[H-GEN] technical problems

[Rob Unsworth]

[ Humbug *General* list - semi-serious discussions about Humbug and ]
[ Unix-related topics.  Please observe the list's charter.          ]



On Tue, 14 Mar 2000, Kristy Ferrari wrote:

> [ Humbug *General* list - semi-serious discussions about Humbug and ]
> [ Unix-related topics.  Please observe the list's charter.          ]
> 
> >
> >(different machine on this one)
> >Intel Celeron 366, 32mb RAM Trident 4mb 9750 AGP Video card 4.3gb HD
> >
> >
> >From listening inside the case the machine doesn't boot up any further
> >into anything. A few times I have taken everything out of the case and
> >remounted it all and tried to clean everything to make it work.
> >
> >I have tried a selection of different other working video cards in the
> >machine with no luck, I have had the ram chip working another box and the
> >monitor is also working correcly. So I am guessing the problem is with the
> >board or the case/CPU.
> 
> 
> After many hours of taking all cards out and replacing them one at a time
> lead to the discovery that it was actually the daughterboard that the cpu
> was on wasn't seating correctly. This was also why a gentle bump would
> freeze the machine. Unfortunately there's nothing that I can do about it,
> it just helps knowing that it's the only thing that I have to pull out and
> reseat when it doesn't boot :)
>

When cleaning the cards did you use an *eraser* to remove all the residue
from those shiny little connector bits ? 

If not do it.

Successfully cleaning the connector on the board:

Get a piece of 600 - 800 grit wet and dry emery paper (it folds best),
fold it so that it is about the same thickness as the card. Gently slide
the emery paper into the connector a few times, this will clean the
contacts.

Now blow out all the dust residue etc. (unless you have a death wish)

Should the above not give you a good connection, you need to check your
soldering. The other possibility, if this is an older board, is that the
connector may have lost it's tension and is not placing enough tension on
the card to maintain an effective contact.

Good luck,
Rob Unsworth


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