View Full Version : My Puter, She's dead! Help me, please!
Ok, I need some serious help.
When I turn on my computer I can see the power LED light up and hear the fans running and all but it doesn't do anything. I don't even hear any beeps to indicate that it even ran through POST.:(
I took the side off my case to make sure that everything was working, and it seems to be.
All the fans are running, I could hear my HDD spinning, my DVD ROM and CDRW drives both light up and I can open the CD trays, and both fans on my power supply are running.
Normally I can simply push my power switch for a second or so and my computer will turn off, but I have to hold it for at least 5 seconds before it does anythingf, or I have to turn off the power supply itself.:confused:
If anyone can help me figure out what the problem is, I would greatly appreciate it.:)
Here are some system specifics:
Asus A7N8X Deluxe mobo
Antec Performance SL400 - 400 Watt power supply
AMD Athlon XP 2800+ Barton (running at 2.2 GHz)
Corsair TWINX Dual Channel DDR PC2700 1GB
GeForce FX5600 256MB (not using the latest drivers, I can't play Neocron with them for some weird reason)
Hercules Fortisimmo III 7.1 GameSurround sound card
Seagate 80GB SATA HDD
XP Pro (all current updates)
Anyway, I really hope that someone can help me figure this out. So I can use my computer again. I actually use it for some things other than Neocron and these forums, not many other things, but some.:D
Thanks in advance for any help.
ElfinLord
First thing to do is check all your cords are pluged in properly. Pay speciall atention to yur monitor cord.
{MD}GeistDamnit
09-11-03, 14:03
open it up take out memory dust off the whole inside. then check the power supply and clean that. then try to turn it on with your windows disk, if that works then u had a virus and need to re format, if it dosent work i would have to be there in person i guess :p
Thanks for the help so far.
My monitor works fine. I am actually using it on my old PC so I can post here to ask for help.
@Geist, I had already removed my memory and video card and dusted everything out and checked and cleaned the power supply, but I did not try to start it with the Windows disk. I'll try that.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks for the help, everyone.
ElfinLord
edit - ok, I tried to run the system with the Windows disk and it did the same thing.
Does anyone out there have any ideas to help?
Unplug all IDE cables from the mobo (remembering where they go) remove all cards except video card and remove all cables except keyboard monitor and power. Then see if it boots. If it does, start by plugging harddrives back in, then cd rom drives, then your other cards one by one, testing the bootup after each one is replaced. If it messes up again, remove the last part plugged in, and continue with the next one.
Simply a process of elimination :)
You might also like to try resetting the BIOS if the above doesnt make a difference. Check your mobo manual.
Well, let's see.
I tried starting with the Windows disk in both my DVD ROM drive and the CDRW drive with no luck.
My monitor works fine.
My video card is fine (it is actually now installed in my old PC)
I am not worried about my sound card, would it really cause this problem anyway?
I don't have time to unplug and replug everything right now, but I did reset my BIOS and it didn't work.
I'm thinking power supply, anyone else think this might be the problem or could it be something else?
Again, thanks to those of you have offered your suggestions and thanks in advance to anyone else who chimes in.:)
I really appreciate it. I miss my puter. *twithches in corner feeling the effects of withdrawal*
ElfinLord
Well as its not beeping, means the motherboard isnt powering up properly as it aint POSTing, It may just be shorting itseld out on something, but it may be a fuxed motherboard :(, Try refitting the board and see what happens, no joy then if possible try the CPU in another PC... its either motherboard or CPU as theirs no beeps
ya, like fenix said above, the POST (power on self test) isnt happening, which means the problem is between you turnin the puter on, and it testing itself.
Have you done anything to the computer before it went down, or did it just go tits up?
What sort of noise is the hard drives making when they power up, is it the clicking whirring spinning up, or just a quiet whinning noise?
Is your speaker plugged into your mobo so that you can actually hear the POST beeps :p
if all else fails, try the web site of ur mobo manufacturer, they should have a support section with solutions for what might be up if ur post dont post.
/edit - 1 thing u can try, just take out ur ide cables, n turn on ur puter, see if you get to the post that way, if u can, its hard drive failiure.
I had this problem last night and it turned out to be my hard drives.
For some bizzare reason my monitor wouldn't turn on and I wasn't hearing any beeps, and just before this happened one of my hard drives wasn't getting detected. Reboot, no beeps or anything so I decided it was HD-based and removed my second HD.. lo and behold I get the beeps and everything boots up.
So yeah, like Lexx said, take out all the IDE cables and see if you get POST that way.
Check the jumper setting on yur HD.
Originally posted by Berzerker
Check the jumper setting on yur HD.
Jumpers wouldnt have changed themselves overnight and I doubt the majic hard drive jumper changing faerie changed it either :p
Its possible but not likely that its the HD... But still woth a try... Were you overclocking the system atall or was the CPU Heatsink and fan very dusty ? Cause it might have popped its cloggs and burnt out, and are you sure that the mobo speaker is actually plugged into the bmoard, thats the internal speaker btw, you have heard the PC beep on boots before yea ?
