WIndows 10 Getting an old computer running again.

mrmagoolew

New Member
Hello folks,

I'm trying to get an old computer running. Not that old, only about 4 years old. My hard drive crashed and I decided to go with an SSD. It is a new SSD and doesn't have any type of operating system on it yet. I would like to put Puppy Linux on the SSD. I took out the old HD and put in the new SSD. I tried turning it on, and the computer starts up, but the monitor keeps going to sleep. I'm not hearing any beeps either. I really don't know what I'm doing to tell the truth. I know I have to get the Linux program on the SSD but I have no idea how to get started. I think I have to put the Linux program on a USB drive but After that, I'm not sure what to do. If I put the USB drive in a slot, will it boot up from the USB drive? I'm kind of lost here but I don't have a lot of money to take the computer to a shop and let them get it going so I'm trying to do this on my own. I'm on a fixed income, SS, and I don't have the money to take this to a shop. Can anyone help me with this? I want to learn Linux and get away from Microsoft for the most part.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
If you don't get anything on the display when turning pc on then there is another issue somewhere. You can try resetting cmos. You'll need to follow this guide on how to install puppy linux.

 

mrmagoolew

New Member
If you don't get anything on the display when turning pc on then there is another issue somewhere. You can try resetting cmos. You'll need to follow this guide on how to install puppy linux.

Thank you for your reply. I'll change the battery for the CMOS and see if that makes any difference. I was using the computer one day and it just shut down. The hard drive wasn't making any noises out of the ordinary so I really don't know what happened to it and I figured it was probably the hard drive. It has been sitting for a couple of months, but I kept it plugged in the whole time. I also thought it might have been the video card, but I tried it on the built in card and the display comes up and then I tried the separate video card and it also comes up but says it is going to sleep after a few seconds so I don't think it's the video card. Also, it's an ASUS computer. Do you know off hand what key I have to press to get into the bios? I'm getting older and don't remember. Today is actually my birthday and I turned 69.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
It kind of sounds like its not getting the boot signal to start displaying on the monitor. This could be ram, or other hardware issue. You probably aren't hearing any beeps because there might not be a system speaker attached to the Fpanel on the motherboard. If it has 2 sticks or more of ram, try only using 1 stick and try different slots to see what happens.

Some sites say the F2 button others say its the del key to enter bios.

I would first check to make sure that there are no dust bunnies inside the cpu cooling fan. Then look at the onboard capacitors on the motherboard to make sure none are bulging or leaking.

Unfortunately, something like this may need to taken in and diagnosed by a repair shop.
 

beers

Moderator
Staff member
That sounds more like another component than the hard drive. Usually when a HDD fails you get weird prompts at boot or it defaults to a PXE boot sequence since it can't detect the drive.

Usually more PSU or MB related if it doesn't beep at all, assuming there's a built in speaker or you have one connected to the header.
but I tried it on the built in card and the display comes up
Does it actually give you any output, or is it just the monitor coming out of sleep mode?
 

mrmagoolew

New Member
OK, I tried reseating the processor, the ram and some of the cables, and I now have the screen that shows where I can get into the bios but nothing is happening when I hit the enter key or the F1 key as the screen says to do. I guess my next step is to wait and get the USB drives off eBay that I ordered and try to get Puppy Linux or another Linux on the USB drive. I guess that's my next step. Like I said, I'm lost here. I haven't messed with any computers since the Pentium 3 came out. I think that's probably at least 10 years ago. Am I on the right track with waiting on the USB drives or it there something else I should be looking at?
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Are you in the bios or just at the post screen where it says what key to enter bios? If you can post a picture of what you are actually looking at, it would help us to help you. But if you don't have the drive with linux on it already then there isn't much you can do until you get to that point. You'll have to change boot order to the USB device first so that it boots to the linux installation.
 

mrmagoolew

New Member
I was at the post screen up until this morning when I decided to put a brand new battery in the motherboard for the bios. I thought I should just go buy a new battery and put it in so that I wouldn't have to worry about changing the battery out after I got the computer going and possibly having to start over. Now, the computer is just coming up to the screen where the monitor stays on for a few seconds and then says it is going to sleep. I don't know if I did anything by changing the battery but I'm basically back to square one. I guess I did something wrong. I don't know. I almost feel like taking the whole computer apart and rebuilding it just to check all the connections. I might be better off just building a new computer in the old case but I don't know enough about building them what with all the new boards, processors and etc..
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Ok stupid question here. Does this pc have onboard video and a dedicated video card and you are attached to the wrong port? The dedicated card will override the onboard video so make sure you are attached to the correct port.
 

mrmagoolew

New Member
It has both, and I've tried using both. It doesn't make any difference as far as I can tell. It does the same thing as it did before only this time it's not even coming up to the point where I can press F1 to get into the bios. I also tried putting the old HD back in it and it does the same. It only starts up for a few seconds now and then the monitor says that it is going to sleep.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Remove the dedicated video card from the system, connect monitor to the onboard video port. Then boot up and see what happens. If it works then seems there is something wrong with the dedicated video card.
 

mrmagoolew

New Member
Yes, that's what it was. It came up to the bios screen as soon as I started it and hit F1. Now all I have to do is wait for the USB drives to get here.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
Whats the model of the dedicated video card? Does it require a power connector from the power supply?
 

mrmagoolew

New Member
Whats the model of the dedicated video card? Does it require a power connector from the power supply?
It's an ASUS card, but there are a lot of different numbers on it so I don't know what the model number is. It might be CM6830-06. There is also another paper sticker on it that says ENGT520 Silent on it. It doesn't have a separate power connection. It just plugs into the board in the slot. I don't see anything on the top of the card because there is a big heat sink on the top.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
What you have is a gt520. The CM6830-06 is the model of your pc which is an Asus Essentio

I would suspect that there is an issue with the video card or slot.
 

mrmagoolew

New Member
What you have is a gt520. The CM6830-06 is the model of your pc which is an Asus Essentio

I would suspect that there is an issue with the video card or slot.
Is that a generally OK video card? Maybe if I try re-seating the card in the slot it would work. I guess ASUS put it in there because it would have been better than the built in video though. That's what I would think any way. So now, It's just a matter of me getting the USB drives and getting some sort of Linux on it and trying to install it. One thing I never noticed about the ASUS card until just now is that it has an HDMI connector. I guess that's for HDMI out.
 

johnb35

Administrator
Staff member
The GT520 is a very old card at this point. You said in the first post that your pc is only about 4 years old, unfortunately its older than that probably about 11 years old now. That Asus computer came with Windows 7 and I7 920 cpu. As long as the onboard video still works and you won't be gaming then you should be fine.

There should be dvi, hdmi and vga outputs on that card.
 

mrmagoolew

New Member
I didn't think the computer was that old. I bought it new at Best Buy. I guess time flies when your having fun as they say. Just have to wait for the USB sticks and see what happens next. I'm sure I'll probably need help when they come. I'll be in touch.
 
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