[Callahan]

Hi, my name is Callahan. I built my first rig about a year and a half ago, and it has been stellar thus far. But last week, the power went out at my place while the computer was on, and something got fried in it i am pretty sure. When I go to turn it on, all the lights come on, all the fans start whirring, I hear the hdds come on, but the system doesn't boot. It doesn't even make it into BIOS. I have tried removing all of the extra components except the MoBo and CPU, but it still won't go to BIOS. I think this means it is one of three things: the PSU, the CPU, or the MoBo. Can anyone guide me through some troubleshooting so I can tell which component got fried? I don't have many resources to swap parts out with and test them, that would have made life much easier. My rig's specs are in my sig. Thanks for the help.

[Advertisements]

is there any screen output at all during boot? if not it could be the monitor or the video card....try booting with a different monitor...and if you can try a different video card

[dsenette]

is there any screen output at all during boot? if not it could be the monitor or the video card....try booting with a different monitor...and if you can try a different video card

[Callahan]

I know the monitor works but I haven't tried the rig with another video card yet, but I don't think that is the issue. True, there isn't any screen output during the boot. But normally when I turn it on I can hear the fans come on, lights start up, and the hard drives doing their thing; there are certain sounds that let me know the computer is coming on correctly. But now, since the power outage, the rig doesn't sound like it is turning on all the way. It just powers everything up and sits there without going to BIOS. I really think the issue is with the CPU or MoBo. Thank you for helping though. Any other ideas?

Edited by Callahan, 19 March 2009 - 09:51 AM.

[dsenette]

in my experience....when a motherboard is fried enough by lightning to cause the system to not boot it usually won't allow any of the attached devices to power up either...same with a proc..

if you've got an expansion video card (sounds like you do)...then it's got a fan on it...which would account for it "not sounding right"

[Callahan]

Well you see the video card is powering up as normal. If the mobo is fried could the fan on the video card still spin? I don't really know how to tell what is blown in the rig or not.

[dsenette]

well...about the only efficient way is to pull parts out and put known good ones in (where possible)...the easiest part to swap is the video card, then the ram, then maybe the PSU if you've got a spare...then possibly the CPU if you've got a spare...

[wannabe1]

You might also try resetting the CMOS. I've seen sudden power drops cause problems in that area.

[Callahan]

I can't even get into the BIOS, so I don't know how I will reset the CMOS. And I don't have many spare parts lying around so I won't be able to swap to see if things work/don't work.

Another issue that I noticed is that sometimes when I try to do a hard quit (holding the power button down for 4 seconds) the rig won't shut down. I can hold it down forever but it won't shut off. Does this mean it has to do with the MoBo?