Help with potentially broken computer please

[MonsieurFish]

Hi,

Yesterday morning, I was on my desktop computer, which is a dell dimension 3100, just playing music as I was getting ready to head to school, when all of a sudden the blue screen of death appeared. At the time, I thought nothing of it, as i've seen my fair share of that screen over the years, so I just shut down my computer and headed to school.

Now however, when I turn my computer on, all i get displayed on the monitor is a fuzzy screen, very similar to the screen you would get when you went to a channel you did not have on basic cable. I tried to phone dell, but since my warranty is up, I have to pay 50$ if i want them to talk to me, so I am scrapping that idea. Does anyone have any ideas on how i can check if this is in fact broken for good, or if I can fix it somehow?

I have tried hooking my monitor up to my laptop and the monitor worked fine so it is not the monitor that is broken. I also just tried starting the computer in safe mode, and now instead of the fuzzy screen, it's just black as if it never turned on.

Thanks

[sureLoss]

First reaction I have is the video card is dying/the video card is overheating.

Is the video card seperate or on board? If it is seperate you can try replacing it with another to confirm thats the problem.

[MonsieurFish]

Not too sure what seperate vs. on board is... It's the same video card that came with the computer about 5 years ago, so I assume that means it is on board?

[Frank MetaMusil]

Originally Posted by MonsieurFish

Hi,

Yesterday morning, I was on my desktop computer, which is a dell dimension 3100, just playing music as I was getting ready to head to school, when all of a sudden the blue screen of death appeared. At the time, I thought nothing of it, as i've seen my fair share of that screen over the years, so I just shut down my computer and headed to school.

Now however, when I turn my computer on, all i get displayed on the monitor is a fuzzy screen, very similar to the screen you would get when you went to a channel you did not have on basic cable. I tried to phone dell, but since my warranty is up, I have to pay 50$ if i want them to talk to me, so I am scrapping that idea. Does anyone have any ideas on how i can check if this is in fact broken for good, or if I can fix it somehow?

I have tried hooking my monitor up to my laptop and the monitor worked fine so it is not the monitor that is broken. I also just tried starting the computer in safe mode, and now instead of the fuzzy screen, it's just black as if it never turned on.

Thanks

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1124478

Go down to the section called Diagnostic Lights. That should help you isolate the issue.

[REDVAN]

Had a similar problem a few times.

First time- graphics card was fried
Second time- power supply fried
Third time- harddrive fried

Lesson: don't keep your computer in a cubby-hole.

Honestly, sounds like a graphics card but I don't know... best of luck.

[MonsieurFish]

Okay I have done that, and it appears that 0 lights are on. According to that website, it says the following:

Your computer has four lights labeled "1," "2," "3," and "4" on the front panel to help you troubleshoot problems. When the computer starts normally, the lights flash. After the computer starts successfully, all four lights turn off. If the computer malfunctions, the color and sequence of the lights identify the problem.

The computer is in a normal "off" condition or a possible pre-BIOS failure has occurred.
The diagnostic lights turn off after the system successfully boots to the operating system.
NOTE: If all of the diagnostic lights are off and the system does not start, there may be a problem with the power supply or with the processor.

Suggested Solution:

Plug the computer into a working electrical outlet. Also see "Power Problems" in your Owner's Manual.

I'll be honest... I hardly know what that says. Since 0 lights are on, I guess that means that my computer is either fine or not getting any power? Well it is getting power.... so maybe this means the video card is busted?

[Bobblehead]

Lets back up.

What happens when you turn it on?

What we are looking for is what you are hearing.

Are there any beeps? Do fans start to spin? If yes, which ones?

[MonsieurFish]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Lets back up.

What happens when you turn it on?

What we are looking for is what you are hearing.

Are there any beeps? Do fans start to spin? If yes, which ones?

When I turn it on, the screen is black for about 1 minute, and then turns fuzzy. There are no beeps, only when I tried to put it in safe mode and was tapping f8 were there beeps, but the fans are spinning. Hard to tell which ones, but I could feel them around the middle height at the back of the computer, as well as on the left side middle height.

[Bobblehead]

Back up further.

Before the screen does anything.

You press the power button and what is the first thing that happens?
How long after you pressed it did that happen?


What I'm trying to get at is when you first turn on a computer it does something called a POST (Power On Self Test). That is where the beeps and/or lights that people are asking you about are going to happen. Other than sometimes the fans spinning up for a second, this is the very first thing that should happen, and if it isn't happening then you can watch the screen and hot the keyboard until the cows come home, nothing will help.

[MonsieurFish]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Back up further.

Before the screen does anything.

You press the power button and what is the first thing that happens?
How long after you pressed it did that happen?


What I'm trying to get at is when you first turn on a computer it does something called a POST (Power On Self Test). That is where the beeps and/or lights that people are asking you about are going to happen. Other than sometimes the fans spinning up for a second, this is the very first thing that should happen, and if it isn't happening then you can watch the screen and hot the keyboard until the cows come home, nothing will help.

Hmmmm okay i'll do my best to summarize what happens. I turn the computer on, and the numbers 1 through 4 start flashing, and then turn on and off in various orders (2 and 3 light up only, then 1 and 4 only etc.), as well as a light shaped like a battery flashes during some of this. After this, the light on the cd rom drive starts flashing for a few seconds. There are no beeps, but you can hear stuff spinning inside.... and the fan basically starts right off the bat, maybe a one second hesitation where a couple combinations of the lights flash.

[Bobblehead]

Alright, that is good, your machine uses the lights instead of beeps, and it appears that it passes those tests.

