[Cerebral Ailment]

Greetings,

I just got a computer from a friend for a very reasonable price. The problem was that one day his computer just stopped working. It shut off and it wouldn't start back up. I had a similar problem with my old computer (I chucked it out the window - it decided to crap the bed at a really bad time). But I kept everything that was usable.

Everything is thought to work. I've got all my good parts with all of his good parts and I just don't know whats up. I think it might be something wrong with his power supply, cpu or the ram or the mobo *HOPE NOT*.

What happens is this, When I hit the power, the fans light up and start spinning.
-Fan on Power Supply Works
-Fans on Cases Work
-Fan on Video Card Works
-Fan on the CPU Works

Basicaly what happens is the fans turn, but nothing comes up. The Monitor doesn't show BIOS or a boot screen or nothing. Just stays like it didn't have anything connected to it. It doesn't even sound like my hard drive is BOOTING UP. ALSO, the DVD RW & the CD RW don't have power to them.

So far, what I think might be the problem is the CMOS Battery could be old (I've Removed it & Jumped the CMOS but still no BIOS). So tomorrow I'm going to go get a new battery.

Also, I hear that the heat gel or w/e is on the processor and connects the the heat sinc may be old & not working properly, causing the processor to shut down immediately. so I've taken off the processor and cleand the old heat goop off with a little alcohol and tomorrow I'm going to pick some up at the hardware store or Radio Shack w/e is more convenient and replace it.

But, for some reason my gut tells me its neither of these things. I just feel like I'm doomed.

Can anyone out there help me?

Off the top of my head this is what I know for specs.

* 3 Sticks, 3200 Ram OCZ 1G Each GOLD EDITION
1 nVidia 512MB PCI 16X Graphics Card
Intergrated Sound
A8R-MVP Mother Board
500Watt Power Supply (Can't remember the name but I've got 2 of them)
DVD-RW
CD-RW
AMD - Duo Core Processors (2g x 2)
300GB SATA hard drive.
*



Please, Any help will be greatly appreciated. I can't wait to have a computer at my house again.

Thanks for reading,
Cerebral Ailment

[Advertisements]

Greetings,

I just got a computer from a friend for a very reasonable price. The problem was that one day his computer just stopped working. It shut off and it wouldn't start back up. I had a similar problem with my old computer (I chucked it out the window - it decided to crap the bed at a really bad time). But I kept everything that was usable.

Everything is thought to work. I've got all my good parts with all of his good parts and I just don't know whats up. I think it might be something wrong with his power supply, cpu or the ram or the mobo *HOPE NOT*.

What happens is this, When I hit the power, the fans light up and start spinning.
-Fan on Power Supply Works
-Fans on Cases Work
-Fan on Video Card Works
-Fan on the CPU Works

Basicaly what happens is the fans turn, but nothing comes up. The Monitor doesn't show BIOS or a boot screen or nothing. Just stays like it didn't have anything connected to it. It doesn't even sound like my hard drive is BOOTING UP. ALSO, the DVD RW & the CD RW don't have power to them.

So far, what I think might be the problem is the CMOS Battery could be old (I've Removed it & Jumped the CMOS but still no BIOS). So tomorrow I'm going to go get a new battery.

Also, I hear that the heat gel or w/e is on the processor and connects the the heat sinc may be old & not working properly, causing the processor to shut down immediately. so I've taken off the processor and cleand the old heat goop off with a little alcohol and tomorrow I'm going to pick some up at the hardware store or Radio Shack w/e is more convenient and replace it.

But, for some reason my gut tells me its neither of these things. I just feel like I'm doomed.

Can anyone out there help me?

Off the top of my head this is what I know for specs.

* 3 Sticks, 3200 Ram OCZ 1G Each GOLD EDITION
1 nVidia 512MB PCI 16X Graphics Card
Intergrated Sound
A8R-MVP Mother Board
500Watt Power Supply (Can't remember the name but I've got 2 of them)
DVD-RW
CD-RW
AMD - Duo Core Processors (2g x 2)
300GB SATA hard drive.
*



Please, Any help will be greatly appreciated. I can't wait to have a computer at my house again.

