pwr supply. I live in America, so 120v.

 

[samcheetah]

so what u did was that u took ram from your old computer and plugged it in your new computer. it didnt work. so u put it back into the old computer and now it doesnt work too. am i right

 

[zachtheterrible]

Actually, it does work. I think that it has nothing to do w/ the ram. The funny thing is, if i start the computer and the hd, fans, and cd spin up, but nothing happens, i've found that i can hit restart and itll run (it didnt do that before, but it just got into that trend). I'm giving the computer to my uncle, so in a way i feel bad , but relieved .

Sometimes i just want to crush that computer :x

 

[samcheetah]

from what u have told i think there is some problem with the motherboard. u should check it from some professional.

its all up to u to give your computer to your uncle. but i will suggest that u keep it and try to solve the problem. there is a possibility that the problem would not be solved but u will learn alot

 

[zachtheterrible]

I have a terrible feeling that it is some tiny loose connection on the m. board. If i kept it, i'd probably just end up smashing it!! i took a whole computer repair class in school, so i dont think theres much i could learn. thx for the help evryone [/code]