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No video or Post Beeps on Startup

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ohif

IS-IT--Management
Jun 11, 2003
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I just built a new system... having some trouble with start up. I only have the needed hardware inserted (motherboard, video, cpu, memory) and when I turn the system on, the system powers up, the fans spin etc but no video and no beeps what so ever. I think it may be a issue with the power supply. The proccessor is an AMD so I am using a AMD 300w power supply. I have tried a few different power supplies with the same outcome. I tried a Intel 400w power supply and the system turns on normal with video and beeps but then powers off right away. I have tried resetting the bios many times. Can anyone help??? THANK YOU!
 
Make sure your heat sink is on correctly and has a thermal pad or compound. Check for shorts and try it without video and memory to see if you get beeps. The computer will not boot but it should not turn itself off.
 
Remove the mobo from the case and try with the pwr supply and mobo on the table. You might have a short to one of the mounting posts. Just touch the pwr/switch pins momentarily with a screwdriver.
 
micker is right. does your psu make any noises when you try to turn it on? did you say the fans spun in the psu or no? check to see if the little green power light comes on when you just have the psu plugged in to the mobo
 
ohif
A couple of things spring to mind:
The heatsink has been fitted 180 degrees out so is not sitting squarely on the CPU core so is instantly overheating and the safety features built into the motherboard switch the PC off (recess in the base of the heatsink needs to sit over the raised part of the CPU socket)
The CPU fan is plugged into the wrong fan header, again a safety feature turns off the PC if a clean RPM signal is not detected from the CPU fan (low spinning fans and dual fans can also be a problem)
Martin

Replying helps further our knowledge, without comment leaves us wondering.
 
Hi there,

switch the RESET connector with the PWR switch connector and try switching the PC on with the RESET... if this functions then you know that the PWR switch is damaged and should be replaced (or if the case is under warranty returned)

if that don't help... make sure that all connectors are sitting correctly and all are plugged in to where they belong... unplug all IDE drives directly from the mobo... unplug all FRONT USB connectors... (both can cause the same symptoms that are described)...

Ben
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I reseated every, made sure my heat sink was properly seated, did all of your suggestions and still the same situation. With the 3 (AMD) power supplys I have the system powers on but no beeps and no video. With the other power supply (INTEL) the system starts regular with beeps and the video comes on but then the system just powers off after about 5 seconds. I noticed there was a slight high pitched noise in the power supply afer it dies. I don't understand what could be happening? Any other suggestions? THANKS!
 
Are you positive you applied heatsink compound properly - it sure sounds like a heat issue. Did you try startup without RAM and video card? If so, did it still power off after a few seconds?
 
I took out the video and memory with the same issue. With this power supply the system turns on and stays on. There is just no video or beeps. The fans keep spinning but nothing happens. But when I use the other power supply, it turns the system on with video, then turns off.
 
I had a similar problem one time before.. the computer turning itself off/no beeps, etc. It ended up being that the mobo was not seated properly causing it to short out.

The cause was my steel case... didn't like my new motherboard purchase, since the mounting holes didn't align perfectly, I had to squeeze a few mounting pins in place.. (not very safe).

My solution was going out and buying one of the newer but more expensive aluminum cases. (also good for heat dissapation.)

"Hey...Where are all the chicks?" -- unknown
 
I just took the components completely out of the case. I have the MB with cpu, memory, video, and speaker laying on the table with the power supply plugged in and the monitor plugged in. I still get the same thing... turns on but no video or beeps. It isnt a heat or grounding issue since it will stay on as long as I leave it on. Any Ideas?
 
Hi there, yeah I've got two ideas, but not likely you are going to like'm...

1.) motherboard is shot...

2.) CPU is shot... can be tested with another CPU...

Ben

PS- other than that I'm at a loss since I don't have the thing in front of me...
 
As far as I can remember there were about 3 or 4 times I've come across similar symptoms.

Once was an over-heated cpu, another was a bad bios flash, one person had his fsb jumpered wrong (133 instead of 100), one was a bad board and another time I think a bad cpu.

If your board is not totally jumperless you might want to recheck them, esp. your front-side bus speed. I'm not sure if you said you could get into your bios or not. If you can make sure it set to fail-safe mode or whatever your system calls it.

