Computer Help Thread

[race_invader]

@Carcrazy: I do have 1 rear fan and 1 front fan for the HDD my guess, my case does have air vents on the side but i cannot put a side fan, unless i did some modifications to my case etc or even get a new one but i really don't wanna do that. Lately though my 9600GT has been in the 20's for once so thats not bad at all.

[Carcrazy]

Na, UAC is different... google 'Vista Big Brother' and see what comes up. lol


Can anyone here help me search for a part? I'm looking for a Thermalright IFX-14 CPU Cooler... I've checked all my major sites: Newegg; Microcenter; Tiger Direct; hell, even Google and can't find it...

Any ideas?

[boganbusman]

Lately though my 9600GT has been in the 20's for once so thats not bad at all.

20 is an awesome temp for the video card, mine gets to 70+ when I play games Don't bother with extra fans, it will just make your system more noisy.

[Carcrazy]

Not if you do it correctly...

[race_invader]

20 is an awesome temp for the video card, mine gets to 70+ when I play games Don't bother with extra fans, it will just make your system more noisy.

70+ Nah i wont bother putting extra fans in, its been staying well in the 20's for quite some time since my last post about it being in the 30's.

[baumaxx1]

Up-spec'ing to 2GB RAM now... friday... so that's a 4.5 yr old PC with a 3.2Ghz P4 HT, 2GB DDR400, 7600GT and 600GB HDD (x3 HDDS). Not bad for such an old thing. Value for money can go to hell though, lol. But playing Oblivion and watching V8 SUpercars is pretty cool, lol.

[Carcrazy]

Oh shiz, a BSOD due to driver 'Wdf0100.sys' (AKA 'WDF Dynamic') is normally a good sign of a trojan/worm/virus, right? Well, actually, I have also found ppl reporting that their Mouse drivers were causing it to crash, but I've had this same mouse for probably about 4 years.

Normally my BSOD's are due to my damaged Wi-Fi adapter, luckilly I have the PC set to not restart on system failure, giving me time to examine the error code...

Any ideas?

[vellu]

Oh shiz, a BSOD due to driver 'Wdf0100.sys' (AKA 'WDF Dynamic') is normally a good sign of a trojan/worm/virus, right? Well, actually, I have also found ppl reporting that their Mouse drivers were causing it to crash, but I've had this same mouse for probably about 4 years.

Any ideas?

This particular file reference does indeed occur most commonly with Logitech mice and Setpoint software they use. If you have a Logitech mouse and have Setpoint installed you could try the following.

1. Remove SetPoint
2. Rename C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\wdf01000.sys to something else (do not delete in case the following step fails for some reason, rename back if that happens. If the file is completely missing you might have trouble with your ethernet drivers/wi-fi drivers aswell))
3. Re-install SetPoint, 4.60 is the latest I think (it should re-install the wdf01000.sys file as part of the install, verify before rebooting. If it hasn't reappeared, unrename the previous file).

[Pabl0z]

Ok I dunno if I'll be able to read any replies before I try and fix the problem myself by buying new hardware but here's what I'm struggling with:

For almost a week now I've been having problems when turning the pc on.
When I turn it on I don't hear the normal "beep" before stuff comes onto the screen.. And nothing does come.
Everything sounds like they're running ok, all the fans and stuff, but you don't hear the beep and the screen's just showing that it's trying to find an analog or digital feed.
Well at first I got the "beep" and the pc running after a few flicks of the power button, but then it gradually got worse every day.
Three days ago it took me 15 minutes of pushing the power button until I got the thing running and while I was doing that I noticed that the PSU's fan wasn't running.

So I thought that there was a problem with the PSU, that it's not giving out enough power or something.
So after flicking the power button for a good 30 minutes 2 days ago, I went and bought a new PSU yesterday.
Turns out it probably wasn't a problem with the PSU (and its fan, it just probably saves energy and doesn't work all the time, dunno) as the pc still didn't want to turn on normally.
So I decided to open the pc's sidedoor and see if everything's running ok when I turn it on.
Everything seemed to be running ok, except the tiny fan on the motherboard which cools the chipset.
In a process to remove the fan and check it out, I managed to cut its tiny power cords, so now its totally dead , but I dunno if it too saved energy and does not run all the time (although I vaguely remember it running all the time when I've turned the pc on with the sidedoor open.).

