IBM Aptiva E-Series 190 New fan help

Originally posted by it290@Oct 5, 2004 @ 03:08 PM

I don't suppose you have a multimeter so you could test the PSU?

[post=120476]Quoted post[/post]​


Yea I have a multimeter. What spots should i test.
 
Oh, you have a multimeter. That helps. OK, well we need to test see if we can power it up with a wire, first.

http://www.ochardware.com/articles/psuvolt/psuvolt2.html

If the wire trick works, there is something wrong with the wires I mentioned earlier (that go from the motherboard to the front of your chassis, the power button), OR something on or in your motherboard is broken.

This second link isn't really helpful for you, since you can't even get it to turn on while its in the PC, but for those with a multimeter who suspect their PSU is struggling when under heavy load:

http://www.driverheaven.net/guides/testingPSU/
 
Ok so I have done all the tests here are the results...

I did the wire trick first with the atx power supply unplugged from all drive and plugged it into the wall via power plug cable from my personal Comp. I put a wire in the gnd and the other end in the power on the 20 pin con from the psu to the motherboard just like in the picture... Low and behold NO Fan spinning! ;) I take it my power supply is shot. And yes I had it on "1" the on position.

I decided to take some reading through the multi-meter, I have a radioshack with DCV, AC, etc... I used DCV and got these readings...

P1 Jumper 20 pin motherboard connector =

*500v = 005

*200v = 05.1

*20v = 5.10

*2v = .OL

P5 Jumper =

*500v = 0.0

*200v = 00.1

*20v = 0.06

*2v = .057

P3 Jumper =

*500v = 000

*200v = 0.01

*20v = 0.06

*2v = .057

P6 Jumper =

*500v = 0.0

*200v = 00.1

*20v = 0.06

*2v = .057

So obviously it is shot right? So if I get a new power supply things hould be ok? Can anyone direct me to one that would fit my machine and a cheap one. Also which measurment in volts do I use on DCA on my multi-meter I have 500v, 200v, 20v, and 2v.
 
You're not necessarily out of the clear yet. Try borrowing (from a different computer) an ATX PSU and see if it'll fire up without extra help once you get it all hooked up. ATX is an extremely common PSU, almost all mid-towers or better have been using ATX PSUs for several years now. Even the small computers generally use mATX, which is the same thing for connectors.

If you can't get it to turn on with a different PSU, the board/power switch could still have issues. My buddy had a switch go bad a week before a LAN. When he got there, he cracks open his case and connects the two pins with a screwdriver to get it to fire up. Alternatively the motherboard could be broken.
 
Those are ranges, you want to pick the one that comes after your target voltage. For example, if you are measuring something that is supposed to be 1.2V, you set it to 2V for the most accurate results. If something is supposed to be 5V, or 12V, you need to set it to 20V. Setting it below or above that will produce less accurate or extremely wrong results.

Also you need to know which pins are which, before you can really make judgements as to whether it is "dead". For instance, in the first link I gave you, he shows which pins are supposed to be what, and tells you what to test. The results you posted don't really make sense to me, because I don't know which pins you're testing. 5.1 volts would be perfectly acceptable for SOME pins on the 20-pin ATX motherboard connector. Like the 5V rails. But not acceptable for 12V.

There are other problems with this kind of basic testing, like for example this doesn't show results of the PSU with any sort of load at all. Plus your fan isn't spinning up, which means you either need to replace the fan (something I've not done on a PSU myself) or get a new PSU. But the point I was trying to make in my previous post was that even if you have a new working PSU, there may be something else wrong. So you can test away with your multimeter and that first guide, but you still need to borrow/buy a working PSU in order to figure out if something else is broken. Like the power switch.

That reminds me, if you didn't get what I was saying with the screwdriver thing: The power switch normally connects to two pins towards the front of your motherboard. But his switch went bad, so temporarily he removed the "Power SW" wires from his board and connected those two pins together with a screwdriver head. A wire would work too, but be careful to avoid connecting other pins together.

Edit: I also would need you to measure your PSU and how much extra space there is if you had to put a larger unit in there. I can't clearly see from these pictures if that is ATX-sized.
 
I do want to fill you in... a bit. When the computer stopped working it had major errors and wouldn't even boot into windows one day.

It would crash in the middle of formatting or trying to add any OS like WinXP, 98, etc... I had my friends mom a while back look at it who is a network tech and she couldn't get anywhere with it.

SO... I stored it and got a new computer.. Got to my new location and just tried to fire it up but now it wont even turn on. Obviously the fan isn't spinning so could it be the mobo too? Could the mobo have fried the PSU how would that correlate?
 
I'd say it is more likely to work the other way around. Anyway, other typical causes of those kinds of problems are bad memory or a bad motherboard.
 
So I was thinking of taking the harddrive out and putting it in as a second harddrive on my newer working computer... Do you think the harddrive would corrupt my newer computer seeing as how the old one was basically "trashed" or does that have nothing to do with the hdd?

I just don't want to risk putting it in my newer comp as a second hdd if it is going to screw with my newer comp. Like say it has viruses on the hdd or something....
 
It won't alter the new harddrive. The worst that could happen is that the old harddrive gets ruined even further.
 
but could the harddrive affect my system or mobo in general? I am talking about taking the hdd from the old broken ibm aptiva and putting it in as a second hdd on my newer comp
 
You'll be fine. The HD can only waste electricity and (as Ex said) further destroy itself, if it is bad. It is probably fine, and would net you extra storage, hurray.
 
How does that work though if the harddrive from the old computer *IBM* has a virus of some sort on it and I place it in my new comp for a 2nd hdd would it screw with my system? I would like to see the data still on the hdd but I am pretty prone to thinking it could has some kind of worm or something on it from way back when.
 
Then... hook it up alone, without the other HD. Get windows up and running a bit, and then virus scan it. Back up whatever you need to after combing it for virii. I personally wouldn't be worried about viruses at this point. Not since your new box is just as insecure as the old one, yes?
 
No it is not as insecure as my old one :-/ Bah.. I am just going to find a new psu for the old ibm... I know the psu is dead, but there may also be something wrong with the mobo.
 
Parts are cheap, so that shouldn't be a problem in and of itself. The problem is finding parts that fit correctly. Is the case capable of holding a full ATX board? Is the PSU ATX? Measure that stuff. You can get an inexpensive Allied PSU in the 300W range for cheap, and they're OK. Like $20 + shipping.
 
Just wanted to let you know Alex, I grabbed a working new ATX PSU and hooked her up to the IBM and still no power. My friend who brought it works at a computer shop and deals with fixing and diagnostics.

He figures it is something with the mobo, I think the mobo is shot. Anyways I built a 2nd PC with him with an 80gb harddrive and a 512 DDR MB RAM and a 1GB RAM stick and put the old harddrive from the IBM as a second harddrive in it and it is a great 2nd PC :)

I guess I will just use the old IBM to sell for parts or use ribbon cables.
 
As I mentioned, it was either PSU, board, or switch. The switch is easy to test, screwdriver trick I mentioned earlier. But it doesn't matter anyway. You've got something new to screw up now. ;)
 
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