PSU died, what should I look for?

[LDSisHere]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

See if you can lay your hands on a working old school PCI (not PCI-E) video card to try in the board. I try to keep a few of these around just for this kind of situation.

[DerStrom8]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

See if you can lay your hands on a working old school PCI (not PCI-E) video card to try in the board. I try to keep a few of these around just for this kind of situation.

A friend of mine suggested that the other day. I'm not sure if I can find one, but I'll keep my eyes open.

Thanks!

[ThePCDoctor]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

A point of interest.....
I've worked on PC's that were by all indications DEAD as a rock.
Taking out the CMOS battery for a few seconds did nothing. NOTHING!

The solution was to remove all power from the PC, then remove the CR2032 battery for twenty minutes or more. Then install a new battery and the PC came up like nothing had ever happened to it.

If you have a digital VOM, make sure that your CMOS battery is showing at least 3.0vdc, or it should be changed.

Just a thought!
Doc

[DerStrom8]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

A point of interest.....
I've worked on PC's that were by all indications DEAD as a rock.
Taking out the CMOS battery for a few seconds did nothing. NOTHING!

The solution was to remove all power from the PC, then remove the CR2032 battery for twenty minutes or more. Then install a new battery and the PC came up like nothing had ever happened to it.

If you have a digital VOM, make sure that your CMOS battery is showing at least 3.0vdc, or it should be changed.

Just a thought!
Doc

Good thought. I haven't removed the battery for longer than about 10 seconds, and I haven't replaced it. I did, however, test it with my DMM and it read the full 3v, so I know it's not dead. I have never seen anything like this. I'll take a video of it starting up, if it will help.

Regards,
Matt

[DerStrom8]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

Something struck me the other day, so I thought I'd check it out.

I've been testing my motherboard for several days now with everything hooked up--the power supply, case switches/lights, video cards/VGA cable, keyboard, etc, but haven't had any luck. But I had an idea yesterday and I quickly contacted the original owner of the computer, and asked him which video port he generally used with that machine. Sure enough, he said it--"DVI".

I borrowed a monitor from another friend that had a DVI input, plugged it into the graphics card and switched it on. BINGO! There was life!

Apparently the output defaults to DVI, or perhaps it was a setting from before, when there's no operating system (which he just told me the other day). I plug in a DVI device, and it works.

I KNEW it was something really simple, but for the life of me I couldn't figure it out! And neither could anyone else I asked

So anyway, thanks for your help guys. Sorry for putting you through all that!

Now I just need to get my hands on my own monitor with a DVI input (strangely my DVI-VGA adapter isn't working) and I'll be golden.

Just wanted to let you know.
Best wishes,
Matt

[momaka]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

(strangely my DVI-VGA adapter isn't working)

It probably is, but IIRC if the video card's DVI connection supports only DVI-D (digital) and not DVI-A (analog), then a DVI-to-VGA adapter won't work.

[DerStrom8]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

It probably is, but IIRC if the video card's DVI connection supports only DVI-D (digital) and not DVI-A (analog), then a DVI-to-VGA adapter won't work.

I was wondering if that was the case. Good to know.

I'm thinking of buying this thing: Monitor

It has both DVI and VGA inputs, and includes the cables. For a total of $74 (including shipping) I think it's probably worth it....

Regards,
Matt

[momaka]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

We have the same (or at least very very similar) ASUS monitors at work. I installed them at my old job about a year or so ago and we haven't had any problems. I don't think they cost much more to buy new, though. And the new ones do come with both DVI and VGA cables.
My only gripe with these is the glossy screen.

[mariushm]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

$74 for a second hand lcd monitor is a bit much.

You can get 17-19" lcd monitors in US for 20-30$, just snipe them at eBay auctions.

Not worth paying $74 for a 20" one when you can get 22-24" ones new with 100-120$

100$ 20" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009314
120$ 21.5" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009317
125" 22" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824005343

[DerStrom8]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

We have the same (or at least very very similar) ASUS monitors at work. I installed them at my old job about a year or so ago and we haven't had any problems. I don't think they cost much more to buy new, though. And the new ones do come with both DVI and VGA cables.
My only gripe with these is the glossy screen.

Thanks for the info. Brand new it costs between $108 and $150. I think $74, including shipping, is probably a better deal in my current position, even for a used one.

What do you mean by a glossy screen? Glaring? I think it'll work for me, anyway.

Thanks for the review!

Matt

[DerStrom8]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

$74 for a second hand lcd monitor is a bit much.

You can get 17-19" lcd monitors in US for 20-30$, just snipe them at eBay auctions.

Not worth paying $74 for a 20" one when you can get 22-24" ones new with 100-120$

100$ 20" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009314
120$ 21.5" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009317
125" 22" http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824005343

I've been all over ebay and that's where I found the one I linked to. It's the best for the money at this point.

I also checked Newegg and Tigerdirect, all of the monitors are out of my price range. I appreciate the links though.

Best wishes,
Matt

[mariushm]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

Step 1. Look up auctions and add monitors to wish list
Step 2. Wait until the last 5 minutes of the auction expiry
Step 3. If the price is still convenient, open the auction in new tab/page, refresh the page every half a minute or so.
Step 4. Put your maximum price in the last 20-30 seconds and if you're lucky you'll win it.

Here's some suggestions:

This expires in 2 days and sounds like bad capacitors or a broken cfl light:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-w2207-Wid...item4ac0c86270


24" if you can stand a small scratch on screen: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-T24B...item485010da3b

22" cheap at the moment:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-E2209WF...item1e76c8c10d
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Sync...item19d8860ca0
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-S2309WB...item19d8812d2d
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-Flatron-W...item35c3d720ce
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AOC-2217V-22...item3a7df545d0
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-E228WFP...item2a289bdaf5
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Sync...item27cf434da3
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Sync...item2c6bfbcace

one green pixel in lower right corner:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-Flatron-L...item3cce7c0b34

and i could go on and on... just check all categories, even the "broken or not working", some are improperly placed there.

[DerStrom8]

Re: PSU died, what should I look for?

Step 1. Look up auctions and add monitors to wish list
Step 2. Wait until the last 5 minutes of the auction expiry
Step 3. If the price is still convenient, open the auction in new tab/page, refresh the page every half a minute or so.
Step 4. Put your maximum price in the last 20-30 seconds and if you're lucky you'll win it.

Here's some suggestions:

This expires in 2 days and sounds like bad capacitors or a broken cfl light:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HP-w2207-Wid...item4ac0c86270


24" if you can stand a small scratch on screen: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-T24B...item485010da3b

22" cheap at the moment:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-E2209WF...item1e76c8c10d
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Sync...item19d8860ca0
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-S2309WB...item19d8812d2d
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-Flatron-W...item35c3d720ce
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AOC-2217V-22...item3a7df545d0
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-E228WFP...item2a289bdaf5
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Sync...item27cf434da3
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Sync...item2c6bfbcace

one green pixel in lower right corner:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LG-Flatron-L...item3cce7c0b34

and i could go on and on... just check all categories, even the "broken or not working", some are improperly placed there.

Thanks for that. How did I miss those in my search??

I've got quite a few of them on my watch list now. Especially the last one in the long list--that's really catching my eye

Much appreciated!

Matt