Strange computer issue

JohnS.

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So...I was just playing D3, and my computer monitors randomly go black, loses signal, computer keeps running, but the fans get really loud. I tried holding the power button and nothing happens. I flip the power switch in the back, wait a few seconds, push the power button, and the same thing happens: computer turns on but nothing shows up on the monitors and the fans are really loud.

Google isn't helping much. I'm reading it could be malware but I can't even boot up....lol.


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joe7987

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Computer fans, or GPU fans (if you have an aftermarket card)? Your GPU might be fried. Other than that, could be malware, or could be a problem with your mobo. Could be something else, entirely.. but these would be the first things I would try to check.
 


JohnS.

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Well I unplugged the gpu and plugged one monitor into onboard and I'm getting nothing. I recall setting BIOS to use my nvidia so I tried pulling the mobo battery with the power cable pulled to reset it and no dice.

And it was my gpu fan that was loud. Toast?

I don't think it's posting either. It's not beeping at me at all.

I think now would be a good time to build a new rig... I've been wanting to for a while because this one is so slow but now I actually have a reason to lol.

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Mr. Lin

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aids bro
 


joe7987

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Yea, might be a good time to piece together a new one.
 

TokyoSkies

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If it doesn't post to BIOS at all, it's CPU related most of the time. Check to ensure your CPU has no physical signs of damage (scorch marks near base of CPU housing, scorch marks/darkened thermal compound near heatsink/CPU cooler etc.). Don't feel bad, I removed a CPU cooler from a relatively old computer (socket AM2, probably like 5 or 6 years old), and had to pry at it HARD. Ended up pulling the CPU out and bending like 90% of the pins on it. Now after straightening them out (and breaking a few off), it won't post either. Same thing you have going on (although my GPU fans will spin up for 2 seconds, then shut off). Time for a new build for both of us!
 

JohnS.

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Yea, might be a good time to piece together a new one.
I didn't really wanna spend any money since I've been finally saving since I started full-time at my job but I just put in an order. Oh the joys of being spoiled with a computer since I was like 10 years old... I hate being addicted to using my computer but I can't help it.

It's nothing fancy but it should serve me another 3+ years. I've had my current custom setup since Sept 2009 so I'll be happy if this new setup lasts me the same amount of time. And I did buy stuff that's a little "higher end" than my current setup so hopefully it'll last me longer and still be just as quick in 3+ years. I wasn't playing games that required as much graphics then as I am now so I figured I'd go with slightly better stuff.

AMD FX-6300 CPU, MSI 970 board, GTX 650 Ti and 4GB of G.Skill RAM (I'm still on XP 32bit LOL). I double checked my PSU and everything should still work with it (newegg is even still selling it!). I was going to go with a 990 board but after some reading, it looked like the only main difference was SLI/Crossfire capabilities with the 990/FX. Since I don't do anything that requires a lot of graphics, I opted with the cheaper 970 board. Hell, I played Skyrim with my GTS 250 lol. It didn't run 100% smooth but it ran 100% fine.

If it doesn't post to BIOS at all, it's CPU related most of the time. Check to ensure your CPU has no physical signs of damage (scorch marks near base of CPU housing, scorch marks/darkened thermal compound near heatsink/CPU cooler etc.). Don't feel bad, I removed a CPU cooler from a relatively old computer (socket AM2, probably like 5 or 6 years old), and had to pry at it HARD. Ended up pulling the CPU out and bending like 90% of the pins on it. Now after straightening them out (and breaking a few off), it won't post either. Same thing you have going on (although my GPU fans will spin up for 2 seconds, then shut off). Time for a new build for both of us!
LOL x2.

This is the first time I've had a big hardware issue. I did pull my CPU off but I didn't have to pry hard at all. I put more thermal compound on then took apart my video card (TONS of dust inside) and cleaned & put new thermal compound there too. I hoped that would magically just fix everything but it didn't haha. And that's what I thought regarding it being CPU related. I read somewhere on Google that a CPU is required for the mobo to beep so after I noticed the computer not posting/beeping, I figured it was more CPU related.
 
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Billy.

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If it's not POSTing even after you remove all the non-essentials including all but one ram stick, then yea I'd say you have either a CPU or mobo failure. Since you're not getting a diagnostic beep, it's more likely than not the CPU.

Intel > AMD (At least for now)

=)
 

JohnS.

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Yeah mark (importnoob) was saying its most likely a mobo failure. This setup is old and slow as hell anyways. I can't wait for my new parts to show up. I hope it's a lot faster lol. Specs wise it's better but we'll see.