Thanks for reading,
Cerebral Ailment

Do everything you mentioned above. You are testing the right things first. After that, do you have a PC speaker? Meaning the little speaker that plugs into the motherboard. Not speakers that plug into your sound ports on the back (see my link below for what one looks like). Most motherboards will emit some sort of beep code (i.e. long short short short, or short long short, or three short three long things like that). These will tell you at what stage the POST is failing even if there is no video output. If you don't have one, get one, they are usually cheap, a few dollars or euros. There will be a place to plug it in on the motherboard at the bottom right of the board, that section of pins that have multicolored bases, one of those colors corresponds to the PC Speaker output (check your motherboard manual for more info). Also, try reseating your Video card, it may have come slightly loose.

Here is an example of a PC Speaker, notice the plug this is a pc speaker plug. Also I don't know what the HECK they did to that wire, but the wires SHOULD NOT look like that . THis should be easily available at RadioShack.
Pc Speaker

[PedroDaGR8]

Greetings,

I just got a computer from a friend for a very reasonable price. The problem was that one day his computer just stopped working. It shut off and it wouldn't start back up. I had a similar problem with my old computer (I chucked it out the window - it decided to crap the bed at a really bad time). But I kept everything that was usable.

Everything is thought to work. I've got all my good parts with all of his good parts and I just don't know whats up. I think it might be something wrong with his power supply, cpu or the ram or the mobo *HOPE NOT*.

What happens is this, When I hit the power, the fans light up and start spinning.
-Fan on Power Supply Works
-Fans on Cases Work
-Fan on Video Card Works
-Fan on the CPU Works

Basicaly what happens is the fans turn, but nothing comes up. The Monitor doesn't show BIOS or a boot screen or nothing. Just stays like it didn't have anything connected to it. It doesn't even sound like my hard drive is BOOTING UP. ALSO, the DVD RW & the CD RW don't have power to them.

So far, what I think might be the problem is the CMOS Battery could be old (I've Removed it & Jumped the CMOS but still no BIOS). So tomorrow I'm going to go get a new battery.

Also, I hear that the heat gel or w/e is on the processor and connects the the heat sinc may be old & not working properly, causing the processor to shut down immediately. so I've taken off the processor and cleand the old heat goop off with a little alcohol and tomorrow I'm going to pick some up at the hardware store or Radio Shack w/e is more convenient and replace it.

But, for some reason my gut tells me its neither of these things. I just feel like I'm doomed.

Can anyone out there help me?

Off the top of my head this is what I know for specs.

* 3 Sticks, 3200 Ram OCZ 1G Each GOLD EDITION
1 nVidia 512MB PCI 16X Graphics Card
Intergrated Sound
A8R-MVP Mother Board
500Watt Power Supply (Can't remember the name but I've got 2 of them)
DVD-RW
CD-RW
AMD - Duo Core Processors (2g x 2)
300GB SATA hard drive.
*



Please, Any help will be greatly appreciated. I can't wait to have a computer at my house again.

Thanks for reading,
Cerebral Ailment

Do everything you mentioned above. You are testing the right things first. After that, do you have a PC speaker? Meaning the little speaker that plugs into the motherboard. Not speakers that plug into your sound ports on the back (see my link below for what one looks like). Most motherboards will emit some sort of beep code (i.e. long short short short, or short long short, or three short three long things like that). These will tell you at what stage the POST is failing even if there is no video output. If you don't have one, get one, they are usually cheap, a few dollars or euros. There will be a place to plug it in on the motherboard at the bottom right of the board, that section of pins that have multicolored bases, one of those colors corresponds to the PC Speaker output (check your motherboard manual for more info). Also, try reseating your Video card, it may have come slightly loose.

Here is an example of a PC Speaker, notice the plug this is a pc speaker plug. Also I don't know what the HECK they did to that wire, but the wires SHOULD NOT look like that . THis should be easily available at RadioShack.
Pc Speaker

[Cerebral Ailment]

Good to know I'm on the right track.


Sadly, there is a speaker I think, but I don't know if it works. I have heard it when the thermal warning comes on but that's about it.

Looks like I won't be making it to radio shack until tomorrow.. sucks being broke without a car!

[PedroDaGR8]

Good to know I'm on the right track.


Sadly, there is a speaker I think, but I don't know if it works. I have heard it when the thermal warning comes on but that's about it.

Looks like I won't be making it to radio shack until tomorrow.. sucks being broke without a car!

Hmmm, If the aforementioned stuff doesn't work, I would be looking at the video card then.

[Cerebral Ailment]

Well you see the wierd part about that is my graphics card was like brandnew before my computer crapped out on me. Its an nVida Gforce 8500GT 512mb PCI 16X and I also have a 256PCI 16X by pny, both do the same thing so far...

