PC fettling and repairs thread

[FishFright]

Got home the other day to my pc refusing to boot and not waking up the monitor.

Motherboard codes reported IDE detect failure. After trying a couple of other drives, swapping out the graphics card and nothing was helped.

On a whim we tried removing one DIMM and tada it works fine . One of the DIMMS is dead so back down to 16gb of single channel memory so I won't be running any benchmarks anytime soon.

 

[ColinJ]

I just got a call from a pal who needs to replace the battery on his motherboard because his PC clock won't work. He could not figure out why the back would not come off after removing the screws. I told him that there are probably retaining tabs which the back needs to be slid past. He should be able to do it now, but if not I'll go round later to do it for him.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Got home the other day to my pc refusing to boot and not waking up the monitor.

Motherboard codes reported IDE detect failure. After trying a couple of other drives, swapping out the graphics card and nothing was helped.

On a whim we tried removing one DIMM and tada it works fine . One of the DIMMS is dead so back down to 16gb of single channel memory so I won't be running any benchmarks anytime soon.

RAM can be a right pest at times. I had real problems installing two more modules, so 4 total. Exact same spec and serial numbers, finally got things running with XMP and manually increased voltage. Memtest passed no problem, then spotted two modules were Samsung, two were Micron and it all made sense

 

[fossyant]

We've got a Lenovo S20 Thinkstation that we picked up cheap some years back as a desktop - still used occasionally and it's really quick, but it takes server memory that's a bit tricky to get right - wouldn't mind maxing it out, but the 8gb is enough for word and internet. It's been changed to SSD with two HDD's.

 

[DCBassman]

We've got a Lenovo S20 Thinkstation that we picked up cheap some years back as a desktop - still used occasionally and it's really quick, but it takes server memory that's a bit tricky to get right - wouldn't mind maxing it out, but the 8gb is enough for word and internet. It's been changed to SSD with two HDD's.

I've got 8x2gb fully buffered ecc ddr3-667 dimms if they're any use? Suspect they're too small, unless you have lots of slots!

 

[fossyant]

I've got 8x2gb fully buffered ecc ddr3-667 dimms if they're any use? Suspect they're too small, unless you have lots of slots!

The ones in it are UDIMM ECC (unbuffered) at 1333 unfortunately. 6 slots, 4 full (4x2gb)

 

[ColinJ]

I just got a call from a pal who needs to replace the battery on his motherboard because his PC clock won't work. He could not figure out why the back would not come off after removing the screws. I told him that there are probably retaining tabs which the back needs to be slid past. He should be able to do it now, but if not I'll go round later to do it for him.

He managed it in the end, so now his PC no longer thinks that it is 2008... It must be an ancient machine!

 

[DCBassman]

He managed it in the end, so now his PC no longer thinks that it is 2008... It must be an ancient machine!

Yup, that's getting on a bit now! However, if it was high-end then, it would probably be OK now, with maxed RAM and an SSD.

 

[ColinJ]

Yup, that's getting on a bit now! However, if it was high-end then, it would probably be OK now, with maxed RAM and an SSD.

Definitely NOT high-end - he got it cheap from a local tech-recycling charity! He only uses it for web access, email, and playing ancient PC games.

 

[DCBassman]

In a dual effort to reduce the sheer level of stuff and lessen power consumption, I've sold the big Dell laptop. In its place, an Asus S200E, which is the same form factor as my TP200S. But it can use a proper storage drive, so I'll whip out the 64GB eMMC and git something quicker and larger. I will then run the two off against each other and sell the loser!

 

[DCBassman]

In a dual effort to reduce the sheer level of stuff and lessen power consumption, I've sold the big Dell laptop. In its place, an Asus S200E, which is the same form factor as my TP200S. But it can use a proper storage drive, so I'll whip out the 64GB eMMC and git something quicker and larger. I will then run the two off against each other and sell the loser!

Received the Asus S200E. Hmmm. No bluetooth, despite being stated as such, and specified as such, so someone's been in here before. However, the 64GB eMMC storage turned out to be a 500GB mechanical hard drive. No wonder it was slow, with this spec...Easy to up grade, though, so now has a 750GB SSD.
Given that it's an older generation Pentium 987 dual core, it's a much quicker system, now that it has decent storage, than the more modern TP200S. We'll see how that improves with the new motherboard. Storage won't be any great shakes for speed (64GB eMMC, soldered on). But it has 4GB ram and a quad-core Pentium N3700, so should still see a hefty improvement.
Meantime, ordered a replacement wifi card that does bluetooth also. Both this and the new motherboard for the TP200S should be here before Chrimbo, so I can make a considered choice between the two for my hospital stay.

 

[fossyant]

Not quite PC, but certainly IT related. Lost connection to the garage powerline adapter, which meant the garage PC and CCTV weren't connecting. Even the BT Mesh Disc, that was using the powerline as a 'backbone' wasn't connected. Reset the adapter, even factory reset, but it was very flakey, was able to connect to it, then not.

Googled to find that the ethernet on the mesh disc can be used for wired devices (garage PC and CCTV). Binned the powerline, and just plugged the network switch into the back of the Mesh Disc, and vola, all working again.

 

[Grant Fondo]

I bought one of those wifi extenders for the top floor ... kicks out the other powerlines for some reason, so not being used. A conflict somewhere but i can't fathom it?

 

[DCBassman]

I bought one of those wifi extenders for the top floor ... kicks out the other powerlines for some reason, so not being used. A conflict somewhere but i can't fathom it?

No clue on that one...

 

[DCBassman]

Received the new motherboard for the Asus TP200SA early. Fitted it, new install of Windows 10.Gone from a complete slug to a very usable machine! But only slightly quicker than the S200E, mainly because that uses much faster SSD storage, as against eMMC in the TP200SA.