Re: [PLUG] More hardware woes

[Walt Mankowski via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org>]

On Thu, Nov 17, 2022 at 06:25:33AM -0800, Syeed Ali via plug wrote:
> I'm late to this, so maybe I have duplicate opinions..
> On Wed, 16 Nov 2022 21:31:09 -0500
> Walt Mankowski via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org> wrote:
> 
> > This morning they called me up. They said they couldn't find anything
> > wrong with it. Their best guess was that dust had gotten into
> > someplace it shouldn't, and when they blew out the dust it must have
> > fixed it.
> 
> That would have to be some magic soot straight out of Spirited Away
> (2001).

To be fair, there was a LOT of dust.

> Were I you, the decision would be between bringing it back and arguing
> for a discounted second-pass with them using more of their own
> known-good parts (even down to the cables) or you tearing the whole box
> apart and reassembling and testing piece by piece while rebuilding it.
> Personally I'd pick the latter.

The reason I brought the box into Micro Center is that I did NOT want
to have to tear it apart piece by piece. Also I have nothing to test
things with, and I also don't have any replacement parts.

> I'm blaming hardware because your system has had issues right on the
> BIOS screen.
> 
> I'm trying to wrack my brains as to what parts can be flexed to have a
> system power off, but only after a moment, and yet not give you magic
> smoke.  Have you investigated to see if anything has a scent?

I don't smell anything.

> I intuit there's something like a cable or other connection that's
> flexing or is poorly-seated (damaged?).  This is one way how things act
> differently each time they are worked on.  Imagine things being
> influenced when tugged, pushed, and flexed.

As you can imagine, I've already checked everything multiple times.
Again, and I want to stress this, THIS IS WHY I PAID PEOPLE TO
DIAGNOSE IT.

> Firstly, I am suspicious of your GPU.  It getting a good yank was right
> at the beginning of this misadventure.

What makes you think that?

> Do any of your card slots have any unusual discoloration? (especially
> little streaks).  Have you examined the contacts of your cards and
> devices?

No.

> First though, and I know it's a dumb idea, consider resetting the BIOS
> by removing the battery and waiting a few minutes.
> 
> Then begin by yanking everything nonessential and repeatedly booting,
> powering off, prodding, and powering on.
> 
> If you can, remove the motherboard and power supply from the case and
> test outside of it.  Brent mentioned the "screw under the board"
> problem.  I've had that.  Then wait until the last moment to reinstall
> into it.
> 
> Examine the motherboard.  Maybe a capacitor got loose; you never know.
> 
> 
> 
> An overheating CPU will power a system down during boot.  Is its fan
> running well?  Is your heatsink attached well?  Lift it and examine the
> old paste to see if anything looks strange, then clean the paste,
> remove the CPU and examine it and the socket (and the area around it).
> Then replace it with new.  While you can skip this step if you don't
> have paste (do not do it without new paste!), I think this step is
> important enough that it should be kept in mind and done later if all
> else fails.

Once again, I paid Micro Center because I didn't have the time,
energy, or, frankly, space to do all this.

> 
> On Sun, 06 Nov 2022 18:14:22 -0500
> Walt Mankowski via plug <plug@lists.phillylinux.org> wrote:
> 
> > It does seem to take longer to shut off if it sits for a while. Maybe
> > one of the fans has failed? Who knows?
> 
> This is why I wonder about CPU overheating.
> 
> -
> 
> Then try booting from a flash drive.

It doesn't even stay on long enough to change the BIOS settings for it
to boot off a flash drive.

> 
> Then add one single part at a time, repeating the process.  Really
> examine each part.  Note any cables which have a kink in them or need
> to be bent a fair amount when installed.
> 
> For each effort, let it sit for 1+ minutes.  Stay in the room for each
> attempt and never leave the room when it's powered on.

Thanks, but once again, this is why I decided to bring it into the
shop.

Walt
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