"Cannot connect to the real (insert web address here).com." Anyone else have this problem?

shaneslaughta

undo


before trying to do any cleaning or tinkering with the inside of the machine, unplug it from the wall and then remove excess voltage by using the unplugged electrical cord end, and rub it on the back of the computer case where it originally plugged into it. look up how to ground yourself from any potential power still existing in an unplugged machine, so you don't get electrocuted

That will not discharge capacitors in the power supply. Not to mention its a 12 volt system unless you open the power supply you will be ok.

undo
there's also a tiny thing called a hopper. every machine is different, so the settings for the hopper may be different. make, year, model of the machine usually will reveal if the hopper is there, what you need to do to reset it and etc. this part is very painstaking and specific. almost as bad as straightening out bent pins.

Whats a hopper?

Im 26 and have been building systems since i was 14....never heard that one.
I think your talking about a jumper to reset the bios.

edit on 1/26/2014 by shaneslaughta because: (no reason given)

yes yes, the jumper. will correct my post. thanks!

shaneslaughta

another question, is it possible to test whether it's a graphics card issue by removing the graphics card entirely, and seeing if it will boot up with the onboard graphics card? does every machine have a basic graphics card automatically?

undo
shaneslaughta

another question, is it possible to test whether it's a graphics card issue by removing the graphics card entirely, and seeing if it will boot up with the onboard graphics card? does every machine have a basic graphics card automatically?

If it has onboard graphics, yes.

i have a few that dont have it. There are many variations of systems. some require dedicated graphics cards in the expansion slots some have them onboard.

Some serious over thinking going on here.

1. Take the monitor and plug it into another known good computer: if it doesn't work then replace it, if it works then see step 2..
2. Plug the computer into another known good monitor: if it doesn't work then replace it
3. Forget about web browser which is a software issue until hardware is fixed.

No reason to make it any more complex on the OP than that because suggesting they short a BIOS jumper or changing the thermal paste between the CPU and heat sink is really going overboard until you rule out the most obvious.

opethPA
Some serious over thinking going on here.

1. Take the monitor and plug it into another known good computer: if it doesn't work then replace it, if it works then see step 2..
2. Plug the computer into another known good monitor: if it doesn't work then replace it
3. Forget about web browser which is a software issue until hardware is fixed.

No reason to make it any more complex on the OP than that because suggesting they short a BIOS jumper or changing the thermal paste between the CPU and heat sink is really going overboard until you rule out the most obvious.

1. just try and access the menu of the monitor, if it displays its probably ok.
2. just check the lights on the tower and check for fans running. Listen for error beeps on power on to indicate faults.
Same goes for flashing keyboard lights.
3. i agree mostly, could be other issues i addressed earlier. save it for later.

I am leaning toward a power supply issue myself.

Its been a while since OP posted.

opethPA
Some serious over thinking going on here.

1. Take the monitor and plug it into another known good computer: if it doesn't work then replace it, if it works then see step 2..
2. Plug the computer into another known good monitor: if it doesn't work then replace it
3. Forget about web browser which is a software issue until hardware is fixed.

No reason to make it any more complex on the OP than that because suggesting they short a BIOS jumper or changing the thermal paste between the CPU and heat sink is really going overboard until you rule out the most obvious.

yeah only reason i went thru that description was, we had a similar computer problem where the power would come on but the monitor wouldn't show anything on it. we went thru every conceivable combination of changing monitors/computers, to no avail. so we started on the more indepth issues. the final solution was when we realized that during cleaning and replacing the cpu procressor into the motherboard, some of the pins had been bent, and that there was entirely too much thermal paste between the cpu fan and the cpu processor. this had the effect of the system overheating and games closing and things that required too much processing power failing.

opethPA
Some serious over thinking going on here.

1. Take the monitor and plug it into another known good computer: if it doesn't work then replace it, if it works then see step 2..
2. Plug the computer into another known good monitor: if it doesn't work then replace it
3. Forget about web browser which is a software issue until hardware is fixed.

