PC with no pawer - help a damsel in distress!

[Alcopop]

Hi all

I have no idea if this is in the right section, but have elected to post here due to the symptoms...

Bought a PC from cybersystems a number of months ago & have had constant problems;

1 - random blue screens & program crashes

2 - tech support cited memory issues so replaced both sticks of RAM

3 - this didnt seem to solve the issue as this still happens

4 - PC now wont switch on. Very intermittent; sometimes first go, of late not for 2 days.

5 - have tried with each memory stick in to see if this is the problem (suggested by tech support) but PC did not come on with either stick taken out...

I am a complete novice when it comes to the innards of PCs & tech support are now talking about bios batteries & jump starting the PSU.

Have no idea what any of this means & am really worried about meddling with stuff I have no understanding of...

Can anyone here point me at some tests that a complete noob can run with out running the risk of damaging the PC? Do these tests sound like the right thing? Am I better off taking this to a repair shop & forking out cash to get someone more capable to look at this??

I really am lost & could do with some reassurance / help from someone more capable than I. :worship:

Any suggestions gratefully recieved...

(oh - tech support did link me a post on these forums about jumpstarting a PSU, but that assumed certain level of understanding to be able to follow)

 

[JN]

In all honesty if you purchased a pre-built system from a reputable(?) company they should not be asking you to do things like jump-starting the PSU.

To me it does initially sound like a PSU problem, but the system should really be collected by cybersystems straight away for them to diagnose without any intervention by you. That is of course if they've heard of customer service before.

I can certainly write you a beginners guide on how to jump-start a PSU if you want, but to be honest I'd suggest you just ask that they collect it and diagnose. After all if the PSU is the problem they will have to take it back anyway.

 

[Msm2]

Is this a new or second hand pc. Jim you beat me to it.

 

[Alcopop]

its a new pre-built PC from Cybersystems (thank you both for such quick replies)

they will take it back if I pack it up & send it to them (they do not collect) which is why I am wondering if I am better off finding a more local person to help me, spend the money with them and never touch cybersystems again.

its going to cost me a fair few quid just to get this shipped & I am then without a PC for who-knows how long

if you guys think I can (with the right instructions) do some tests myself & then just ship back the faulty parts, I'm quite happy to take up the challenge!

 

[JN]

That sounds really poor of them not to collect. If they ship PC's out regularly it would probably only cost them a few quid to arrange a collection with their courier.

Anyway, probably the best way to start is if you can take the side off your PC and get us a picture of the insides. That way i/we can circle around the connector you need to remove.

 

[llwyd]

What did the BSOD say? or did it just turn off too quick to read. Problem does indeed sound like a PSU issue but I cant see jump starting it will be much use unless you have a multimetre and lots of fans to load the PSU with to test. There is a slim chance something may be shorting on the back of the MB too so if youre confident enough I would wip the internals out the case and set them up on a carboard box to test.

 

[Alcopop]

again, thanks for the quick replies;

first of all pls see below a few of the BSOD error messages that I saved as time went on

plus have att a picture of the inside of the PC. Hopefully managed to point the camera at a useful bit If not, let me know & I'll try again.

Might also be important (dont know) but I have 2 sticks of 2gb each of RAM, but when I look at System & Maintenance menu of my PC it can only see 2gb.

Problem signature:

Problem Event Name: BlueScreen

OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3

Locale ID: 2057

Additional information about the problem:

BCCode: c2

BCP1: 00000099

BCP2: 842A3F80

BCP3: 00000000

BCP4: 00000000

OS Version: 6_0_6001

Service Pack: 1_0

Product: 768_1

Problem signature:

Problem Event Name: BlueScreen

OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3

Locale ID: 2057

Additional information about the problem:

BCCode: c2

BCP1: 00000099

BCP2: 847BC7C8

BCP3: 00000000

BCP4: 00000000

OS Version: 6_0_6001

Service Pack: 1_0

Product: 768_1

Problem signature:

Problem Event Name: BlueScreen

OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3

Locale ID: 2057

Additional information about the problem:

BCCode: a

BCP1: 00000054

BCP2: 0000001B

BCP3: 00000001

BCP4: 827AFFE9

OS Version: 6_0_6001

Service Pack: 1_0

Product: 768_1

Problem signature:

Problem Event Name: BlueScreen

OS Version: 6.0.6001.2.1.0.768.3

Locale ID: 2057

Additional information about the problem:

BCCode: d1

BCP1: 00000000

BCP2: 00000002

BCP3: 00000001

BCP4: 881453D5

OS Version: 6_0_6001

Service Pack: 1_0

Product: 768_1

 

[Alcopop]

should also probably mention - pc wouldnt come on for a few days this week (just came on again last night ) and since then also now have major graphics card problems when playing online games. error message in system tray says" driver xxx has failed and now completely recovered"

you can see why I'm appealing to you guys

 

[Msm2]

Send it back,workmanship looks really rough.Get a refund.

 

[mrapoc]

idd

dont risk the warranty

send it back

not fit for purpose

etc.

refund and then look at a good retailer such as scan or mesh.

 

[zak4994]

...or you can give us your budget and we can find one for you! lol.

 

[lasher]

Whilst i would agree the problem is more than likely to be hardware related and the customer service your recieving is questionable I notice your still running SP1 for vista. Try visiting Microsoft and load up SP2 to see if that resolves the stop code blue screens.

On the first note obviously persue the company with the not fit for purpose tack. Also check the citizens advice bureau specifically the " distance sellers" regulations that should give you extra cover.

 

[JN]

As others have said, if you can I'd really see about getting a refund.

One thing I've noticed though is maybe one of your sticks of memory is in the wrong slot. You normally plug them into the same colour slots in order to achieve Dual Channel mode.

EDIT: and the memory in the right-hand slot doesn't seem to be clipped in properly (top clip seems slightly open). Maybe its just the angle of the picture, but might be worth checking.

 

[Alcopop]

hi all

I have moved to SP2 for Vista & to be fair, the BSOD hapeens very rarley now.

Good spot Jim re the top clip of the memory, but we found that this morning & securing it has made no difference

I would like to ask re the colour slots; I have just followed how I got the machine (in fact been very particular to keep it exactly as I got it)

Should I move one of the sticks? to where?

Re all the posts about refunds. I have tried that & they will accept me shipping back to be re-tested & replace any faulty parts, but again see my opening post :s

 

[JN]

Normally the memory slots are coloured in such a way that pairs of modules should go in the same coloured slots. Your board has a bit of a different layout to most other motherboards, but it may be worthy trying to put the memory module you've currently got in the orange slot, in the green slot instead.

It certainly wont hurt to try.

 

[PeterStoba]

That's an MSI P35 Neo motherboard and the memory is in the correct slots for dual channel to work.

 

[Alcopop]

thank you all so much for your help

my current plan is to ask them to replace the PSU & the memory; we'll see what they say.

Otherwise I will be back on here asking for help to build my own PC from scratch

 

[Rastalovich]

In all honesty - if it's a purchased item, I wouldn't ask them anything. Just take it back and say - "broke" - "fix".

Pfft.