EggXpert

My dad gave me this computer so I do not know why the hard drive lite stays on at boot.

He never had a surge protector plugged into it.

Just plugged into the wall.

Will not boot to bios or no beeps heard.

All fans are spinning up including the case fan & CPU fan

The power button is a steady green

Speakers are plugged into I/O port

It has no VGA output. (In power save mode.)

PSU spins up ok.

Keyboard lites (all three)  come on & then go out

Hard drive spins up & quiet.

Things I tried when troublshooting issue.

Replaced PSU

Tried a differant hard drive

Removed Ram one at a time

Reset cmos by removing the batt for one hour

Can't find the cmos & password jumpers cause their not labled on the board.

Looking for a site that has the pics of the board so I can find the jumpers & such.

Unplugged all devices except one stick of ram (tried both individually)

I'm wondering if it might be in standby mode (Sleep mode) but do not know how to get it out of standby mode.

Moved the mouse & pressed keys on keyboard 

Could it possibly be a fried mobo?

Removed the mobo last night & really looked it over carefully & found no problems.

I did see when removing the AMD Athlon XP 2300 CPU that it looked as though there might have been some small burn marks on it.

The marks came right off with solution & reapplied the CPU & HS.

Fired it up & same ol' thing.

Going to find a used or refurbished CPU & see what happens.

Thinking of getting a 2400 instead of a 2300 AMD Athlon XP CPU. 

No bad capacitors bulging or leaking as I can see.

No burn't smells

Motherboard looks good

Very little dust inside except some on the HS grids

Thinking not using a surge protector might have fried the mobo or something inside.

Motherboard specs:Socket A 462 AMD Athlon 2300+ motherboard part #:7061-020 S/N:K0505046612 

CDR/W.Floppy drive,Case fan, PSU Dell HP-2507FW-250 watt.

512 memory modules 2- per slot, XP Home

Maxtor 40 GB 5300 rpm hdd.

I tried another hdd but no help.

Parts for this machine are not as hard to find as for my HP Pavilion that's down as well with a bad mobo.

These two machines have the identical same problems.

I have a post here about the HP machine also. 

Thanks for your support!

David

Socket A...

Meh, not worth spending money on..

If the CPU has scorch marks, the motherboard is almost certainly gone as well..  There's no way you could scorch a CPU without the VRMs being bad or unless you shorted out the motherboard.. Shorting out the motherboard that badly likely would have killed it as well.. And if the VRMs are bad, the mobo is dead anyway...  So in either case, almost certainly the mobo is dead too.. There doesn't need to be any signs that the motherboard is dead.. A few of the chips on the motherboard are static sensitive where even a static zap from rubbing your feet out on the carpet can damage them on the inside and you'd never see it on the outside..

Worse, if it is in fact the VRMs and supporting microchips that failed on the motherboard, putting in a new CPU will burn that one out too..

Sorry for not getting back sooner. It was as you suspected , the mobo has taken a fall.

I took it to my nearby Indian VoTech center & they checked it out as well & from all my testing & their's, we came up with the same results.

I't so hard to believe with the board looking so clean with no bulging or leaking caps that it would be defective.

I would love to learn more about testing the internal componants like the VRM's you spoke of & where they are located.

I assume the VRM'S would have to be removed for testing or possibly test them on the boards.

Can you recommend any equipment I might need for testing these boards?

The only tools I have is a digital Fluke DVOM.

Most likely I'll need a Occiloscope to do furthur testing?

I want to get into the whole field of repairing mobo's & other componants in my computer shop.

For now I just do programming & minor repairs on my close friends & relitive's machines.

Again thanks for your tips.

David

 

Now that I found the culprit, i'm needing some assistance trying to find either an OEM board or a generic board.

Emachine board specs:

EMachine D2346

Motherboard FIC AM 7061

Motherboard part # 7061-020

MicroStar model MS 7061 Ver 1.0

NorthBridge ChipSet KM400 8237

S/N K0505046612

Need a good rated manf. board & not a junky brand.

Thanks!

David

For Socket A..  Try ebay.. If it's an matx board, be sure you replace it with an mATX board..

Thank you very much!

I already know the socket version.

Just searching for the similar specs like the NB KM400 8237 & AMD 2300+.Athlon XP.

It's hard to find one of these cause their all an upgraded version that accepts AMD's to 2400+-3000+

Everyplace I search for the similar board always says NOT AVAILABLE! OUT OF STOCK!

I have the OEM disks but know they will not help if installing a generic board.

It just helps when I reinstall all the hardware to load the drivers.

Would like to find a board with the driver cd.

Kinda takes the stress out of getting it set up without any bumps in the road.

Have another machine HP Pavilion with the same problem searching for a similar match & have a post here on it for not booting & has a bad motherboard.

I assume any boards that are installed must do a tattoo if it's not a OEM board.

Hey! you've been a great help & I appreciate your interest in trying to help me in my time of need.

One more thing, I read where I had better replace the lousy Dell/HP 250 watt psu since they are indeed a piece of junk.

Thanks again for your support.

I'll keep digging & hope to find one capatible for both machines.

David

crazyman:

One more thing, I read where I had better replace the lousy Dell/HP 250 watt psu since they are indeed a piece of junk.

If you don't buy newer hardware you likely won't need to..  Although Dell PSUs are horribly weak, they're actually really good quality.. Often built with Seasonic internals.. As long as you keep your loads down you'll be fine, I've had Dell PSUs last over 10 years but I can't use them in anything new because they're not powerful enough..  My dad's still got a 20Mhz Dell from the late 1980s on an old table and the PSU still runs fine, but it's only 160 watts..

The HP PSUs aren't as good quality as the Dells, that's for sure.. They tend to be more mid-range, but at least HP seems to be shipping more powerful PSUs with their new PCs now, even though the quality isn't quite what you can expect from a custom build with a decent budget.. Though you should still expect to get at least a good 5 years out of the HP PSUs as long as you take a can of compressed air to them once in a while and make sure the fan doesn't stop spinning and burn out.

Ok! Now that we got the PSU info out of the way, how about  giving me some tips on a capatable board for my Emachine.

Emachine support told me mine was a Fic AM37L.

Thats part of the numbers I need & it list on some hardware sites differant numbers that go along with it.

Forgot to ask

What does the FIC AM stand for?

Been to their site & can't find any listings for motherboards.

It shows no listings

crazyman:

What does the FIC AM stand for?

a no-name company that makes very cheap piece of junk motherboards, apparently..

You can replace it with any Socket A motherboard as long as you match the form factor / size.

Thanks!

You have been a great supporter.

David 

If it's not an OEM board must it still be tattooed regardless if it's any brand motherboard?

If it's still has the same North & South bridge specs & it's the same socket type, would it still need tattooed?

I have the HP motherboard too that I know will have to be tattooed & I started this computer repair business at home & building my own Website (Not published yet) & am trying to access a site where I can do my own tattoo.but have to get in there with a password.

It's called PCTech Inc

Alot of fun trying to get it all setup but kinda hard at doing it.

Thanks for your recent support.

David