E-Machine Headache

[Omega72]

I just got another machine to work on for a friend. It's an E-Machine EL1200 that suffering from a Jekyll and Hyde Complex is the only way I could put this issue.

It boots up fine and other days it just locks up. Another computer shop in town changed the memory and it still had the same issue.

I did an test on the HD and memory and that came back good, ran spyware and antivirus with nothing found.

Anybody else have any idea's on what the issue could be at this point?

[Trace]

Heat issues, possibly?  I just had a scare with a laptop that locked up, lost its backlight temporarily, and couldn't boot because its internal fan had gotten stuck and it was overheating...

[Omega72]

Heat issues, possibly?  I just had a scare with a laptop that locked up, lost its backlight temporarily, and couldn't boot because its internal fan had gotten stuck and it was overheating...

Sounds like a possibility, but I didn't notice much dust in the machine when I opened it up. The PS fan is so tiny, I think it might be a 20-40 mm.  If it is a heat issue, there isn't much room at all to add a secondary fan. This is the problem with these machines I've noticed, cheap price but not much thought on possible adding onto them.

[TheZookie007]

Three other things to check for that could cause these symptoms:

Voltage regulation on the fan.

Poor connection between the heat sink and the processor.

Underpowered power supply in the PC.

Bottom line of it though is that eMachines's products suck rocks. Cheap and not-so-cheerful. Best and final solution would be to return the machine and buy a more reliable one, from anyone but eMachines.

[DruulEmpire]

My own eMachine lost power just as I reached the conclusion of Zook's post -- perhaps out of a sense of self-preservation, but a very poorly played one, I must say.   Something new for me to consider ...