Computer problem

[N1LAF]

I am having a problem with one of my computers (Dell). I push the power button to start up, and it trips off quickly. After 10 retries, it finally boots up with a BIOS message that CPU0 temp is out of range. On a hot day, it boots right up. Cold days, it will not boot, until I use a hair drier pointed through the vents to the motherboard for 45 seconds, then it boots without problems. All temp readings are normal using the monitoring program with the computer running.

Anyone heard of this one before? Any fixes?

[WN9HJW]

DELETED

[WX7P]

Move to La Quinta, California ?

Good one! Spanish for internet...

[NY3V]

Could it possibly be a defective temperature sensor on the motherboard?

[ad4mg]

Could it possibly be a defective temperature sensor on the motherboard?

^ That! Pretty good for a 3 eyed feller...

[W4GPL]

Y'all know what La Quinta means in Spanish, right?

"Next to Denny's"

[WX7P]

Y'all know what La Quinta means in Spanish, right?

"Next to Denny's"

HA! Yeppers.

[NQ6U]

Borrego Springs might be a better choice. It's 97° F there right now (19:30 PDT), it's expected to be over 100° pretty much all week and 120° is not unknown—or uncommon.

[K7SGJ]

Bring it to Arizona, it's always hot here.

[N1LAF]

Could it possibly be a defective temperature sensor on the motherboard?

Thought of that, but when the computer is running, the sensors are reporting correctly

[NY3V]

Thought of that, but when the computer is running, the sensors are reporting correctly

Wouldn't that be the case because it thought it was just warm enough?

Sounds like a vicious circle.

Suppose:

When you first try to turn it on it checks to see if it senses a minimum temperature before it comes on.

If you try enough times, it might have gotten warm enough to reach the minimum threshold temperature sensed to finally come on.

Once on, it self heats enough to maintain above the threshold & stay on.?

Too bad it's too difficult to find & modify the motherboard Bios to lower the temperature threshold to work around the problem.

[KA9MOT]

Check for a BIOS update... and that is all I can come up with.

[KK4AMI]

How old is your BIOS board battery?

Speaking of Computer longevity tests, my 11 year old home built desktop just died. Funny it has a similar problem. Start it and it just shuts down with nothin. The old Asus A7V8X motherboard crapped out. I'm going to upgrade with an Asus A7N8X MoBo, AMD Athlon XP 3200+, GeForce 6200 Video Card and 3Gb of PC3200 memory. That will advance me to 2005 technology. Thank Gawd I work in a Charity Computer Refurb business, just a small cash donation can get you anything you could want, but I wish people will donate newer stuff.

[N1LAF]

Wouldn't that be the case because it thought it was just warm enough?

Sounds like a vicious circle.

Suppose:

When you first try to turn it on it checks to see if it senses a minimum temperature before it comes on.

If you try enough times, it might have gotten warm enough to reach the minimum threshold temperature sensed to finally come on.

Once on, it self heats enough to maintain above the threshold & stay on.?

Too bad it's too difficult to find & modify the motherboard Bios to lower the temperature threshold to work around the problem.

there are two things that has come up in search/discussions
1. cmos battery (thanks mike)
2. motherboard capacitors failing. I can see I have a few that the tops are swollen

hey '3V, thanks for your input and help

[NY3V]

there are two things that has come up in search/discussions
1. cmos battery (thanks mike)
2. motherboard capacitors failing. I can see I have a few that the tops are swollen

hey '3V, thanks for your input and help

You're quite welcome. I hope you are able to resolve the problem.

73, Dan

[K7SGJ]

You can always keep it on a hot plate, too.

[NY3V]

You can always keep it on a hot plate, too.

Or next to a rsdio tuned to Rush the Blovator!

[N1LAF]

You're quite welcome. I hope you are able to resolve the problem.

73, Dan

Problem Resolved (for now).

I talked with a local computer shop, and they believe they have seen this before and traced it to bad capacitors (the big can types). I had a few by the processor that the tops were round instead of flat. It was something to do with ESR values and behavior of capacitors going bad. They said they can try replacing the capacitors, they have had a 50% success rate in doing so. It was a top end system 5 years ago, and still very viable today, so I gave the go-ahead for capacitor replacement. I got the phone call saying that the fix was successful and the computer is ready for pickup. Cost estimate: $120. For me, it's worth it.

No more pre-warm boot up...

[n2ize]

Condensers are a problem. One of the first things I look for is swollen condensers.

[NY3V]

Condensers are a problem. One of the first things I look for is swollen condensers.

Check for swollen gonads also.

[N1LAF]

Computer is back, is working, and final cost: $90.39 (including tax)

[NQ6U]

final cost: $90.39 (including tax)

$90.39? Man, hammers must be getting expensive these days.

[HUGH]

Motherboard capacitors failing. I can see I have a few that the tops are swollen

Well spotted, many people would miss this. Apart from being tiny versus their capacity, are they suitable for switch mode devices and the associated ripple? Last time I changed some of these my spares were about twice the size, the motherboard worked but it wasn't pretty to look at. That's where the glue gun came in handy.

[KA9MOT]

Back in 1999 or so (maybe 2000) I spent more then $500 for a new motherboard that ran dual Pentium III processors. Another $300 for CPUs and $115 for my new case. I used a power supply that I bought new earlier in the year. I installed Windows 2000 and was good to go. Loved the thing. 2 days later, I heard a snap, and smoke poured from the computer. Lots of damage to my new MB. Resistors, caps and other stuff burned up. The power supply was dead also.

I don't know what broke first, PS or MB but I know there was lots of paper from a blown cap in the case. It cost me allot of money and now I am afraid my computer may catch fire when I am asleep, so I shut it off when I shut me off.

[N1LAF]

Motherboard capacitors failing. I can see I have a few that the tops are swollen

Well spotted, many people would miss this. Apart from being tiny versus their capacity, are they suitable for switch mode devices and the associated ripple? Last time I changed some of these my spares were about twice the size, the motherboard worked but it wasn't pretty to look at. That's where the glue gun came in handy.

These were the big can capacitors. Some became rounded on the top. They were replaced, and my computer runs again. I have been running it all evening without a hitch.

[X-Rated]

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