Need help repairing pIII pc

Hi - I was given an Intel P3, 1.0 GHz, 256M, 40GB, Integrated Intel 810E AGP Video, CMI8738 Sound Blaster that will not currently turn on at all to replace my kids P2 which works fine but is running Win98 SE and is fairly slow.

I am guessing its the power supply or motherboard so in your opinions - do you think its worth fixing and what would you suggest(in layman's terms, please - I have only ever replaced a hard drive and installed software) The current power supply is a Power Win, model PW-235-atxe(which I can't find so any suggestions for a replacement?)

I obviously don't want to spend a lot of money but if I can fix it up for say less than $100 and the kids will have a faster computer that would be great.

Thanks in advance for any advice. Kari

 

Do you get any power at all? When was the last time you had the thing working?

Don't overlook silly things like the power switch not being turned on (I've done that on occasion.. lmao)

I'm assuming that's a socket 370 and not a slot 1? THIS should be enough to suit your needs. Or, I have THIS one in a similar rig.

 

Thanks! I know its on but the last time my mother in law had it working it was acting up, she shut it down got it to turn on one more time and it would never start up again. I thought I saw the fan try to start the first time I plugged it in and turned it on. Sorry I am not sure about the socket 370 or slot 1 - how can I tell? My husband says he has a multimeter - would that be a way to check to see if it is in fact the power supply or motherboard? Thanks alot for your help. K

 

For power supply troubleshooting try here

 

Do not under any circumstances open up your psu if you are trying to get it to work. There is enough voltage in there to kill you.

 

thanks, there is a warning noted on there so I wasn't planning on opening it since I wouldn't know what to do inside there anyway but that is very good to know...much appreciated. K

 

it is possible to test the power supply to rule it in or out it only means removing one connector and is safe to do,remove the main connector on the power supply from the motherboard,with this connector in hand "its safe low voltage" get a paperclip and form it into a U shape,put one end of the U into the hole connected to the green wire and the other end into ANY of the hole connected to a black wire,the fan on the power supply should spin up if it doesnt theres your culprit,if it does it could point towards and dead motherboard,the next step is to test each connector on the power supply with a testmeter to see if any of the lines are dead

 

Thanks! That was easy and the fan turned on so that means motherboard?? Hmmm, is it worth it and what specs do I need to figure out what kind of motherboard - is it easiest to get the same one or is there an upgrade for the same $$. Am I way out of my league here? Thank you all so much for your help! K

 

it looks like it the motherboard "mobo" you can troubleshoot the prob from the power switch on the front of your comp through to the power supply "psu" if you would like to know for sure,when removing any connectors always remove from the ac first,replace the mobo psu connector,from the switch on the front trace the wires back to where they connect on the mobo,make a quick sketch or take a photo so you know where it goes back,remove it from the mobo,hook the comp back to the ac,get a - screwdriver and bridge the contacts on the mobo that the switch hooks up to,if the comp fires up you need a new power switch if not if not there are still further things we can try

ps only hold it there for a 2 secs try 3-4 times

 

Would this work? Mach Speed 694TAS VIA Socket 370 ATX Motherboard / AGP 4X / Audio / USB 2.0 / AMR / ISA / Lifetime Warranty

My current Motherboard is a SystemBoard Socket 370, M758 says it supports fcpga PIII and front side bus speeds 66/100/133 MHz as does the above. K

 

looks fine to me I'm not that clued up on old p3 mobo's,another member could give you a more positive answer,you may not have to spend a penny yet if you would like to carry on troubleshooting I dont mind helping out or you could just go ahead with the new mobo its your call M8

 

Rikky - It turned on when I bridged the contacts...what do you think? Thanks by the way for being so quick - I had no Idea I would get this far with the problem today! K

 

has the computer stayed on with the fans running,is it running now?

 

No, it started the first 3 times, and died all three times and now that doesn't start it at all

 

lets see if we can root out the gremlin replace the power switch and give it a try sometimes you just get lucky

 

can I try it with a switch from the PII that I am replacing?

 

ofcourse we need to know we have a good working switch so we dont need to keep bridging the contacts,its best not to hover over out mobo too long with sharp screwdriver

 

it doesnt even have to be in the case

 

this is a very cheap mobo i bought one recently and didnt work the first time i booted i am a pc expert and i tested all components if its getting power check your video try using a pci video and then another agp if that dosent work buy the mobo from tigerdirect.com you can also buy a xmidia 5500 256mb graphics card for gaming at a fairly reasonable price

 

So as pc expert you test a dead pc by changing the video card and if that doesnt work you go out and buy a new mobo?,you must have a shitload of good mobos lying around

 

okay I tested with a good power switch and nothing...what's my next step? K

 

if you can read i said u have to check all coponents power video cpu ect. first

 

right then we cant rule out the power supply yet it may not be able to give enough power to the motherboard or one of the lines is dead,Its tough to troubleshoot a comp that wont turn on because it can be any component causing the fault,I was hoping it would be the power supply or the switch but as the power supply spins up on its own its usually a good indication its working,to test it properly you will need to remove every power adapter from each component and using the paperclip trick to start up the psu and the guide previously posted use a testmeter to test each individual connector for its voltage

alternatively you can try and troubleshoot the mobo,to do this though again you will have to remove everything from the comp you dont need all pci add in cards "excluding the video card",harddrive,cdrom,you then need to find the cmos battery on the motherboard "looks like a silver coin about an inch in diameter"with ac removed remove it for 20 secs,then replace and give it a whirl

removing and rehooking up all components has also been overlooked and can often bring a comp back to life