Diagnose my hardware problem

[bloopy]

The signal from my computer's video output appears to be getting interrupted or weakening.

- With a CRT screen, the display goes fuzzy at times, or flickers. I've got a video of this flickering, which I've uploaded here. (http://files.xnr.be/ca0d5099c570f570ddbb36f656dbce04.avi)

- With a flat screen, the display flicks on and off completely.

Eventually the computer blacks out completely, and then locks up when trying to boot up again.

What's wrong? Possible power supply problem? Edit: could be motherboard, as it's been replaced before and a similar problem might be happening again.

[M3ntal]

My first guess would be video hardware, so either video card or motherboard if it has onboard video.

[Extremist2]

Possibly overheating. Check the BIOS menu for the mobo/cpu temps, and the display settings menu in Windows for the video card temps.

Also, start Windows in Safe Mode and see what happens.

[bloopy]

Thanks for the ideas. The computer's in the shop at the moment, so I'll have to wait and see if they find the problem. :-/

[bonz]

Sisoft Sandra (http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/) can help you diagnose your hardware.

[franpa]

lol there latest news article claims 10666mhz ddr3 memory >.> i would want it if there was a motherboard supporting that speed. timings for it must be horrendous.

[bloopy]

For the record, it was a problem with the power supply. Excuse me for taking this long to get it resolved! :eek: In the end it's probably a good thing that the original shop didn't find the problem, as they'd likely just give me another jinxed power supply. Finally got around to taking it into a shop up here where I've moved to, and they dealt with it in just a few days.

[worMatty]

The PSU? That's strange. I take it your graphics card is an actual card type and not onboard, and needs a separate patch from the PSU?

[bloopy]

Yes, an actual graphics card, so I guess it was the first to suffer when the PSU was wavering.

[quakerworm]

The PSU? That's strange. I take it your graphics card is an actual card type and not onboard, and needs a separate patch from the PSU?
if the voltage drops, it is hard to predict which component will start acting funny first.

[worMatty]

I know! In cases like that you should create a list of all your hardware and put it on the internet for people to place bets!

[bonz]

if the voltage drops, it is hard to predict which component will start acting funny first.
Easy: my voltmeter.

[quakerworm]

Easy: my voltmeter.
if you already suspect that psu is dying, and you are lucky to have it die in a way that consistently produces voltage bellow norm, voltmeter might be useful. in all the years that i worked with computers (and i'm typically a go-to guy on that stuff, so i've seen a lot of broken machines) i have never once found a problem by use of voltmeter. i've used it to test for particular problems, but it was never that one that cause a malfunction.

but it doesn't answer the question. if your psu starts to die, which component betrays that fact? answer: any one of them might. depends on particular configuration of just about everything and the quality of the parts used to build each component.

overall, problems with psu are one of the hardest to diagnose, because they are often the kind of problems that come and go randomly and can manifest themselves in different ways.

[worMatty]

I've found the same. A PSU fault hard to diagnose. If an individual component dies, your OS will tell you or the PC simply won't work or recognise the faulty component. If you're getting random fluctuations in functionality and weird problems, that could be down to any of the major components, too, considering their influence. The PSU has its finger in many pies within the case.

I've often theorised that the fact something has been powered up and starts to get hotter can cause a solder joint or something to come apart now and then. But I'm glad that in this case it was an easy fix for Paul. I've never proven such a fault before, owing to the nature of PCBs and the size of components and joints.

Perhaps in future we should all just keep a spare PSU for testing purposes and try that first ;) It might cut out a lot of mystery.

[SupSuper]

I keep a spare PSU, it's just they're not as plug-and-play as the other components.

[worMatty]

They are fairly plug and play, it's just there's a lot of plugging involved. A bit like a **** chat show.

[quakerworm]

what would make it easy enough is if there was a separate component that measures and logs the voltage and current output of the psu. then if you have problems, you simply check the logs. that would reveal problems with psu (voltage drops) as well as shorts in other components (current spikes). and you would immediately know if that 8th hdd you added means you need a bigger psu.

[Metal Alex]

5 months and still down? You must be the patience lord.

[worMatty]

I have an old ASUS board that gives me voltage information but it's not comprehensive. It can alert you if it drops or raises too much. It would be nice if it was all available, and it recorded installation of new hardware so you could do some comparisons.

[bloopy]

5 months and still down? You must be the patience lord.

Fixed a week ago, I've just been really busy, moving and whatnot. Plus, it wasn't completely down, it worked for a week here and there.

Ironic how the thread gets more active when the problem's been fixed.

[quakerworm]

of course. otherwise the thread would have been helpful, and i'm pretty sure it is against the forum rules. i think i saw that in announcements somewhere.

[Metal Alex]

of course. otherwise the thread would have been helpful, and i'm pretty sure it is against the forum rules. i think i saw that in announcements somewhere.

Ok then, what do we do here?

I can bring party hats.