Hardware Death... :(

I trust your opinions on business, why not personal too!

[RockLobstaar]

I hope this isn't too off topic. :)
Last night i upgraded my computer.
Doubled ram to 512 ddr.
Upgraded to geforce 4 from 2.
Put in new cooling fan.
Then, about 10 minutes after starting it up...
*poof*
Totally stopped running.
Power down.
Couldn't turn it on.
No response whatsoever from comp...maybe once every 20 times i click power button it will whirr the fan a quarter turn...
Soooo, what happened?
Did i burn up the cpu or the power supply?
AND, how would i go about finding that out myself?
Thanks for any info :)

[jdMorgan]

RockLobstaar,

I'd go with the power supply myself - It doesn't need a CPU to turn the fan.

The additional load of the graphics card probably killed it, or it's shutting itself off as self-protection. I suppose you could try putting the old memory and graphics card back in, just to see if it will power up. Hit Escape or Tab or CTRL - whatever it takes to prevent the machine from booting into the OS. Keep in in the boot PROM (Setup) - that will keep you from creating hardware confilcts and having to uninstall/reinstall everything. The point is just to see if it will power up with the old cards in it.

Since it did run for awhile, though, I'd guess the power supply is fried. Good news is that they are fairly inexpensive.

Jim

[mat_bastian]

make sure your RAM and cards are all properly seated as well.

[martinibuster]

Ugh!
This seems to happen to me about three or four times a year. Good luck!

[RockLobstaar]

Good news:
Was just the power supply.
All is well now :)