When you connect your monitor to the computer, does it connect to the same place as your keyboard, mouse, etc connect, or does it connect over a but in an area where there are a bunch of slots? If it is the area with the slots then it is probably a card that you can replace. If it is grouped with the rest of the standard connections it is probably built onto the motherboard.

Alternatively, you can usually go to Dell's site and plug in the info for your computer and it should tell you about your computer, things like what type of video it came with, type of memory, etc.

[Hack&Lube]

What model is your Dell specifically? If you are getting a fuzzy image on the monitor (instead of the monitor actually shutting itself off from getting no video signal at all), the display adapter is at fault.


If you have integrated graphics and it's dead, you may be able to use an add in videocard if you have the expansion ports for it.

[MonsieurFish]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Alright, that is good, your machine uses the lights instead of beeps, and it appears that it passes those tests.

When you connect your monitor to the computer, does it connect to the same place as your keyboard, mouse, etc connect, or does it connect over a but in an area where there are a bunch of slots? If it is the area with the slots then it is probably a card that you can replace. If it is grouped with the rest of the standard connections it is probably built onto the motherboard.

Alternatively, you can usually go to Dell's site and plug in the info for your computer and it should tell you about your computer, things like what type of video it came with, type of memory, etc.

Yea it looks like the monitor connects to the motherboard.

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

What model is your Dell specifically? If you are getting a fuzzy image on the monitor (instead of the monitor actually shutting itself off from getting no video signal at all), the display adapter is at fault.


If you have integrated graphics and it's dead, you may be able to use an add in videocard if you have the expansion ports for it.

The computer is a Dell Dimension 3100, i'm not sure any more specifically than that. How can i tell if i have expansion ports to add a new videocard? Do we still think that replacing the videocard will solve the problem?

[Cliche]

Originally Posted by MonsieurFish

Yea it looks like the monitor connects to the motherboard.



The computer is a Dell Dimension 3100, i'm not sure any more specifically than that. How can i tell if i have expansion ports to add a new videocard? Do we still think that replacing the videocard will solve the problem?

From diagnosis no/fuzzy display means graphics subsystem is bad or other components related to it.

Adding a PCI video card or a PCI-E one might do the trick. As it becomes a reroute around affected areas. However since you have an integrated motherboard, it may be that more has failed and not less.

For instance, even if you do get video back, you may still wind up with errors as the shared memory might be bad. Or the board itself. Or the PSU, becuase if you aren't feeding the board the correct voltages it may be bad anyways.

It'll come down to how much time you're willing to troubleshoot it. Otherwise, the course of action to get the quickest results (since it is a cheap dell) is to get another cheap dell and recover the data from your hdd.

[ricosuave]

If its an AGP vid card, I have one you are welcome to have. ATI 9700 pro 128mb

[MonsieurFish]

Well if we think it's the video card that's the problem, I think i'd rather try and replace that rather than just buy a new desktop. I'm just not really sure how I can go about finding whether or not I can change this video card or not, and what kind I need to get. Here is a site with some of the specs of my comp... anyone able to help me out?

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/pcperip...096664p,00.htm

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by MonsieurFish

Well if we think it's the video card that's the problem, I think i'd rather try and replace that rather than just buy a new desktop. I'm just not really sure how I can go about finding whether or not I can change this video card or not, and what kind I need to get. Here is a site with some of the specs of my comp... anyone able to help me out?

http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/pcperip...096664p,00.htm

PCI slots (free)


2 x PCI slots; 1 x PCI-Express slot


This is the default configuration according to that review. Assuming your slots are all empty. Look at the back of your PC, there will be 3 horizontal plates above and below your network card, see the bottom of the picture:


If there is anything in these 3 slots other than the Netwrok card in one of the 4 slots, let us know and someone can walk you through figuring out which is used up.


If it pretty much looks like shown above, then a new PCI-E card is your best bet.

From memory express:

Any of these cards will do, but make sure it either has the same type of output as your monitor, or you get the appropriate adapter. Chances are, unless you already have an adapter, you can only use the VGA cards or a DVI Card with a VGA adapter.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...9/Default.aspx

This one is $23 after rebate, and shouldn't need an adapter since it comes with one port of each type. You could also easily add a second monitor with this card.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX27341%28ME%29.aspx

[MonsieurFish]

Originally Posted by Rathji

PCI slots (free)


2 x PCI slots; 1 x PCI-Express slot


This is the default configuration according to that review. Assuming your slots are all empty. Look at the back of your PC, there will be 3 horizontal plates above and below your network card, see the bottom of the picture:


If there is anything in these 3 slots other than the Netwrok card in one of the 4 slots, let us know and someone can walk you through figuring out which is used up.


If it pretty much looks like shown above, then a new PCI-E card is your best bet.

From memory express:

Any of these cards will do, but make sure it either has the same type of output as your monitor, or you get the appropriate adapter. Chances are, unless you already have an adapter, you can only use the VGA cards or a DVI Card with a VGA adapter.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Product...9/Default.aspx

This one is $23 after rebate, and shouldn't need an adapter since it comes with one port of each type. You could also easily add a second monitor with this card.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX27341%28ME%29.aspx

Okay, I looked inside my computer and only one of the 4 slots is being used, and it is used by a Dlink card (I assume that is the network card). The other 3 are empty.

[Rathji]

So that card I mentioned with the rebate, that is the cheapest, is the one you should get.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Rathji

So that card I mentioned with the rebate, that is the cheapest, is the one you should get.

Actually this one is. $6.

http://www.vfxweb.com/index.php?productid=11608

Or this $11 one is actually Dell OEM and has VGA breakouts in case he doesn't have a DVI port on his monitor.

http://www.vfxweb.com/index.php?productid=11610