PC will not stay running

[wolfie2kX 528]

If I believed in signs from the Divine, the supernatural or "the other side", I would say they definitely do not want me to play Sacred.

 

I was 100% satisfied with my pc performance until my problems started this week. I had every intention of keeping it until Sacred 3 comes out. I will throw my cpu in the trunk of my car and take it to the shop during lunch.

 

Assuming they can fix it, any ideas about the ATI card?

 

Edit:

I visually inspected the motherboard with a flashlight and my untrained eye saw nothing that looked wrong. I do not have a manual for the motherboard. The light is next to the graphics card slot and was always on.

 

Eh.. it may seem that way - but I don't put much stock in that sort of thing.

 

If it works ok - then yes, it's a good idea to check it out and see if there's anything (beyond the hard drives) worth salvaging and go from there.

 

As I just posted, repairing the motherboard is never a good idea. Somehow I don't think you've got a few thousand dollars you'd like to blow on such a project. It's far cheaper to just buy a new board, install it and be done with it and move on with life.

 

And for Pete's sake - do NOT throw the CPU in the trunk! Place it gently in there!

 

Looking at the canister style capacitors - the top end should be something like the bottom of a can of soda. The bottom should be caved in toward the other end. Not nearly as much as a can of soda, mind you, but it should not be bulging like a volcano that's ready to blow. If it's bulging, the cap is toast.

[locolagarto 15]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. ):

 

You have one really big issue - the hardware failure, and one really small issue - the PhysXLoader.dll error.

 

For the hardware issue it is starting to sound like the PCI/AGP/PCI-E socket has an issue. As Stubbie mentioned the lights should reveal a trouble code that can help determine the issue. I just built a nice PC for a friend here at work for $800 loaded. the Mobo/Ram/processor combo was only about $300 and is really nice stuff with a top of the line i3 560 processor and 8 gb of ram.

 

As for the PhysXloader.dll issue. It would seem you uninstalled one software program that is very necessary to Sacred2. the PhysX software came as part of Patch 2.40 and later, it is required even if you don't have an Nvidia GFX card. That is an easy fix. just re-install Sacred 2 or download the most recent PhysX update from Nvidia.

[lujate 575]

...

And for Pete's sake - do NOT throw the CPU in the trunk! Place it gently in there!

...

I had to read that several times before I got your meaning. I meant "throw" just as an expression, not literally.

 

Sorry to hear of your troubles. ):

 

You have one really big issue - the hardware failure, and one really small issue - the PhysXLoader.dll error.

 

For the hardware issue it is starting to sound like the PCI/AGP/PCI-E socket has an issue. As Stubbie mentioned the lights should reveal a trouble code that can help determine the issue. I just built a nice PC for a friend here at work for $800 loaded. the Mobo/Ram/processor combo was only about $300 and is really nice stuff with a top of the line i3 560 processor and 8 gb of ram.

 

As for the PhysXloader.dll issue. It would seem you uninstalled one software program that is very necessary to Sacred2. the PhysX software came as part of Patch 2.40 and later, it is required even if you don't have an Nvidia GFX card. That is an easy fix. just re-install Sacred 2 or download the most recent PhysX update from Nvidia.

 

I dropped it off at the shop just now. I took it to a local shop, since I am suspicious of big chain stores. The guy said they will know something in 3-5 business days. It is a little comfort that if they can bring it back to life that the DLL error is easily solved.

Edited March 11, 2011 by lujate

[locolagarto 15]

I dropped it off at the shop just now. I took it to a local shop, since I am suspicious of big chain stores. The guy said they will know something in 3-5 business days. It is a little comfort that if they can bring it back to life that the DLL error is easily solved.

 

3-5 days with a weekend in the middle will probably seem like an eternity!

 

I uninstalled that PhysX program myself once when I was experimenting with different ATI and Nvidia GFX cards. Through me for a loop when I saw it.

[lujate 575]

It has already been since Sunday, so I think the worst part of the withdrawal symptoms have passed.

 

I started a TG on my ps3 night before last. It is slim consolation but might be just enough to get me by.

[lujate 575]

By my count, 5 business days were up today at lunch, so after work I dropped by. It was not ready. They said they were sorry and would get to it first thing Monday.

 

It has already been so long now, that I am probably going to have to relearn the controls.

[wolfie2kX 528]

By my count, 5 business days were up today at lunch, so after work I dropped by. It was not ready. They said they were sorry and would get to it first thing Monday.

 

It has already been so long now, that I am probably going to have to relearn the controls.

 

Did they at least tell you what was wrong with it?

[lujate 575]

By my count, 5 business days were up today at lunch, so after work I dropped by. It was not ready. They said they were sorry and would get to it first thing Monday.

 

It has already been so long now, that I am probably going to have to relearn the controls.

 

Did they at least tell you what was wrong with it?

No, this is just for the diagnostics to determine what is wrong.

