Homer Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 My PC just turned itself off and now won't start up. Screen is blank and HDD's are not turning on. The Power, cpu, chassis and GFX fans are all working and the light on the motherboard and GFX card are on. It's got two sticks of memory, tried swapping those around and starting with either one in the first slot but same result... Everything looks to be hooked up correctly and its been left to cool. Is this a graphics card fault? Any chance it could be a fried motherboard or CPU? ANy ideas? I stupidly gave away my old graphics card so don't have one to test it with. What a pita, really can't afford to be buying new pc parts at the moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallshinyant Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 have you tried taking out all the memory. You should still get to the bios post screen on most motherboards. A graphics card error will normally be accompanied by a few beeps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted May 7, 2010 Author Share Posted May 7, 2010 Tried it with no memory but it's the same. No display. There's no chassis speaker, but there also no beeps over the external speakers. It's a Gigabyte P35C-DS3R motherboard. The manual doesn't mention any audiable warnings, but the troubleshoting guide suggests CPU or GFX card Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 Sounds like GFX card, Motherboard or CPU. Do you get any beeps at all? If not take out the GFX card and CPU one at a time and see if you do. Your PC will still boot just fine without a gfx card, I used to run my PC without one via remote desktop. The CPU being missing will give an instant beep from the motherboard. CPU out - Motherboard beeps and tries to work would tend to point to a CPU fault GFX Card Out - PC Boots would definitely say GFX card at fault CPU & GFX Card & Memory out - If you get nothing the board is fooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted May 7, 2010 Author Share Posted May 7, 2010 Thanks Scott. Would the beeps come through the external speakers or do I need a chassis one hooked up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallshinyant Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 chassis one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted May 7, 2010 Author Share Posted May 7, 2010 Damn, don't have one of those I'll try and buy one tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallshinyant Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 For when you manage to get a speaker connected. these are the fault finding beeps for your board. 1 short: System boots successfully 2 short: CMOS setting error 1 long, 1 short: Memory or motherboard error 1 long, 2 short: Monitor or graphics card error 1 long, 3 short: Keyboard error 1 long, 9 short: BIOS ROM error Continuous long beeps: Graphics card not inserted properly Continuous short beeps: Power error p.s. you can just use any old(little) speaker if you have a way of connecting the wires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted May 7, 2010 Author Share Posted May 7, 2010 Excellent info, thanks a lot mate I'll have a dig around in the loft tomorrow if the local stores don't have anything, there's got to be a speaker somewhere, some of the parts in my PC storage boxes date back to 486 days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pixelfill Posted May 7, 2010 Share Posted May 7, 2010 Damn, don't have one of those I'll try and buy one tomorrow Maplin do a small motherboard testing set which includes a speaker, power switch and some leds. http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=98842 Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted May 7, 2010 Author Share Posted May 7, 2010 Thanks Mike, Maplins is my first point of call tomorrow so will see if they have one Does anyone have an idea of the Impedance (OHMs), voltage and watt output a normal chassis speaker should be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Konrad Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 I would put my first bet on CPU, then memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallshinyant Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 Thanks Mike, Maplins is my first point of call tomorrow so will see if they have one Does anyone have an idea of the Impedance (OHMs), voltage and watt output a normal chassis speaker should be? Sorry, i cant remember for sure, im thinking 8Ohms, but that could be a random thought. I dont think they have ever got round to changing the spec on them so one from an old 486 should be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 We used to have this. No HDD activity but with some beeps from the error thing. We never did get it sorted so bought a new PC. If you find out what it is I'd love to know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 Same Mobo as me i only scan read everything but have you removed the bios battery to clear the bios of any none standard settings? its like a flat watch battery remove it for 5 minutes or so and pop back in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 I had this issue with an old MB. Everything was up and active on the MB (PSU Fan, MB Fan etc), but no BIOS or HD activity. Turned out to be the PSU in the end, which I found out after buying a new MB bundle.. DOH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted May 8, 2010 Author Share Posted May 8, 2010 Finally sourced a speaker today. There's no beeps at all! Could this be a power issue? Some of the power is clearly working as all the fans and GFX card have power, but there is no disk activity and the DVD writer won't open. The power supply is a OCZ 600 watt unit and still under warranty. but have you removed the bios battery to clear the bios of any none standard settings? its like a flat watch battery remove it for 5 minutes or so and pop back in Yep, tried that already mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallshinyant Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 unplug everything from the board (cpu/graphics/ram/power/etc..). then replug in just the power source, power button connection and speaker. try turning it on. with luck you should get a load of beeps. then plug one thing back in at a time until fault re-appears. if its power pack, have you got a multimeter to hand? you could check voltages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRalphMan Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 Could this be a power issue? Maybe... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted May 8, 2010 Author Share Posted May 8, 2010 unplug everything from the board (cpu/graphics/ram/power/etc..). then replug in just the power source, power button connection and speaker. try turning it on. with luck you should get a load of beeps. then plug one thing back in at a time until fault re-appears. if its power pack, have you got a multimeter to hand? you could check voltages. Okay, removed everything you mentioned (except the main power connector on the board), still no beeps. I have a multimeter, do you know which pins on the main motherboard power connector should be checked? Edit, btw this is the "speaker" i'm using, got a feeling it might not be correct as it doesn't look very speaker like Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallshinyant Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 lol.. where did you find that speaker?.. it should work ok though. if you want to test it, it just needs a voltage applied. 5Volts but you could probably get it to squeek from a 1.5volt battery to test below is the outputs for your supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted May 8, 2010 Author Share Posted May 8, 2010 I went to a 8 places today to try and find a speaker (took all afternoon, even maplins don't have anything!), finally found that one in an old PC case (never used) I'd forgotten about. Thanks again for the help, much appreciated. I'll check the voltages tomorrow (had enough of messing with it today!) Just wish I had more money to just upgrade the lot, but that's not an option right now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 Something is failing & normally the only way to tell is with the system bleeps. I wouldn't stress over it too much Darryl, once you get that speaker connected you will find the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted May 8, 2010 Share Posted May 8, 2010 Have you taken everything off of the motherboard? If there are no beeps with no processor, gfx card and memory then it points to the motherboard or the PSU. The PSU is the least likely candidate but it can happen. Easiest way to rule that out is borrow one and try it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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