MrRalphMan Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Right, normally I'm pretty clued up on 'puters and can fix most things, but my PC has got me stumped. It will not start and doesn't even show the POST screens, I get nothing. Power to MB, all fans work. Tried resetting the BIOS by Taking the battery out for 30 secs. I have also tried via the jumper. All to no avail. When it powers on the optical drives do their checks ok, then the two SATA drives seem to click, almost spin up and then stop. The fan on the graphics card was a bit sluggish, but a quick blow soon sorted that out. Now I guess the Graphics Card could be melted, but it was fine when it was shut down last night. Any ideas? Cheers, Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 If you're not getting anything on screen it would seem to suggest graphics card, or fried motherboard. Do you have another graphics card you can use to test? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 Nope, which is a PITA.... I'll have to wait until I'm back in work tomorrow to see if I can 'borrow' something.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Paul, does your PC sound/look like its starting up? If it does, chances are the gfx card is fubard. Try another Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 Hiya Daman, Nope, it's not the normal start up, once everything is up and spinning then it's pretty quiet, apart from the disks having a half a**d try at spinning up. No beeps either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 No beeps when it normally beeps? Normally thats a failed motherboard. Take everything that is plugged into the motherboard out. Video card, modems etc, the lot! Except of couse the power supply and power button. If that fails (as in no beeps) swap the PSU out. If that fails then if you can try another cpu but that is a remote chance. Let me know how you get on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 No beeps makes me suspect PSU issues (We can assume the internal speaker is attached? and so mobo would make a sound if it's at fault). Get a voltmeter and check the feeds from the PSU. Sounds like the PSU isn't pumping out enough watts and when the draw is getting above a certain amount it's just giving up. I assume the fan in the PSU is working fine? (Sorry to contradict here Daman) I remember 2-3 beeps in quick succession from a mobo meant a grounding issue. But if we can assume no HW/SW upgrades/replacements have been made I doubt it's the BIOS or mobo itself unless someone's kicked the PC. Normally parts with moving parts (disks, fans, PSUs) will go first. Then memory. Then mobo (normally due to badly filtered PSU), then any other ancilliary cards most likely due to thermal envelope being exceeded. Does the PC have graphics built into the motherboard like some intel chipset? You could always take off the graphics card and attempt to get it to use that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 Thanks for the replies guys. 1) - PC used to make one beep before the POST showed up, at least I think so as it becomes so normal you don't notice it. 2) - All fans are spinning. PSU, Case, CPU, GPU although as I said the GPU fan was a little sluggish at first. 3) - The MB does not have integrated graphics, just the ol' faithful Nvidia 6600GT. I'll try disconnecting everything tonight and see how that goes. Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted December 16, 2008 Author Share Posted December 16, 2008 Ok, tried to remove everything. GPU. USB Adaptor Card. Power to the two SATA drives. Power to the two optical drives. Both memory sticks. All to no avail, still nothing. No further beeps, just one of the SATA drives having a little spin up for 1/4 of a second and idling down. All fans are on, when the optical drives are attached, they are checked upon boot, then I can eject and close them as normal. They also spin up if there is a disk in it. Could it be that the GPU is brown bread and stopping the POST prior to windows starting? If so, anyone got a spare card in the Essex area that I would be able to borrow? Cheers, Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashpoint Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Does it start in safe mode? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsween Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 the mrs is a guru and says Take out all the USB devices. If it starts, leave them out until the desktop is on the screen. If that doesnt work she has more ideas! PS this happened to her last month and still has to piss around with the USB devices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 Does it start in safe mode? It doesn't even get to POST, let alone windows... So nope.. the mrs is a guru and says If that doesnt work she has more ideas! PS this happened to her last month and still has to piss around with the USB devices I had everything disconnected at one point, including the GPU card, which seemed to make no difference. hopefully I'm getting a spare card to try out today, then it's new GPU time.. If that is the issue. Cheers, Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Skim read your reply. Removing the GPU made a difference? What kind of difference? What do you need, AGP or PCI E? Do you have any PCI slots on your motherboard? