Need some help please!

[Fred_G]

Quick note, I build computers and work on them on the side while taking classes for the CCNA cert. I have built around 15 or so 'puters, pretty good with fixing them. This one has me stumped.

It is a HP Pavillon a000? Odd model number, it is a socket A board with an AMD XP3000, 2x512 RAM, and it had a complaint of being slow. And slow it was. I took it to the house, and the hard drive failed the SMART. Got another drive, the Win XP disk does not see it, BIOS does not see it (SATA drive, hooked up to one of the SATA ports. no RAID) I tried an old IDE drive, no luck in BIOS or Win XP disk. I tried both of the drives on another computer, they work just fine.

So now I am thinking the mobo or PSU is toast. PSU reads fine via multi meter, so is it the mobo?

And Ubuntu cannot seem to 'see' the hard drives either. Cables and drives work great on another 'puter.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. The guy that ownes this computer ownes the shop that works on my elderly truck for super cheap.

Thanks.

E

 

[nonchalant]

I tried both of the drives on another computer, they work just fine.

If you have run the HDD's manufacturers diagnostics software on the drive/s and they pass then it has to be a problem with the mobo (ie the SMART warning is wrong which is produced by the mobo).

Im assuming you have considered swapping the PC cable out?

 

[MrMille]

mobo gone bad?

 

[Nathan H]

Yeah I have to agree with Mr Mille, your Mobo sounds toast, I'd replace it, it should be fairly inexpensive, and it would keep the guy fixing your truck on in good standing with you

 

[Fred_G]

Thanks for the info. @ nonchalant, yes, I swapped the drive cables to ones that worked in another computer.

Looks like RIP for this computer! I will let him know, I would upgrade, not fix an old Socket A, but that is his choice.

E

 

[nonchalant]

Looks like RIP for this computer! I will let him know, I would upgrade, not fix an old Socket A, but that is his choice.

Dont overlook the fact this is an opportunity also to sell him a replacement PC yourself.

Either a good cheap second hand PC (if you have the parts or ready assembled PC's handy) to replace the one thats died or a new one depending on his requirements and budget.