# Computer does not start except loud fan...



## da2b2 (Nov 10, 2008)

Hi:

I bought a Dell Dimension 5150 PC (Processor Intel Pentium D 828 SL8CP) during June-06. Its been doing good and the only replacement i had was the power supply last year... 

Normally i keep my PC ON for days to gather... however, since last many months i felt that its making a loud noice, everytime when its been used for many hours... when i restart it it starts silently but then after a day or so it again start making that noise...

I was researching on such problem of noises, and i read that one should check if this is coming from processor fan or from hard disk - and that it can be possibly due to dust... So I thought i should give it a try and clean it up... 

I shutdown the PC, opened the box, and unscrew the heatsink on the processor... and i found thick dust layers... also as soon as the heat sink was out, i can also see the processor itself having quite a bit of dust... and has some sky-blue colored paste (similar to a wet paper).. so, i cleaned this all up... and also cleaned up the fan itself which was just near the heat sink (sidewise). I fixed everything as-is. I also confirmed that there is only one way to fix the processor in its socket (due to 2 notches it wont fix inside the socket any other way). 

Now comes the problem, i pushed the key, and the fan started, and it gets louder by time, but nothing is happening otherwise... i checked the keyboard lights - not initializing, monitor not getting any signals... Hard disk noise - none... 

Just to further check, i unscrew the heat sink and also got the processor out, and tries to start the pc - it started the fan this time, and the fan was so silent... which was not the case when it was blowing with the processor and heat sink in place.

i dont have any active warranty with Dell, so i am on my own. 

please help me fix this problem... any suggestions are welcomed...

Note... I am a tech guy (IT/software), and i have a laptop in addition to the problem desktop PC.

thanks - i appreciate any help.


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## Cokeman73 (Nov 9, 2008)

Going by your post.
The blue paste you removed is thermal paste. This is a must have. It goes between the cpu & heatsink. Without it you can fry the cpu.
First thing you need to do is get some it's fairly cheap. It takes very little. If your not comfortable doing it. You can spend a little more & get a new heatsink with it already on it.
After that is done, check all cables & make sure you didn't knock anything loose. Power on see what it does at that point.


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## da2b2 (Nov 10, 2008)

Thanks, I will work on this and get back.


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## da2b2 (Nov 10, 2008)

Ok, I tried this with no luck. However, now the fan is not making that much noise.. but there is no initialization (not even for keyboard.. no beep..just fan..); I have also checked all wires and they are tight enough. Do let me know what you think...

Here is the link for the image of my computer box...
http://picasaweb.google.com/joshigallery/ComputerBoxPhotos?authkey=KeZeNLbg-WM#5267248821047197906


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## stressfreesoul (Mar 17, 2008)

The fan will have slowly got louder as your PCs ambient internal temp got warmer. This is usually caused by dust and blocked venting. Once damage has occured from heat, it cannot be repaired.
From the complete lack of anything when you power up, it seems like one of the major components has died.
Dont try to turn it on again until you have bought and installed the thermal compound! Then....
Try resetting the CMOS (you do this by moving a jumper from pins 1-2 to 2-3, then back again after 20 seconds, you can usually find it near the battery that is mounted on the motherboard, make sure the PC is off at the power socket before doing this!)


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## da2b2 (Nov 10, 2008)

I tried resetting the CMOS as you instructed, still no luck, the computer is in same state. 

I have also read somewhere, that it was required to replace the power supply after cleaning up the PC... and also another place i found that if one attempts to run the CPU with the cooling paste for more than 10 secs, it can damage the processor... 

With this state of my PC, I agree with you in sense that one of the major component is OUT... could you tell me how can i check these components to be working... may be I can check somehow to confirm the working of power supply first, and if its running the problem persists in processor


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## da2b2 (Nov 10, 2008)

I am still awaiting for any further assistance/help detecting the problem...

thanks in advance.


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## grimx133 (Jan 15, 2008)

You can test your power supply with a multimeter. http://www.techsupportforum.com/f210/test-your-power-supply-with-a-multi-meter-151526.html 

If that is fine, then you should bench test your system. Should you get a post with just basic components, then you could start adding them in one at a time. All this is assuming that all connections are properly made. Just wiggling a wire and then figuring it's good really isn't. Every connection should be totally unplugged and carefully inserted fully. I'll edit in a link to linderman's bench test in a couple seconds.
http://www.techsupportforum.com/f255/how-to-bench-test-your-system-171424.html


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## wetbiker6 (Nov 14, 2008)

Check and make sure all pins on proc. are straight !!! If you have removed the cpu . chance are , you bent them .


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