[wolfie2kX 528]

By my count, 5 business days were up today at lunch, so after work I dropped by. It was not ready. They said they were sorry and would get to it first thing Monday.

 

It has already been so long now, that I am probably going to have to relearn the controls.

 

Did they at least tell you what was wrong with it?

No, this is just for the diagnostics to determine what is wrong.

 

Ack... That sucks.

[gogoblender 3,068]

By my count, 5 business days were up today at lunch, so after work I dropped by. It was not ready. They said they were sorry and would get to it first thing Monday.

 

It has already been so long now, that I am probably going to have to relearn the controls.

 

I am so so sorry Lujate. I absolutely understand frustration with computers in shops. I gnash my teeth, go and find someone else's hair to pull out, all kinds of things.

 

Will they give you a discount on the computer after you told them that your boss is angry at you with not having your work project completed on time?

 

 

gogo

[lujate 575]

I have already paid for the diagnostic. If the pc is repairable, I am going to try and use this delay to get me bumped to the top of the queue. I think any kind of discount is probably out of the question.

 

 

Prior to this pc, my philosophy was always to buy the cheapest computer I could, back it up religiously and cut-and-run at the first sign of trouble. Right now that is starting to look pretty good.

Edited March 19, 2011 by lujate

[lujate 575]

So I asked my Magic 8 Ball, "will I see my pc again before the Second Coming" and the answers were not encouraging.

 

"Not bloody likely!"

"Are you smoking crack!"

The third time, I hard this strange sloshing noise. I think it was laughing at me.

 

They still have not gotten to my pc yet. I am planning on going there this evening and asking for a refund.

[locolagarto 15]

I feel for you. My wife's laptop went all goofy last week. After a half a day of trying to get it back, I wound up reformatting the hard drive and upgrading it to Win 7 from Vista. Wow what a difference that made. A 2 year old laptop runs like brand new again. I had to give up my game machine to her until I got the laptop back to working order. She was holding my machine hostage. It got the job done though.

[lujate 575]

I talked to the tech today about 12:45 this afternoon. He said that everything but the motherboard tested OK. I dropped by after work, but the new motherboard turned out to be defective. Now he said it will be tomorrow.

 

This nonsense had pointed out how little I know about hardware. I am a programmer by profession, so software is not a problem. My hardware knowledge is limited to adding RAM, optical drives and cards. I definitely need to learn more about hardware.

[masteff 64]

My mother was a system engineer on mainframes... she'll tell you: hardware people always blame the software; software people always blame the hardware.

[bhj 24]

Moved this in here to Tech Talk

[lujate 575]

Finally, a spot of luck! When I arrived yesterday, they had changed their mind and decided the motherboard was fine. The only thing wrong was that the power supply was cabled improperly. I find that ironic since the problem first appeared with the factory power supply and persisted even after I installed the aftermarket power supply. I cannot complain though, since the bill was a fraction of what a new motherboard would cost, and my pc stayed running from when I got home last night until I shut it off this morning.

 

Thanks guys for your assistance and understanding.

Edited March 23, 2011 by lujate

[Dragon Brother 619]

Great to hear that you got it sorted

[wolfie2kX 528]

Finally, a spot of luck! When I arrived yesterday, they had changed their mind and decided the motherboard was fine. The only thing wrong was that the power supply was cabled improperly. I find that ironic since the problem first appeared with the factory power supply and persisted even after I installed the aftermarket power supply. I cannot complain though, since the bill was a fraction of what a new motherboard would cost, and my pc stayed running from when I got home last night until I shut it off this morning.

 

Thanks guys for your assistance and understanding.

 

Ya know... Something about that sounds fishy... All power supply cables are pretty much universal and the connectors used on them are designed to be idiot proof. That is - there's only ONE way each connector can be plugged into it's corresponding socket. Especially the main board plug. Now then, there are a couple of styles for those - there's a 20 pin connector and a 24 pin connector. These are standards that every component maker has agreed to. Most all power supplys out on the market now have a 20 pin connector with a 4 pin, slide on, detatchable connector so the PSU will work regardless of the motherboard and it's design and power requirements.

 

Now... I might be more inclined to buy a diagnosis that says the replacement power supply just didn't have enough juice - some power supplies are sucky in so far as they don't come anywhere near their rated output. When you pick the PSU up, it should seem heavy - very heavy for it's size. After all, a power supply is nothing more than a step down transformer and rectifier that translates house current (120/240 VAC) to 5 or 12 Volts DC. And a transformer is generally nothing more than two coils of wire of varying length. When a current passes through it, it generates a magnetic field that spawns a second, lesser magnetic field on the output coils. The more wire, the heavier and more power gets put through.

 

But to say it was wired wrong - or "cabled improperly"? Makes NO sense..

 

But at least, you got it back and it seems to be working OK. That's what counts. Congrats! Very cool!