[PedroDaGR8]

Well you see the wierd part about that is my graphics card was like brandnew before my computer crapped out on me. Its an nVida Gforce 8500GT 512mb PCI 16X and I also have a 256PCI 16X by pny, both do the same thing so far...

Hmmm...just do what we discussed before and I will keep thinking. Also, you can use your ear to check if the hard drive atleast spins up (or place a finger on the metal side of the hard drive, you should feel it spin up (don't worry the metal side won't shock you). If it is NOT spinning up when the fans turn on, then I'll have to think about what could be causing this.

Edited by PedroDaGR8, 02 December 2008 - 12:37 PM.

[gclipse02]

Maybe a fault in one of the RAM sticks? Particularly the one in the first spot? Only time I've seen a computer turn on with no display and no beep from POST (short of cheap manufacturing) is bad or missing RAM sticks. Try one at a time maybe?

[123Runner]

A overheating processor will not keep you from starting. You would at least get post. But since you do not get post, you have other problems.
Check all cables in the computer. Pull them out and then reseat.
Reseat the graphics card and the ram.
If you have access to another computer, you can get memtest86 (from my signature). Set the computer (can you get into the bios) to boot from CD and run the memtest. Do 1 stick and if good, use that in the computer. Let the test run a couple hours.

[Cerebral Ailment]

So I replaced the battery... and I put some silicon on there.. and still the same

[123Runner]

So have you done as suggested in post 6, 7, and 8?
Where do we stand on those suggestions?

[Cerebral Ailment]

Greetings, I'm back.. still no luck though.


So what I've done so far, is switch the video cards out (2 diff pci express, and a regular PCI that I know for a fact works fine) and still the same results.. Then I've gone through every slot with both a OCZ pC3200 gold series ram chip, and the older ocz pc3200 performance chip.. same resutls.. I've switch the CPU over from the 2gig x 2 duo core to a single core 2gig processor, still same results.. All I get is some fans and lights but no moniter feed.. doesn't sound like the hard drive spoools (although I have a super quiet one so maybe thats why I can't hear it.. but If I put my fingers on the top of it I still don't feel anything


My friend told me its not the PSU because all the fans and everything work... which he also said it wouldn't be the mobo either if everything's getting power in its spots...

I don't know what to do next.. I still get no BIOS Beeps, and yeah.. that's about it.

Edited by Cerebral Ailment, 05 December 2008 - 04:07 AM.

[123Runner]

My friend told me its not the PSU because all the fans and everything work

This is not entirely true. The power supply could fail on the 5v or 12v side, or not have enough power (wattage and amps) to power the computer.
It could still be the PSU. I don't think you swapped this yet.
What is the make and wattage on this?
Does it list what is on each of the outputs?

Then I've gone through every slot with both a OCZ pC3200 gold series ram chip, and the older ocz pc3200 performance chip.

You haven't done "memtest86" on these, but since you have done a lot of swapping, they are probably good.

I've switch the CPU over from the 2gig x 2 duo core to a single core 2gig processor, still same results.

This will not keep you from a POST. Post come from the bios.

The following from another source.

BIOS (CMOS) problems

If you do see the power lights come on and you can hear the hard disk start to spin, check to see if something appears on the screen. On PCs, there is a built-in program stored in the computer's BIOS (Basic Input-Output System) that checks all of the hardware when you turn on the computer. This is called the POST, or Power-On Self Test. The BIOS stores information about the hardware in your system in an area of memory that is not erased when you turn your computer off. This non-volatile memory is referred to as the CMOS RAM.

When the BIOS finds something wrong with your computer, it notifies you by flashing an error message on the screen or making your computer emit a series of beeps. These beeps are actually diagnostic messages. Different brands of CMOS have different beep patterns (see If my computer beeps and fails to boot, what do the beeps mean?).

Depending on the brand of BIOS that your computer has, any diagnostic messages that appear on the screen may be either informative or merely cryptic.

If the BIOS tries to access the hard drive in your system and fails, it will (in most cases) alert you to this fact. If the BIOS can't access your hard drive, that does not necessarily mean that your hard drive has failed or that you've lost everything on it. It's much more common that the BIOS has lost the settings for your hard drive configuration stored in the CMOS RAM. This is because the CMOS RAM is maintained by an internal battery, which has a finite lifespan (usually three to five years). When the battery dies, the CMOS settings are lost, and you have to get a new battery and restore the settings.