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 Skim read your reply. Removing the GPU made a difference? What kind of difference? What do you need, AGP or PCI E? Do you have any PCI slots on your motherboard? That should have read 'no' difference. I have borrowed a PCI Express card from work, but it has a strange adaptor for a multi monitor setup on it. I did plug it in and try, but still exactly the same.. I have noticed that the keyboard also does not light up when the computer starts either. Cannot change the capslock light either. I have tried putting a CD in the drive to see if it makes a difference (Bootable XP Pro), but it doesn't. Doesn't sound like a GPU issue. Maybe a PSU problem or a fatal MB issue. Bum bum bum Cheers, Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJButler Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 If it won't boot Windows that has got to be an improvement :d, I would try taking all the memory out and then try one stick of memory at a time, you could have a bad stick holding one of the CPU lines down and preventing normal operation. If nothing else work you can use it as an excuse to upgrade!!;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgeer Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 That happened to me once when I put a new DDR RAM card in, I took it back out and it fired up. It also worked if I took the old card out and put the new card in but not together even though they were supposed to be compatable. I have also had problems with a dvd/rw drive I fitted once, stopping it from booting up. I recommend losing your temper, freaking out and ripping all the components out from the motherboard and throwing it on a concrete floor extremely hard. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgeer Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 If it won't boot Windows that has got to be an improvement :d, I would try taking all the memory out and then try one stick of memory at a time, you could have a bad stick holding one of the CPU lines down and preventing normal operation. If nothing else work you can use it as an excuse to upgrade!!;) Doh! too slow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJButler Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Doh! too slow Both clocked at the same time, can't do better than that:Pling: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Maybe a PSU problem or a fatal MB issue. What chipset is it? Maybe have something you can use to test it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted December 17, 2008 Author Share Posted December 17, 2008 If it won't boot Windows that has got to be an improvement :d, I would try taking all the memory out and then try one stick of memory at a time, you could have a bad stick holding one of the CPU lines down and preventing normal operation. If nothing else work you can use it as an excuse to upgrade!!;) That happened to me once when I put a new DDR RAM card in, I took it back out and it fired up. It also worked if I took the old card out and put the new card in but not together even though they were supposed to be compatable. I have also had problems with a dvd/rw drive I fitted once, stopping it from booting up. I recommend losing your temper, freaking out and ripping all the components out from the motherboard and throwing it on a concrete floor extremely hard. Good luck. Thanks gents, no new hardware has gone in, so not that. Chucking it on the concrete sound like a good plan at the moment... grrr. What chipset is it? Maybe have something you can use to test it. What chipset are you talking about dude? *** Edit *** It's a A8N-SLI Deluxe MB with a AMD Slot 939 Athlon processor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 *checks for any 939's kicking about* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaveriK Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Microsoft, the FBI, Lord Jesus Christ and my mum warned about the worst virus ever...... As stated, try replacing the psu with minimal load and a different graphic card. But it really sounds like a cooked mother/chip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted December 18, 2008 Author Share Posted December 18, 2008 *checks for any 939's kicking about* Cheers.... Microsoft, the FBI, Lord Jesus Christ and my mum warned about the worst virus ever...... As stated, try replacing the psu with minimal load and a different graphic card. But it really sounds like a cooked mother/chip Yeah, I'm pretty much resigned to that fact now, but would be nice to know which one... or both. Tried reseating the processor, but made no difference... If the MB was fried, would the optical disks do some sort of check and the SATA drive make some noises? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaveriK Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Depends where the fault is,mine went with a simular fault a few months back (no bios screen etc). Got fed up and bought a new mb, proc and psu and used all the old bits. Took a hammer to the old mb etc to make me feel better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseys Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 Cheers.... Yeah, I'm pretty much resigned to that fact now, but would be nice to know which one... or both. Tried reseating the processor, but made no difference... If the MB was fried, would the optical disks do some sort of check and the SATA drive make some noises? yes, they should do a spin test when they receive power, regardless of if any interface is plugged in. I still think you need to get a voltmeter and test the connections from the PSU, then start plugging things in (mobo only), then drives/peripherals etc until you find a load it may/may not be comfortable with. Old AT/ATX PSUs were horrendous with their quality control. I haven't owned a desktop machine for ages so don't know if PSU quality has improved. Unless you pay top £££ I generally found you didn't get uber-quality on PSUs. If no joy accept the fact that the mobo is shafted. If you've really got the time, dismount the mobo, take the PSU out the case, connect both up and run it with the monitor plugged in (not on some carpet, but on a clean non-static surface). That will take out any possibility of bad grounding on the motherboard to the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.