could I have accidentally damaged some of these components that I touched with static electricity and I had to grasp the RAM sticks and video card using a cotton sock as my fingers were so sweaty - can this be the reason the PC isn't POST-ing?

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
If you disconnect the hard drives and floppy and try to start it up, do you get a picture? Are you able to get into the BIOS? Does it give you any beep codes?

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
If you don't get anything onscreen, have you made sure the cable connecting the video card to the monitor isn't loose?

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
Sweaty hands would be less likely to cause a buildup of static electricity than dry ones. You should still avoid touching metal parts of components because sweat and finger grease can cause corrosion over time. You wouldn't see the results immediately though.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
But you shouldn't have needed to pull the RAM out with a sock. The RAM should pop right out if you press the plastic holders at the ends of the slot.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
Did this computer ever produce beep codes from the speaker in the computer case? If it did, make sure you plugged the connector from the case speaker to the motherboard correctly.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
I see that you're going to be looking for a screw that might be shorting out the motherboard. Any stray piece of metal that is touching the motherboard where it shouldn't could cause a problem.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
Did you try to remove the processor from the motherboard? Installing a processor on an old style Athlon board was very tricky.

Originally Posted By K515 (28 SEP 2010 2:27am)
Are you saying that I might have corroded the components even though I was careful not to touch the gold strip that goes into the mobo slots by handling them these few times?

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
Did this computer ever produce beep codes from the speaker in the computer case? If it did, make sure you plugged the connector from the case speaker to the motherboard correctly.

I never heard any beep codes - this PC has no speakers attached to it.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
I see that you're going to be looking for a screw that might be shorting out the motherboard. Any stray piece of metal that is touching the motherboard where it shouldn't could cause a problem.

I'll check it out - I was looking for a screw, didn't realize that it could be ANY piece of metal - thanks for the tip, Jen!

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (25 SEP 2010 6:15pm)
Did you try to remove the processor from the motherboard? Installing a processor on an old style Athlon board was very tricky.

Didn't get that far yet - should I after I keep working on it (after getting the machine to do a POST this time)?

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (28 SEP 2010 5:36am)

That's the case speaker.
It should attach to the motherboard with the same type of small connector that the on/off button on the front of the computer case connects with. Check your motherboard manual to see exactly where it goes --

Originally Posted By K515 (28 SEP 2010 6:34pm)
About an hour ago when I plugged in the tower and fired it up, I heard a (1) long beep code, and I looked at the monitor next to the tower, which said onscreen "no signal." Then turning back to the PC, I discovered I didn't have the monitor connected to the video card b/c it had been removed from the computer. So I replaced it, fired up, no beep.

Then I tried to examine the back of the mobo to see if a piece of metal was touching the mobo and the back of the tower (part the mobo is screwed onto) and I discovered what looked like a large gold nut that seemed to be lodged between the mobo and the back of the case behind the mobo, it looked like it was touching the metal case as well as the rear of the mobo. I then removed a screw near this gold nut behind  the mobo (gold nut was right next to the screw), tried to dislodge the gold nut, but it wouldn't come out. I'm thinking that perhaps tomorrow I'm going to remove the mobo (while leaving all data ribbons connected) from the case to double check for any metal between the rear of the mobo and the case - looks like that gold nut may be shorting out the mobo, which may be why I'm not getting a POST upon fire up.

This gold nut was approx. 1/4 inch in diameter.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (29 SEP 2010 3:30am)

Let us know if it starts after you remove the nut.

And when I screw the mobo back into the case, I don't think it matters whether I use all 4 screws of only 2 diagonal screws to make it easier for me to attach, correct?

Originally Posted By InlandAZ (5 OCT 2010 3:58am)
ECS doesn't manufacture an HT1600 -- I'm guessing that's a reference to 1.6 GHz Hyper Threading Technology? It might be simpler to look up if you knew the socket type (for the CPU).

Originally Posted By InlandAZ (5 OCT 2010 3:58am)
You might ask them where you can identify the specific model type.  You're going to need to know it to connect the remote power on and HD led light.

