CPU Overheating?

ChrisGreen1993

ChrisGreen1993

ChrisGreen1993

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Joined
8 Jul 2009
Posts
137
Hi

Before I was allowed to buy my components for my first PC build my Dad said that I had to take apart our old PC and put it back together.

So I took it apart; dusted it and put it back together. I tried to start it up but only the fans and the lights came on; there was nothing on screen.

I took out the RAM and any other things I didn't need; I also tried resetting the CMOS but it still didn't work. Then I realised i had the IDE cables in the wrong way round. Once i had changed them the Drives started to work and the computer started beeping; I found out that this meant thet the CPU was overheating. (how can it when starting from cold) Sometimes I start it up and it doesn't do the error beeps; but the screen is still blank. Is the CPU knackered??

The PC is a Colossus (??) which is over 10 years old.
It has an IBM/Cyrix 6x86MX processor and a Gemlight P57SAX V0 Motherboard.

I think that it should just go in the bin; but my Dad wants it fixing.

Thanks for your help.
 
tell him those beeps mean its died and is unfixable, lol
If you look up on internet for the mobo (if you can still find it) or even the mobo book if u have it, it will tell you what they mean, theres different codes depnding on the freq of beeps, it doesnt necessarily mean CPU overheating, and as you say given youre booting from cold it cant really mean that anyway
Was it working before you took it apart?
 
I highly doubt it's overheating. That CPU belongs in a museum, and CPUs of that age produce much, much less heat than modern ones. It probably barely needs a heatsink.

There's not much I can suggest apart from looking up the beep codes and checking that everything is seated securely. The machine is so slow that there's really no point fixing it.
 
Chris,

beep codes can mean anything from CPU issues to failed fan or memory. As suggested by others first see if you can find out what the specific beep code means for that motherboard.

If you can find that out I'd suggest taking everything out and reseating it again. Pay particular attention to make sure there's no fluff caught in a RAM slot or something like that thats stopping something making contact properly. Also check all cable connections very carefully, as little things like a bent or missing pin on an ide connector could bork things. I've done that once or twice!

It may just be that something has failed, the unfortunate truth is that sometimes things work fine for years until they are disturbed, then they fail. Just because it did work, doesn't necessarily mean it will now.

Good luck!

E-I
 
Thanks for the help so far

I found out what the beep code meant through Google; but after a look through the PC manual (it doesn't say anything in the motherboard manual) it says that a continous beeping means that the keyboard isn't connected properly; even though it is. ??
 
With something so old, it's quite likely that just disturbing it has caused something to go wrong. Not too much that can be done about it, really. No massive loss as these days there's practically nothing that could be done with it anyway. Your average smartphone is faster than that PC.
 
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