Home PC wont start

[draissam]

I am experiencing a problem with my home PC. When I turn it on, all I get in the screen is

a logo of the P4 (picture), and it freezes there. I can't even get to the bios. I am not

sure if the mother board has a problem. I would appreciate it if you could help me with

some hints on how to resolve this issue. I think using a memtest86 wouldn't be relevant in

this case since I can't get to the bios.
I am running Win2000. I have a P4, 3.xMhz, 80Gb HD, DDR memory. I have recently installed

a DVD burner.

Thank You.

 

[electronicsfreak]

hm that sounds like a bad floppy drive. My moms computer although rather stone age pc did that when the floppy drive died. I would disconnect that and see if it loads. If not then just strip everything down to bare essentials and try it then. If it works then just add a piece at a time and see when it stops loading. If it still doesnt might want to try a bios reset but be sure to follow the manual when doing so. Also look for any swelling capictors on the board or any loose parts.

 

[draissam]

Thanks for the tips.
One question though. How can I try a bios reset without being able to get to the bios?
Thanks!

 

[electronicsfreak]

On the motherboard if you read the manual, there usually is a jumper you can short to reset the bios however read the manual first. For usually you have to unplug the power and they have certain precuations you have to follow so you dont damage the bios. Another way if manual doesnt say for some odd reason, unplug the computer, pull off the battery off the motherboard for about 15 minutes. This will reset it as well but try what the manual says if it has anything.

 

[kmcferrin]

Did the problem start when the DVD burner was added, or did it work normally for a while after that? If so, you may have a bad DVD burner. Or it's possible that your power supply isn't providing enough power for all of the components, and adding the DVD burner was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Best advice is to do as electronicsfreak said. Strip it down to just CPU, memory, and video card. Boot it and see if it works. Next add a hard disk. Boot it and see if it works. Continue adding 1 component at a time until you find the culprit.

 

[garebo]

As for the bios re-set, you have to follow the mfgrs instructions, so i would use another pc to get the mfgrs instructions on how to reset the bios. The do differ, for instance Pc chips and\or ECS motherboards differ.


However, most go this way:
unhook power from the wall and power from power supply to the motherboard. Then take out the coin battery. Now, there is usually a set pf 3 pins nearest the coin battery, with the jumper on pins 1 and 2, move the jumper to pins 2 and 3, leave it for a few minutes, then put the jumper back where it was, put battery back in, and re-secure the power to the mobo and to the wall. While doing this you should ground yourself to the case and\or wear a grounding bracelet.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[draissam]

Thank you all for your input.
I will try your suggestions, and let you know how it goes.
Oh, and to answer your question kmcferrin, the problem didn't start right after installing the DVD. It worked normally for 3 or 4 days, they stopped.

 

[garebo]

kmcferrin could still be onto something. I suggest you try all that is listed here, starting with the easiest, the bios reset.
If all fails, then its best to take out all non-essential parts and see if your pc will then boot, as suggested by the others.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips

 

[draissam]

It was my DVD burner that was causing the problem. The moment I unplugged it, the problem went away. Thank you guys for the tips. Now I need to figure out why the DVD caused this issue because I need the DVD to be on. All I did when I installed it was to replace a CD drive I had with the DVD burner. Since I already have a CD burner, I figured there was no need for the CD drive to be there as well, so I took it off, and placed the DVD with the exact same setting (jumper) as the CD drive.
Thanks again for your help.

 

[KevinADC]

Make sure all cables and jumpers/connectors to the DVD are correct and retry. If it's under warranty see if you can return it for replacement.

 

[garebo]

If the cd drive was a slave then the dvd burner has to be a slave as well. Bit it wouldnt have worked right off the bat if you had it wrong, so i suspect the dvd burner died on you, but you can likely get it replaced under warranty.
Let us know how you make out with this.


Good advice + great people = tek-tips