No reason to make it any more complex on the OP than that because suggesting they short a BIOS jumper or changing the thermal paste between the CPU and heat sink is really going overboard until you rule out the most obvious.

I would definitely do these steps first before moving on to anything more complicated. Usually it's simple things that get overlooked, you may just have a bad monitor. And I'm sure the OP has no idea how to do some of the things posted.

undo
yeah only reason i went thru that description was, we had a similar computer problem where the power would come on but the monitor wouldn't show anything on it. we went thru every conceivable combination of changing monitors/computers, to no avail. so we started on the more indepth issues. the final solution was when we realized that during cleaning and replacing the cpu procressor into the motherboard, some of the pins had been bent, and that there was entirely too much thermal paste between the cpu fan and the cpu processor.

Yup and your post was actually a good read for someone that wants to learn more..Just like the ideas the Shane is posting but when triaging a problem be it a dying person or a spanning tree loop on a network always eliminate the obvious then go more complex.

reply to post by opethPA


Yup, i bought a tower at a yard sale a few years ago. The thing was months old, and ten bucks.

Took it home, no power on. Was the main power supply connector at the motherboard. Must have not been seated properly at the factory.

Score!

Little things first. Never overlook the little things.

opethPA

undo
yeah only reason i went thru that description was, we had a similar computer problem where the power would come on but the monitor wouldn't show anything on it. we went thru every conceivable combination of changing monitors/computers, to no avail. so we started on the more indepth issues. the final solution was when we realized that during cleaning and replacing the cpu procressor into the motherboard, some of the pins had been bent, and that there was entirely too much thermal paste between the cpu fan and the cpu processor.

Yup and your post was actually a good read for someone that wants to learn more..Just like the ideas the Shane is posting but when triaging a problem be it a dying person or a spanning tree loop on a network always start with layer 1 , eliminate the obvious then go more complex.

yeah that's where we started originally, after cleaning and it wouldn't turn on. we started with the idea the monitor or cord of monitor or power to monitor were damaged somehow. so we did the whole switcheroo, and blech, nothing. so next was to rethink the steps we took in cleaning and going thru every part of the machine other than the workings of the power supply. lol

took 3 weeks at christmas time to get it working. but now it's purring away in my son's room.

reply to post by XxNightAngelusxX


Do a system restore, which will restore your computer back to an earlier date.
On startup press and hold the F8 key in safe mode

This will work on pretty much all the older OS's, but doesn't work on Windows 8.

unb3k44n7
Do a system restore, which will restore your computer back to an earlier date.
On startup press and hold the F8 key in safe mode

Again..keep it simple which is troubleshooting 101.
Exactly how does a system restore help a hardware problem like the monitor or PC not powering up.
It doesn't and that is what the OP needs to fix first.

reply to post by opethPA

The op said the monitor wasn't registering the computers existence, which wouldn't be an indication of a hardware problem. And then she goes to say it won't turn on. Turn on how, by not being a black screen? or more literally not turning on by showing no indication of electricity running through it anymore? The OP needs to be more specific. it can only be one or the other.

But anyways, you help her then.

opethPA

unb3k44n7
Do a system restore, which will restore your computer back to an earlier date.
On startup press and hold the F8 key in safe mode

Again..keep it simple which is troubleshooting 101.
Exactly how does a system restore help a hardware problem like the monitor or PC not powering up.
It doesn't and that is what the OP needs to fix first.

in our case it wasnt the monitor or the monitor cord or the monitor power cord.
would think that's the issue and in most cases it probably is, but wasn't in ours. so after testing that, if no dice, the next steps are what, in your estimation? if the system turns on, doesn't beep, or only beeps once, but the monitor doesn't display, but still works on other computers, what would be the next step?

unb3k44n7
reply to post by opethPA

 

The op said the monitor wasn't registering the computers existence, which wouldn't be an indication of a hardware problem. And then she goes to say it won't turn on. Turn on how, by not being a black screen? or more literally not turning on by showing no indication of electricity running through it anymore? The OP needs to be more specific. it can only be one or the other.