The settings in the CMOS RAM for your hard drive (such as the number of heads, cylinders, and sectors per track) depend on the brand and model of the drive. Many hard drive models allow several different configuration settings; however, if you use different settings from those used when the drive was set up initially, the drive will be inaccessible.

In most cases, a BIOS error means that you will either have to investigate your CMOS settings or swap components. Usually, you will need to take the computer to a technician. If the boot failure occurs after you have just installed or moved a video card, you should power down and push the card firmly into its slot, and then try restarting.

which he also said it wouldn't be the mobo either if everything's getting power in its spots...

This isn't entirely true either because POST is in non-volatile ram on the board. Look at the previous quote.

Again, make sure that all cables are hooked from the PSU to the board. Check them again.
I am suspecting:
1. A wiring issue.
2. A power supply.
3. The mother board.

I think you said you changed the battery. If you did, this would reset the bios to default. If you did not, reset the bios. There should be a jumper near the battery. If you can get in to bios, there is usually a spot in there that you can reset to "factory defaults"

[Cerebral Ailment]

I've reset the CMOS a bunch of times.. I have tried the other power supply on the mobo too and same results.

Both died in a simliar manner. They were shut off and just never turned on a again. I remember though that when mine died If I kept turning it off and on repeatedly that somtimes it would come out of it and start again.. until that one day and then it never hummed again...

For the sake of qaulity responses, I'll go ahead and list all the specs to the system.

**NOTE, Instailed Components are listed in Blue**

• Mother Board
  ASUS A8R-MVP ( Manual Located Here )
  SPECS:
  CPU support Socket 939-based Athlon 64 processors
  North bridge ATI Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire Edition
  South bridge ULi M1575
  Interconnect PCI Express (1GB/sec)
  Expansion slots 2 PCI Express x16
  1 PCI Express x1
  3 32-bit/33MHz
  Memory 4 184-pin DIMM sockets
  Maximum of 4GB of DDR266/333/400 SDRAM
  Storage I/O Floppy disk
  2 channels ATA/133
  4 channels Serial ATA with RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 support
  Audio 6-channel HD audio via M1575 and Analog Devices AD1986A codec
  Ports 1 PS/2 keyboard
  1 PS/2 mouse
  1 Serial port
  1 Parallel port
  4 USB 2.0 with headers for 4 more
  1 Firewire via VIA TSB43AB22A with header for 1 more
  1 RJ45 10/100/1000 via Marvell 88E8001
  
  1 analog front out
  1 analog bass/center out (shared)
  1 analog rear out (shared)
  1 analog line in
  1 analog mic in
  1 coaxial digital S/PDIF output
  
  Header for 1 game port
  BIOS AMI BIOS
  Bus speeds HT: 200-400MHz in 1MHz increments
  PCI-E: 100-150MHz in 1MHz increments
  DDR: 100, 133, 166, 183, 200, 216, 233, 250MHz
  Bus dividers HT: 1x, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x
  Voltages CPU: auto, 1.175-1.55V in 0.025V increments
  DDR: auto, 2.65-3.2V in 0.05V increments
  PCI-E: 1.2-1.5V in 0.1V increments
  Monitoring Voltage, fan status, and temperature monitoring
  Fan speed control CPU, chassis
  
• Processors
  AMD Athlon 64 ( 2g x 1 )
  
  AMD Athlon 64 X2 ( 2g x 2 )
  
• Power Supply
  OKIA Switching Power Supply
  Model: OKIA-500ATX(500W Max)
  
  DYNEX Fan controlled ATX12V Power Supply
  Model: DX-PS500W
  
• RAM
  OCZ PC3200 1024MB Dual CH Gold Edition GX XTC 2-3-3-8 ( X 2)
  
  OCZ PC3200 1024MB Performance Series 3-3-3-8 (X 1)
  
• Video Cards
  PNY GeForce 8500GT 512MB PCIe
  
  Leadtek Winfast PX6800GT 256MB PCIe (I may be broken)
  
• Hard Drive
  WD GreenPower Edition 500GB
  Model:WD500AACS

That's what I have right now, plus a couple of dvd drives that are not hooked up.
Please let me know of the the multiple choices which would be the best for performance, I'm really not positive on what I've got.


Thank You,
-Cerebral Ailment

[Cerebral Ailment]

Any other suggestions?

[Cerebral Ailment]

Greetings-- Update!!

I replaced the Power supply and the thing booted up all the way to windows!!! Woo Woo, then I instailed the other basic items and now it just hangs at bios and won't boot windows anymore =(