[Gizzy57]

What I have here is a Medion- Modell PCMT6- Windows XP Home- Intel Pentium 4- nVIDIA graphics and not sure of how much Ram is in this machine cause I can't get it to boot up..I tried my tester PSU on it and it powered up followed by two long steady beeps and I shut it down. He said that he has had the PSU replaced in this system twice in the past year or less...Any idea's as to what the problem could be?

Thanks
Hugz
Gizzy

[Advertisements]

Hi Gizzy57

I suggest that you do a physical check of the Ram, please see my canned speech below;

How to physically test your Ram.

The following checks require the computer case to be opened so take the following safety precautions 1st, disconnect the power cord from the wall and take anti static precautions before touching anything inside, you can do this by touching a bare metal part of the case.

Have a pencil and notepad to hand.
Remove each stick of Ram and blow out the memory slots.
Insert the first stick of Ram in memory slot one, reconnect the power and in the case of a desktop computer the video to screen cable.
Power up the computer and see how it goes.
Make a note of the results.
Repeat the procedure until the first stick of Ram has been tested in each memory slot and the results written down.
Remove the first stick of Ram and put it to one side on top of a piece of paper with the number one on it for identification purposes.
Repeat the procedure with all Ram until each stick has been tested in all slots, the results written down and the sticks identified numerically.

Please note that some MBs (motherboards) will not boot unless there is Ram in slot one so please provide us with your motherboard details, brand, model name/number and any revision number, these details may be found by the CPU, between the PCI slots and/or around the edge of the motherboard, once we have the MB details we can look for the user manual.

Can you please tell us what brand and model of PSU you swapped out of the machine.

[phillpower2]

Hi Gizzy57

I suggest that you do a physical check of the Ram, please see my canned speech below;

How to physically test your Ram.

The following checks require the computer case to be opened so take the following safety precautions 1st, disconnect the power cord from the wall and take anti static precautions before touching anything inside, you can do this by touching a bare metal part of the case.

Have a pencil and notepad to hand.
Remove each stick of Ram and blow out the memory slots.
Insert the first stick of Ram in memory slot one, reconnect the power and in the case of a desktop computer the video to screen cable.
Power up the computer and see how it goes.
Make a note of the results.
Repeat the procedure until the first stick of Ram has been tested in each memory slot and the results written down.
Remove the first stick of Ram and put it to one side on top of a piece of paper with the number one on it for identification purposes.
Repeat the procedure with all Ram until each stick has been tested in all slots, the results written down and the sticks identified numerically.

Please note that some MBs (motherboards) will not boot unless there is Ram in slot one so please provide us with your motherboard details, brand, model name/number and any revision number, these details may be found by the CPU, between the PCI slots and/or around the edge of the motherboard, once we have the MB details we can look for the user manual.

Can you please tell us what brand and model of PSU you swapped out of the machine.

[Gizzy57]

Hi Gizzy57

I suggest that you do a physical check of the Ram, please see my canned speech below;

How to physically test your Ram.

The following checks require the computer case to be opened so take the following safety precautions 1st, disconnect the power cord from the wall and take anti static precautions before touching anything inside, you can do this by touching a bare metal part of the case.

Have a pencil and notepad to hand.
Remove each stick of Ram and blow out the memory slots.
Insert the first stick of Ram in memory slot one, reconnect the power and in the case of a desktop computer the video to screen cable.
Power up the computer and see how it goes.
Make a note of the results.
Repeat the procedure until the first stick of Ram has been tested in each memory slot and the results written down.
Remove the first stick of Ram and put it to one side on top of a piece of paper with the number one on it for identification purposes.
Repeat the procedure with all Ram until each stick has been tested in all slots, the results written down and the sticks identified numerically.

Please note that some MBs (motherboards) will not boot unless there is Ram in slot one so please provide us with your motherboard details, brand, model name/number and any revision number, these details may be found by the CPU, between the PCI slots and/or around the edge of the motherboard, once we have the MB details we can look for the user manual.

Can you please tell us what brand and model of PSU you swapped out of the machine.

I also found that the the Video card has a blown capacitor. One of them was black and bent. So now he needs a new video card before I can do anything more..Thanks so much for your time and if I can find another video card that will work in this system just so I can do a test I will do the ram test...

The PSU is a Max Power 115/230 V.5A and he said that he just had it in the shop not but a couple of months ago and that is a new PSU but I can look at it and know that it is not new by any means...Its to scratched up to be new... It also had 1-1GB ram in one slot and a 256MB ram in the other slot if that makes a different..

