PC problems advice

[sendo75]

Need some advice!

 

Pc just powered down by itself while I was browsing my files. It managed to load to the desktop after a reboot but powered down shortly after. I tried resetting the CMOS, checking the PSU connections but eventually it degenerates to unable to boot up with cpu fan spinning for few seconds and stopping.

 

Suspected it was a PSU issue, I took the PSU to the pc shop and the technicians tested it briefly on another pc and claims there is nothing wrong with the PSU. Any ideas before I haul my desktop to the shop?

 

Edit: Motherboard not working. Changing it means buying new compatible memory chips.

Edited March 5, 2012 by sendo75

[HeyYou]

How long did they test it? Longer than your PC lasted with it? It sounds for all the world like a PSU issue to me.......

[Illiad86]

Sounds like the issue my friend had with his system a few months ago. Instantly we though bad PSU, but we tested his system with a new one and it still didn't work.

 

With my friend it turned out he had a bad RAM stick. He took out the bad stick and the computer started working fine again, but after a few minutes it shut itself down. After that, he just gave up on it. I told him my boyfriend and I could take a look at it more, but he pretty much said "F computers, I'm done". I believe something might have gone bad on his motherboard, but since I couldn't look at it, I'm not 100% sure.

 

What happened with your motherboard? Something blown on it? :(

[sendo75]

How long did they test it? Longer than your PC lasted with it? It sounds for all the world like a PSU issue to me.......

I know right? Computer breakdown symptoms don't seem to make sense sometimes. They only plugged the suspicious PSU to another working pc and noted that the fans were powered up. Wanted them to check the power output but they refused to and insisted there is nothing wrong with it.

 

Sounds like the issue my friend had with his system a few months ago. Instantly we though bad PSU, but we tested his system with a new one and it still didn't work.

 

With my friend it turned out he had a bad RAM stick. He took out the bad stick and the computer started working fine again, but after a few minutes it shut itself down. After that, he just gave up on it. I told him my boyfriend and I could take a look at it more, but he pretty much said "F computers, I'm done". I believe something might have gone bad on his motherboard, but since I couldn't look at it, I'm not 100% sure.

 

What happened with your motherboard? Something blown on it? :(

lol I know the feeling. For my 5 year old pc, after I hauled my desktop to another repair shop. The technician cleaned the memory chips and started plug and playing with spare parts to isolate the faulty component. Eventually, a new motherboard works with the original memory chips, psu, hddisk, graphics card so he just claimed that I needed to change the motherboard, which leads to buying new compatible memory chips. No visible damage on the motherboard so no idea what specifically is wrong with it. I have yet to decide if I want to replace the parts or get a new desktop. I would hate to replace these parts with the other old parts failing soon after.

 

Rather sloppy troubleshooting for a repair shop I must say, perhaps trying to save their own time to avoid troublesome repairs and just get the customers to buy new parts.

Edited March 6, 2012 by sendo75

[Illiad86]

Probably...those tech shops charge way too much to repair anything. The shop we have in town charges $100 to reformat your computer :facepalm: Worse than that, they charge $50 to put RAM sticks in...oh my the tech might cut his finger or something, let's charge half a day's pay for most people. I think the only reason people go to that place is that they sell cell phones too :P Probably the only thing that keeps them in business.

 

A lot of things could be wrong with the mobo even if there is no damage. I believed on my friend's that his BIOS chip might have just died. It could of also been the NB or the SB or really any chip on it.

 

Hmm...5 years old, I'm guessing Socket AM2 or LGA775 huh? You can find those motherboards floating around on craigslist a lot, but I'm weary of that place. I've had two successful sales on it with no weirdos or anything, but yeah. Newegg had a nice AM2 motherboard on there a few months ago when my friend's computer kicked, but it was the only one. Probably getting rid of old stock, I doubt it's on there anymore.

 

New parts are cheap these days anyways. You could use some of your old parts in it to save money until you want to fully upgrade :)

[sendo75]

Aye its a 775, you know this stuff well too. :thumbsup: Glad to have your support and advice! Ty :)

 

Gonna go with full upgrades and keeping the usable parts as spare.

Edited March 6, 2012 by sendo75

[Illiad86]

No problem :) Always out to help :)

[bben46]

Having run a computer shop there are a lot of misconceptions about what things cost.

In order to make a living, the shop operator MUST make enough to pay the costs of doing business. This includes Rent, utilities, licences, taxes, the cost of any inventory, the cost of any test equipment. The cost of maintaining several up to date LEGAL computer systems as test beds. Then if there is any money left over he gets paid. If there are any employees, they must be paid before the owner, and their employment and withholding taxes must be paid first as well.

 

So, $50 per hour for labor is actually very reasonable.

 

He is not going to make that minimum amount to cover all of this by getting a flat rate of cost plus a few dollars for replacing a ram stick. It may take several hours of troubleshooting to determine what the problem is. So, replacing a ram stick, - $100 labor, and double the actual cost of the ram stick brings in just over that $50/hr needed just to stay in business.

 

That said, The reason I got out of that business is there are too many kids working out of a bedroom in their mother's house that think they can run a computer repair business and charge just a small amount. Some of them are competent, many are not. But what they do have is almost no overhead at all. No rent, no utilities, and no licenses, fees or taxes on their business. Then after work, no Mortgage, homeowners insurance, property taxes, utility bills, medical bills, car payment, or sick kids to pay the doctors for.

 

The $20 bucks they get for 3 hours of work cleaning the dust out, reseating the boards and finding a bad ram stick is pure profit. While, running my shop over ten years ago, I had to bring in nearly $60 per hour for every 40 hour week just to pay my bills and take home a salary of about $20K a year.

 

20K/year works out to less than $10/hour based on a 40 hour work week with NO vacation or sick time and I was working much more than 40 hours a week. I liquidated my business to take a job in industrial electronics that paid more than triple what I was making working for myself, and with benefits like - paid overtime, paid vacation, paid sick leave, medical insurance and others. My yearly income jumped from a little less than US$20K to nearly US$70K (including the overtime) in one year.

[Illiad86]

Yeah, I can understand that. The shop here in town amazes me that they even stay in business though. I swear they just hire people that know very little about computers and know a lot about selling mobile phones :P One of my friend's ex-coworkers went there 3 times to try and get her laptop fixed. They never found out the problem. My friend brings the laptop over here and we get it fixed in 5 minutes. Like I said, the only thing keeping that place alive is that they sell phones and plans.

 

We always talk about opening a business like that, but I can see the expenses involved in it. I took a Beginners to Business and Accounting in school, I can see what a pain it is. My friend was all like "blah, blah, it's easy". It's not. Like you said....fees, rent, taxes,etc. If you don't know how to do bookkeeping, you gotta hire someone for that, don't know how to do taxes, etc.

 

He thought it would be a walk in the park, but he never took any of those classes in school. Really, you should have a good understanding, if not more, about how a business works before you decide you want to open one lol. Have another friend who opened his own roofing company with very basic understanding of how they operate..and well it's not around anymore.

 

Totally off topic, but yeah haha.