Alright, for all you Sherlocks out there, I'll try to be as brief as possible and to the point. My system is a packard bell imedia 6820 with athlon 1800 cpu along with the rest of the standard below par PB equipment circa 2001. My story evolved in three phases.
A - Two days ago when I attempted a boot, the computer began to emit a continuous non-stop series of clicks (about 3 per sec) and proceeded no further. Processor and PS fans turned, but no Bios beep, no boot. Local comp service told me my original Fortron power supply was dead and sold me a generic Topelite replacement (which i later learned I'd paid more than double its value).
B - Installed Topelite and everything worked fine: boot, hard disk, fans, no clicking.
Here's where it gets complicated.
C - Indignant over the fact I got ripped off over the generic PS and having since researched the issue, I returned the Topelite and went to a PC City outlet to pick up a rather top of the line HiPer PS (which actually cost less than the generic model). Yet upon installation, lo and behold, my first boot attempt returned....nothing whatsoever. The PS fan turned just fine, but the PCU fan spun up for just a second and then silence. Not even a single tired click. The store took back the unit, and upon testing the motherboard claimed the processor was dead.
Disappointed and somewhat angry I returned home and did the green/black short test on the Fortron motherboard connector and it showed the PS to be seemingly working fine, WITHOUT the clicking noise. Upon reconnecting the power pack and listening more closely I then realized that the clicking was actually coming from the motherboard somewhere in the vicinity of the processor.
My questions then are threefold:
1 - Is my original power supply still functional after all, and my local comp store was just attempting to doubly rip me off?
2 - Is my processor really dead, and if so why did it work with the generic power supply and not the quality one?
3 - What was/is that clicking noise?
Two possibly relevant side issues:
i - Before getting the computer to boot from with the generic PS I had no success until I found that the RAM card had become dislodged. Upon reseating it, the boot proceeded nominally.
ii - Before stage B above I discovered a small dense pile about 1/8 inch thick of what looked nearly like fine metal shavings to one side of the base of the cpu/heat sink unit. Thinking nothing much of it, I airbrushed it away along with other standard dust that had accumulated over the past few years.
Any help from you amateur detectives out there would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
A - Two days ago when I attempted a boot, the computer began to emit a continuous non-stop series of clicks (about 3 per sec) and proceeded no further. Processor and PS fans turned, but no Bios beep, no boot. Local comp service told me my original Fortron power supply was dead and sold me a generic Topelite replacement (which i later learned I'd paid more than double its value).
B - Installed Topelite and everything worked fine: boot, hard disk, fans, no clicking.
Here's where it gets complicated.
C - Indignant over the fact I got ripped off over the generic PS and having since researched the issue, I returned the Topelite and went to a PC City outlet to pick up a rather top of the line HiPer PS (which actually cost less than the generic model). Yet upon installation, lo and behold, my first boot attempt returned....nothing whatsoever. The PS fan turned just fine, but the PCU fan spun up for just a second and then silence. Not even a single tired click. The store took back the unit, and upon testing the motherboard claimed the processor was dead.
Disappointed and somewhat angry I returned home and did the green/black short test on the Fortron motherboard connector and it showed the PS to be seemingly working fine, WITHOUT the clicking noise. Upon reconnecting the power pack and listening more closely I then realized that the clicking was actually coming from the motherboard somewhere in the vicinity of the processor.
My questions then are threefold:
1 - Is my original power supply still functional after all, and my local comp store was just attempting to doubly rip me off?
2 - Is my processor really dead, and if so why did it work with the generic power supply and not the quality one?
3 - What was/is that clicking noise?
Two possibly relevant side issues:
i - Before getting the computer to boot from with the generic PS I had no success until I found that the RAM card had become dislodged. Upon reseating it, the boot proceeded nominally.
ii - Before stage B above I discovered a small dense pile about 1/8 inch thick of what looked nearly like fine metal shavings to one side of the base of the cpu/heat sink unit. Thinking nothing much of it, I airbrushed it away along with other standard dust that had accumulated over the past few years.
Any help from you amateur detectives out there would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
