A dying mobo?

[aimeeandbeatles]

I got my home computer back. But when I started it up, it went through the POST (beeped once, meaning its ok), but on the startup screen it got stuck at "Main Processor." And after doing some troubleshooting, such as leaving it running for a few minutes in case it was flashing. Then the guy had us bring it back to the shop. And he unplugged all the drives, and reseated the CMOS battery, and popped out a RAM stick. And it was still stuck. The video went out for a few minutes but came back on. He said it was working before it left, and we didn't drop it or anything. He said he's gonna call us back after clearing the CMOS (I told him that if he had to reinstall Windows, to go ahead as I have everything backed up.) So I'm currently using mom's computer as we sent the loaner back, its across town, but they have it on hold for us in case we need it again as they sell quickly.

Could this be a dying mobo?

EDIT: I should also mention that the hard drive wasn't grinding at all, like it always does when powering up.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

It got stuck on Main processor? Not a Windows loading screen?
If so, then it didnt pass POST, unless your mobo does it in an order completely unlike mine ( Mine checks processor, RAM and then attached peripherals)
Possibly dead CPU or mobo.
(there is rarely such a thing as a 'dying' mobo. Once anything in a mobo starts going bad, its as good as dead)

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I'm not sure what order it went in, but it beeped once and then got stuck on Main Processor. They're going to try resetting the CMOS, I think.

 

[Till]

It's always the hardware.

Do the CPU fans get switched on?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

The CPU fans and the lights came on.

 

[Perfection]

It's always the hardware.

It's never the hardware.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

My mom forced me to get the loaner permanently.

 

[lndm]

It's never the hardware.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.


Physical rebuild and CMOS reset. Reasonable chance of success, 10 mins work.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Well, it's too late now. my mom forced me to get a computer I didn't want. And she went into a mad rage and threw heavy objects at me and broke stuff when I said I wanted my home computer back.

 

[lndm]

Bummer. How are you holding up?

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I dunno. the new computer has some decent specs but I just don't like it.

I espcially don't like how Vista messed up Windows Explorer. There's gotta be some shell around to fix it...

EDIT: Can find shells to make XP look like Vista, but not the other way around. Grrr!

 

[lndm]

Me too. I feel lost without an "up" button and I don't use the bread-crumb trail.

I tailored explorer a bit. Put back the menu (instead of pressing alt), lightened the toolbar, removed the unnecessary columns (file type, rating and all that stuff). Still not perfect but OK.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I tried googling but I get the same tutorial on like 10+ different sites, and that only changes a few minor things. And the classic theme looks like Windows 2K....

And there's no recovery disc or partition! That's what really pissed me. I can't even do a clean install of Vista to clear off all the stuff the last person left behind. Sure, I can delete them, but I like to start fresh...

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Me too. I feel lost without an "up" button and I don't use the bread-crumb trail.

I tailored explorer a bit. Put back the menu (instead of pressing alt), lightened the toolbar, removed the unnecessary columns (file type, rating and all that stuff). Still not perfect but OK.

Did you remove the unnecessary columns for all explorer windows permanently?
if so, please share how. its the one thing that annoys me the most in Vista.

 

[lndm]

If I remember correctly, right click the headers and make adjustments. Go to tools>folder options>view, and set all to be like this one. Takes some playing with different folder types, I think.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

It's kinda painful for me to upgrade as I liked that computer, even with all the silly driver problems.... And I wasn't ready to upgrade. The only reason I am is because mom is forcing it on me. Because *she* likes this computer!

One good thing about this one is that the reset button isn't near the bottom so I can't hit it with my foot anymore.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Turns out the mobo died. He may have to replace it if the rebuild doesn't work (when we went to check, he had the entire thing tore apart on the table. I didn't even know you could take apart a mobo!). I'm still deciding on whether to keep the old one or the new one. Mom finally stopped screeching long enough to listen.

If you get a new mobo, can that extend the life of a computer? (And maybe if it's different model, might be better for upgrading. My mobo's at least three years old, so it may be hard to get. )

 

[Cutlass]

When any part breaks down, replacing it keeps the pc running until the next part breaks. So you could get several years more out of it.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Now to see if I can get my mom to comprehend that....

 

[Cutlass]

At some point it's not worth the effort though. The thing is, software keeps getting bigger and slower. Meaning you have to get faster and stronger computers just to stay even. Unless you never upgrade the software. But even if you never upgrade the software, web surfing just keeps getting bigger and slower also. More animations, more Flash, more Java. And those things download and run on your computer. So if the computer doesn't get better, over time there's just fewer things you can do.