I left my 8886 on this morning and came back a few minutes later to find it off. This in and of itself isn't surprising - the PC has shut off on its own a few times in the past, though I don't know whether it was a power outage, heat, or some other issue.
Except that this time, the thing would not come back on. Worryingly, I also noticed that none of the LEDs were on - and these LEDs usually at least indicate that the power is connected. I figured my power supply had gone bad, but its led was on and it was supplying current, as my tongue can tell you.
Then I noticed the familiar smell of fried components. I quickly took the PC apart, fearing that maybe my CPU had finally succumbed to heat. Thankfully, this wasn't the case. It looked fine. I did notice, however, that another small chip under the heatsink was clearly crispy. Take a look:
The fried IC is towards the bottom of the image. Its marked PQ51 on the board.
Anyway, so here are my questions. I hope you all can help.
1) Does anyone know what this chip is? Is it related to the USB ports (it is on a trace between the power input and the USB ports). Is it a commonly-available chip?
2) Does anyone know where to find a schematic of the board? I'd like to try to replace the chip, if possible (don't tell me this is a Bad Idea. I know that already - but I can't really make it WORSE).
3) Are replacement 8886 motherboards available?
4) Any other advice at this point?
Plan A is to attempt to replace or remove the problematic chip and continue to use the PC - Plan B is to get a new motherboard. I suspect, though, that Plan B will be no cheaper than getting the few parts I would need to build a desktop PC instead, using the CPU from the SAGER. My 8886 has become exclusively a desktop PC over the past few months, so if a new system is required, it will be a desktop. I'd like to save the SAGER if I can, since it is still, 2 years later, a kick-butt system. Any advice on how to do that would be greatly appreciated.
Except that this time, the thing would not come back on. Worryingly, I also noticed that none of the LEDs were on - and these LEDs usually at least indicate that the power is connected. I figured my power supply had gone bad, but its led was on and it was supplying current, as my tongue can tell you.
Then I noticed the familiar smell of fried components. I quickly took the PC apart, fearing that maybe my CPU had finally succumbed to heat. Thankfully, this wasn't the case. It looked fine. I did notice, however, that another small chip under the heatsink was clearly crispy. Take a look:
The fried IC is towards the bottom of the image. Its marked PQ51 on the board.
Anyway, so here are my questions. I hope you all can help.
1) Does anyone know what this chip is? Is it related to the USB ports (it is on a trace between the power input and the USB ports). Is it a commonly-available chip?
2) Does anyone know where to find a schematic of the board? I'd like to try to replace the chip, if possible (don't tell me this is a Bad Idea. I know that already - but I can't really make it WORSE).
3) Are replacement 8886 motherboards available?
4) Any other advice at this point?
Plan A is to attempt to replace or remove the problematic chip and continue to use the PC - Plan B is to get a new motherboard. I suspect, though, that Plan B will be no cheaper than getting the few parts I would need to build a desktop PC instead, using the CPU from the SAGER. My 8886 has become exclusively a desktop PC over the past few months, so if a new system is required, it will be a desktop. I'd like to save the SAGER if I can, since it is still, 2 years later, a kick-butt system. Any advice on how to do that would be greatly appreciated.
