Some motherboard problems on an old Compaq

Nimandir

Baseband Member
Messages
90
Alright, I'll explain what I've been doing with my computer lately. I use to use an old motherboard with my old computer. Everything worked, but the processor wasn't very good and it also had some broken pins to boot. One day, I decided to dig my grandmother's compaq that she threw away out of my closet. I basically moved all my hardware into that computer, but I kept the processor.

The reason she threw away that computer was because it had a bad power supply. So, I moved my power supply over as well. I have a feeling this is the problem, because the Power Supply is smaller than the old one.

For a few weeks now, everything has worked fine...until now. Last night, I left Shareaza running overnight. I woke up around 6am and decided to see what finished while I slept. The problem was, the monitor didn't appear to be connected to the motherboard. I checked the connection and it was connected. I restarted the computer several times and nothing worked. I was still very sleepy, so I decided to try again when I woke up.

Well, I got up and turned on the computer. Right away, I saw some stuff that wasn't normal. At the Compaq splash screen, I saw it was displaying a size in MB and was increasing. It stopped at 256 and I got a message saying a lot of system options where not there. Seconds later, I got a message saying something was configured automatically for several devices (CD-Roms for example). After that, the monitor kicked off and I haven't been able to get anything to work.

The motherboard came with a Compaq Presario 7478. I have a feeling I'm going to have to switch back to my ancient Mobo...

Oh, and yes, I know I need to get a new computer. I wish I could, but I can't right now.
 
Er, a bit of an update and the possible reason for what happened. I was getting ready to move everything back to my old Mobo when I noticed something. When I got to the processor, I noticed the Heatsink came off. It was secured to the processor with an adhesive to help heat move to the heatsink and fan. The processor melted the adhesive and the heatsink slipped off of it (I forgot to clamp it down :eek: ). Anywho, I'm going to put in my old processor and see if I can get it to work. My dad said he may get me a better processor. I'll post if I can get it working again.
 
Sorry to hear what happened. Hopefully you get back up and running or you get a nice new cpu to replace it. :)

Good Luck

AMD RULES
 
Solved the monitor problem. The processor didn't have a heatsink or fan on it, so the Mobo kept kicking itself off to keep the processor from melting.

Now, I have this problem on the Compaq Splash Screen:

00100008 FF 203 Memory Address Error
601-Standard Diskette Drive Not Found
 
AMD RULES said:
Sorry to hear what happened. Hopefully you get back up and running or you get a nice new cpu to replace it. :)

Good Luck

AMD RULES

I've been using AMD sense...well...always. My old Gateway computer was an old Hand-Me-Down from my dad. It wasn't much, but it was my first computer and I loved it. The Gateway Mobo died, so I brought it to my teacher in College. He told me the mobo was fried and installed an old Mobo that was compatable that was lying around. I've been using that for a while, until my Grandmother's power supply died. After seeing that her processor was slightly better, I moved everything over to her's. Now that the processor is dead, I have to use my old processor again. It may be outdated, but it was the first processor I've ever had.
 
I solved the Diskette error I had. I'm getting this error now:

00000002 FF 203 Memory Address Error

I can't start windows in Normal or Safe Mode. Any idea what is causing this and/or how to fix this?
 
[SOLVED]


Okay, I've fixed the problem. This is a summary of what I've gone through so far:

Initial Problem:

Upon moving my hardware over to a used Mobo, I forgot to secure the Heatsink to the Mobo. The heatsink was secured to the processor by an adhesive. Not thinking about it, I left it how it was. Over time, as the processor gave off heat, the adhesive liquified and the heat sink slid off and fell. The residue left on the processor turned brown from all the heat. Because of this, the computer kept kicking off, so as to prevent the processor from melting.


Next problem

Well, I removed everything and put it all back together with my old processor. Yet again, with this new CPU, I was getting too much heat and it was kicking off again. It was time for me to go to the evening shift at work. After I returned from work, I had to look around and add a jumper so it wouldn't heat up so much.

Next Problem

Upon trying to boot, I'd get a message about my memory. I couldn't boot in Safe Mode, so Normal Mode was out of the question. During this problem, I switched back to the original processor (after cleaning off the scorched adhesive residue) and removed the jumper I placed in it.

Next Problem

Sense I got an error message, I figured maybe one of my Memory Cards was damaged or something. I removed the card from the second slot and turned it on and was able to boot in safe mode. I placed the card back in and I got the error again. I thought that the card was bad and looked around my room for a spare. After not finding the spare I had in my room, I decided to rebooting the computer a couple of times and checking the connections in my computer, I was finally able to get it up and working again.


This all started between midnight-6:00am and it wasn't until 10:30pm that I was able to get it working again.
 
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