For a couple of weeks now, my CPU alarm has been going off. I dealt with it by closing programs and putting a big fan against the back of the tower, blowing air into it. When the alarm went off, I closed programs and turned up the fan to high. A couple weeks of that, and I decided to take the tower in to the shop. He replaced the CPU fan on the guess that that was what was causing the problem, but then when he tried to reboot, he got a memory error (checking memory). This went on for 20 minutes or so and the only way to get out of it was to swap out one of the memory sticks, which he assumed had gone bad. So now I am running on only 512 MB of memory, which kind of sucks, but I use Windows 2000, and that uses memory very well and requires very little.
Anyway, with the “bad memory” swapped out and the new CPU fan in, I took it home and started it up. It immediately started checking memory again, and started looping around on that. I hit escape to get out of that mouse wheel. Then it booted up. But after a bit, the CPU alarm went off again! So replacing the CPU fan did not end any of the problems associated with overheating.
What’s going on? Why is the motherboard overheating. How come changing the CPU fan did not stop the problem? Why did the memory stick suddenly die, if it even did? Why is the computer still running endless memory checks with seemingly good memory in the box?
I am not understanding so many things here.
In my experience, old CPUs (my favorite toys) are choked with dust, which causes them to overheat. My guess is that the initial overheating damaged the main chip. Sometimes the dust itself will short connections. Something as simple as blowing out the case will lodge dust particles somewhere they can do damage. Your shop tech might have shorted out the board with static electricity from his hand. It could be any number of things. I like old computers for the same reason I like old vehicles: they are much cheaper and easier to work on….albeit potentially unreliable.
You know much more than I, but my initial guess was that as well. The overheating caused subsequent damage.
To extend your analogy, if you don’t have enough water in your radiator, your engine might overheat, causing the gaskets to blow.
Voila. The damage multiplies.
I would think most techs know enough to ground themselves. I hope?
Very hard to know the exact chain of events, but you might try running it with the case open if the overheating continues to be a problem. I’m sure the dust would have been blown out at the shop.
The memory error is more disturbing and if the self diagnostics aren’t able to fix it, the next step (if it were mine) would be to save my stuff and reformat the hard drive. Then you have a clean starting point. If the problem still persists it may be the motherboard, and especially if I were you, I would just replace the whole tower. They’re pretty cheap and you can’t afford this bullshit.
Windows 2000? This computer is over 10 years old, right?
Probably old enough that the thermal paste (bonding the processor to the heat sink) is all gone or too brittle. Might be time to get a RELIABLE tech to redo that, go thru the PC and blow out all old dust, etc. Then (re)mate the CPU *properly* with the heat sink & fan. Like this:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/howto_install_cpu_and_apply_thermal_paste
Putting a fan by the box blowing the WRONG WAY was also not the best idea. Hot air needs to be ducted OUT of the PC, not blown back in. That’s why fans blow OUT.
Or, it might be time to get a new PC. Those are my guesses as a crusty ol’ geek.
-Drunky
No, computer is 5 1/2 yrs old.
Back up your files immediately! Onto an external drive or to a service like dropbox. The only value in your PC is the information you created, Robert!
10 year old software on a 5 1/2 year old computer. What could possibly go wrong? +1 to mitchw for telling you to backup your data (I’d do it at least weekly).
Everyone I know in your neck o’ the woods is running 5 year old PCs.. Problem is they’re also running XP. You might try that. Or, what AlanJ said, install a current Linux distro as it’s made for repurposing older machines. I also recommend my advice above about redoing the CPU/sink/fan if you insist on keeping that machine. Windows isn’t known for consistent hardware errors, just throwing its hands up when something bad goes wrong. What Steve says about replacing the whole thing is also good advice. Tho’ at 5 years, installing XP or Linux might be worth a shot.
But then, if you’re used to Windows then you should be running “the same vintage for the hardware”.. and that would be XP.
-Drunky
My Friend:
Install Debian Linux, easier than that, install Ubuntu within five minutes along side of Win2000, and run your computer in Laptop Mode, it runs cool.
I am sorry that I cannot help you with your computer issues. However, I will say that it is not a good idea to bring a computer into repair. Say there was some indecent material on there or something.
Hey Robert, too bad I’m not in your neck of the woods or I’d try to fix it for you (I’m an IT guy). I agree that the thermal compound (paste) between the heatsink and CPU could be old or the heatsink itself could have been dislodged by the technician while removing the fan. Damage can result if the chip exceeds 80* C or so. However, most BIOS will power off the box if a certain threshold is exceeded to prevent this damage.
As for the memory, have you tried simply “re-seating” the RAM module? Just removing it and carefully putting it back in nice and tight. You could wipe the gold leads on it too.
The reason the test is looping is that the technician probably set the BIOS to the long (called “extended” or similar) memory test since he wanted to see if it would generate errors and did not set it back. (If there were errors, the BIOS would complain and halt the test.) This is an easy to change BIOS setting.
Peace,
Peter O.
Oh, as for backing up data, that’s something I always recommend. In addition, there should be programs available to read the “SMART” data from the disk to see if it’s generating too many errors and needs to be replaced. Except for my Netflix box, I only use Linux so am not sure what Windows program does that, or if Windows itself would warn you in the system logging facility.
When you see all sorts of weird (seemingly unrelated) issues, the first thing I suspect is a problem with the power supply unit (PSU) in the machine. These things are notorious for failing slowly sometimes–and unfortunately can take different components with them in the process, as they are fading. They will often throw transient voltage levels, which can damage other sensitive components. A new PSU is fairly inexpensive ($100 or less, usually), but does take some time to install. And you have to be sure to get the correct size, etc. So while there certainly could be cooling issues related to dirt/dust or bad fans, don’t overlook the PSU. I’ve seen them fail on many occasions.
So I would have someone test that PSU if possible. Or better yet if it’s nearly 6 years old, back up your data and simply replace the PSU. Do you know if the computer tech you used tested the power supply at all?
I HAVE THE SAME THING GOING ON. AND MY LAPTOP IS DOING IT TO. IS IT A BUG?
I agree with with the Linux suggestion. I tried it five years ago and haven’t looked back. I would recommend the distro Linux Mint. It runs well on older machines, is free, and easy to use. Mint is built on top of the previously mentioned Ubuntu, which makes it more functional and elegant.