And honestly, I don't understand the whole intel vs amd thing. I've had amd for a while now so it's all I know. I understand the parts and what not lol. Just like apple vs android. It's just personal preference to me. I don't do anything crazy and don't even know how to read benchmarks nor do I care about the data lol.

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ImportFan1

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YAnd honestly, I don't understand the whole intel vs amd thing. I've had amd for a while now so it's all I know. I understand the parts and what not lol. Just like apple vs android. It's just personal preference to me. I don't do anything crazy and don't even know how to read benchmarks nor do I care about the data lol.
That's a loaded question. Enjoy reading.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/361389-28-intel
 

TokyoSkies

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Yeah mark (importnoob) was saying its most likely a mobo failure. This setup is old and slow as hell anyways. I can't wait for my new parts to show up. I hope it's a lot faster lol. Specs wise it's better but we'll see.

And honestly, I don't understand the whole intel vs amd thing. I've had amd for a while now so it's all I know. I understand the parts and what not lol. Just like apple vs android. It's just personal preference to me. I don't do anything crazy and don't even know how to read benchmarks nor do I care about the data lol.

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Motherboard failure will result in BIOS beeps, as opposed to nothing from CPU failure. It's kinda rare for mobos to just s**t out and not make a sound. Also, benchmark-wise, Intel does have the market right now (and they have for the past 5-7 years), but AMD makes some great budget CPUs. It's just a matter of personal preference!
 

JohnS.

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So basically: Intel if you have the money or AMD if you're on a budget. I can agree with the latter half of that (since I don't know anything about intel). Their mediocre stuff is priced great.

Motherboard failure will result in BIOS beeps, as opposed to nothing from CPU failure. It's kinda rare for mobos to just s**t out and not make a sound. Also, benchmark-wise, Intel does have the market right now (and they have for the past 5-7 years), but AMD makes some great budget CPUs. It's just a matter of personal preference!
I thought something was supposed to beep regardless lol. I still don't know much about computers but at least enough to know how to build one! :D


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lethal6

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That's a loaded question...
That is dead on. They both have strengths and weaknesses. Neither one is better than the other in an over all sense of the phrase. It all comes down to what you want out of them.
 

Billy.

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Porn. Most people just want porn out of them...
 

JohnS.

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Porn. Most people just want porn out of them...
You wouldn't need much to just watch porn :lol:.

I ended up ordering a new PSU and Windows 7 :(. Then got an SSD locally at Best Buy to save on shipping costs since they had the one I wanted on newegg anyways.

Some people have suggested that my PSU went out on me or the GPU took out the PSU with it. I guess with multi-rail PSU's, one rail could go bad while the other could still be working fine, giving enough juice to turn everything on but not give enough juice to kick start the CPU which apparently requires a lot of power. With that being said, I read single rail PSU's are overall better so I got a single rail. Oh well, either way, it's pretty much a brand new machine now lol (minus the case).
 

Billy.

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You know Best Buy will price match even an online store. I do it often to avert shipping delays and when I buy something that I'm not positive I want to keep. :thumbs up
 

JohnS.

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I did not know that. Thanks :thumbs up.

Finally have my computer back up and running. Holy s*** do I love this SSD.... I haven't had a chance to install games yet. But full restart from desktop to desktop is less than 30 seconds. Love it! I gotta get up at 5 tomorrow morning for work so it's bed time for me :(. I've been updating and installing smaller stuff for the past hour and a half.
 

Billy.

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Yea once you switch to an SSD, you don't go back. Then you wonder why everyone else is still in the dinosaur days of HDD :lol:

Search google for a writeup on properly configuring windows for SSD. There are a lot of tricks to improve performance and increase lifespan of the SSD that are little known to solid state newcombers... like disabling defrag, disabling indexing, etc.
 
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JohnS.

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Search google for a writeup on properly configuring windows for SSD. There are a lot of tricks to improve performance and increase lifespan of the SSD that are little known to solid state newcombers... like disabling defrag, disabling indexing, etc.
Thanks for reminding me about that. I had to get rid of the defrag schedule. Also had to change a registry file and go into BIOS to switch from IDE to AHCI. It appears to load slightly faster but it was fast regardless...so...yeah lol.

It's nice to be able to finally turn my computer on and load any game in less than a minute :D. But I just checked my storage space and I'm already coming up on half.... Eek. I haven't even installed everything I need yet too.
 

ImportFan1

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What size SSD did you go with?
 


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