Originally Posted By K515 (5 OCT 2010 5:52pm)

Originally Posted By InlandAZ (5 OCT 2010 3:58am)
ECS doesn't manufacture an HT1600 -- I'm guessing that's a reference to 1.6 GHz Hyper Threading Technology? It might be simpler to look up if you knew the socket type (for the CPU).

I think the heatsink is covering up the socket ID, so am thinking of removing the heatsink to ID the socket - will that be necessary?

Here are some pics of the heatsink -

[img]http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/KellySt10/My%20Practice%20PC/heatsink001.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd225/KellySt10/My%20Practice%20PC/heatsink002.jpg[/img]

- with heatsink lever released. What is the purpose of this lever?

Originally Posted By InlandAZ (5 OCT 2010 3:58am)
You might ask them where you can identify the specific model type.  You're going to need to know it to connect the remote power on and HD led light.

Will do this after I ID the socket - or can I ask them before ID-ing the socket?

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (6 OCT 2010 3:22am)
Once you remove the heat sink, it will probably have a mess of either old thermal compound or an old thermal pad that may be falling apart stuck to it.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (6 OCT 2010 3:22am)
You'll have to gently clean them both. My brother uses 90% isopropyl alcohol from the drug store.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (6 OCT 2010 3:22am)
You'll also need thermal compound to reapply when you put them back together. Make sure not to use too much. You only need a thin layer.
If you can figure out the model of the motherboard,

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (6 OCT 2010 7:56pm)
You may have etailID=381&

etailName=Feature&MenuID=24&LanID=9#Download-3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">***this one***.

Jenny, that looks exactly like the mobo in that practice tower! Good job in finding it for me - thanks! When I tried searching for it I couldn't find what you found - how did you find it?

Originally Posted By K515 (7 OCT 2010 12:48pm)

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (6 OCT 2010 7:56pm)
You may have etailID=381&

etailName=Feature&MenuID=24&LanID=9#Download-3" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">***this one***.

Jenny, that looks exactly like the mobo in that practice tower! Good job in finding it for me - thanks! When I tried searching for it I couldn't find what you found - how did you find it?

Also, why didn't you answer my questions (in my post immediately above yours) after I quoted you?

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (7 OCT 2010 8:26pm)

You mean about cleaning the processor? 90% alcohol evaporates faster and my brother likes it better. He uses a small piece of lint-free paper towel to wipe the bulk of the old thermal paste off, and then cleans any residue off with paper towel moistened with 90% isopropyl alcohol.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (7 OCT 2010 8:26pm)

As for removing the heat sink. It does not "flip over," it lifts up. But the old thermal paste/pad may have "glued" it to the processor by now.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (7 OCT 2010 8:26pm)

Messing with the processor is the trickiest part of assembling the computer. You might want to see if you can get it working before removing the processor. Now that you have the manual you can look up where the connectors from the front of the case go.

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (7 OCT 2010 8:26pm)

Undoing the lever that fastened the heat sink to the processor may already have cracked or otherwise compromised whatever thermal compound it was using. Without a good seal between processor and heat sink the computer will not start.

Originally Posted By K515 (8 OCT 2010 10:11pm)

We don't have isopropyl alcohol. We only have the ethyl alcohol. Do I have to run out and buy a whole bottle of isopropyl alcohol just to clean 1 heatsink from the mobo of 1 computer?

But the heatsink is already glued tight to the mobo - how do I get it off the mobo in the first place?

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (9 OCT 2010 6:37am)
"power the machine up for about 20 minutes to warm the compound up, then very carefully you should gently tap it back and forth, very very gently."

Originally Posted By K515 (9 OCT 2010 9:01pm)
you mean at this point, it will be completely safe to power up the computer and let it run for 20 minutes without any overheating (and therefore frying) the processor?  

Originally Posted By Jenny100 (9 OCT 2010 9:29pm)

Have you tried twisting the heat sink gently (while unlatched) to see if it will work loose?

I'm a Pharmacy Tech where I live, so I know about alcohol. There is NO difference which type of alcohol you use, because either one will do the job. It's the alcohol BASE content that removes the residual thermal paste..........the 99% alcohol will just evaporate quicker. If I were you, I would use the 70 % isopropyl stuff. That way, if you have to rub a bit to remove the leftover GUNK from the heat sink and cpu cover, it won't dry up right away.