Old Desktop No Signal to Monitor, No Beeps, Hot Ram

figarow on 24/03/2024 - 13:17

Got given an old windows xp dual core desktop to play with. Was working for an hour, long enough to remove apps and a few reboots but now it won't send signal to monitor after powering off and on.

Things I've tried;

1) Disconnect everything except one stick of ram, ps2 keyboard and video card. Noticed both ram sticks were very hot… Too hot. Everything else seems fine motherboard and CPU not hot. Upon powering up everything runs but no power to monitor and no beeps, although can't remember any beeps from initial start up yet speaker wire connected.
2) Checked external monitor with other pc, works fine.
3) Swapped out video card for different card, same results.

The ram getting super hot has me concerned and baffled.

Computing

Comments

  • rumblytangara on 24/03/2024 - 13:27

    I think this is what is known in technical jargon as "totally borked junk."

    Are you trying to restore this for some kind of nostalgia project?

    • figarow on 24/03/2024 - 13:40

      Yes I am, something to tinker with and might set up some old school games for the kids to play with.

      • rumblytangara on 24/03/2024 - 13:45

        Have you considered just running an emulator on a modern PC? I've done that.

        How to is too hot? Too hot to touch can just be 45-50C.

        But if you're not getting beeps, BIOS/POST screens, any video output whatsoever, the machine is probably a writeoff.

        • figarow on 24/03/2024 - 13:55

          No fun in that :) No not interested in emulator. I've handled ram before and this is hotter than anything I remember, yes almost too hot to touch.
          Alas I hope you are wrong and I can save this from the scrap yard!

          • rumblytangara on 24/03/2024 - 14:04

            @figarow: What games will run only on XP that's worth the effort? I would have thought that if you were going to get the kids onto properly old school games you'd be looking at C64s, Apple IIs or Amigas.

            • figarow on 24/03/2024 - 14:17

              @rumblytangara: Not sure, don't even know if I will, nothing is worth the effort.

  • Muzeeb on 24/03/2024 - 13:41
    -2

    Send it to scorptec. Send them an email everyday requesting an update and pray you don't have to pay for the service.

    Attend an engagement party while you wait.

  • scrimshaw on 24/03/2024 - 15:16

    Any discolouration or bulging caps on the motherboard? Usually older vintage motherboards are a victim of bad caps (especially if they hail from 1999 ~ 2007 era) or it could possibly be corrosion (from excess humidity or lack of cleaning)

    • figarow on 24/03/2024 - 15:21

      Ah yes I should have mentioned I did check for that and found nothing.

      • CascadeHush on 25/03/2024 - 01:06

        By the time the Dual Cores came out, the capacitor plague was as mostly over.

  • skid on 24/03/2024 - 15:21
    +2

    Try starting it without any RAM installed. Might be a bad default BIOS setting related to memory.

    • figarow on 24/03/2024 - 15:47

      Will try it

    • figarow on 24/03/2024 - 18:01

      Yeah no go unfortunately might be best to scrap it.

  • Baysew on 24/03/2024 - 15:42
    +1

    It's dead, Jim.

    • figarow on 24/03/2024 - 15:47
      +2

      It's life, Jim, but not as we know it

      • CascadeHush on 25/03/2024 - 01:05
        +1

        It’s worse than that it’s physics, Jim

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