Yeh I know mate. I always check every thing though. Take it step by step an check every thing.
Everything, seems to point towards a problem with your graphics output- have you tried an alternate card in the buggy computer? Perhaps a motherboard output? (Although you have probably disabled that at the Bios right?)
Is it a new graphics card/motherboard? In my experience some graphics cards are not compatible with some motherboards for no obvious reason. Do you have a hardware mpeg decoder? An old comp of mine did have and that was fried and caused similar symptoms.
If you are confident poking around the guts of your comp you could do something that would cause a POST message, such as removing the CPU or memory sticks.
Power supply shouldn't be the problem- you have power to supply the fans- if your CPU fan is running there is juice in the mboard. (unless you have an external supply for this, which is rare but is given with some fan kits)
All the above advise is sound though, so good luck with it.
Ransom
well i guess you really need to check all devices, i had the same problem three times, first time it was a malfunctional pci slot (the one i had my graphic card in), second time it was a malfunctional ide cord and third time it was my network card which just stoped working (still don't know why, but after i removed it my comp worked again).
Or it could be GODs way of saying:
"Time to Upgrade":rolleyes:
To answer some questions:
Yes my system was overclocked to run at 2.2 GHz the chip is rated at 2.08 GHz AFAIK. The heatsink was pretty dusty but not 'covered' with dust. Who knows?
Yes, I've heard system beeps before so I know that the internal speaker is connected.
My video card works. It's another computer doing a fine job right now. My mobo doesn't have built in video. Could it be my AGP slot? I don't have access to a PCI card to see if that works, unfortunately, but I do have access to another AGP card, I'll try that if I can.
Thanks for the advice everyone. I will try it all out when I get home from work in 11 hours.
I'll bring updates then.
ElfinLord
Well, as promised I am giving an update.
I have tried pretty much everything you all advised me to do and nothing worked.
I unplugged everything except my vid card, RAM, and processor and nothing worked. I started plugging everything back in and, still, nothing.
I realize now that my power supply is ok, my mobo is getting power and everything else as well.
So, I went to CompUSA and talked to one of their tech guys about the problem to see what he would say. I would have just taken it to them to fix, but I refuse to pay someone $100 to tell me my computer is broken (I already know that) and then charge another $200 for a new processor. Anyway, he agreed with you Fenyx that it's the mobo or the CPU.
Does anyone know how AMD and Asus are on warranty repair or replacement? I am going to look into my warranty info to see what my options are, I just want to know if they're dicks or not.
Thanks again for the help, everyone. I appreciate it.
ElfinLord
Cypher_Psy
10-11-03, 19:15
One last thing, mysterious as it sounds...
Re-seat your processor....
Originally posted by ElfinLord
Well, as promised I am giving an update.
I have tried pretty much everything you all advised me to do and nothing worked.
I unplugged everything except my vid card, RAM, and processor and nothing worked. I started plugging everything back in and, still, nothing.
I realize now that my power supply is ok, my mobo is getting power and everything else as well.
So, I went to CompUSA and talked to one of their tech guys about the problem to see what he would say. I would have just taken it to them to fix, but I refuse to pay someone $100 to tell me my computer is broken (I already know that) and then charge another $200 for a new processor. Anyway, he agreed with you Fenyx that it's the mobo or the CPU.
Does anyone know how AMD and Asus are on warranty repair or replacement? I am going to look into my warranty info to see what my options are, I just want to know if they're dicks or not.
Thanks again for the help, everyone. I appreciate it.
ElfinLord
AMD wont do shit, they know pretty much that the CPU isnt gonna burn out, the CPU will be blatantly burnt out as it will have like sweat marks on it... so they wont replace that as warranty, plus if its OEM then you gotta talk to the retailer.
Originally posted by \\Fényx//
AMD wont do shit, they know pretty much that the CPU isnt gonna burn out, the CPU will be blatantly burnt out as it will have like sweat marks on it... so they wont replace that as warranty, plus if its OEM then you gotta talk to the retailer.
It's a retail box version that I bought from a local wholesaler. I was going to by the OEM version, but they were out of stock at the time.
I am not giving up on fixing this thing, yet. I figure if I absolutely have to replace the mobo or the processor, I will just get both and listen to GOD's telling me it's "Time to Upgrade":p.
ElfinLord
SnotNosedBrat
10-11-03, 19:27
Overclocking voids your warranty
I think i had the same problem on a really old PC and it was just that the cord you plug into power supply had shorted. Maybe try a different one?
i wanna give you some usfull advice, you apparently knjow a little about computers so im not going to go into the greatest detail.
Test with a different power supply, i know you said its ok but Power supplies are cheap and could be your problem. If it is not the power supply you looking at a Motherboard problem.
It COULD be ram and video, but generally they just dont go poof over night.
if you bought your processor in the retail box then you have a 3 year waranty on the processor. But i dont know about ASUS repair policy, my guess would be a year but maybee more.
first things first, pull all un-needed hardware off the board, modem, network, hdds, cds, sound, leave only video and one chip of ram in the first dimm slot. If you get no beeps try diff power supply, if you still get no beeps, try a PCI vid card, if you still get no beeps, try a diff stick of ram, and if that dosent work youll have to swap the board.
