PC no response

[idiot_savant]

I have a problem I don't know if it's a dead mobo....a friend of mine brought her PC to me and I checked it. the problem is when you switch it on, nothing happens....it powers up but it don;t display anything to the monitor...there were no beeping sounds.......but the light goes on.....I suspect a bad psu but when I replaced it with one from a working PC it's still the same...what could be the problem here?

[Simmy]

The motherboard may have been damaged if the power supply went pop. It happens alot and unfortunately, anything connected to the motherboard could be damaged aswell. Do the fans come on when you try to boot the PC with the original power supply? If so, it sounds like the original power supply is OK.

Try disconnecting anything that isn't necessary to get the PC running. Only leave the RAM, graphics, PSU and CPU plugged into the motherboard, disconnect any IDE/SATA drives and take out any PCI cards and try it again. Try reseating the graphics card and RAM. Try taking one stick of ram out at a time and booting. Do you have any spare parts (RAM, CPU, Graphics)?

After that, it's a matter of eliminating each component. My first port of call would be to get a working motherboard and try the other components in that. Let us know how it goes :)

[gunslinger]

All good advice. You can also reset the CMOS by removing the battery for a little while then replacing it if you can't find the jumpers. I also agree it sounds like a dead mobo. I have seen this many times and its almost always the mobo.

[Fretzen]

Most of the times the problem you have is a dead mobo but apart from what Simmy says there is a quick thing you can test also. Just unplug the PC and reset the CMOS using the motherboard jumper. Sometimes the BIOS hangs and resetting it brings the mobo again to life. Give it a try in case you are lucky.

[Bryce W]

Sounds like a dead motherboard to me as well. A not-very-technical way to test for a dead motherboard (hey, it works for me) is if the motherboard has a PC speaker, take out all of its RAM. The computer beep like mad that there is no RAM. If it does this it is probably working as it can diagnose itself.

[Mac]

$10 says its either the video card or the slot ;)

[Bryce W]

$10 says its either the video card or the slot ;)
I would have said videocard/slot as well but he said there were no posts beeps whatsoever so I still think its gonna be the mobo. It still could be the video card though, perhaps if you have an old PCI video card laying around you could test it?

[idiot_savant]

thnx for all the answers...i'll try all your advise...

[Mac]

lol @ Bryce. Well i guess the video card slot is part of the mobo :D

Mate you should be looking for burned capacitors arround the video card slot. It can get pretty hot and dusty in there and if the 3D card fan gets clogged up with dust and stops things start to melt.
http://www.jebswebsite.com/misc_pics/ibm_mobo_capacitors.jpg
http://us1.webpublications.com.au/static/images/articles/i303/30328_4mg.jpg

Good luck :)

[blue_jeans_vb]

....
Try disconnecting anything that isn't necessary to get the PC running. Only leave the RAM, graphics, PSU and CPU plugged into the motherboard, disconnect any IDE/SATA drives and take out any PCI cards and try it again. Try reseating the graphics card and RAM. Try taking one stick of ram out at a time and booting. Do you have any spare parts (RAM, CPU, Graphics)?


Hi, I'm a beginner-technician. I just want to know what the acronym PSU stands for.

[thecoldone06]

Power Supply Unit

[blue_jeans_vb]

Power Supply Unit

I just found out what it means later. But thanks for answering my question

[thecoldone06]

No problem.

[blue_jeans_vb]

Most of the times the problem you have is a dead mobo but apart from what Simmy says there is a quick thing you can test also. Just unplug the PC and reset the CMOS using the motherboard jumper. Sometimes the BIOS hangs and resetting it brings the mobo again to life. Give it a try in case you are lucky.

I also have a problem on my computer. I'm not sure if the mobo is dead or if I have a damaged video card. I suspect that it is the video card that has a damage. I'm not familiar with motherboard jumper. But I'd like to try it. Can you give me specific details about motherboard jumper. Is it inside the mobo? what does it look like?

[thecoldone06]

near or around the battery on the mobo i believe there should be 3 metal prongs sticking up out of the mobo. There should also be a piece of what looks like plastic connector, connecting two of the prongs. If you take that connector and move it to the other two, leave it there for a second, then move it back, your BIOS will have been reset.

[Simmy]

Just to clarify what thecoldone06 has said with a picture, as I know he can't post links just yet :)

http://www.infopackets.com/graphics/cmos+jumper.gif

[thecoldone06]

Just to clarify what thecoldone06 has said with a picture, as I know he can't post links just yet :)

http://www.infopackets.com/graphics/cmos+jumper.gif

I can't post links?

[blue_jeans_vb]

I tried it but it did not work. This is my problem my pc is not loading windows xp. After the image loading windows xp(not sure of the exact words). The screen is splashing a blue screen and then it resets. Before I cannot see anything on the monitor it doesn't open up. But I bought a surplus(second hand) 8mb video card(I think it's an agp because the slot is color brown) and can now see images and text. Do you think 8mb of video card isn't enought to run windows xp? I also have tried to reinstall windows xp but the cpu just resets.

[blue_jeans_vb]

why can't you post links coldone? I also have a problem here too. I can't quote your posts.

[blue_jeans_vb]

can't also post on quick reply

[thecoldone06]

I tried it but it did not work. This is my problem my pc is not loading windows xp. After the image loading windows xp(not sure of the exact words). The screen is splashing a blue screen and then it resets. Before I cannot see anything on the monitor it doesn't open up. But I bought a surplus(second hand) 8mb video card(I think it's an agp because the slot is color brown) and can now see images and text. Do you think 8mb of video card isn't enought to run windows xp? I also have tried to reinstall windows xp but the cpu just resets.

