Sick eMachine T2682

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analogtip

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Hi

This is my first problem post. My eMachine T2682 now freezes up. The screen locks up. I have to power off manually and re-boot.

For years the pc hasn't powered off. It will shut down win xp, but then the yellow hard drive light comes on and just stays on. No one has ever been able to tell me how to fix it.

I replaced the psu years ago thinking it would cure this problem. It didn't.

My new problem is that when I power on, sometimes the pc remains dead. I click power on and off a few times, and it comes on.

Then I do multiple boot attempts until it quits freezing up during boot. This was my old new problem of a couple of months ago. Very frustrating.

The pc freezes up a every now and then once booted and warmed up. But, I can usually stay running once up and going a while.

I am about to order a new psu from directron. Let them pick a quality unit for the right price. I am price sensitive. I may wait and read some replies, first.

I don't do much on this pc. I surf, read newspapers, stream tunes, email. It is a home unit. Just me. So no games. No gamers.

I added a gig of ram from crucial a year or more ago. It didn't really speed anything up that i noticed. i had expected a miracle. I can stream a movie from Netflix and multiple audio w/ no problems. I have broadband from YahooATT.

I am satisfied. This pc does all I require. But it has boot and powerdown problems.

If you have any advice, I'm all eyes.

Thanks - Analogtip.
 
Thanks Kimsland!

I gotta confess, the benchtest looks a bit much for me.

On the ram test, do I copy the program to a disc and re-boot w/ the disc? Is that what is going on?

I have un-zipped stuff before. So I should be able to handle that aspect.

But why the image burn program? Does this require something other than 'copy' to a disc?
 
You can use your own burning program if you have one (I actually use Nero)

But you cannot copy it to disc, as it will not be bootable doing it that way
 
The eMachines motherboard is probably going bad. You might try removing any PCI cards. I had a bad PCI phone modem cause this once. It is worth checking
 
hi kimsland

I DL'd Image Burn, no problems. I DL'd and unzipped Memtest and got a WinRar file. I extracted the WinRar to a regular file I placed in Program Files. It does NOT have iso after the name.

The problem: Image Burn won't accept the extracted rar file. It will accept the WinRar file, but then when ImageBurn tries to verify it, if fails. Every time. The WinRar file does have iso after the name.

Where am I going wrong?

FYI: I noticed on the memtest page link you sent that the file was a dot iso file. Which is why I mention which files have dot iso.
 
Where am I going wrong?
Click to expand...
Your Winrar has been set to open ISO files (I think mine is too actually)
But do not open the ISO file (or extract it) with Winrar

Instead open your Burning software (ie Image Burn if that's the only one you have) Then open the ISO file with that program. Which will create a bootable CD

ie:

Download Memtest (you have done this)
Unzip Memtest to anywhere (I usually put it in its own New Folder on the Desktop)
Then you are left with an ISO file
Then open your burning software (ie Image Burn)
Then browse to and open the ISO file (through that program)
Then start the burn process
This will create the Memtest BootCD

Then start your computer with it in the drive
 
Passed MemTest86+2.01

I got it burned to disc and let it run seven and a half hours. On pass 9 I shut it off. No problems and no errors. So I guess my problem isn't in memory.

btw, this is a good example of how frustrating things can be w/ pc's. To make sure it wasn't my blinky pc causing the image burn problem, I used a pc less than a year old.

I DL'd ImageBurn and jZip to desktop to make it easier. I tried it every way possible and was getting up to leave when I tried it one more time. And it worked. I have no idea what I did differently. In fact, I don't think I did anything differently. Esp being I'd been a few rounds w/ it. Even tried unzipping it twice and burning those images.

Very frustrating. But, it got done, and apparently it isn't my memory.

So thanks. Next?
 
Thanks for the feedback on creating Memtest
When I get a chance I'll run through it to make sure all is good.