Soooooo... Now I got the pc on again after 30min+ of button pushing and I'm thinking the problem's got to be with the motherboard, right?
But I'm doubting it could be just the little fan not working, as I plugged in another fan to "fool" the pc to think there's a fan normally running on the motherboard (if there's a censor for it (and in the process I could see that the connectors on the mobo aren't broken)) and the fan ran fine, but it didn't help with the problem.
I also tried to turn the pc on without anything connected to the chipset-fan pins on the mobo and it didn't start whining or anything, it just didn't get the "beep", as usual...

So what do you think..
Should I just go ahead and buy a new mobo (and maybe buy another piece of hardware I didn't need to change) or take the pc to a professional?
I'll try and get the pc on again tomorrow or the next day but if it doesn't turn on I probably won't be able to read your suggestions before I decide something myself.

ps. I haven't made any big updates on my pc in a good while, except I've changed keyboards a few times recently.

Some pc specs:
Mobo: MSI K8N Neo4-FI (S939)
Boxed AMD 64 X2 4200+
GeForce Club3d 7800GT
2x 250gb Maxtor
1GB stick of DDR400

Thanks in advance for replies.

[vellu]

Ok I dunno if I'll be able to read any replies before I try and fix the problem myself by buying new hardware but here's what I'm struggling with:

For almost a week now I've been having problems when turning the pc on.
When I turn it on I don't hear the normal "beep" before stuff comes onto the screen.. And nothing does come.

Your motherboard is fubar.

Take it from me (person who does pc troubleshooting for a living). 99% of the time in case like yours it's either the PSU or the motherboard, and you've already ruled out the PSU. Try looking at the capacitors on the motherboard (the cylinder shape thingies, there's a lot of them there). If even one of them is bulging from the top or leaking even a little bit, there is no hope to get that motherboard working (short of replacing the capacitors by manually soldering them which is highly unrecommended) even if you would replace the chipset fan (which by itself would be an easy and cheap fix).

[Pabl0z]

Yeah, looks like you might be right.
At first glance they all looked fine but then I started wondering if by bulging you meant even the slightest difference.
So I googled a bit and this looks pretty similar:

http://blog.seb.me.uk/2007/06/18/dell-m ... ansistors/

"They asked me to see if the capacitors were ‘flat’ or bulging out. At first I looked at them and they looked normal, but then looking a bit more closely, I thought they were slightly rounded at the top"

In my case I could only see one that is bulging like that, and a bunch of similar capacitors (or transistors, whatever) that are fine, next to it.
But how is it that the pc is still able to run?
But I guess I gotta take a trip to a pc store on monday..

Any suggestions for a new S939 mobo?
I don't think I want to spend too much money on a new one.

[Carcrazy]

Well, I'd recommend ECS and Abit MoBos, but I'm sure some people like S2K would disagree with ECS.

If you feel like switching to Intel my AW9D-Max is great, but it runs a $230 price tag.
Now at this point I'd post a bunch of links for you to my recommendations, but seeing as the 939 socket was discontinued a few years ago, good luck.

Also, about my problem...
I've been using the same MS Optical mouse for probably 4 years now... never had a problem with it. The only Logitech component I have on my computer are my new Z-2300 speakers...

[Pabl0z]

I'm not gonna be changing anything else but the mobo at this time.
When my pc really needs upgrading I'll buy a whole new pc (which will probably be a laptop).
I'm not gonna go through the bit-by-bit upgrading process again.
And I don't think I'm gonna be buying an ECS mobo...
I bought one for my old pc, it didn't work, so I changed it for another one, it didn't work either, so I changed it for another maker's model and it worked like a charm so i doubt it was due to user's error .

[Carcrazy]

Lol.

I really can't think of anywhere that sells 939 MoBo's anymore... the only one I can think of that MAY is tigerdirect.
Oh, you may also want to check a site called geeks.com. There's a limited selection, but they should at least have some.

Otherwise, it's ebay for you my friend!

[Pabl0z]

Hey.. I live in Finland.. You really think I'll start ordering some cheap mobo from the U.S.?

