Re: FN-FORUM: Stuffed PC

date posted 20th January 2004 20:50

Ali Turner wrote:

> I have a Tiny PC that just stops responding a few seconds into booting. I
> have checked all the leads and hard disks and connections but each time it
> runs for a few seconds and then quits.

Being cruel, I'd say the first problem is apparent when you get to
"Tiny PC" :)

However, being more helpful:

- do you get any error beeps at all?
- do you get as far as POST?
- can you hear the HDD spin up?
- will it boot from CD?

Likely suspects for me would be (in vague order):

- duff PSU. Tiny tended to use low powered crap PSUs and it might
have failed sufficiently not to power the system up fully, but
still put enough juice through to get to the BIOS

- duff RAM. Test by creating a bootable CD of memtest from
www.memtest86.com

- duff IDE controller on the mobo

- duff HDD

- duff CPU (unlikely, as generally a lock-up like that would
be overheating, but you say the fans are still spinning)

- duff video card (again, unlikely, because if it was heat related
than it'd do it in the BIOS too)


> Is this fixable or should I just junk it and get another PC?

Depends how much it's worth to you. If you hit the problem quickly
then it could just be £30 to fix, but IMV junking is too good for
virtually anything ever produced by Tiny (I will admit to gross
snobbishness and prejudice in that regard though) :).

Cheers,

Pete
--
Peter Croft
PC Associates