Many things can cause it to hang.  If it hangs about the same time,
no matter what program is running, then it is a good indicator of an
overheating problem.

Since your fan does not work, it sort of confirms the diagnosis.

Many ATX power switches have to be held down for at least
four seconds to turn off the computer (they are not really
on/off switches), and the action is actually controlled by
the motherboard.  So, if the mb is not working, then that
may explain the problem.  Software crashes usually respond
to the four-sceond push, but hardware crashes are another
thing.

Fix the fan ASAP, as you are probably harming the system by
overheating it.

Dean Kukral

----- Original Message -----
From: "Venkatesh Hemmige" <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 8:34 PM
Subject: [PCBUILD] System hangs


Hi all,

I have a problem with one of the Dell systems in my lab. When powered
on it works fine for a short time and then it just hangs. I noticed
that the system fan does not work. Could this be a cause of the
problem ? I also find that once the system hangs the power button will
not let me turn the system off and I have to 'pull the plug'. The
details are as follows:

Dell precision 610C,P-III - 733 Mhz,RAM - 256 MB

Thanks in advance

Venkatesh Hemmige

            Do you want to signoff PCBUILD or just change to
                    Digest mode - visit our web site:
                   http://freepctech.com/pcbuild.shtml