Dead Computer (again)

[Kogarashi]

I almost got a whole year without a hardware issue....

After finishing some web-surfing last night, I shut down my PC and went to bed. Standard shut down procedure, with no noticeable problems. This morning, my husband tried to power it on so he and my daughter could watch a video on it.

When he pressed the power switch, all the lights came on (amber hard drive light, blue power light, side fan light), and the fans and drives spun up, but the monitor wasn't receiving any signal and there were no POST beeps or anything like that. Nothing else happened, so he shut it down by holding the power switch, waited a bit, and then tried again. Same deal. When I got home from church and tried it, I got the same results.

I tried Googling for ideas, but it seems most people who have this issue made some major change first that they could try to undo to fix the problem, or suffered a power outage. All I did was power down my PC.

I've disconnected all the peripherals exept the monitor and got the same results (not even a complaint about a missing keyboard), and disconnected all the internal drives with, again, the same results.

Any ideas? Near as I can figure, it's either the mobo or processor (which were old and probably ready to go anyway), or something happened to the PSU where it's still supplying power but not enough to do anything. Today was also abnormally hot (pushing 75 in the apartment), so maybe the heat helped the processor to fry? I think it contributed to a dead PSU last summer.

Specs:
ASUS a7v600 motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 1.7 GHz processor
Western Digital 160 GB IDE hard drive
NEC DVD-RW
Lite-On DVD-ROM
Rosewill 430W power supply
Windows XP SP3

Any ideas what might be the problem? Thanks in advance, guys!

[PepperElf]

Try this ....

Power it down totally and then unplug it.
Then hold the power button down for a few seconds - this will discharge all the caps.

plug it back in and see if it powers on.
if yes then your power supply has issues

[Kogarashi]

All right, I'll give that a shot. I'm going to be highly irritated if it's the PSU, though. That was brand new last year to replace the old one that died. ::shakes fist at computer::

EDIT: and that didn't do it. The machine still got power (lights, fans, etc.), but no beeps and no signal to the monitor.

So you think it's the power supply that's faulty?

[lordlundar]

Possibly, but it's not the most likely. If the power supply was the problem, I doubt you'd get even the lights (The power runs through a large portion of the motherboard first to get them.)

I'm not saying it's entirely good news, as it's possible the BIOS got a short and burnt out. It would explain the lack of a POST feedback despite getting the power lights. (they are the only things not dependent on the BIOS) If that's the case, your best bet is to take it to a reputable computer tech to verify that any connectible components (anything not built into the motherboard) are still intact and have the motherboard replaced.

[Kogarashi]

Ok, I'll probably just order a new mobo and processor, since I've been needing to replace them anyway (and both are old enough that I'd have to replace both anyway, since they're nigh-unto-obsolete). Once I get those installed, I can check everything else one at a time.

Unless someone thinks that would be a bad idea.

Thanks again, guys!

[lordlundar]

Well, like I said, get it verified as I'm only guessing here. As well, get the other components checked out before you plug them in. It's possible there could have been a feedback that caused it, and if that's the case, you'll just burn out the new parts as well.

[Kogarashi]

Hm. Problem being, I haven't the foggiest notion where to find a reputable tech around these parts. With previous problems, I've had friends in the immediate area who were tech-savvy and able to help out in person, but they all live halfway across the country now.

Recommendations of which stores might have good techs, or which ones to avoid at all costs?

[CorDarei]

you won't get POST errors unless you take out the RAM or video card. if you still don't get post errors after removing, then it's the mbd

if it's turning on and not displaying... i would lean to one of those two items (or even the monitor... does it give the diagnostic display when you unplug it from the pc? if not, most likely bad monitor)

[Kogarashi]

I'll make sure to check those too, CorDarei. Thanks.

The lack of any beeping at all on attempted startups is confusing me, largely because when I boot it normally, I get at least one beep from the system speaker (the "hey, everything's okay!" beep, I guess?), but now it's not doing that at all.

