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Topic: Electronixx Challenge.... (Read 1482 times) previous topic - next topic

Electronixx Challenge....

Well, my  old reliable Acer PIII @ 800 died yesterday. And when i reffering to die, is because is death. Well, the computer simply no POST, only start a second and instantly turns off. Well, yeah, i did everything:

Tested with 3 power supply from different brands....no luck...

Reset the Bios, with the jumper method and the batt out method...no luck

Tested with different power cables.......no luck

Removed all optical and magnetical devices.......no luck...

Tryed with other monitor............no luck...
.
Removed both Ram cards, cleaned the dimm slots, tryed one or another......no luck....

Removed CPU !........no luck

Tested with other CPU from the same Speed.....No luck....

I removed the entire Motherboard to discard some short and tested out of the case.....no luck....

Tested the motherboard with another case/switch.....no luck..

Well, i even removed the BIOS chip and reinstalled it, but the result are the same, the computer only turns on a second and shut off, no image, no nothing...

The computer now is totally useless. I was researching why does this happened. I ended with a page about the bad capacitors used between 1999 and today on a vast variety of eletronic devices. After, i checked wikipedia and the capacitors brand in my MoBo are some of the "blacklisted ones". Well, the question here is if should change all the caps (20 or 22...) to try to get work a computer does have like 5 years old (PIII with 256 Ram...) ?

 Ill guess the new caps will cost like 6 or 7 bucks, all that i need.

Or may i left the Old MoBo, buy a new one and salvage all the compatible things (my memory wont work on a new computer, mine are Sdram, and new ones are DDR, and the processor wont be compatible....i need to buy these too in order to build a new MoBo...)

Well, i consider to find another PIII MoBo, but these are nearly impossible to find (when these were new, a "generic" computer costs maximun 800 Usd, mine were an Acer and Cost 1600 usd....
1985 Mercury Cougar V6
1989 F-200 V8
1996 Explorer V6
2001 F-150

Electronixx Challenge....

Reply #1
Sounds like you get to buy/build a new computer all together.  At this poinbt it just wouldn't be worth it to do all that work for a 5 year old computer.  Especially given the fact that even though there is a good chance, the caps might not be the bad part.

I use newegg.com for all my parts.  Or I go to a local electronics store that sells parts for a decent price.

You could also check out the cheap 300-600 dollar PC's that Dell sells.

 

Electronixx Challenge....

Reply #2
Yeah, buy a computer will actually save you money. It kinda sucks but it is the truth.

You can get a blazing fast machine for under 600 dollars. Gotta love new technology.

Daniel
1987 Cougar XR7 5.0 SOLD
1992 Ranger 4.0
2018 Hyundai Elantra
2019 Ram Rebel

Electronixx Challenge....

Reply #3
for $500 I built a 3400+. All you need is ram(around $20) motherboard/cpu(depends on the place, and power supply, around $35. Oh and that is right after the actual 64's came out.
Quote from: jcassity
I honestly dont think you could exceed the cost of a new car buy installing new *stock* parts everywhere in your coug our tbird. Its just plain impossible. You could revamp the entire drivetrain/engine/suspenstion and still come out ahead.
Hooligans! 
1988 Crown Vic wagon. 120K California car. Wifes grocery getter. (junked)
1987 Ford Thunderbird LX. 5.0. s.o., sn-95 t-5 and an f-150 clutch. Driven daily and going strong.
1986 cougar.
lilsammywasapunkrocker@yahoo.com

Electronixx Challenge....

Reply #4
You guys are forgetting he lives in Mexico.  The prices for electronics there are more than they are here.
-Jim
1987 Cougar LS 5.0