But yeah seems that the selection is pretty limited these days.
These are pretty much all that I can choose from (unless I'm gonna buy a 100€+ mobo with SLI or something which I'm not):

http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?model ... =15&l3=260
About 40€

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?M ... N68PV-GLAN
About 70€

So they're pretty much both ASUS..

[vellu]

In my case I could only see one that is bulging like that, and a bunch of similar capacitors (or transistors, whatever) that are fine, next to it.
But how is it that the pc is still able to run?

All it takes is one...

What happens (to a capasitor (tai kondensaattori jos auttaa ) is that the electrolyte inside the component is/has gone bad and starts to produce hydrogen gas which causes the bulging. To prevent catastrophical failure ie. an exploding capasitor the components today are designed to vent out the electrolyte rather than simply blow out. In your case that particular capasitor propably hasn't leaked out all of it's electrolyte material and sometimes works, but has lost its optimal operational mode ie. it is no longer capable of maintaining the charge it is supposed to.

[Pabl0z]

Mkay.
Well I think I'll be looking into some used mobos.
I read online that the ASUS mobo has a lot of heat issues and I don't really wanna be paying 70€+ for a new mobo.

But thanks for the help, vellu.
I appreciate it.

[Carcrazy]

Wow, my computer really is in bad condition...

Anyway, I think I have a problem with my new Logitech Z-2300 Speaker set...

When testing it out with this video, at approx. 22-23 seconds it starts to make a very odd knocking noise... I'll see if I can make a video of it with my phone, but seeing as my parents are home and I work all-day tomorrow, I might not be able to get one until Monday...

Anyway, thanks for your help!

[baumaxx1]

This happened once two weeks ago... and then it was fine till today.

Well, fired up the comp this morning, sounded more like a light aircraft... something appeared to be vibrating a lot... one possibility is a fan just spinning it's head off, don't know why... another may be HDD faliure (not CD drive, opened it). Now, If it's any HDD it could be my newest one, the noise I can't trace as the whole case shakes, but that's in a adapter mounting to fit where it's needed. Oh yeah... and I un plugged it for a few minutes, plugged it in again and now I am typing and it's very quiet, and all HDDs appear to be healthy. So... anyone else have any ideas? Backing up important files now, lol...

However, one thing puzzles me... HDDs shouldn't be able to spin so fast that they cause the case to shake, usually they're silent.

[Carcrazy]

Hard Drives can make quite an amount of noise when they are running at full speed, but I doubt it would be enough to considerably shake your case. Try using the Electrical tape trick to cushion the hard drive, then if you hear something like the disk spinning again, but notice the case is shaking less, it may confirm or exclude your theory.

...or either just activate SMART on your motherboard, if it's supported.
You may also want to manually set the speed on any case fans you have.

[baumaxx1]

Hard Drives can make quite an amount of noise when they are running at full speed, but I doubt it would be enough to considerably shake your case. Try using the Electrical tape trick to cushion the hard drive, then if you hear something like the disk spinning again, but notice the case is shaking less, it may confirm or exclude your theory.

...or either just activate SMART on your motherboard, if it's supported.
You may also want to manually set the speed on any case fans you have.

Yeah, SMART says they're all good. I think it's a fan going skitz due to it's intermittent nature.

[Carcrazy]

Well that's an easy fix... Newegg, a Credit card, and $20 in the bank.

[Pabl0z]

Heh you won't believe how crappy a pc I'm using atm.
Took some old 300mhz celeron from my mother's worplace just to get online ...

Anyways..
I ordered that cheap Asus mobo (39€) even though it's been widely bashed as crap online, but I'm sure it'll be good enough for a year or so when I'll probably be updating the whole system.
I tried finding used mobos online but people were asking ridiculous amounts of money for them.

[Carcrazy]

Wow, did you try looking at some private places? I know sites like overclock.com's users post for sale/wanted threads on there...

[donaldgladden]

my mobo keeps telling me my cpu fan failed, but it's working fine and my temps seem okay. but the real problem is that sometimes the mobo says my cpu fan failed and then it shutsoff. sometimes it says it failed and then it runs(like right now ). wtfux is wrong?