Re: Motherboard short/wha?

Just ttake the cover off and have a good look around.
If you have never tinkered with the internals of a PC before, then I would:
1. google "anti static" (without the quotes) and have a good read on anti
static procedures & what kind of damage you can cause if you are liberal
touching things internally without taking precautions. Do not wear
synthetics (jeans an cotton T shirt are fine). Avoid doing this work on a
synthetic carpet. Get an anti static wrist strap if you can.

2. Get all the manuals that came with the PC - particularly the motherboard
manual and while having a look inside identify the major components & leanr
their names.
3. Look for things that are obviously wrong (I have seen all of these):
- missing motherbaord screws,
- lose motherboard,
- missing PCI card screws,
- AGP and PCI cards that are not seated properly,
- plugs that do not look seated into their sockets correctly,
- crapp in the bottom of the case (and elsewhere) incuding screws and
washers, insects, paper clips & rubbish.
- check the CPU cooler fan is clear of fluff & crap. Use a straw (without
any spit) to blow out any fluff that may be their - if it is minor.
- check the CPU cooler has not come adrift - give it a gentle wiggle - this
can cause systems to either burn up or shut down in around 4 seconds.

Do *NOT* vacuum clean the inside of the case under any circumstances -
vacuum cleaners spit static and will likely kill your computer.

The procedure would be to Have a good Look then Reseat every suspect
component. To reset a PCI card, unscrew it, pull it out and put it back in
paying attention to the correct insertion of the card - do an eyeball check
of how well each card is inserted before pulling out. PCI cards should come
out easily and go back in easily. Give yourself plenty of room, and only
touch the edges of cards, not the surface nor the edge connector, nor the
pins that come out of IC's...

If the CPU heatsink is well and truly gummed up, consider removing it,
cleaning it thoroughly, removing the olde thermal compound, applying new and
remounting the heatsink - again note its orientation and clearances etc
before you start.

You sound a tad shy on doing this, so having good look first and posting
back can't hurt.

- Tim




"chrisF" <humeurs@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1125363036.404426.128510@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Hi,
> I've been reading about board short circuits and a few other reasons my
> power supply will not start.
> The scenario: I moved my PC to another room. that morning it was on.
> That evening after the move, it wouldn't "post" (?)No fan, absolutely
> nothing.
> The PC was given to me and worked great up until I (carefully) moved
> it.
> I havn't tried taking the MB out yet and before I do (I'm not sure I
> know how) I wanted to ask anyone if they knew any signs of me possibly
> frying it? Like power spikes or anything of the like? Are there any
> signsthat I could see of a fried MB?
> This isn't a built PC so I don't know what could be causing it. At
> least, one would think that the MB would not be shorting?
>
> Any help would be great
>
> Regards
>
> Chris
>


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