But anyways, you help her then.

edit on 1/26/2014 by unb3k44n7 because: (no reason given)

DIdn't mean for it to come out the way it did.

We need more info from the user sure but again..She has two issues and the biggest one right now is the apparent hardware.. If she doesn't fix that then it's a moot point if she tries a system restore.

We need more info to better diagnose this over the web.

opethPA

unb3k44n7
reply to post by opethPA

 

The op said the monitor wasn't registering the computers existence, which wouldn't be an indication of a hardware problem. And then she goes to say it won't turn on. Turn on how, by not being a black screen? or more literally not turning on by showing no indication of electricity running through it anymore? The OP needs to be more specific. it can only be one or the other.

But anyways, you help her then.

edit on 1/26/2014 by unb3k44n7 because: (no reason given)

DIdn't mean for it to come out the way it did.

We need more info from the user sure but again..She has two issues and the biggest one right now is the apparent hardware.. If she doesn't fix that then it's a moot point if she tries a system restore.

We need more info to better diagnose this over the web.

she just said it won't turn on lol i dunno if that means no power at all or no monitor display.
that's the first thing we need to know.

reply to post by undo



exactly what I just said. but i dont know anything.

unb3k44n7
reply to post by undo

 

exactly what I just said. but i dont know anything.

edit on 1/26/2014 by unb3k44n7 because: (no reason given)

i'm agreein' with ya.

undo
in our case it wasnt the monitor or the monitor cord or the monitor power cord.
would think that's the issue and in most cases it probably is, but wasn't in ours. so after testing that, if no dice, the next steps are what, in your estimation? if the system turns on, doesn't beep, or only beeps once, but the monitor doesn't display, but still works on other computers, what would be the next step to look for?

Troubleshooting any problem, specifically hardware related , is always fun when you are trying to do it over the Internet or Phone and have no visibility on the items in question.

In your case you know it's specific to the computer. Plugging in a known good monitor to your video card or if you have a built in video card and it's your dedicated video card that has failed helps you quickly eliminate certain things.

1. Is their power and are all connections made? (binary testing is a quick way , are the major components on or off) A visual look through of the connectors takes a few seconds and the reality of it is while a computer looks complex on the inside their are really only 2-3 required connections (power to the MB and power to a HD) which can easily be traced from the power supply. If you really want to be scientific then use a multimeter. If nothing turns on but your MM shows power then check the connectors. Even if your MM doesn't show power check the connectors because maybe you are working on a machine with a modular power supply. If I had a machine that worked great and no longer detects a hard drive I'm not going to say "check the master or slave jumper" before saying "check to see if the molex or SATA or other connector is still plugged into the drive"

2. Okay their is power then move through the subsystems in a logical manner:
Video isn't displaying check the video card. Not the only thing that can prevent video but the logical place to start.

System blue screens a lot: swap the memory , certainly could be related to CPU or a billion other things which makes it harder to troubleshoot.

I hear a distinct clicking noise coming from the computer when I first turn it on: Check to make sure a wire isn't hitting one of the fans. Does it sound more mechanical , see if you can localize that sound to your HD.

My core temp meter is going insane with alerts??!?? Is your CPU fan on, has the heatsink come off, are all your fans blowing.

You can apply the OSI or TCP/IP Reference model to a computer or really any IT scenario and get through just about all problems. Start at layer 1 (Physical connections and the like) and move up from there with OS specific things being towards the end of your progression.

3. Please note I am not in anyway dismissing things like proper cooling, airflow, driver updates , OS patching, INFOSEC. 100% valid items to troubleshoot. After you eliminate the most important elements like power and connections these items should all be what you look at.

unb3k44n7
reply to post by undo

 

exactly what I just said. but i dont know anything.

edit on 1/26/2014 by unb3k44n7 because: (no reason given)

Not at all what I said in my response.
All I said was what good is telling the person to do a system restore if the monitor isn't turning on.