No boot

[lkatz]

Ok, computer was working... I came back to work and it was dead. The power light comes on, power supply fan runs. That's it. I reseated everything, I changed power cords and changed outlets, and nothing. I am not sure where to go from here. Computer hardware has never been my thing. Is it the power supply or the motherboard? I need to know what I should try or order. I am sure this a frequent issue, but I need a little hlep here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[Sylvander]

Hello Ikatz and welcome to PC-Guide.

You could use a copy of my Diagnostic Flowcharts.
Send me a personal message requesting them [zipped or unzipped] and giving an e-mail address to send them to.

Here’s one possible route through them:

START UP TEST
1. Is the PC dead? No. [You have fans & lights]
2. Did POST appear to run? No.
3. Were there any audible beeps? No. [a single beep indicates successful completion of POST]
4. The Power-On Self-Test failed to complete. [NO POST]

NO POST
1. Are the PSU voltages correct? Check them if you can. If they are not you may have a faulty PSU. Assuming they ARE ok then:
2. Disconnect all peripherals and system adaptor cards except the keyboard and video card/monitor.
3. Does the POST now run? If it doesn’t then your system board [or something on it (video card, CPU, memory)] is faulty. If it does run then:
4. Re-connect the floppy disk drive and run advanced diagnostic software from a floppy disk.
[Get “TuffTest-Lite” from http://www.tufftest.com/free.htm or better if you can. This is simple and basic.]
5. Does the system board pass? If not then it is faulty. If it does pass then:
6. Switch of and re-connect ONE peripheral/adaptor card.
7. Does POST now run? If it doesn’t this last device connected is faulty and should be disconnected. If it does run the device should be tested using the diagnostics and if it fails is faulty and should be disconnected. If it passes it's ok and should be included.
8. Repeat from step 6 until all devices are tested, all faulty are excluded and all working are included, then re-test the system.

If you want to reduce the level of difficulty for the first attempt at a fix, assume that the PSU is ok and leave out the tests with diagnostic software.

[pentachris]

Do you hear a beep from the case immediately after powering on? Are you 100% sure that the system isn't booting, but you're just not getting video? You can test for that by powering up, waiting a few minutes, then Ctrl-Alt-Del, Tab, Tab, Enter. If the system shuts down after that, you may just need a new monitor.

[Budfred]

lkatz,

Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif

If it isn't the monitor and you need more help, please give us a lot more info about your system and the history of the situation. Was any new hardware and/or software installed recently? Have you had other problems with the system? Have you done any troubleshooting? Did you have any storms around the time the system failed?

Any additional info you give us means it is more likely we can help you figure it out.