I don't know if this monitor will show any diagnostic screen without being plugged in. I didn't know they could do that, and I inherited this one (flatscreen) from the in-laws to replace my clunky ol' CRT.

[Yfandes]

I'd try another monitor, or even another monitor cable first.

[Kogarashi]

Unfortunately, I don't have another monitor handy. Hubby's computer is a laptop, so I'd either have to shell out money on a monitor I might not need after all, or lug one over from someone else's apartment.

Which I may end up doing anyway. ::sigh::

[sms001]

The diagnostic tree for no screen output:

Monitor receiving power (Tell tale light visible)
n > possibly bad power cord

Monitor securely plugged in to video card output (Disconnect, examine for bent pins, reconnect)

[Two that you'll probably need to borrow parts for]

Alternate monitor working on current card
y > bad current monitor (power/signal)
n > possible bad video card

Current monitor working on alternate video card
y > possible bad card/slot

Alternate monitor working on alternate video card
n > NOW you can start to worry about power supplies, mobos, etc.

A possible easy fix is that your bios glitched somehow. If your current motherboard has onboard video but you are using a video card the BIOS may have reverted to the default which is the onboard video. Try plugging the monitor into the onboard output if there is one.

If you have an LCD it VERY VERY likely will display a diagnostic of some sort when not receiving signal from a computer.

Let me know how it goes.

[Kogarashi]

Haven't been able to test other monitors (let alone other video cards) in the computer yet. It's late here, and I'd have to borrow a neighbor's monitor and video card. From what I've gathered, most if not all of my neighbors have store-bought machines which probably have warranties I'd void if I borrowed their video cards (and heaven forbid I accidentally break/fry one of them).

Here's what I've been able to do, though.

-- Pulled the sound card and tried turning it on with just the video card and two memory cards in. Lights but no beeps.

-- Pulled both memory cards and tried with just the video card. Lights but no beeps.

-- Replaced one memory stick. Lights but no beeps.

-- Removed that memory stick and replaced the other. Lights but no beeps.

-- Replaced both memory sticks and removed the video card. Lights but no beeps.

-- Removed the video card and tried turning it on with just the processor (no video, memory, sound, drives, etc.). Lights but no beeps.



As for the monitor, when I turn it on while it's plugged into the computer, there's actually a little text box on the screen for about twenty seconds that says "No Signal" or something like that, before the power light turns from green to amber and the screen goes blank (power save). When I unplug the monitor cable from the back of the computer, the text box says instead, "Check monitor cable. See user's manual for more information." or something to that effect. Then it goes blank and the light turns amber. This is the monitor's normal behavior as far as I've observed for the 3 or so years I've had it. It's pretty old, so I'm not surprised there isn't a further diagnostic.

With the onboard video on the motherboard, that died on me several years ago (at least five), at which point I bought an actual video card to replace it (which, itself, was replaced about 3.5 years ago).


I'm really hoping it's just the motherboard or processor. I can deal with one of those being kaput, since I've been wanting to replace them for, oh, four years now and just haven't had the money or need. And I'll end up having to replace them in a set anyway due to their age.

[Eric the Grey]

With the whole non-beeping thing, it sounds like the BM to me, but of course, without being able to put the box on a bench and test it, it's really impossible to tell. I was going to suggest pulling the video card, and plugging into the onboard, but if that has gone out, it's not going to help.

You COULD instead of borrowing a monitor from a neighbor, carry your monitor to their computer and plug it in and see if it works. I would NOT suggest borrowing a video card, as IF there is a serious problem with your MB, it could take a video card along with it.

Good luck.


Eric the Grey

[Ironclad Alibi]

Unfortunately, I don't have another monitor handy. Hubby's computer is a laptop.

Can you connect Hubby's laptop to your monitor? If you can, and the monitor works, you know that's not the problem. On the other hand, if the monitor won't work with the laptop when it should, you need a new monitor.