Regarding "Next"

Um. Hmm. Yep... BenchTest !
 
power off component?

i have a new power supply coming. (FSP Group 350W ATX 12V PSU-ATX350-PA) i asked for a quality unit.

i also have a new battery for my apc brand ups coming. i have an old ups, an apc 300bk. i never knew the batteries needed replacing until last week. they weigh 6 lbs. back around 2004 it quit working. and i set it aside for a good while. i finally got around to testing it ... and it worked fine. i had tried the reset switch originally, i think. but it was so long ago i can't really be sure. all i can tell you is that it doesn't keep the pc running in a power failure. it switches off w/ a beep during an electrical flicker. it has only done it a few times. i am hoping the new battery will bring it back up to snuff.

this pc has a known issue. it does not power off. windows will shut down, but i have to manually turn off the power. that is when the problems began when it was 13 months old and out of warranty. and i put a new, probably light weight,, power supply that has last until now.

if i have a known issue, not powering off, can't i start by replacing that single component?

surely there is some type of electrical switch between the manual power switch on the front of the pc or the one in the back on the psu?

can it be located and replaced?

is there a way to tell if my ups is in good working order?
 
Thanks for your reply

Yes I was shocked to find out how simple it was to replace the old UPS cells (well batteries) The first time I saw one apart, I said "is that all it is?"
Actually they do also stop surges as well (even when flat) So they can be useful (on any computer)

Regarding the "Power Switch" yes this can be faulty
In actual fact the front power switch has two wires that connect on to the Motherboard (very small wires) these connectors (including leds and reset etc) look like this:
- -
- -
- -
- -
- -

And are usually in one corner of the motherboard, with lots of colorful wires coming out :)
Well two of them are the PWR (Power Switch) and it is possibly to pull the little wires out (obiously computer off) and then just short the motherboard power pins with a flat screwdriver to actually turn on the computer (ie without using the front panel button)

Now your new power supply coming "i asked for a quality unit."
Is only rated at 350Watts !! I must say that is very low. Think of it this way, mines 650Watt. Mind you I do hae many internal devices plugged in. But 350Watt? (I personally say too low)
 
the original psu was 250 watts. i asked about that, as i wanted a higher rated psu. the tech man at directron assured me this was enough. i have nothing on this pc. it is stock. i don't play games. i have a keyboard, a mouse, and a logictech speaker system that is self powered.

this is a 40% increase in potential wattage from what eMachine engineers thought was necessary. and being the pc is stock except for a gig of ram, i am guessing i am fine, here.

as i mentioned early, this is a home pc. i don't game. i surf the net for news. stream music and netflix movies. it does all i need. and it seems fast, too.

but it now freezes during boot. and hasn't powered off in years.

let me be clear ... the front switch turns ON the pc w/ no problems. and the green light around the button lights up.

to power on i click the switch in the back on the psu, and i see the hard drive light up like it was when i clicked the power off. then i push the on button on the front and it 'turns on and boots up.' the hard drive light goes off, too, once booted. as i type, the only light lit on the front panel is the green circle around the on switch. all drives lights are off. except for the occassion micro flicker of the hard drive as is normal.

originally, when i wanted to turn off the pc, i'd simply click "turn off pc" in the start button, and it would shut down windows, then power off the cpu. i never had to "turn it off."

that stopped working at 13 months.

l learned to manually click if off. oh ... the yellow light on the hard drive comes on, and stays on, when it should power off. when i see it, i know windows is thru shutting down, and i then manually click off the power at the psu.

btw, i can see shorting between poles and getting a connection. no prob. i don't see how that helps me, if you were offering it as a suggestion.

there must be some electrical component that breaks the connection. and it is either not working or it is not receiving the signal to switch off.

i'd guess that is a place to start, as it is a KNOWN issue.

are you familiar with it?
 
I have experienced it all

You need to remoe all dust on and around you motherboard, including the power switch (and pins) area

Ideally benchtesting would be the go (3x mentioned now :rolleyes: )

Doing this will help remove any dust stuck ! under the motherboard (and eerywhere else)

Yes I see 350Watt is enough for you
 
i have installed the new psu. it seems to boot fine. and no freeze ups. i used vacuum to clean dust out. i looked closely and i could seen no burned spots. the dust wasn't bad, btw.

i still need to receive my new acp back-ups battery.

i read on a gen how to site ... video cards often cause freeze ups. i tucked that away for future info.

i don't guess there is a "memtest" for video cards?
 
Hi guys!

Guess what? The new psu has ENDED all the little symptoms of something else going wrong.

No more cut outs on the start up music. No more boot freeze ups. No more freeze ups once up and running and surfing the net. No more instant poweroffs.

What else?

All the symptoms are gone. And this psu is MUCH quieter than the previous replacement psu. And yes, the directron psu was heavier than the old replacement psu I removed.

Thanks for all the help.
 
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