Okay, I really need help here!
About 2004 my parents bought *the_bane*, a Medion m3 Composer 5200. Medion is a German company that doesn't really sell many computers in the USA, but back then, they sold this expensive model. After a few years, it died. We took it to PC Club, and they said it was killed by bad wiring in the house. Then we moved to a different town. A few weeks ago, I decided to try to fix it. I bought a new motherboard (MS-7046) and installed it in the hope that it would work. It didn't; it did the exact same thing as before!

The symptoms: on pressing the power button, the comp powers up, boots, and gets a certain distance into booting Windows XP, then restarts. Then it gets a shorter distance in, then shorter, and pretty soon it is just turning on, then off, then on, then off. So, I bought a new CPU. But instead of doing anything, it heated the CPU more than usual and then turned off, without showing anything on the screen at all or beeping. When I removed the CPU, several of the little rectangles on the bottom had exploded! Then we got to where we are now. The old mobo does the same thing as ever - with either CPU - and the new one does nothing with either CPU.

The specs are: Windows XP Home, Pentium 4 HT 3.2 gHz, 256-512 MB RAM, and seldom any HDD or graphics used.

Please help me know - what can I try next? I cannot give up or just replace this computer; it must be fixed, this very one! And I know it can be done, someone just needs to figure out how! Especially Kerm and CVsoft, who I was talking to in the SAX, maybe you can help? I am losing sleep over this problem, it must somehow get resolved... please...

The work area:


The two mobos, old is one, new is the other:


The Medion itself:


The CPUs, the old on the left and new on the right:


The bottoms of the CPUs:

The degrading uptime sounds like a symptom of an overheating processor. Do you have a heatsink on the CPU and do you have enough thermal paste between it and the CPU?

Well... no. Bad workplace practice #1. No thermal paste, because it is so expensive I don't want to use it unless I thought it was permanent, and not usually a heatsink. Though I know a CPU can run a while without a cooler. Yes, it does sound like a symptom of an overheating processor, but remember it was doing that before I did anything/removed the heatsink, with the old CPU!

This is overheating.

I'm surprised that CPU works at all.

Putting CPUs on a rug is a fast way to destroy them with static electricity. You should always be grounded before/during handling them, don't touch the pins/pads, and put them down face-up or on antistatic materials.

You only need a short at the speed of around 100 volts to completely destroy an IC. To put this in perspective, static shocks that humans can feel run the range between 1,000 and 10,000 volts. By all means, clear those monitors off the desk and use that as your workspace. Hard, flat, wood is very antistatic. Plastics aren't as antistatic, but they don't build a charge nearly as fast as a rug.

As for the overheating issue, a lot of the time the thermal paste in between the heatsink and CPU can harden in older, well used computers. While this isn't always bad, it definitely reduces the effectiveness of the compound, and some pastes can even chip away at this point. Further, if you separate hardened thermal paste from a CPU, it pretty much makes what's left totally useless. It's no better than just securing a bare heatsink on the CPU afterwards. For what it's worth, thermal paste isn't that expensive. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

(Personal experience: I pulled the heatsink off of my laptop CPU a while ago. It went from running at 90 F to 130 F immediately afterwards, due to the hardened thermal paste. If the CPU didn't have internal temperature regulation / throttling, I'd have to replace the paste. I don't mind frequent throttles to 800MHz when watching videos on the bus though, so it's not worth the $10 and mess. It sounds like you really need some though.)

Yeah, that CPU on the right looks like it shouldn't work.

Watch out for hardened thermal paste, as Kaslai mentioned. Just because there's something on the chip or heatsink doesn't mean it works.

Bad workplace practice #2. I suppose I'll try to work off of the floor now. And, I got some thermal paste too.
Can anyone explain, though, why:
old cpu + old mobo = partial boot
old cpu + new mobo = no boot
new cpu + old mobo = partial boot
new cpu + new mobo = no boot ?
And, what do I do next - should I buy another CPU and just handle it better and use thermal paste? If that, then, which mobo would I put it in? And if not a new CPU because both mobos are dead, then what; could one be repaired, or could anyone even ascertain the problem?

