Boot Issue

[lakars]

I have an Athlon 1gig processor with 384 megs of ram with an AGP video card and a 300 watt power supply (I believe all of the pertinant information for this issue) and the machine will not boot...and what I mean by will not boot is that all the fans spin up and it sounds like the HDs (20 gig and 80 gig) spin up along with the CDRom but the screen does not come on and nothing happens...no beeps nothing at all happens...Is there anyway of saying forsure this is not something or it is something?

I am a software guy hardware is not my strong point at all...

Michael

[ski]

Install/connect only the power supply, MB, CPU, memory, video card, monitor, case speaker, and power button, and make sure the power supply's voltage selector switch is set to the correct voltage and the PS connection to the MB is securely seated.
Then, try a different monitor.
If there's a display, then replace your monitor.

If there's no display with a different monitor, then check the CMOS battery for the correct voltage(3V).
If that's ok, then make sure the 'Clear CMOS' MB jumper is not in the 'Clear' position.
If the jumper is in the proper position, then turn off the power, disconnect the power cord, and clear CMOS either with the MB jumper or by removing the CMOS battery for at least 30 minutes.
If no luck with the above, then place the MB on a piece of cardboard. If there's now a display, then the MB is shorting out when installed in the case. Check for a loose screw, standoff, etc., inside the case, and also remove any standoffs which do not line up with MB holes. If none is found, then remove all MB screws and metal standoffs, and install paper washers(manila folder paper works good for this) between the MB and the screws/standoffs.



If there's no display with the MB placed on a piece of cardboard, then proceed with the following:

(A)MB Has LED's-
(1)If the MB standby LED does not light up when you turn on the power supply's switch, then check the wall outlet, surge arrestor, and power cord for the correct voltage.
(2)If the voltages are ok for the items in (1) and the MB standby LED still does not light up, then then slightly raise the PS main power connector out of the MB connector a little. If the MB LED lights up, then the connector on either the PS or the MB is bad. If the MB light still does not come on, then the PS or MB is bad. Swap these 2 items out to find which one is bad.
(3)If MB light comes on, but the PS fan, other fans, and other lights do not work when the 'Power On' button is pushed, then make sure the computer case power button's wires are securely connected to the correct MB terminal(POW-ON, Power On, etc.), and that the wires are not shorting out(bare spots). If that's ok, then remove the power button's wires from the terminal, and momentarily short out the MB terminals with a screwdriver. If the fans and lights now work, then the 'Power On' button assembly is bad.
(4)If the fans connected to the MB and all other lights do not work when either the 'Power On' button is pushed or the MB 'Power On' terminals are shorted, then the MB or PS is bad. Swap them out.
(5)If all fans and lights work when the 'Power On' button is pushed but there's no display, then test the following PS leads on the back of its MB connector making sure the connector is installed on the MB and system is powered up with the 'Power On' button:
yellow wire and a black wire- +12V
red " " " " - +5V
orange " " " " - +3.3V
If these voltages are not up to spec, then the PS is bad.
If you do not have a voltmeter, then try a different PS.
(6)If the PS voltages are ok, or there's no display with a different PS, then either the MB, CPU, memory, or video card may be bad. Make sure the correct memory type is being used, remove and reinsert the memory a few times making sure it's firmly seated, install the memory in different slots(some MB's require that their memory slots be populated starting with slot 4 and not slot 1), and make sure the video card is firmly seated(some video cards need an extra firm push to seat properly). If still no display, then swap out the MB, CPU, memory, and video card to find out which one is defective.

(B)MB Has No LED's-
(1)If the PS fan, other fans, and lights do not work when the 'Power On' button is pressed, then check the wall outlet, surge arrestor, and power cord for the correct voltage.
(2)If the voltages are ok for the items in (1), then then slightly raise the PS main power connector out of the MB connector a little. If fans and lights work, then the connector on either the PS or the MB is bad, or either the PS or MB is bad.
(3)If the fans and lights still do not work in (2) when the 'Power On' button is pushed, then make sure the power button's wires are securely connected to the correct MB terminal(POW-ON, Power On, etc.), and that the wires are not shorting out(bare spots). If that's ok, then remove the power button's wires from the terminal, and
momentarily short out the MB terminals with a screwdriver. If the fans and lights now work, then the 'Power On' button assembly is bad.
(4)If the fans and lights do not work when either the 'Power On' button is pushed or the MB 'Power On' terminals are shorted, then the MB or PS is bad. Swap them out.
(5)If all fans and lights work when the 'Power On' button is pushed but there's no display, then test the following PS leads on the back of its MB connector making sure the connector is installed on the MB and system is powered up with the 'Power On' button:
yellow wire and a black wire- +12V
red " " " " - +5V
orange " " " " - +3.3V
If these voltages are not up to spec, then the PS is bad.
(6)If the PS voltages are ok and there's no display, then either the MB, CPU, memory, or video card may be bad. Make sure the correct memory type is being used, remove and reinsert the memory a few times making sure it's firmly seated, install the memory in different slots(some MB's require that their memory slots be populated starting with slot 4 and not slot 1), and make sure the video card is firmly seated(some video cards need an extra firm push to seat properly). If still no display, then swap out the MB, CPU, memory, and video card to find out which one is defective.

[lakars]

I just remembered this information...This machine was running fine and rebooted itself...when it finished witht he reboot it locked up at the bios screen...It was about halfway through printing something on the screen when it died...so I am thinking either MB or processor...

Thanks for the response but my MB has no LEDs on it...I am not sure of the brand of the MB or the chipset to be honest either...I switched out the Video Card no-go, I took out the memory and got nothing also I placed each of them into my machine and they worked fine so no-go there...leaning more and more towards the processor or MB...anymore suggestions would be helpful...

This is not my pc it is my GF and is behind me so I dont watch it most of the time...

Michael

[ski]

It appears that either the power supply, MB, or CPU has failed, and the only way to find the culprit is to either swap them out, or have them tested.

Also, did you try placing the MB on a piece of cardboard with just the PS, CPU, video card, memory, and monitor installed?

[bigwayne]

I can't offer too much info, but whenever a box here has just up and restarted, its always been the PSU tripping out. If it starts up after a long period of time (could be 30mins-1 hour) then its the Proc overheating.

Call it a hunch but I'm going to bank its the Power Supply, but don't quote me on that *runs*

[lakars]

Thanks for all the advice...it was either the CPU or the MB...(got lazy and just went and bought a new one of each) running an AMD Duron 750 on the machine now and could put more mem sticks in it so she has 512 ram on it instead of 384 so she will think it is faster even though the processor is slower...Memory and video are the real upgrades these days not so much proc at least IMHO...

So in short thanks for all the advice again...

[ski]

Glad to hear that you fixed things.