Good Luck.
Originally posted by SnotNosedBrat
Overclocking voids your warranty
I think i had the same problem on a really old PC and it was just that the cord you plug into power supply had shorted. Maybe try a different one?
Thanks for the suggestion. That is actually one of the first things that I had tried.;)
They've both been said before but my tips would be swap the CPU and the PSU. If they both fail it's new mobo time.
Only other thought was to ask if you had reblown the BIOS recently but I'm guessing not.
Well this is what my CPU looks like (please forgive the lousy picture, the batteries were dying in my camera, and I didn't have time to get a really good pic):
http://www.sighost.us/members/elfinlord/cpu2.jpg
Does anything look wrong to you?
My mobo looks fine. There aren't any burn marks or anything on it. With the exception of some dust that used to be there, it looks just like it did when I installed it.
Later today, I am going to take the chip out of my old PC and put it on my Asus mobo to see if it boots. The old chip is an XP1800+ model 8. I checked AMD's website to make sure that the mobo I have is recommended for this chip and it is.
Wish me luck! Or tell me I don't need to do it. Either way, thanks for the help.
So what happened? Or maybe 'it' hasn't happened yet...
Originally posted by Crashtec
So what happened? Or maybe 'it' hasn't happened yet...
huh?:confused:
Translation = have you tried the different CPU yet..
Originally posted by Crashtec
Translation = have you tried the different CPU yet..
Nah, haven't done it yet.
Going to do it now.:)
Wish me luck! :D
on that pic the 2 lowest corners of the cip look a little blackened, also you dont really want that much paste around the sides, get it over any further and that may cause the CPU to short itself if it hasnt already 8|
nothing looks blackend to me...and where's the paste? I dont see paste.
You're looking at the yellow square. You should be looking at the little bit in the middle of the yellow square. :)
She's Alive!!!!!
It was the processor. I have my old one installed now and she works.
Yeah for me.:D:D:D:D:D
Now I just have to buy a new processor. An Athlon XP 1800+ just won't cut it. Besides it belongs in my fiancee's puter.:p
Now for another question. Since I figured out that it's the processor, is it in my best interest to replace the mobo aswell?
Thank you all for your suggestions and help.
The mobo is probably OK.
I think the fact it was overclocked and singed means you know what killed it ;).
Originally posted by jernau
The mobo is probably OK.
I think the fact it was overclocked and singed means you know what killed it ;).
I think it was mostly poor air circulation. I have 3 80mm case fans and this (http://www.zalman.co.kr/usa/product/cnps6000Cu.htm) cooler for my CPU. I had not had any problems with the system until now and it was extremely dusty in there. I didn't realize just how dusty it was until I took everything apart. Dumbass me didn't even realize that my case had an air filter until I took EVERYTHING apart.8|
Experience is still the best way to learn.:)
Anyway, I am going to check into some better colling when I get my new processor. Any advice on what to get?
If you're getting an Athlon then there's some weird Coolermaster fan which isn't like normal fans, it's circular instead of radial, making it more efficient. Trouble is it's a little heavier than the recommended weight for Athlons, though it does have mounting brackets to take the weight off.
Scikar - If it's the one I'm thinking of it's very noisy. Might not be though of course.
Is this the one you're talking about?
Cooler Master Jet 7 (http://www.coolermaster.com/index.php?LT=english&Language_s=2&url_place=product&p_serial=ACB-V83&other_title=+ACB-V83+JET%207)
It looks really cool, but it does seem like it would be a little loud.
Check here (http://www.aria.co.uk/productsList.asp?Category=13&Submit=submit), and it's the Aero 7+. The Jet series are for Pentiums I think. There's some feedback info posted at this site, it does sound like it my be noisy but it is adjustable and seems to be very effective, so you could probably be able to run it at a low speed where it won't make so much noise. Don't quote me on that though. ;)
Is there a real benefit to spending a shitload of money on water cooling if all I do is play Neocron, FF XI and watch DVD's?
I do plan to eventually get into some more serious gaming, but for right now it's Neocron and FF XI all the way!:)
Originally posted by ElfinLord
Is there a real benefit to spending a shitload of money on water cooling if all I do is play Neocron, FF XI and watch DVD's?
I do plan to eventually get into some more serious gaming, but for right now it's Neocron and FF XI all the way!:)
From a technical POV - No.
If you want to do it for fun then that's a different matter but the gains are minimal and once cost is factored in you might as well buy a new mobo or CPU for a bigger gain.
/edit - it's not the one I was thinking of but a guy here has one of those and says - "I have an Aero 7, which looks the same but with less chrome and turned down it keeps my 2200+ cool under full load and is very quiet. The design looks strange but it works very well."
Please don't hold me resposible if he's talking arse ;).
Cruzbroker
12-11-03, 18:05
I would have said it's the processor at the start if I hadn't read this too late... Look at the bottom of the CPU, if it's burned, it looks funny.. if it's corner is broken, it is... know from experience.... :D
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