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Dell 4600C with bad motherboard?

Started by Carskick, February 16, 2009, 16:05 hrs

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Carskick

Hello,

A long term customer of mine had trouble with his computer blue screening randomly on average 1-2 times per day with regular usage, each time having a different error report and error code, often the codes having very little meaning when looked up. The computer was recently wiped several months ago with the original Dell Windows XP disk, which I performed, and put the drivers on etc. It worked fine up until about 2 weeks ago when this started. He had McAfee and Spybot, and both never mentioned or found any problems. Computer ran fine otherwise, memtest found nothing, hard drive test and error-check found nothing. I told him it was likely his motherboard, and with that being the case, he might as well get a new computer, as dell replacement motherboards are astronomically priced. He agreed, and we got him a new Dell system for just over $400.

So now he gave the system to me. I can't think of anything else it could be other than the motherboard or power supply. I have yet to check the power supply, and the system is currently at home in the process of reinstalling Windows after a full format, per the customer's request.

The system is being left on, so I can see if it blue screens by the time it gets home during the install process. If nothing, I plan on testing the PSU with my PSU tester, and if it reports fine, it must be the board?

So, is there good way to really test the board? The issue is so sporadic, I have yet to seen it actually BSOD, but want to get it in a resellable condition.

I was considering just ordering a 939 motherboard, as I could reuse the ram and everything else in the 4600C, and I have an extra 3500+ sitting around. However, finding a non-ebay 939 motherboard has proved rather difficult.

Any ideas?

Thanks!
Athlon64 X2 3800+ Machester@2.45Ghz, 4x1GB A-DATA PC3200@204(2.5-3-3-6), XFX 8800GT, ASUS A8N5X NF4, Antec 300 case, Antec EarthWatts 650w, 640GB 16MB and 200GB 8MB 7200RPM SATA WD HDDs, NEC3540, NEC3550, Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate<br />Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/Carskick

Bill

Cars,
Before you invest in a 939, my recollection is that Dell uses or used a proprietary format, ie the shape is different and the mounting holes are odd.  I'd check first.

Bill
Antec 3700 | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R | Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz | 4 GB (4x1GB) DDR2 PC 5300 Kingston RAM | Antec NeoPower 550W | eVGA GeForce 9500GT 1GB 128 bit PCI Express 2.0 | Intel SSD X25-M 80GB | VelociRaptor 150GB | WD 80GB 7200rpm |Samsung 22x SATA Burner |Windows 7 32-bit

Mark H

Quote from: Bill on February 16, 2009, 16:47 hrs
Cars,
Before you invest in a 939, my recollection is that Dell uses or used a proprietary format, ie the shape is different and the mounting holes are odd.  I'd check first.

Bill

I know that is definitely true with power supplies. That is why I don't like Dell.

Mark H
Enjoy the nature that is around you rather than destroying it.

halokid

hmmm sporadic bsods... well for hardware problems i would check through a few things

Powersupply

Leaking/bulging capacitors

grounding problem/interference in all areas including bent pins to connectors such as ps2 port, usb inside and out etc.

Failing hardware other than mobo

As far as software goes Ive solved two bsods from removing software right after a fresh install with dell disk.......

Norton antivirus and windows xp sp3
im not sure how common this is but there was one occurence where i crippled the anit virus and windows xp update right from a fresh install and that solved the random bsod

GoodLuck!

I wonder if some stress testing like prime 95 would get it to bsod or a pc mark test.


Carskick

Well, I formated the computer with the dell disk, and it finished completely, being left on over the course of the day with no crashing. I downlaoded dell drivers on another PC, brought them over, everything went without a hitch. I then did stress testing with Hot CPU for about 2 hours, and it was working fine. I used my power supply tester to test the PSU, everything was read to be in normal parameters, though the PSU seems to get really hot.

He didn't have Norton, he had McAfee. I suppose somehow a driver got corrupted or something, but it was strange how we would get random error codes, none of which pointed to any particular driver. The errors were so sporadic, according to the customer, that I have no idea whether to believe the system is fixed or not.

I did perform a memtest, turned up clean.

No bulging capacitors.

And Bill was right, the motherboard screw holes don't line up with standard micro ATX. However, as of now, the system seems to be running fine, so I don't think I am going to replace a thing.

I will try to do a few more tests, but unless anyone thinks of anything else, it seems like this computer is ready to be used.
Athlon64 X2 3800+ Machester@2.45Ghz, 4x1GB A-DATA PC3200@204(2.5-3-3-6), XFX 8800GT, ASUS A8N5X NF4, Antec 300 case, Antec EarthWatts 650w, 640GB 16MB and 200GB 8MB 7200RPM SATA WD HDDs, NEC3540, NEC3550, Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate<br />Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/Carskick

Carskick

The only programs he used were firefox, McAfee, Bridge Baron and Quicken 2009. All were installed from the get go, so no new programs when the problems started. He wasn't a power user. He told me it BSOD'ed twice while choosing a netflix movie to watch, but not while watching the movie itself (this was in internet explorer). Another time it was right after coming out of sleep, and a few other times it was just random. In the error log, two crashes pointed to McAfee, the others were all strange error codes or pointed to random dll files within windows. Don't have the logs anymore since the computer was wiped.

Definitely appreciate the thoughts! It's a weird issue.
Athlon64 X2 3800+ Machester@2.45Ghz, 4x1GB A-DATA PC3200@204(2.5-3-3-6), XFX 8800GT, ASUS A8N5X NF4, Antec 300 case, Antec EarthWatts 650w, 640GB 16MB and 200GB 8MB 7200RPM SATA WD HDDs, NEC3540, NEC3550, Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate<br />Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/Carskick

Chandler

We had a number of Optiplex GX280 machines die at work due to defective capacitors on the motherboard.  The failures were around the CPU and so in some cases they were hidden by the enormous CPU heatsink.  In other cases the failures were around the southbridge.  In all cases the symptoms were the same - BSODs getting more and more frequent followed by an inability to boot at all.

This was a known issue with the GX270 and 280 systems, and the 4600C is probably of similar age.  Having said that, it seems that PSU failures on the 4600C were quite a common fault, reading this:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/129857-2/the_10_worst_pcs_of_all_time.html

Buffalo2102

In my experience this sort of thing is almost always down to drivers.  It is very possible that the PC was fine until a driver or Windows update and then it started misbehaving.  Difficult to pinpoint I know but it is more likely than a motherboard fault IMO.

Buff
Vista x64 Home Premium. Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Abit IP35, 4 Gig Kingston HyperX PC8500C5 DDR2, GTX260, Creative X-Fi Extreme Gamer, Antec 900 Gaming Case.

Carskick

Well, I have been running the computer, and using it here and there for over a week now, and not one hiccup or blue screen. I am planning on selling the system to one of my customers, and I will give her a 30 day return policy on the system. If that blue screen rears it's ugly head, it should be within this period. Of course, the system will go bad eventually, but it should be unrelated if it happens years down the road!

Jamie
Athlon64 X2 3800+ Machester@2.45Ghz, 4x1GB A-DATA PC3200@204(2.5-3-3-6), XFX 8800GT, ASUS A8N5X NF4, Antec 300 case, Antec EarthWatts 650w, 640GB 16MB and 200GB 8MB 7200RPM SATA WD HDDs, NEC3540, NEC3550, Windows 7 64-bit Ultimate<br />Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/Carskick