Friend's computer is broken. HELP!!

A

adri1456

Gawd
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Jan 15, 2004
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First of all, the specs (from what I can remember)
MSI K8T Neo mobo
AMD Athlon 64 bit 3200+ processor
1gb of RAM (2x 512mb)
120gb SATA HD (old)
200gb SATA (just installed)
ATI Sapphire 9200 video card

He got it yesterday (after being in the hospital for a few months, then he got a room in my house), and his friend said that when he turned it on, he saw smoke and the HD was getting hot. So I did some research, checked the video card (it worked in my computer, except that it didn't support the resolution I had), but I didn't check the HD, because it was a different interface than mine.

I recommended to get another HD and I just installed it tonight.

After all that, it didn't want to boot up, POST, or nothing; the monitor's standby mode kicked in a few seconds after, and I already checked it on another computer. The lights, fans, processor, they all work, so I assume that the PSU is good.

Should I swamp my PSU with his to see if that's the problem? Nothing seems burnt, melted or damaged though.
 
If you saw smoke, then something died. I would swap the PSU first, then begin checking each individual component. You mentioned that the processor works - were you able to test it in another mobo to verify this?

It's quite possible that more than one component got fried.
 
One4yu2c said:
If you saw smoke, then something died. I would swap the PSU first, then begin checking each individual component. You mentioned that the processor works - were you able to test it in another mobo to verify this?

It's quite possible that more than one component got fried.
Click to expand...
Okay, I'll check the components.

BTW, can I use a P4 PSU on an AMD mobo?
 
Just a note:
Under no circumstances put the PSU from the broken PC into a healthy PC, a damaged PSU can do more harm to a healthy mobo than a damaged mobo can to a healthy PSU.
 
I just finished installing a new PSU (an Antec TruPower 300watt PSU) and it still isn't doing anything.

I replaced the video card with my AIW 9700 video card, and even disconnected the optical drives.

I'm too tired, but I'll try to see if it'll work with either RAM (he has 2x 512mb in there) and if that doesn't work, then I'll use my 2x 512mb of RAM. The only thing I didn't test on his computer, was the processor (but it'll be impossible because mine is a P4 and his is a AMD64).
 
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