Hugz
Gizzy

Edited by Gizzy57, 02 August 2012 - 12:30 PM.

[phillpower2]

Typical bad caps on a video card http://www.electroni...ed-t224715.html

Apart from the scratches I would not trust a brand of PSU that I have never heard of.

The Ram would be ok as long as they are matching timing and voltages etc.

I am sorry to say but it would appear that the owner of this PC has been the victim of an unscrupulous trader

[Gizzy57]

Typical bad caps on a video card http://www.electroni...ed-t224715.html

Apart from the scratches I would not trust a brand of PSU that I have never heard of.

The Ram would be ok as long as they are matching timing and voltages etc.

I am sorry to say but it would appear that the owner of this PC has been the victim of an unscrupulous trader

These caps are 6.3V and they are black.

This guy is a 76 year old man with little to no patients and he has had this PC in the shop to many times and not sure why but he says its always came back with a new PSU cause they keep burning up...

[rshaffer61]

This doesn't sound right and if it is I think the problem is under powered.

The PSU is a Max Power 115/230 V.5A

Can you find a make and model of the PSU please.

[Macboatmaster]

The PSU is a Max Power 115/230 V.5A

That is not the rated output of the PSU

That is the input voltage either 115 in some countries or 230 which in UK is 240 actually normally supplied on the UK grid at about 238 and the V refers to Volts and the 5A refers to the maximum amps drawn on input - in simple terms

On the power supply, more than likely, will be a swtich for the 115 or 230 although some do NOT have the switch as they detect the power IN automatically

The rating of the PSU we refer to is the wattage - output the PSU is capable of supplying.

There is a little more to it than that, for instance with the high current drawn by graphics, you also need to consider the amps available on the 12 volt rail of a PSU. etc. Modern graphic cards can themselves require 300 watts

The rating will be found usually on the PSU case inside the computer.


It may well look something like this example only

550 watt max with 19amps max on 12 volt rail

[Gizzy57]

This doesn't sound right and if it is I think the problem is under powered.

The PSU is a Max Power 115/230 V.5A

Can you find a make and model of the PSU please.

Thanks and here is a picture of the PSU I took out of this system.

[rshaffer61]

WOW talk about a shot in the dark. I see no model number and according to the table it could be anywhere from a 250 watt to a 600 watt PSU.
To be honest I'm very suspicious of the brand because I can't find anything on it to see what kind of rating it would have. Anytime I have run across something like this it always turns out to be a very poorly built unit with unstable power and unreliable. Let me ask is this the unit that has been replaced everytime it goes out?

[Gizzy57]

This is a picture of the Video card and I have an arrow pointing to the Bent Cap.

Thanks for all your help.. Also here is a picture of his motherboard..

[Gizzy57]

WOW talk about a shot in the dark. I see no model number and according to the table it could be anywhere from a 250 watt to a 600 watt PSU.
To be honest I'm very suspicious of the brand because I can't find anything on it to see what kind of rating it would have. Anytime I have run across something like this it always turns out to be a very poorly built unit with unstable power and unreliable. Let me ask is this the unit that has been replaced everytime it goes out?

This guy has had this same PC in the shop like three or more times and the first time he was told it was the ram and they took out a 1BG ram from one of the slots and put in a 256MB then I guess the second time they said it was his PSU and swtiched it out and then again the PSU and this PSU is used cause there is scratches all over it.. I am really trying to fix this system for him so that he no longer has to go through this anymore but I am so confused on what would be causing his PSU to burn out like that and as I said I had a tester PSU here that I put in it I got those steady long beeps and not post so I shut it down then put my PSU on my tester and its showing little to no life on it now..

[rshaffer61]

You say it was only two long beeps?

[rshaffer61]

I can find no bios that shows two long beeps. The closest I come is a memory issue.

[Gizzy57]

Yes but remember that I shut it down cause I was not trying to burn up my tester PSU but they were steady long beeps

[rshaffer61]

Is there built on video on the motherboard?
If so I would take out the video card and try the onboard. That could be the cause.
A short in the motherboard could be another reason for the issue. The only way to really test that is to remove everything from the case and bench test by doing the following.


Place the motherboard on a piece of card board larger than the motherboard,

this will eliminate a short from the mobo to the case which could be a possibility

Install the cpu with, 1 stick ram in dimm 1, power supply, case switch and case speaker
Connect ps2 mouse and keyboard along with the monitor

If the computer now boots into bios you most likely had a case short so make sure when installing the motherboard in the case that you use standoffs,
and they line up with the mounting holes in the motherboard and none of the standoffs touch anything else on the underside of the board.