Simple PC troubleshooting problem please help

[Zephyr12345]

OK.....my friend is having me troubleshoot his computer. Essentially it was working fine and one day he went to turn in on, and instead of going green like normal, the front case light went orange and nothing happened. Upon opening the computer a green light was illuminated on the motherboard but that was it.

My initial thought was the power supply so I changed it out.....same result.

Then I decided it MUST be the motherboard.......changed it(with the same model) and the same result.

From here I am thinking switching the ram......and then beyond that I really don't know what to do. Is it possibly the case? Or is this the processor? Anyways any help is greatly appreciated!

[rmackie]

Hmm...you could try swapping the ram and then the processor and see if any of thoseare the culprit.
Also, what kind of processor and motherboard does he have?
More detail would help alot.

The green light shows that power is coming to the motherboard, but
nothing is being done with the power. When it is turned on, can you hear
the drive(s) spinning and the fans spinning?

Have you ensured that the connections are tight and that everything is seated properly? BTW...the case has nothing to do with powering your pc...unless the on/off
switch is faulty.

Hope this helps...post back with more details.

Raymond Mackie
Technical Support Manager
rmackie@microtailors.com
www.microtailors.com

[Zephyr12345]

Thanks for the ideas.....I will to ram next.......don't have a spare processor to try in it....although could probably get one for cheap.

As far the computer it is an intel D845HV 478 pin motherboard. Its an intel pentium 4 processor not sure of the speed.

Nothing comes on when hitting power except for the two indicated lights. NO fans, NO drives nothing except the two lights.

[Paul Komski]

Presumably there are no beeps and you cant get into the BIOS setup because of a failure to POST. Reseat any video cards or RAM modules a few times. Swap or only use a single RAM stick.

Try stripping back to the minimal hardware attached to the mobo and see if such a bare bones configuration will POST and get you into the BIOS setup. In particular try detaching the hard drive and see if you can boot to a floppy diskette.

[Whyzman]

If the two lights are coming on after pressing the power switch I would think you can rule out a defective power switch. The switches are just momentary connectors unlike a light switch that needs to remain in circuit...

You might want to try Paul's suggestion of barebonesing (coined word I guess ) but do so on a non-conductive surface (i.e. outside of the case). If for some odd reason the boards are grounding to the case that would rule it out...

[rmackie]

The problem can also be caused by a corrupt BIOS chip or bad CMOS battery, but first try the barebones approach and see if it will boot up. I had a problem with an ABIT motherboard that wouldn't post regardless of what I did. Since I didn't have a spare NF7-S BIOS chip, I ordered one from ABIT and installed it...the system has been perfect since. Good luck.

Raymond Mackie
rmackie@microtailors.com
www.microtailors.com

[ErnieK]

If you go here you will be able to download a copy of Sylvanders hardware diagnostic charts
http://www.erniek.eclipse.co.uk/down...anderdiags.zip

Just click on the link and the download should start for you.

[Paleo Pete]

Check it with a known good power supply or have the existing one checked. Make sure the case is clear of dust inside. Try the monitor on a different computer and a different monitor on the problem computer.

rmackie:

I think it might be a very good idea to remove the website URL and email address from your signature, the email address will get you tons of spam emails down the road and I'm getting spam complaints about the URL, it's seen as nothing but advertisement for your business or place of employment. These folks don't like spam...The prices suck anyway, I can get better locally and not pay shipping...

[rmackie]

Check it with a known good power supply or have the existing one checked. Make sure the case is clear of dust inside. Try the monitor on a different computer and a different monitor on the problem computer.

rmackie:

I think it might be a very good idea to remove the website URL and email address from your signature, the email address will get you tons of spam emails down the road and I'm getting spam complaints about the URL, it's seen as nothing but advertisement for your business or place of employment. These folks don't like spam...The prices suck anyway, I can get better locally and not pay shipping...

Truthfully I don't post my signature and email for you to buy items from the company personally and I'm glad that you have a local place to buy your items at a lower price... However, my employer wouldn't be in business and I wouldn't have a job if the company was trying to please everyone as far as pricing is concerned.....but "thanks" for the "insight."