I've got a pc that will not boot up at all. You can plug it in and the only thing that comes on is the fan on top of the processor. While I was trying to troubleshoot it, I found something strange. If you take off the IDE Cable coming from the motherboard...the hard driver and/or the CDROM will come on but when I plug the IDE Cables back into the hardware it will turn off again. Could the motherboard being grounding out the hardware? HELP???? Thanks.
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Motherboard Issue?
- Thread starter hsokc
- Start date
first thing you could do is make sure you have the ide cable on correctly. The red ribbon stripe should be next to the 4 pin molex connector on the hard drive.
And then you have to make sure the red stripe is on the correct place on the ide mobo connector as well.
But you can get the computer to boot without the ide drive being connected anyway, just set the bios to boot from the floppy drive first.
And you can also replace the ide cable, I have seen lots of ide cables go bad and you cant see where its broken. I had one last week, when i took the ide cable off and inspected it i could see a small hole right beside the middle connector. I am certain that hole severed a wire as i put a new ide cable and all was well, so the ide cable was bad.
And then you have to make sure the red stripe is on the correct place on the ide mobo connector as well.
But you can get the computer to boot without the ide drive being connected anyway, just set the bios to boot from the floppy drive first.
And you can also replace the ide cable, I have seen lots of ide cables go bad and you cant see where its broken. I had one last week, when i took the ide cable off and inspected it i could see a small hole right beside the middle connector. I am certain that hole severed a wire as i put a new ide cable and all was well, so the ide cable was bad.
Can you give us a little more background ie:
Did the fault occur after an upgrade
Did the PC just not start one morning or did it stop whilst it was turned on, was there a noise or smell before it packed up etc etc plus system spec
I suspect the PSU has poped the hard drive, but you would have had tell tail smell or noise before failure.
Martin
Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.
Did the fault occur after an upgrade
Did the PC just not start one morning or did it stop whilst it was turned on, was there a noise or smell before it packed up etc etc plus system spec
I suspect the PSU has poped the hard drive, but you would have had tell tail smell or noise before failure.
Martin
Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.
paparazi asks some good questions which should be answered.
However, you do mention that you were troubleshooting when you took the ide cable off and the mobo booted up.
So the prob must be connected to the ide cable or the ide connector on the mobo.
So therefore change the ide cable and make sure you have it connected properly as described above and then get back to us with the results and also answer paparazi's questions too.
However, you do mention that you were troubleshooting when you took the ide cable off and the mobo booted up.
So the prob must be connected to the ide cable or the ide connector on the mobo.
So therefore change the ide cable and make sure you have it connected properly as described above and then get back to us with the results and also answer paparazi's questions too.
franklin97355
Technical User
Also check the drive installed on that cable to make sure it's not the culprit.
- Thread starter
- #7
Thanks for all the great input. To answer your questions, the computer did not make any smell or noise. I went to turn it on one morning and it would not boot. Nothing was done to this computer leading up to this point. I did replace the IDE Cables and verified there location on the Motherboard and everything is connected properly. I even put another harddrive into the unit and it did the same thing. I'm clueless on this one.????
You mentioned that it will still boot up if you disconnect the ide cable, right? Is that still the case?
If so, disconnect power and reset the bios. There are 3 pins usually near the round coin battery. Move the jumper from the first and second pins to the second and third pins but first disconnect the power.
Wait a few minutes, then put the jumper back where it was, reconnect the power and tray and boot.
If you can boot then go into the bios and make sure the ide hard drive is listed there.
If so, disconnect power and reset the bios. There are 3 pins usually near the round coin battery. Move the jumper from the first and second pins to the second and third pins but first disconnect the power.
Wait a few minutes, then put the jumper back where it was, reconnect the power and tray and boot.
If you can boot then go into the bios and make sure the ide hard drive is listed there.
If you don't get the BIOS splash screen with IDE disconnected you are are into POST failure diagnostics.
Power, M/B, video, memory problems.
Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
Power, M/B, video, memory problems.
Ed Fair
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
sypher9878
Technical User
I had this problem and it ended up being a faulty drive. The best i could get out of it was that i had a bad drive that the M/B couldn't communicate with and it froze in post every time. I simply replaced the drive and had no problems.
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