[electronixplus]

about a week ago my computer was acting very slow and not loading pages correctly, so i did a restart, it did not shut done, so I shut it down with the power button. When I turned it backed on, nothing, a black screen appeared with a single blinking cursor on the top left of the screen.
I cleaned out the inside, and tried again. Nothing!! CPU fan continues to run, power supply fan runs.
I am unable to shut the computer off using the power button. The only way I can shut it off is to unplug it. Today I turned it on again to see if I could figure it out. Now the screen is black, no cursor.
And again, i have to unplug it to turn it off!! My taxes are late now because I can not access the files on my computer!!! Can someone please help. I have a little experience with repairs but I am no expert. Does any one have any idea what might be wrong or how to fix it??
Advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

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Fan turns?
LED's light up?
PSU is on?
Hard drive powers up?
No video?
I believe you are describing a motherboard failure


Is this a desktop or laptop?




If this is a name brand system:
Make
Model
Operating System
Age of the computer
Memory Total
Hard Drive Size, How much free space



If this is custom then We will need the following:

The CPU brand and model
The Motherboard brand and model
Ram amount and speed
Cd\Dvd rom interface IDE/ SATA
Hard Drive size and free space
Any cards in PCI slots
Any software installed\updated and driver updates done just before problem started

All this will help in determining a course of action to best correct the problem you are experiencing

Edited by rshaffer61, 17 April 2009 - 09:20 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Fan turns?
LED's light up?
PSU is on?
Hard drive powers up?
No video?
I believe you are describing a motherboard failure


Is this a desktop or laptop?




If this is a name brand system:
Make
Model
Operating System
Age of the computer
Memory Total
Hard Drive Size, How much free space



If this is custom then We will need the following:

The CPU brand and model
The Motherboard brand and model
Ram amount and speed
Cd\Dvd rom interface IDE/ SATA
Hard Drive size and free space
Any cards in PCI slots
Any software installed\updated and driver updates done just before problem started

All this will help in determining a course of action to best correct the problem you are experiencing

Edited by rshaffer61, 17 April 2009 - 09:20 PM.

[electronixplus]

Yes Fan turns?
Yes LED's light up?
Yes PSU is on?
Don't know, how do I tell?? Hard drive powers up?

Emachines Desktop T6412
about 3 years old

Athlon 64 3400 2.2ghz
and I think I have 2GB memory installed
200gb hard drive about 60-70% free space


The computer may have been updating when I shut down, but I am not sure

I tried using my windows recovery cd that came witht the computer. It does nothing.
and I have to unplug the computer to get it to turn off.

Thanks for your response. Hope you can help.

[rshaffer61]

"Don't know, how do I tell?? Hard drive powers up?"
can u hear the spinning up? hd light on front of system should be blinking red\yellow light.
If yes on this then we need to test mobo. First check and see whn you turn on system if the fan on cpu is running. It should be directly connected to the mb. Before continuing to next step let me know what you find out

Disconnect everything from the Motherboard except

* keyboard
* mouse
* video output
* 20+4 powercable
* 4/8 pin 12v wire both coming from the powersupply,
* Cpu fan wire
* power and reset button to the case
*case speaker

Now you should have NOTHING connected to the motherboard except what was listed above.

The goal here is just to test the mobo:

If the computer still will not boot up the please remove the motherboard from the computer along with the power supply

place the motherboard on a piece of card board larger than the motherboard,

this will eliminate a short from the mobo to the case witch could be a possibility

Install the cpu with, 1 stick ram in dimm 1, power supply, video card, case switch and case speaker
Connect ps2 mouse and keyboard along with the monitor
Repeat the above and power on

If the computer now boots into bios you most likely had a case short so make sure when installing the motherboard in the case that you use standoffs and they line up with the mounting holes in the motherboard and none of the standoffs touch anything else on the underside of the board.


Thanks to Cbarnard for these instructions

Edited by rshaffer61, 17 April 2009 - 10:24 PM.

[electronixplus]

There are no lights, but lots of spinning noise.
I will try to test the mother board as you suggested.
It is late will do it tomorrow.
Thanks for the advice. I will let you know what I find.
Thanks!!

[electronixplus]

Just to make sure I am clear on your instructions,
am I suppossed to remove the memory and disconnect the hard drive also????

[rshaffer61]

disconnect the hd and put only one stick of memory in at a time. If it doesn't boot then turn it off and replace with next memory stick
If still not booting then try both

[electronixplus]

Thanks for the quick reply. I still have the motherboard in the computer and have disconnected everything except what you instucted.

I have a new stick of memory available. Should I try that if the other 2 , one at a time doesn't
boot the computer??

[rshaffer61]

Yep sure, go for it. We might as well try everything to make sure.

[electronixplus]

Okay, I tried a new memory stick, still no boot.
Now I should remove the mother board and test on the cardboard as you instruted earlier??
I don't mean to be a pain, just don't want to mess up the system worse.
Thanks for your advice, i really appreciate it>

[rshaffer61]

Yes now remove and put on cardboard. Follow the rest of the instructions from there. If it still doesn't boot. Then your problem is the mb.

[electronixplus]

Here are your previous instructions.

place the motherboard on a piece of card board larger than the motherboard,

this will eliminate a short from the mobo to the case witch could be a possibility

Install the cpu with, 1 stick ram in dimm 1, power supply, video card, case switch and case speaker
Connect ps2 mouse and keyboard along with the monitor
Repeat the above and power on.


I did exactly as you said. Still no boot!! Screen is still black as can be>
So, my mother board is fried right??

I looked up my mother board, it is $170
Not to sound stupid, but I do not have to replace with that particular mother board do I??
Can I buy one that is compatable with all my other hardware, will it be okay?? Or should I replace it with the same one that came in it??


Thanks for your help.

p.s. This is great experience, I have never had the parts out and running on cardboard on my desk!! It's cool.

[rshaffer61]

Hey we can custom build a system you want .
Just let me know what you want to do with the system and we'll go looking

[rshaffer61]

170 just for a motherboard? Oh lordy.
Take a look at this HERE and this HERE
The two combined is only
181.00 plus shipping which will prob be in the high 20's or low 30's depending on your zip.

Take your hd out and put it in. Load mb drivers which will come with system and off you go with a new system.
The best part is you get to build it and have the satisfaction of watching it come alive when you are done

[electronixplus]

Thanks, looks like a nice system, but again I have questions!
Instead of buying the whole system, could I use the case I have?? It is mint!
Also I have the dvd burner in it that would be nice to keep in instead of swapping,
I also have the front usb ports and mic and headphone plug in on the front and the
best part is media card reader built in.
So could I just buy the motherboard, cpu, memory, cpu fan (from the link you sent me Tiger)and install it in my computer without a problem?

By the way I love tiger direct, shop there alot!