Old PC upgrade

Sick Boy

Sick Boy

New member
Hi Guys,

Ok I got a old pc from work that I want to use as my learning pc, I set it up yesterday and it was running perfect.

Then I decided to clean it up a lil so I cleaned up all the cables, and change the hard drive for a larger one, I will put some more ram in it tonight, but when I re-connected the machine up yesterday it would not turn on, The hard drive I put in was also second hand, could a faulty HHD cause the machine not to power up, When I push in the power button not even the light comes on :(

Also could having the GPU pluged into the mother board ( but not the 6 port plug at the back ) cause the machine not to start up

I also got a second hand GPU it's a Nividia G-force 6 series and it fits like a dream, I see there is only one 6 port plug at the back of the card, what cable would I use and where on the mother baord would I plug it in, I first thought that maybe the power supply would need to be plugged into it but there is not plug from the power supply that matches the port on the GPU,

I just want to play Diablo 2 on this machine and I tested and it ran fine, I also just want to use this machine to learn how to format and re-install, if you think this machine would be capable I would idealy like turn it into a simple lan machine, but I think it might be a lil week, if you think this machine is a complete waste of my time please let me know as well

Please have a look at the pics and advice me as ,much as possible.

If any one has any old PC components they looking to get rid of or to trade or sell that you think will make this a better machine please let me know, I would be looking for better ram, power supply and case.

Specs that I have:

Celeron: 440
Rams: ddr2 only got 1gb at the moment but I got another 512mb would it be ok to put it in?
Standard power supply
GPU: Nividia G-force 6 series

PICS
Thanks in advance for your advice

PS, I know I am pushing my luck but if there is any one in the Northern suburbs of JHB how would help me format and re-insall this machine I would be forever in your debt, I dont have any driver or soft ware for the machine either :(
 
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The gpu will need the 6 pin power plug to work. You do get converters from molex to the required 6 pin adaptors. But you say the pc doesn't even start up, so make sure all the psu cables are fitted right (20/24 pin and the 4pin CPU one). Maybe try to start up the pc with the least amount of components connected. If it starts up, then start adding components one by one to see which one might be causing a fault.

And on a final note, mixing different sizes and makes of ddr2 ram doesn't always give the best results.

Edit : Didn't you buy a monster pc recently? Diablo 2 works fine on my i7.
 
Thanks Nemesis, you right I did get a monster rig but it wond play Diable 2 I have tried everything, but I will want to use this old PC just to learn on, thanks for all the advice
 
If the motherboard has onboard graphics try using that before using the graphics card. Also you said you replaced the hard drive. Try using the original and see if it boots up. If it does then add the graphics card to see if thats not at fault. If that is not at fault then we can logically assume the new HDD is the problem.
 
I can't see from the pics, but it is completely possible that you might not have attached the power switch to the motherboard. It's a bunch of small cables with 2 pin or 1 pin connectors that plug in to the motherboard. Without these your motherboard can't read the switch on/reset commands from your power button. If you look at the pic of your PC, there are a bunch of red and black cables just below the front FAN port. Make sure those aren't the cables for your LED lights and power button. If they are they need to be plugged in. The instructions will be in the motherboard manual
 
THanks for all the advice, its a second hand PC so no manual, I think I am am jsut going to take the whole thing apart again and start from scrach it cant get any worse, I tried putting the old HDD back and taking out the GPU but no luck :(
 
if you find the name of the MB, you can google for a manual.

You will need the power(6pin from power supply) for the GPU to work.

You are also able to boot a pc without an hdd, only need cpu motherboard power and ram. Ive never really seen a pc not boot cause of the HDD. By boot i mean get past the BIOS(POST)

If its not turning on, raptor makes a good point " If you look at the pic of your PC, there are a bunch of red and black cables just below the front FAN port. Make sure those aren't the cables for your LED lights and power button"
 
Ryansta said:
You are also able to boot a pc without an hdd, only need cpu motherboard power and ram. Ive never really seen a pc not boot cause of the HDD. By boot i mean get past the BIOS(POST)
Click to expand...

I have seen that happen. It was due to the PCB shorting out and causing smoke from the hard drive =/

Generally speaking your front panel connectors should look like this :

....
.....

[..]..
.....

Would be your power LED

..[..]
.....

Power switch

....
[..]...

Hard drive LED

....
..[..].

Reset switch.
 
And always remember to make sure that everything is in securely. A loose connection is potentially more damaging than a non-existent connection
 
Kuga said:
I have seen that happen. It was due to the PCB shorting out and causing smoke from the hard drive =/

Generally speaking your front panel connectors should look like this :

....
.....

[..]..
.....

Would be your power LED

..[..]
.....

Power switch

....
[..]...

Hard drive LED

....
..[..].

Reset switch.
Click to expand...

Damn good to know, but the point i was trying to make was that he didnt need the HDD connected to get the machine to POST so he could take it out. If it worked without it then its the HDD. But ya never had the HDD causing no booting:)
 
Damit still no luck, I will play around this it a bit more this week but if I dont come right I will have to take it to the PC shop and ask for help, I really did not want to do this but I dont think I am going to have any other choice concidering I want to format that machine but I dont have any of the soft ware and drivers, does anyone have an idea of how much they will charge for some thing like this :(
 
Sick Boy said:
Damit still no luck, I will play around this it a bit more this week but if I dont come right I will have to take it to the PC shop and ask for help, I really did not want to do this but I dont think I am going to have any other choice concidering I want to format that machine but I dont have any of the soft ware and drivers, does anyone have an idea of how much they will charge for some thing like this :(
Click to expand...

When I am in the area I'll come have a look bud.
 
Ryansta said:
Damn good to know, but the point i was trying to make was that he didnt need the HDD connected to get the machine to POST so he could take it out. If it worked without it then its the HDD. But ya never had the HDD causing no booting:)
Click to expand...

Yeah I know :P

If the OP was in P.E. I could of helped out. Hope you come right man.
 
Throw that old PC away and download the free VMware player.
You can run almost any OS inside it and play older games.
 
OK I took the machine past the pc shop and I just used the wrong cable so I am back on track

Thanks for all the help
 
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