Question Fixing an old PC

[NightShade_7]

The previous weekend i was bored and decided to tinker with one of the relics in my basement. I found an old PC that was previously used for surveillance recording. When i set it up after careful cleaning all i got was red lines on a black screen.

I then removed the DVR card, reset the CMOS and finally it reached the BIOS, but things only got trickier. Those lines remained and it was either not detecting keyboard input at all or accepted an input almost 2 mins later.

The CPU doesnt seem to be heating. My guess is that the onboard GPU is a goner.
The cutting edge specs of this PC are

Processor: Intel Pentium E5200 @2.5GHz
Motherboard: Mercury PNMCP73V
Graphics: Onboard GeForce 7050
RAM: 2x 1 GB DDR2 667 MHz (Single Channel)

Thought I could get it running again but couldnt. Any suggestions?

 

[helpstar]

disconnect the hard drive and have a look

run a RAM check with memtest.org usb autoinstaller or burn it to a CD

replace the CMOS battery

 

[geofelt]

If you can see the bios screen, I think the red lines are more of a monitor problem.
Any graphics adapter will have a low res default mode that lets you boot and install the appropriate graphics driver to get full resolution.

As to not recognizing a keyboard or mouse, look to the attachment.
Are you using a usb device or a ps/2 port?

 

[NightShade_7]

If you can see the bios screen, I think the red lines are more of a monitor problem.
Any graphics adapter will have a low res default mode that lets you boot and install the appropriate graphics driver to get full resolution.

As to not recognizing a keyboard or mouse, look to the attachment.
Are you using a usb device or a ps/2 port?

I thought it was a monitor problem initially too, i tested it with two monitors, one Samsung LCD (my current pc) and a ye olde CRT from Acer which was in working condition. But the lines (the lines shifted between red, green and blue each boot, not in any order) were visible on both monitors. The keyboard used is a USB port. I looked around but couldnt find a functioning PS/2 keyboard.

The keyboard wasnt totally ignored tho. Pressing F1 took me to the BIOS after a very long delay,if one of the multiple presses registered that is.....and the numlock, caps lock keys werent responding.

 

[geofelt]

As I read the motherboard specs, I see only a Dsub output.
Have you tried a different monitor cable?
Is there possibly a source of magnetic interference nearby?
Old crt units had a magnetic filter on the power cord.
Can you try a different power cord to the monitor?

You may in your parts bin have a green ps/2 to usb adapter.

 

[dorsai]

I'd replace the BIOS battery...before doing anything else.

 

[geofelt]

A cr2032 bios battery is cheap.
Nothing wrong with replacing one.
But, it is only used to preserve bios settings across power off or power loss situations.
That is not likely to be the solution.

 

[NightShade_7]

A faulty CMOS battery is among the laundry list of problems but im not sure if it would solve the display issue. Here are some pics.

https://ibb.co/5LQ5KHj

IMG-20191111-202539 hosted at ImgBB

Image IMG-20191111-202539 in Nightshade-7's images album

ibb.co

https://ibb.co/dDFS1Ny