Here is a question does the computer case have built in standoffs? If not are you using standoffs that really sounds like a short to me.

Are these parts super cheap or something? Why can't you just buy all new parts for a computer and call it a day?

Geekboy:
Well, I'm not using the case... It's just all the components sitting on a piece of wood on the floor, wired together if I'm testing it.

Kaslai:
No, unfortunately while most of the parts are cheap (like the cpu), the motherboard is not. It is a very rare motherboard, not currently available for sale anywhere on the internet. I got one on auction from England for 36 pounds, shipping factored in. So, I could get any component newly but the motherboard. To search for this mobo, all you need is "ms-7046 motherboard", that describes it amply, it seems.

You can use any motherboard with a compatible processor. Why are you trying to fix it with the exact same motherboard? Power and data cables are standardized for a reason.

Well, because it must be "The Medion" - it must be the exact same functioning computer, or it won't be "it". So, if there is a mobo with all the requirements fullfilled, I can consider it - but remember, my price range is stressed at $40, and, I would vastly prefer to repair one of the mobos I have anyway, for time, money, and personal satisfaction...

The requirements, in case you guys believe there is no hope for either mobo I've got, are: PCI Express, 4 DDR1 SDRAM slots, Pentium 4 HT 3.2 gHz or faster - but not newer - SATA, FDD, front facing USB, audio, firewire, and all forms of cards (like SD cards), and naturally fitting in the case properly. But I strongly wish to use one I have, or at least strongly hope my mobo from eBay isn't to no avail at all :,(

Say, does the computer have any special features that you absolutely need? Because otherwise you're honestly better off replacing it; it's too old to warrant spending any money on. Over here, people throw out computers like yours as scrap. You could probably find one just as good (or better) if you looked in a few dumpsters.

Svenne is right; I see P4s or better thrown out on the curb all the time. You can probably find yourself a motherboard and processor all the time for free. If you decide to buy a cheap new motherboard instead, keep in mind that they all come with faceplates for the back of the computer, so the ports will still fit.

I am sorry, but as I said in the first post, the final product must be precisely the same as the original Medion. It was bought by and for my dad, who isn't very tech-savvy, and dislikes using things that aren't The Medion.
Also, P4s are never thrown out here (Sweet Home, OR); one would be "lucky" to find a Pentium 1 computer.
So, if anyone here can sell me a mobo with included P4 HT 3.2 gHz or higher installed with it, that fits all the requirements above, I can pay $40 free shipping for it.

If he isn't tech savvy what's stopping from using any Mobo that works? He doesn't know how to take a look at the hardware configuration on the computer does he? It sounds like you're going to great lengths to fix a problem he won't even know if it is or isn't accurate. I applaud your (your dads?) eye for authenticity but not even restored cars have all original parts.

I think it's time you chalk a point to old technology and purchase a similar, and more available, Mobo.

Haha, he doesn't care what the motherboard looks like... what I meant was, I have looked for but not found a motherboard that fulfills all the requirements. So. If anyone can find or has one that actually fulfills all the requirements, for $40 or less, that comes with the CPU since I apparently am not good at installing those, I would love to know!

[Bump] Hi topic. Been a while, learned a lot in the meantime, about SATA and USB and motherboards. I see now how I could buy a new motherboard that isn't the exact "MS-7046".
But. Do you guys thing that the new $60 one I got last from England works? After sitting it on the carpet and putting a CPU in it without thermal paste? If so, I'd like to give it a last shot, with a new P4 HT 3.2 gHz CPU. Like this one? What do you guys think?

Caleb, I can mail you a Pentium 4 at 3 GHz. I make no guarantees that it will work, but there is no reason it won't (having come from a functioning computer). You'll need good thermal paste and you need to properly clean the heatsink with rubbing alcohol before installing. I've already cleaned the processor.

EDIT: some IRC chat.

Thank you, CVsoft! I'll get a letter about it sent on Monday, and definitely take you up on the offer.