Also, see if you can find a local shop who has a system that they can throw your cpu in - if you can't get your hands on a known-good cpu yourself.

If none of those work, then I'm stumped.


 
WARNING: LONG STORY AHEAD

If you want to skip to the point, here it is: I think it might be the video card. Read below to see why.

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not a hardware expert by any means. If anyone out there can contradict my logic and prove me wrong, PLEASE do so (I just want the damned problem fixed). That having been said, I'm having the exact same issue. Here's what I've been able to figure out:

I started with an AMD 1.33Ghz T-bird in an old Gigabyte mobo. Had a weird problem where the machine didn't like to POST after a soft-reboot. I'd get exactly the same symptoms... power comes on, fan and drives spin but no video POST and the monitor just never received a signal. Finally I broke down and bought a new Mobo, figuring that my old one's BIOS was shot.

A friend and I (who knows a lot more about hardware than I do) started from the ground up... new case, new PSU (350W EnerMax), new 258MB DDR-RAM, new Mobo (Asus A7N8X). The only three components we kept from the old machine were:

THE SUSPECTS
A) The video card (GeForce 2Ti that the fan had siezed on)
B) The CPU (AMD 1.33Ghz T-bird purchased second hand)
C) The hard drive (freshly re-partitioned and formatted)

So we slapped everything together and powered it on and what do you know, but it starts doing the same thing as the old one after just a couple of boots (it locked up in Windows). I could get it to POST usually if I unplugged the power and let it discharge for about 30-40 sec, but when it did it would try to run the CPU at 1000Mhz and the self-check would display a message like "Due to improper shut-down, the system is running in Safe Speed. Enter the BIOS menu to change speed settings."

Well, when you save and exit BIOS it does a soft-reboot which produces the same symptoms you're describing. Anyway, long story short, since the problem occurred on both Mobo's I'm inclined to say that's not the problem and I can further infer that it is one of the three aforementioned Suspects.

I highly doubt it is the hard drive, since the HD has nothing to do with system POST. That leaves the CPU and the video card... the CPU had run smoothly for a good while before problems started, and POST'ed ok on a machine at the local PC doctor. The video card is very questionable, since I have no idea how long it ran without a fan. I also noticed that the vid card's BIOS chip sits right next to the heat sink. Its not beyond the shadow of a doubt, but my money is literally on the video card. I've ordered a new GeForce 4200 which should be in tomorrow, so we'll see... I'll post when I know something.

There... glad you read the long version? LOL.
 
I have the same problem with a gigabyte GA-8s648fx(-L) mb and a 2.6Ghz 800fsb p4, i have it sitting on the table with video, crucial pc2700 512mb ram and i get no beep and no video, I have no idea whats wrong, i sent both the cpu and mb back, they said my cpu was fine and they sent me replacement mb, and i still have the same problem, I tried a differnet PS from my 1100Mhz tbird, amd approved and i get the same situation, the cpu fan spins but thats it, nothing else, I think ill have to try another mother board sinse my cpu is non refundable, thanks to PCrapids, stay away from them, they are terrible
 
Pc-Chips 811LU motherboard
AMD 1.4 cpu (266 fsb)
256 ddr266 ram
Geforce 2 ti 64meg

I get no video post and no beep codes.
I tried starting it up on the table and no change.
Re-seated the ram and video and cpu. no luck
Then I just took the ram and video off and had the pc speaker hooked up and booted it and I don't even get beeps. I thought is was supposed to to beep without the ram being installed.
 
Hi there, AVMAN32107, please start your own thread, to avoid confusion...

Ben
 
What confusion? My problem is the same as ohif's.
I was stating my setup and that I too have "No video or Post Beeps on Startup"


 
Look, Avman32107, you might have the same symptoms, but by no way the same problem... the point nevertheless is that one problem per thread... you gleam the info out of this thread and try to apply it to your problem, start your own if this doesn't help, so that others who just glimpsed at this thread might take a look at yours (since it is a new thread) and have more ideas to apply to YOUR PROBLEM...

not everyones setup is the same, even though the problem might be similiar in nature, the answer could be totally different...

Ben

 
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