evildrneil   14 #1 Posted April 28, 2008 I think it's time my venerable desktop was laid to rest - but I was hoping someone could give me other possibilities! What happened is it just got into the BIOS startup first thing this morning and then hung there forever. I rebooted and now don't even get that far! There is power to the motherboard - you can hear the CPU fan spin up quite happily and taking the cover off you can see lights and things inside flashing away and there are no warning/error beeps. I'm guessing this means that BIOS is now kaput and it's time for at least a new motherboard if not a complete new system? Can any hardware geeks out there give me an idea if it's fixable or a good excuse for shiny new tech!?  Thanks in advance Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Strix   11 #2 Posted April 28, 2008 I think you've made your decision really, haven't you Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
itosan   10 #3 Posted April 28, 2008 I think it's time my venerable desktop was laid to rest - but I was hoping someone could give me other possibilities! What happened is it just got into the BIOS startup first thing this morning and then hung there forever. I rebooted and now don't even get that far! There is power to the motherboard - you can hear the CPU fan spin up quite happily and taking the cover off you can see lights and things inside flashing away and there are no warning/error beeps. I'm guessing this means that BIOS is now kaput and it's time for at least a new motherboard if not a complete new system? Can any hardware geeks out there give me an idea if it's fixable or a good excuse for shiny new tech!? Thanks in advance  Is the CMOS battery ok?  Try resetting the CMOS on the mobo, usually a header near the battery? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
evildrneil   14 #4 Posted April 28, 2008 Is the CMOS battery ok? Try resetting the CMOS on the mobo, usually a header near the battery?  I can't actually find the battery on there with my searches around - I'm used to ancient mobos where the battery is about an inch across! I've found the CMOS header which has a pair of pins but no jumper so I've tried shorting the pins with a screwdriver but with no useful result I'll have another hunt for the battery though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
demoniac   10 #5 Posted April 28, 2008 I can't actually find the battery on there with my searches around - I'm used to ancient mobos where the battery is about an inch across! I've found the CMOS header which has a pair of pins but no jumper so I've tried shorting the pins with a screwdriver but with no useful result I'll have another hunt for the battery though  if you dont have a jumper just go to a pc shop and they will give you on for free if you ask Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
sccsux   10 #6 Posted April 28, 2008 I've tried shorting the pins with a screwdriver but with no useful result I'll have another hunt for the battery though  Usually there's a procedure for resetting the bios.  Last one I had issues with, you had to remove the battery, short the header and reboot (whilst the jumper is in place), then shut down, reinsert battery, remove jumper and reboot (or something like that).  Can you not find a manual for the mobo? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
evildrneil   14 #7 Posted April 28, 2008 YAY!!! ressurected by rather circuitous means but I got the CMOS reset and am now back on the desktop The only question now is how much longer will it last!?!? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
evildrneil   14 #8 Posted April 28, 2008 YAY!!! ressurected by rather circuitous means but I got the CMOS reset and am now back on the desktop The only question now is how much longer will it last!?!?  And the answer to that question is - about 2 hours! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
e912 Â Â 10 #9 Posted April 28, 2008 how old is / was it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
evildrneil   14 #10 Posted April 28, 2008 About 5-6 years now I think So in all fairness I've had pretty good service from it!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Greybeard   10 #11 Posted April 28, 2008 Download and run EVEREST Free Edition 2.20  http://majorgeeks.com/download4181.html  It will tell you the make/model of your motherboard and you should be able to find a manual for it via Google. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
evildrneil   14 #12 Posted April 28, 2008 Download and run EVEREST Free Edition 2.20 http://majorgeeks.com/download4181.html  It will tell you the make/model of your motherboard and you should be able to find a manual for it via Google.  Thank you for that I had got the name of the MOBO from poking around on it then searching the gigabyte site for details to get it re-running (temprorarily!) I'm just glad that I have a laptop as backup or I would have had non computer DTs! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...