Hardware help, please

[technical.angel]

Okay, so I have a side job that is getting me crazy.

The owners claimed that ALL they did (you know how that goes), is remove a modem PCI card and (du du dunnnn) blow out the PC with canned air.

So, what happens is that when you turn on the PC, the Power light and HD light come on, the fans come on, and before the monitor can register the PC being on, everything turns off.

I've done a little research, and about to do some more.

What I've done.

Inspected the Mobo. Everything looks fine. The compacitor thingies look good, I can't see any damage.

Removed and replaced the CMOS. Same thing.

Took out the CMOS for a couple hours. No go.

Got wise and removed the CMOS with the power cord unplugged. Still no go. Even with hitting the power button a few times with both missing.

Got a new CMOS. Well, at least now I have a spare CMOS.

Reset the BIOS by flipping the jumpers for 7 seconds and putting them back.

Replaced the PSU. Even with a higher wattage PSU, no go.

Stared endlessly at the mobo to see if I can just figure it out.

So, BIOS? Processor?

The mobo is a IPIBL-LB.

PLEASE HELP!!!!

EDIT: I removed the RAM (all 8gb of it,... jealous!) I got two long beeps. So, it must be POSTing... right?

[It's me]

Pull all the boards, pull the HD & CD/DVD connectors (power & data) and leave them disconnected. Re-seat the processor and RAM. Boot and see what happens.

[Midorikawa]

My guess is they jarred the machine, or knocked dirt under the CPU. Reseating will fix that. Generally, a "box powers on, but doesn't give all clear POST beep" is either PSU, video card, or CPU related.

It COULD still be that they knocked dust where it shouldn't be and they fried the mobo, but as suggested before, reseat of the CPU first. :-)

[joe hx]

blow out the PC with canned air.

spun the bearings on the cpu, causing it not to spin correctly, thus preventing the proper airflow to the cpu.

Some systems will shut the computer down if the CPU overheats. So this gives it a chance to start loading everything before it suddenly shuts down. If you leave the computer off for awhile, and when you restart it it lasts longer, this could be your culprit.

New CPU would be the fix.

Course, I'm probably completely wrong.

[technical.angel]

I was afraid you all would suggest reseating the processor.

I guess I'm off to BB after work to pick up some heat sink pastey stuff.

EDIT: Darn, Radio Shack has it too.. No trip to BB.

[technical.angel]

To make life more nerve racking, I plugged in the HD to my IDE/Sata to USB connector, and my PC wouldn't recognize it.

I've already tested the PSU, but could something with the canned air cause a spike in the computer?

I'm prepped to get a spare processor to try to replace if reseating doesn't fix the issue. But does this mean that my tool is finicky, or that the HD could also be bad?

[lordlundar]

I'm prepped to get a spare processor to try to replace if reseating doesn't fix the issue. But does this mean that my tool is finicky, or that the HD could also be bad?

Could be the tool is being finicky. Te way to find out for sure is to plug the drive into the internal connections of a working computer as a secondary drive. If it doesn't get recognized then, the drive is gone (or at least the controller board is)

[technical.angel]

Okay, processor reseated... and.... no go.

And, my hopes of running to BB to get another one were dashed when all the Intel cards available on the site are available online only. So, any last suggestions before I talk to the owner about ordering a new processor?

[Dreamstalker]

I'd guess that something (orphan screw, dust, etc) is shorting/grounding to the case.

[Imprl59]

If you are getting beeps with the memory out try booting with only one stick of memory. If it comes up shut it down and add another one until you find the culprit. If it doesn't come up pull that stick and try another one. If it still doesnt come up the memory probably isnt the issue.

What does it have for addon video? Do you have a card of that type that you can try? If the machine is off and unplugged the canned air shouldnt hurt anything but if it is on and they tilted the can spraying liquid on the board it could have cracked a component or more likely a solder trace from the thermal shock.

Steve B.

[RichS]

I'd guess that something (orphan screw, dust, etc) is shorting/grounding to the case.

That'd be my guess as well - might be time to pull the mobo and test it outside of the case.

[technical.angel]

Yeah, and that's where I draw the line. I just don't know enough about hardware to pull it off, so I'm going to go ahead and give the computer back to the owner.

[Chromatix]

I think that if neither the bare machine (m/board, CPU, RAM) nor the HD will work in isolation, the machine was probably fried by lightning. If that gets through the PSU, it can zap literally everything.

The data in the HD is probably recoverable, but it would need a professional data recovery company to do it. Then it's a case of how valuable the data is.