The Computer Thread

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Hmm... Do other ctrl key combinations work? Is it only ctrl-c that gives you trouble? Also what version of windows? Are all updates installed?

Win7, fully updated and every other keyboard shortcut works. I can Ctrl-X an item and Ctrl-V it back, then paste it elsewhere. I know I'm not the only one from Googling, but I never found a solution that would work for me.

[wolf39us]

Might be a problem with your registry.   I'm not sure where that reference is... Though you say it only works sometimes.  Bah,  I'm probably wrong then

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Might be a problem with your registry.   I'm not sure where that reference is... Though you say it only works sometimes.  Bah,  I'm probably wrong then

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I keep my registry tidy, my work requires.

[Hydra009]

Slight problem:  my computer apparently turned itself off last night and the power button wouldn't do diddly.  http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/nawww.gif

Wake up today, crack that baby open.  Everything's hooked up fine.  Plug in only the power cord.  Powers on for like 2 seconds before powering off again.  (This is also what happened during the video card install but it worked fine when I used a different PCIe cable)  So I use different power cord.  It powers on without any problems.  I hook everything back up and power it up again, and it powers on fine.  Everything is fine.

I apparently fixed the problem by changing absolutely nothing except the power cable.

At this stage, I'm starting to suspect that my power supply might be faulty, but it's fairly new <2 years old and honestly shouldn't be giving me any problems yet.  I suppose I could buy a power supply tester to confirm/disconfirm this hunch.  But damn, I don't want to go out and buy/install a whole new psu!  I suppose I could wait and see if it craps out on me again.

[Naru]

Slight problem:  my computer apparently turned itself off last night and the power button wouldn't do diddly.  http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/nawww.gif

Wake up today, crack that baby open.  Everything's hooked up fine.  Plug in only the power cord.  Powers on for like 2 seconds before powering off again.  (This is also what happened during the video card install but it worked fine when I used a different PCIe cable)  So I use different power cord.  It powers on without any problems.  I hook everything back up and power it up again, and it powers on fine.  Everything is fine.

I apparently fixed the problem by changing absolutely nothing except the power cable.

At this stage, I'm starting to suspect that my power supply might be faulty, but it's fairly new <2 years old and honestly shouldn't be giving me any problems yet.  I suppose I could buy a power supply tester to confirm/disconfirm this hunch.  But damn, I don't want to go out and buy/install a whole new psu!  I suppose I could wait and see if it craps out on me again.

The power cord you had before may be faulty. Try using that power cord again to see what happens.

[Johan]

Slight problem:  my computer apparently turned itself off last night and the power button wouldn't do diddly.  http://www.reactiongifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/nawww.gif

Wake up today, crack that baby open.  Everything's hooked up fine.  Plug in only the power cord.  Powers on for like 2 seconds before powering off again.  (This is also what happened during the video card install but it worked fine when I used a different PCIe cable)  So I use different power cord.  It powers on without any problems.  I hook everything back up and power it up again, and it powers on fine.  Everything is fine.

I apparently fixed the problem by changing absolutely nothing except the power cable.

At this stage, I'm starting to suspect that my power supply might be faulty, but it's fairly new <2 years old and honestly shouldn't be giving me any problems yet.  I suppose I could buy a power supply tester to confirm/disconfirm this hunch.  But damn, I don't want to go out and buy/install a whole new psu!  I suppose I could wait and see if it craps out on me again.

Power supply testers cannot be trusted because they only measure output voltage with no load applied. Very often bad power supplies will test good showing correct voltage on all legs, but will put out insufficient voltage once the load of actual components are applied.

Do as Naru suggested. Put the original power cord back on and see if the problem returns. If it doesn't, I would change out the power supply just as a precaution because a bad power supply can damage other components. No point in trying to save $60 now only to end up having to spend $300 later if/when the chip mobo and video card have to be swapped along with another new power supply.

[Hydra009]

It was definitely the cord.  I checked it with another computer.  No power issues since then.

Unfortunately, now I have a slightly worse problem.  CPU runs hot (50C idle and 70-80C when gaming), take it out, remove old (slightly burnt) thermal paste, reapply thermal paste, put it back in, clamp it down, reattach heat sink/fan, recable and boot up.  Everything's fine (fans spin and everything) except no beeps and no post.  :(

Possible problems:
CPU might have not been seated 100% correctly.  It might have shifted a bit while I was putting the heat sink on.  I'm going to take the heatsink out again and check, but it's a major pain putting the heatsink back on (the restraining clamp doesn't have a whole lot of give and it really take a lot of force to get it to catch)
A bent CPU pin.  Bent it back into place but not sure if it stayed that way after I put the CPU back in.

P.S. - Please bear in mind that I'm still very green when it comes to the insides of computers.  This past few months have been my first couple of times opening up a computer and trying to install/repair components.  I'm admittedly not very skilled at it, but I'm a quick normal okay learner and this is a fairly old system, so it's no biggie to replace a component if that's what I have to do.  It's just frustrating not knowing what exactly is wrong.

[Johan]

How exactly are you applying the thermal paste? Thermal paste is one of those things where too much is as bad (or worse) than not enough.

[Hydra009]

How exactly are you applying the thermal paste? Thermal paste is one of those things where too much is as bad (or worse) than not enough.

Pretty much just like that.   Hopefully smoothed flat by the weight of the cpu fan/heatsink.  (I also took pretty good ESD precautions.  Alligator clip, pressing the on button after unplugging, touching the metal bar inside the case)  I suppose I'll just have to open it up and check it to make sure everything's a-okay in there.

[Hydra009]

Okay, after opening the case, I think I figured out the problem(s).

I swear I didn't put on too much thermal paste, but nevertheless, it was too much.  Apparently, pea-sized is subject to some interpretation.  It didn't help that the heat sink kind of slid around when I put it on.  The thermal paste got on the sides of the CPU, my fingertips holding said CPU, and the tips of a few of the CPU pins.  And 4 cpu pins were bent.  And one of the motherboard power connectors was kind loose.  Loose as in not attached at all.  On that note, I think I know why it wasn't posting.

Sooo...I'm officially an idiot.  But I did very, very, very careful restoration work and used a small sewing needle (grounded beforehand) to bend the pins back to where they're supposed to be and I very carefully removed the thermal paste with a cotton swab damp with rubbing alcohol.  I'm just waiting for the rubbing alcohol to fully dry before reattaching everything and the CPU is safe and sound in an ESD bag.

I think I've corrected most of my mistakes and I'll try not to repeat them next time.

[Johan]

Pretty much just like that.   Hopefully smoothed flat by the weight of the cpu fan/heatsink.

That bolded part is a problem. You don't want to apply a dab to the chip and leave it at that until the heat sink smashes it down. Instead you want to apply a small dab and then squeegee it flat with something like an old credit card or a thin piece of card stock. This insures that the full surface area of the chip has uniform amount of paste with no thick spots or thin spots. It also makes it more difficult to apply too much or too little.

[Hydra009]

Thanks.  Will do.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

And you should sacrifice a chicken to Steve Jobs before beginning an computer work.

[PopeyesPappy]

A chicken? You think Jobs practiced that bastardised Catholic religion Vodou or some other pagan crap?

He was raised Lutheran before converting to Buddhism. Nothing less that goat would do for a sacrifice to Jobs. Chicken indeed! Huh.

[Johan]

And not just any goat. This is Steve Jobs we're talking about. So only the finest of goats, hand selected from one particular herd deep in the Peruvian jungle will do. To sacrifice anything else would be an insult to both Steve and the goat.