# Compaq Death



## mikellmikell (Nov 9, 2005)

It died the power supply fan is on and the front lights but the CPU fan is silent as is the boot up process. Tried a new power supply but it's the same. I just want to get the stuff off the harddrive then fill it with 44 mag. Any ideas on how to get another hour out of it or is the hard drive expired.

Thanks

mikell


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

The machine should still start with a bad hard drive, so I suspect your hard drive isn't bad.

At boot time, if the system can't find any bootable drives in any of the boot devices, you will get a message saying that you need to insert a system disk into the diskette drive. If you aren't seeing that then you have a more fundamental problem with your machine.

First, reseat (remove & reinsert) your memory modules. Also do that with your AGP video adapter, if you have one. Try to boot again. It's usually something simple on the mainboard that's keeping systems from starting like that.

If you have another computer that you can transplant the hard drive into, then you can certainly do that. If you just want the information off the drive, address it to be the primary slave IDE device. You can copy the information you want on to your C drive.


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## mikellmikell (Nov 9, 2005)

Thanks i have plugged and unplugged and all that but I did notice when I held the button to shut it off just as it went off the CPU fan rotated. When I got my new computer I moved it to the back room and was working to clean it up for my sister and then about 5-6 days into the clean up it just didn't start.


Thanks Again

mikell

www.hesstonvolunteers.com


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

When you turn on the computer do you get any beeps?


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## mikellmikell (Nov 9, 2005)

Nothing when the computer shuts off just a flicker of the CPU fan


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

I'm more convinced than ever that your hard drive and power supply are both fine. You have something fundamental wrong on your mainboard. From the timing of the problem it's unlikely that any components were smoked. It's more likely that something was knocked lose.

In cases like these it's best to remove all the variables you can. The mainboard will fire-up with practically nothing installed. Of course to see anything you'll need the video adapter, but with the exception of the video adapter remove all other cards. Unplug all of the drives from the mainboard. Also unplug the mouse and keyboard. 

All you should have is your mainboard (with processor and memory installed), video adapter, and the power plugged-in to the mainboard. If the mainboard powers-up you'll see a warning on your monitor saying that it can't find a keyboard. If the mainboard doesn't fire up then you know your problem is on your mainboard somewhere. Reseat your memory and processor again, and look for some other cause.

One thing that can cause the maniboard to not power up is the connector to the power switch on the front of your case. Contemporary mainboards need to have a power switch connected to the mainboard, otherwise they can't power up. The CPU fan will jump when you first apply power, but stops.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Yeah, I agree with Nevada. If your hard drive was bad, your system would STILL turn on.

The quickest way to test your power supply would be to open your system and COMPLETELY unplug all power plugs from the motherboard, so that the power supply is not connected to ANYTHING in your computer.

Then, take a paperclip, and plug one end in one of the black leads on the 'fat' connector, and the other end in one of the green leads. What that'll do is 'short' the power supply on. (No, it won't shock you.) If it turns on, your power supply is good; if not, it's bad.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Since there's no beeps at all, it has to be something with the motherboard; especially since the fan kicks on when you turn it off. That would show that there is a communication problem between the motherboard and the other hardware. If it were a memory problem (or the memory came loose) you'd still get a beep, if I'm not mistaken.


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## Kung (Jan 19, 2004)

Yeah, you would.  Just had that happen today - pretty darn noisy.


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## Nevada (Sep 9, 2004)

I have a friend who's an electrical tech. He tells me there's an old saying they have that goes something like this:

_"If it doesn't work right then you have real trouble. If it doesn't work at all then it's something simple."_

I've found that to be correct most of the time.


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## OntarioMan (Feb 11, 2007)

Your power supply may not be fine. Some of the Compaqs had power supplies which were a bit unique - the pinouts are just a bit different. Replacing a proprietary power supply with a standard power supply will not work.


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## mikellmikell (Nov 9, 2005)

The new power supply is SUPPOSED to be a working pull from an exact machine. Turn the power on and the power on light lights and the hard drive light lights but no sound from the HD or cpu fan. Hold the button till it powers down and the cpu fan quivers for a 1/2 sec like some kind of feed back. I'll keep plugging along but might just pull the HD and put in another computer and pitch the rest.


Thanks

mikell


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