An 8MB video card should be fine to run XP. Onboard video cards run XP just fine i wouldn't see why yours wouldn't. Are you able to boot into safe mode? before the "windows is loading" screen comes up press the F8 key and it will give you an option to boot into safe mode. See if that does the same thing.

I dont know why i can't post links. I haven't tried but i imagine you have to have a certain number of posts or something before you are allowed to. Stops spam posts i imagine.

[blue_jeans_vb]

An 8MB video card should be fine to run XP. Onboard video cards run XP just fine i wouldn't see why yours wouldn't. Are you able to boot into safe mode? before the "windows is loading" screen comes up press the F8 key and it will give you an option to boot into safe mode. See if that does the same thing.

I dont know why i can't post links. I haven't tried but i imagine you have to have a certain number of posts or something before you are allowed to. Stops spam posts i imagine.

I haven't tried it and can no longer boot on safe mode because I have deleted the partition on which windows is located.

Well I'll just have to get to that number of posts before I can quote your posts.

[blue_jeans_vb]

Well I already have that number

[blue_jeans_vb]

I also thought that my memory is damage but I can see the memory count(i.e. 1 to 64000). I also don't have a tester so I can't test my memory if it has a damage or don't have. The computer I'm using right now has different memory it only has one notch. The computer I'm fixing has two nothces on it's memory.

[thecoldone06]

haha you sure did! Good luck on the re-install. I imagine that is going to take care of your problem.

[thecoldone06]

If the memory has a problem with it the mobo should beep at you. they don't like bad memory at all.

[blue_jeans_vb]

haha you sure did! Good luck on the re-install. I imagine that is going to take care of your problem.

No, because it also resets while installing. I'm puzzled with my problem:confused: . Last thing on my mind is that my harddsik has a damage. I put a working harddisk on that computer but it didn't work. It says something like this "missing nldr". Not sure of the exact word.

[blue_jeans_vb]

If the memory has a problem with it the mobo should beep at you. they don't like bad memory at all.

I agree with you.

[thecoldone06]

Got an extra power supply laying around? Resetting of the computer is either going to be power supply or mobo and power supply is the easier place to start.

[blue_jeans_vb]

Got an extra power supply laying around? Resetting of the computer is either going to be power supply or mobo and power supply is the easier place to start.

I have one from a damaged computer. But I will have it fix by tomorrow from a technician. I'll delegate him my problems:D . Hope he fix it.

[thecoldone06]

good luck! let us know how it turns out.

[breadtrk]

You can test your memory with this and you don't have to boot into windows to use it.

http://www.memtest.org/

I hope you have more that the 1 to 64mb you mentioned, XP is going to have a very hard time running on 64mb of memory.

[blue_jeans_vb]

You can test your memory with this and you don't have to boot into windows to use it.

http://www.memtest.org/

I hope you have more that the 1 to 64mb you mentioned, XP is going to have a very hard time running on 64mb of memory.

I know, but the pc is not mine. It's a friend of my brother.

[blue_jeans_vb]

good luck! let us know how it turns out.

The pc is now fixed. It is the harddisk that is causing the problem. That's the first thing the technician tested. He replaced the hd and installed a windows xp and it did not reset. But not before the harddisk accidentally fell. And my brother has to buy another surplus harddisk worth $18.

[blue_jeans_vb]

The pc is now fixed. It is the harddisk that is causing the problem. That's the first thing the technician tested. He replaced the hd and installed a windows xp and it did not reset. But not before the harddisk accidentally fell. And my brother has to buy another surplus harddisk worth $18.

It was my fault or clumsiness not the technician

[thecoldone06]

Glad to hear you got it fixed. I don't think I have ever heard of a HDD causing a system to reboot itself but you learn something new everyday!

[blue_jeans_vb]

I have another problem, the pc does not turn off automatically. I don't know if it's really a problem because in the computer I'm using right now if I shut down the computer it automatically shuts off, I don't need to press the switch to off. Here's the prompt or the message " It is now safe to turn off your computer". But here's my dilemma I can't press the switch to off. Is it safe to just unplug my pc?

[thecoldone06]

Is it Windows 98? That and 95 were the only operating systems that I've seen do that. If its not, then I imagine there is a setting somewhere that could make it turn off automatically.

If it says that its safe to turn off your computer, to the OS, it would be safe to unplug your computer to turn it off. However, the PSU probably wouldn't like that to much after a while. (ie. it will be more prone to crap out on you)

EDIT: just found this KB article (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810903) from MS. Check that out if you are not using 9x.

[blue_jeans_vb]

Is it Windows 98? That and 95 were the only operating systems that I've seen do that. If its not, then I imagine there is a setting somewhere that could make it turn off automatically.

If it says that its safe to turn off your computer, to the OS, it would be safe to unplug your computer to turn it off. However, the PSU probably wouldn't like that to much after a while. (ie. it will be more prone to crap out on you)

EDIT: just found this KB article (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/810903) from MS. Check that out if you are not using 9x.

I followed the number 1 step from the link you posted. It is working now. Thanks very much.

[thecoldone06]

Glad to hear it's working.

[Mac]

hmmm supprised to hear its working with a new HD. I bet he has the same problem before long. I would have bet $10 on bad ram for that one... only time will tell :D