chaz01

Ok, OK, so whats this have to do with our cars??? Well, nothing really, but without a computer I wouldn't be able to surf this site and that would be terribly sad. I didn't post this in "other"' because I wanted to get your opinions/suggestions on my dilemma. I surfed the net for hours and then figured you probably have as much knowleges as anyone, so here goes:

I currently have a generic Athlon600 on an Asus-k7 board, 256sdram. I bought it at a PC show 2 years ago, and although I've had good luck at past shows, I think I got a lemon. The vendor is of no help (even though I referred several sales to them in the past!). Here's my sad tale.

When I shut my PC off, it takes many hours before it will turn on again, usually 8-10, although last night it was more like 20. Once it's on it runs fine, but this is becoming unacceptable. The vendor told me last May (2 months out of warranty) that my motherboard was on the way out and I should back up my data. I was told it wouldn't be worth replacing since a new system was only marginally more $. I took it into them (Cyber in woburn), and took it back unchanged.

Can anyone recommend a shop where I could get this checked out? Should I replace MB and chip or buy a new system? If buy new, where please? There's a PC show in Marlborough superbowl weekend that I will prolly check out and I spent the day at bestbuy, etc.

I value your opinions. Thanx in advance.

Chaz01

spider

Are you saying, once the computer's shut down, it can't be turned back on unless you wait 8 to 10 hours? That is strange. BTW, if you use your computer everyday, I would just leave the thing on all the time. Turn it off only when you know you won't be using it for at least 24 hours. Constantly turning computers off and on is not good for them, kinda like our cars.

Or, you can try CTS in Watertown, near Cambridge Sound Works store, close to Watertown Square.

chaz01

Thanx spider.

I always thought it was better to turn them off daily, let the engine rest and cool.

Still, being able to turn the system on/off is desireable.

spider

I re-read my post and I realized it was a little confusing when comparing computers with cars.

The reason it's better to leave computers on is that, with the new ultra-high density chips nowadays, constant temperature change (on and off = hot and cold = expanding and contracting) can shorten their lives. As for cars, the reason is that, at the instant the engine is started, there's no oil pressue, thus more wear and tear.

But I know what you mean. Computers should be able to be turned back on right after they're shut down.

turbo_pwr

This all kinda depends on how much you want to spend and what is currently in your system. If you have a decent video, sound, network card. You might just want to upgrade the motherboard and processor. You can pick up a board and 1.5ghz processor for less than $200. It's relatively easy to build a system so no worries there. But seriously this might be a voltage problem. Where there is a short somewhere, or something is not properly grounded in the system. I've worked on a lot of PCs before (used to be a tech for IBM) and I've seen this before but nothing as drastic as hours of downtime.

MacGyver

chaz,

Check the BIOS battery on the motherboard....when those go south (which happens as soon as you take it out of the box on cheapy boards ), it REALLY slows donw the boot process. Should cost you $5 to replace.

s2ktaxi

Dell has occassional good deals with free shipping where you can get a computer w/o monitor etc for about $600. They also have much better service/warranty than most local mom and pop shops. Or you could head to one of the computer stores and get a new motherboard and hope the problem is fixed.

quicsvr

before investing in an entirely new system, unless that is what you want to do, anyway. I'd check the battery, as they sometimes do not have a long life, especially in instances where the computer is often off. Leaving the computer on can sometimes be beneficial, though Asus boards are usually pretty good boards. The heat factor might be an issue, and I'd check to make sure nothing is shorting out the board. If it is not something simple like that, it might end up being more costly to get it fixed than to get a new, and better system.

chaz01

Thanx all. I stopped into a PC repair shop right by my house just to pick the guys brain a bit. He said he'll take a look at it this weekend but it sounded to him like a power supply problem. If that's the case, it'll be an easy and inexpensive fix. Although I'd like a newer PC, I've bought too many toys on unemployment already. I need to find a job and stop spending!

I'll post results in case any of you have similar experiences in the future (and are computer semi-illiterate as myself).

Chaz01

s2ktaxi

I have a couple of older PII-266 and Pentium 166MMX PC's you can harvest for parts if you want...