An associate of mine asked if I would look at her computer and determine the cause of all its ailments. Having participated in many of these endeavors, I understand that there are certain issues that one can come across. Leftovers of prior/current furry animals, bits and pieces of long-lost hardware, the occasional demon–the list goes on.

But she asked and I said I would. Then, she started in on the ‘real’ symptoms.

1. The fan was making an “ungodly” noise as if it were consuming small, cute bunnies and the squealing was their cries of pain.
2. The computer would continually reboot, most likely due to the blood of the bunnies shorting out the motherboard.
3. The CD/DVD-ROM wasn’t working. (I couldn’t come up with anything clever here…assume ‘cup-holder’)

Now, I am paraphrasing a bit, but after this list I was also informed that this computer was updated around one/two years ago with recent components and it still wasn’t working.

Now, for the setup:

This is a one/two year old computer's internals.

1. Motherboard: Biostar P4M800Pro-M7
2. CPU: Intel Pentium D 920 at 2.8GHz
3. Memory: 2x Samsung 1GB DDR2-667 Modules
4. Video Card: BFG Tech GeForce 7300GT (AGP)
5. Power Supply: Linkworld LPK2-35 500W
6. OS: Windows XP 32-bit

Motherboard: Biostar P4M800Pro-M7 (rev 1.2)

Biostar P4M800Pro-M7: This is never "a good choice."

The motherboard is a bit suspect to begin with.  I’m not a fan of the AGP bus on motherboards these days, but even in mid-2007, the bus was showing its age.  Why one would buy it and then purchase a 7300GT AGP for it?  I’m thinking that there were recycled parts…but from the inside, there is no appearance that any of the parts are old other than the CD-Drive.

Also, looking at various reviews around the internet, even NewEgg thought that this board was a bit suspect.

The CPU I found with the board was a 65nm Presler Pentium D 920.  It’s a 2.8GHz dual-core processor.  The processor’s FSB runs at 800MHz which could present problems as we continue onward.

The heatsink/fan was making the normal amount of noise and spinning properly without rubbing up against the wires in the case.  The CPU was well within its thermal limits even when the computer was rebooting.

The computer, however, was making an ungodly sound that was at the exact frequency that made you want to “punch babies”.  And yes, one of the very few things that I will steal from Dane Cook.

Video Card: BFG Tech GeForce 7300GT (AGP)

Why pair a G92 NVidia GPU with an AGP bus?  Answer: it makes sense for older computer users who don’t feel like updating their motherboards for newer versions with a PCIe slot.

So, we have a subpar motherboard coupled with an AGP card which should never have been an option.  I’d add a picture of this card, but it’s not worth the effort.  It’s not a great card, but you get what you pay for.

While the video card was powered, the little heatsink/fan combo was making a higher-pitched whrrrrrrr-ing sound which is not unusual.

Power Supply: Linkworld LPK2-35 500W Power Supply

Linkworld LPK2-35: Another one bites the dust.

After discovering that the internal 120mm fan had seized and was no longer making noise or airflow, I finally identified where this magical noise was coming from–the power supply.

As a warning: sometimes I am thick.  The sound varied depending on hard drive activity and how it was accessing the CD-Drive.  It was funny in a sad way.  I didn’t have a spare PS to test out this theory, but I’m pretty sure on the diagnosis.  After removing the ‘power consuming’ devices I was finally able to get it to boot to a LiveCD.  Hopefully my ‘associate’ will purchase the needed powersupply and let me continue on the quest of restoring the computer back to its already dated glory.