abarbarian Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Well I finally have my main rig running again, even if is only with Windows 7 at the moment.Only taken me since October of last year. The pc packed in several weeks after I had upgraded the cpu and would only give me one short beep on power up, no Post on screen, nothing but a black screen and that was it.So I thought it may be a duff cpu or .................. After re-pasting me cpu with MX-4, I though the paste I originally used might be too old as it had 2007 on the label, I found that I got one long beep and three short beeps on start up.Still only a black screen. Noticed one of my cpu fans was not working and as they are daisy chained I fiddled with the wiring to no avail. Then I noticed a small piece of rubber band was trapped between a blade on the frame of the fan.Pulled it out and both fans worked. Tried all the cable plugs to see they were seated properly on the two graphics cards. Disconnected one card.Tried the monitor cable in both sockets on one card. Still a dead screen. Tried the second card and voila I had Windows. I decided to take out the first possibly faulty card. As I took out the screw holding it to the frame I felt the card rock slightly.Sure enough it was not fully seated.Pushed it in firmly and found that there was a slight bow in the case as I tried to screw it in again. Ah ha, it seems this bow put just enough pressure on the card to pull and lift it slightly at one end which also pulled and lifted the mobo out of shape. Now we are talking just the slightest movement here. I must have applied some pressure on the mobo fitting the new cpu which in turn must have just moved the card out of its slot and left it resting on the contacts.So the pc worked for a few weeks until things shifted slightly and I had a dead pc. So I found me fault and it cost nowt. Whoopee I can play some of me favourite games again. So I guess I will start to play with me Pi's and stuff again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) Quite a saga. Doesn't it feel good when everything falls into place? (I used to feel that way when I finally found the typo in program code that had logic doing backflips.) Edited January 30, 2015 by ebrke 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Yup, I get a real kick out of getting things to work. The more alternative the better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Here is a picture of new rubber bands holding the fans in place.They seem to hold in place silently, I'm guessing the elasticity of the bands soaks up some vibration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Ok I have to ask...why in the world do you have your harddrives wrapped around a dictionary and the components outside of a case? I have extra computer cases if you need one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) "Ok I have to ask..." I am glad you did. Originally I built the rig with three Samsung F3 hdd, they sat on top of each other with chopsticks between them to allow for some natural cooling.As they were a lot heavier than the ssd's the psu cables did not affect their placement. Upgrading to ssd's was problematic as the cables on me Corsair psu are a tad stiffish and the ssd's were sort of floating in space as it were.So with the dictionary being just the right size and weight it was a perfect fit to stabilise that part of the build. As to why the outside instead of inside.My original plan, conceived some time ago ( I forget how many years ago, time slips by so quickly these days) was to build a wooden case for my new build. So I built the rig in an old modified case laying on its side with the side panels removed. This was done partly to take strain of the mobo as I have a very heavy cpu cooler and partly so I could easily add and subtract hardware. Also I could play around with different cooling options,placing fans in different places and constructing cooling tunnels etc etc. Most of the time the rig runs pretty quiet. Gaming does ramp up the noise but as I game with headphones that does not bother me. Hope that helps to explain things. Edited January 31, 2015 by abarbarian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
securitybreach Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 I guess but I still do not understand why you do not have a case. You can get a great case with tons of options for like $40. My case has 7 fan slots, 12 bays for drives, tons of cable management slots, large enough so you add components and such easily, etc. and it was only like $45. I have a huge heatsink as well but the cases have mounting posts so you take the strain from the motherboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 I guess but I still do not understand why you do not have a case. You can get a great case with tons of options for like $40. My set up has cost me nowt does the job an I am happy with it so why throw good money down the drain. Also I had the bits to hand and I enjoyed bodginig it together, much more satisfying than shopping.It took less time to assemble the rig than if I had had to search,buy and unpack a new case.My way is much more eco friendly than buying more stuff.It shows that I can think outside the box. It shows that I am not a consumer sheep.It allows me to experiment.It cocks a snook at those that think you need the latest and greatest peripherals to show the world how expert you are.It baffles folk. An as I explained above, this is only stage one of the build. fascinating. Why thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 Blimey don't Windows take a lot of looking after. Update - restart - blue screens through some glitch in software -restart - well I finally got 7 up and running smoothly. Did a complete system backup just in case. Will have to find some spare hdd space for me Steam backup though that will have to wait for another day. Whoopee me new/secondhand cpu does make a difference to Metro 2033. No more stuttering in heavy duty scenes just a nice clean smooth killing field. Now all I have to do is get me second gpu set up and I should have super grade graphics in all the games I own.Then I will truly be able to waste the bad guys. An I'll have to get an Arch up and running. If I find the time I may do that on Monday.I go to bed dreaming of running a neat sweet Arch again, hopefully that dream will become a reality. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amenditman Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Ok I have to ask...why in the world do you have your harddrives wrapped around a dictionary and the components outside of a case? I have extra computer cases if you need one. I have a computer I call Frankenputer, Eric coined the term for some of my creative builds. It is a case completely stripped of anything that would get in the way of swapping any and all components from the psu to the mobo to drives. It has no front panel, no side panels, and I have drilled out and removed riveted on parts, cut bits away with the dremel/mini-grinder. It's my favorite computer. I have a friend in Texas who builds his machines in plastic crates and then stacks the crates in front of a large, low speed fan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted February 1, 2015 Author Share Posted February 1, 2015 "Frankenputer" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amenditman Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Thank Eric, he coined it. I just keep it around cause I like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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