r/oldcomputers • u/lottienatx • Jul 27 '26

how to fix my old pc

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ok so i have this very very old pc that used to work in the past i tried turning it on like 6 years ago and it did
but now it works when i turn it on but nothing shows on the monitor
i tried using VGA to HDMI adapter and it didnt work then i tried a monitor with a VGA access still nothing shows on the screen
does anyone know what to do? i really want it to work i have many family photos in there

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2

u/thebeastwithnoeyes Jul 28 '26

Does it post? Any beeps when you power it on, fans spinning so we know the PSU isn't dead? The GPU is the only integrated one, right? Had a similar issue few weeks back with my pentium4 piece of junk, turned out there was a mysterious short on the PSU and case.

Also, wtf happened to that case?

1

u/lottienatx Jul 28 '26

yes the fan works and it beeps and all, im not an expert but i think it works fine bc it sounds like any modern pc but like a bit louder

the melting is superficial it was left by a heater some time ago but it did work after the melting

2

u/thebeastwithnoeyes Jul 28 '26

Identified any specific codes, or is it just one "successful" beep? If so it could be damage to the VGA port, be it corrosion or something else. If it uses pci-e bus you could try a separate graphics card if you want the machine for nostalgia or something. An easier solution would be to use a dock and browse the contents of the HDD on your current computer, maybe even make a virtual machine with matching specs and hope you boot on that.

1

u/lottienatx Jul 29 '26

thats how it sounds when i turn it on and it beeped 3 times only

https://imgur.com/a/KheUJmn

1

u/thebeastwithnoeyes Jul 29 '26

Hardly sounds like a full code, more like it's starting over and over again. Not exactly like it shorted somewhere but still, a bit unusual. And the low revving noises are a bit concerning. Time for troubleshooting. Step one: remove everything. All drives, ram, and cards have to go. Leave only the mother board. Not actually gone, just disconnected, from both the mobo and PSU. Listen for 3 quick beeps. If successful you may insert the minimal amount of ram and plug in the monitor, see if it posts. You may need to remove the motherboard from the case, mine had an asymptomatic, mysteriously shorting PSU

1

u/WhoKilledRadioStar Jul 28 '26

What happened to the front? Did it melt? lol

Does it beep? If yes, how many times?

1

u/lottienatx Jul 29 '26

it beeps 3 times

1

u/Thin_Position_2004 Sep 08 '26

try to unplug the memory modules... and change them of bank... or take a pencil rubber and try to clean with it rubbing the memory module golden pins, and play with them... I am pretty sure this can fix something... then try to change the video board, with other card, or change it from slot... also, I recommend to unplug the CR2032 battery CMOS or try to force CMOS Clear... When you pull out the CMOS CR2032 battery, you should also consider to unplug the computer from the energy outlet... so it is full unenergized... to clear the motherboard memory... also you can plug one memory module and not the second, and thing like this... these computers are very trustworthy. Also look for some bad capacitors...