Problem, computer won't boot, or even post. (1 Viewer)

[brentl]

I'm a little stumped here.

My sisters computer won't even post, no beeps, and the only light that comes on is the reset light on the front of the case.

she can not get the burner drive to open.

She also gets a no signal on her monitor

I was thinking one of three things

MOBO
bad stick of ram
or
bad power supply

I thought MOBO because if the no signal thing .....video is built in.

power supply because of the burner not opening.

I've ruled out the battery , that was replaced and the mobo was reset, didn't do a thing.

How far would I get into post without a good stick of RAM??

Mother board is a Gigabyte Mainboard GA-8S661FXM.

I'm not going to run by her place, we aren't close, and it's good if she learns SOMETHING about computers.

Thanks for the help

Brent

 

[Bob_C]

I would bet that the power supply is the issue. I had a similar problem with a pc and went through the same train of thought that you have and found that when I replaced the PS it worked fine. Of course, I have been wrong about computers many times before. :b

 

[Mike_J_Potter]

If you think the ram is bad, pull the memory out and try to boot it. If the ram is bad the pc will then post and give you a error code. Most motherboards will beep constantly if there is no ram on board. Otherwise I agree with the power supply diagnosis, not to mention it is cheaper and easier to replace a Power supply then a motherboard, and if the problem presists and it turns out to be the board, you can return the power supply.

 

[Paul Padilla]

Definitely sounds like the power supply but it could still be the motherboard. Pressing the power switch on any machine less than 7 or 8 years old actually makes the motherboard send a signal to the PS itself to fire up...it isn't a true on/off switch. So no fan activity doesn't necessarily mean anything either just yet.

It won't hurt to take Mike's suggestion. Basic troubleshooting. Remove or disconnect one component at a time (RAM one stick at a time, cards, if any, hard drive, floppy drive, CD ROM, etc.) and then see if the machine responds each time. Once you've removed everything but the CPU, motherboard and power supply, try a new power supply. If it still won't fire up then it's most likely the motherboard, but do that test with only the most basic components...motherboard, CPU, and RAM. The fewer components in the chain the easier it is to pinpoint what's going on. If you get some action, then reverse the process. Add each component one at a time and test. It sounds a little anal but it's the best way to ensure step by step that everything is in good shape.

Unless the RAM is severely fried it won't typically cause that kind of behavior. In that case, chances would be high that the motherboard itself was fried as well and possibly other components. One customer I had at my previous job suffered a power supply going bad which took out everything. Motherboard, ram, cpu, modem, and even the hard drive itself. Luckily there wasn't any critical data on the drive, but you can see that a severe spike coming from the power supply can do a lot of damage.

Good Luck Brent.

 

[Ken Chan]

How long has it been since the computer was last working? I had a similar problem with a system that I hadn't used in over a week. The power light and CPU fan were on, but no POST and no video. It might have been hard drive "stiction". With the power off, I opened the case, wiggled the cables, and gently knocked on the drives. I did this a few times, and it came on.

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Rethinking this, if a part (like a CD ROM Drive) went bad, the power supply's connector cable would send a 'fault' signal back to the power supply, and it would shut itself off.

Pull the power cable going to that first. Good luck.

Glenn

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I've seen this happen with motherboards that made contact with the case and grounded out.

Good questions starting with what was suggested above:

When's the last time it worked?

What, if anything, changed at around the time it failed? Any new ocmponents added? Any work at all done under the hood? (If so, I'd suspect a component or cable got knocked loose, MOBO bent or pushed out of position, power connectors loosened, you name it.)

While the "one thing at a time" rule is a good one, I'd be inclined to do a quick and dirty "pull all the RAM" and try to boot because that will immediately tell you if you're on the right track and then you can test the sticks one by one. If nothing changes you can elimnate the RAM and move on.

Regards,

Joe

 

[brentl]

Thanks guys

The computer is about 18 months old so I doubt it's the burner, overall they tend to be pretty reliable. Damn, I sold my old computer to a friend and the 4-4-24 writer still works great.

I'll start with the power supply, I think I've got one sitting around here somewhere.

Oh , the computer is used daily.

Brent

 

[brentl]

Well folks, it's been a couple of weeks, and here's what happened.

Pulled ram and tried to boot .... nothing

put in working video card .... nothing

did another new battery .... nothing

replaced the power supply .... nothing

tried booting with nothing but the floppy hooked up(not even IDEs) .... nothing

I still can't get the burner to open, I get no beeps, motherboard does boot the PS though.

Anything I missed ??

Is it worth trying the HD in my computer?? I just hate the extra work of taking my computer apart, changing the jumpers blah blah!

Brent

 

[Todd H]

I had the same problem about a year ago. It turned out an alarming number of capacitors on my motherboard were bad. For more info click here .

 

[StevenFC]

Gotta be the CPU or MB. Possibly the ROM chip. Plug all your components into a known working PC to eliminate them. If you get down to the motherboard, you know it's something on the MB or the CPU. You might try a multimeter to check your devices before you plug them in to a different machine to see if the device is dead or not. Doesn't sound like a HD problem.

One piece of advice before you do any of that--short out the CMOS jumper to clear the CMOS and see if that works. Good luck.

 

[Diallo B]

that has to be the motherboard. i would take it out (along with cpu and fan heatsink assembly connected) and put it into a different case (with a dif. power supply and diff. ram ONLY!) to be sure that it is not grounding out.

If it still didn't work i would try a diff. cpu that you know is working. if it is still a no go you know that you have a bad mobo.