pc will not boot

[tymberwolf95]

i am stuck i can not get my pc to boot up it will get power and all the lights, light up but none of the drives kick on. i have also replaced the power supply just to make sure that was not it. i've also disconnected one drive at a time and rebooted it but still nothing. someone please help i'm at a loss here on what to do or what it is!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wolluf]

Can you give more information please? Are you just building a PC, or is it one that's been working, but now is not - and if so, how did the problem start/had you made any software/hardware changes?

Is it just powering up with no sounds of booting (no beeps?)

Have you tried it with just the keyboard, cpu, memory & graphics card connected?

 

[ceh4702]

Motherboard will not Boot.

Everytime you work on the motherboard, turn the computer off all the way and unplug it. If you have it plugged in you still have electricity flowing into the motherboard. You can damage some ports like the keyboard or the hard drive ports, or the mouse port.

The remedy for this varies.

BIOS: BIOS may be improperly set up. Turn the computer off completely unplug it and then use the procedure in your manual to reset the BIOS to factory defaults. Sometime you have to remove the battery. Do not remove the battery unless you have to. Once you damage the battery holder, the motherboard is useless!

Grounding Out the Motherboard.
Make sure the motherboard does not touch any metal surface in the case. Sometimes a mounting post will come up in a place that does not line up with the holes for the motherboard. If it does the motherboard will ground out. Also the motherboard is not screwed directly onto the mouning plate. Some people have tried this! You must use metal or plastic standoffs to mount the motherboard.

CPU Fan and Cooler:
The fan from the CPU cooler must plug into the fan header on the motherboard meant for the CPU fan. If not the motherboard will not start. The cooler must be LEVEL and LINED UP CORRECTLY for your CPU and socket. The cooler must also have either a thermal pad or some thermal paste like Arctic Silver to transfer the heat from the CPU to the Cooling fins. Sometimes on older computers dust collects in the fins and the cooler can no longer work effectively.

Memory:
Memory could be damaged or installed improperly. It must be firmly pushed into place till the locks on the side click down into place. Try removing the memory dimms and then pushing them back into place. Some corrosion may build up on the contacts. Sometimes memory has to be installed in specific banks or in the right order in the available empty slots. One stick of memory could be bad, or all of the memory can be bad. Try booting with only one stick of memory if possible.

I/O Boards: VGA, Video, Sound, Network, etc:
With the cards you may have to remove a screw to adjust how they sit in the slot.

VGA or Video Card:
The video card may not be seated in the VGA slot correctly. simply pull it up and push it back in to seat it properly. Memory can be bad on a video card. Make sure the monitor is plugged in correctly and the plug is screwed down at least finger tight. Do not try to tighten it down too much; just barely screw it down with your fingers only. If you have an old video card try another one.

Drives:
Connect just a floppy to test the motherboard with an old boot disk. Just using a CDROM drive works too on newer motherboards. It is ideal to have as few things in the way as possible when you test the motherboard. The fewer things connected, the fewer things there are that can go wrong. Also if the motherboard is bad, you will not have to remove all that extra stuff to take the motherboard out of the case.

Power Supply:
The power supply may be dead. A power supply has several lines at different voltages it takes to run a computer like +/- 12 volt, +/- 5 volt, and +/- 3.3 volt. If just one of these lines is not good then the power supply is bad. Each line has a different number of Watts and Amp rating. When you add them all up you should get the watt rating of the power supply or close to it. The options for power up on mouse activity or keyboard activity use some of this power as well. The USB may also have this option to power on after some activity.


Last Ditch Effort:
When all else fails remove the motherboard and set it on a piece of cardboard or non-conductive surface. The silver bag it came on may not be non-conductive, so do not use that. The top off the cardboard motherboard box is ideal, but you may not want to cut it off if you have to send it back. So put the motherboard on the cardboard. Then with the CPU and the memory in it, attach a power supply. Plug the power supply in. Take a screw driver and touch the two posts that the power switch connects to. The motherboard fan/CPU fan should spin up and the motherboard should become acitve. It will probably beep for no monitor or no operating system. If it does not beep or give you a verbal message you should call your supplier for permission to send it back. Usually you have to fill out a form and get a RIN number to send it back.

If you get a good result like a beep or a message, try attaching a video card and a monitor and see if you can get into the BIOS. If you can the motherboard may not be bad. It may have just been grounding out to the case.


If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[IloveCheese]

Isn't it better to turn off the Power but leave the Power Plug in so that if you have any Static Electricity in you, it goes back through the Earth Wire without damaging equipment? (Of course, this doesn't apply for European or US Plugs as they don't have Earth Wires - UK ones do)...

 

[tymberwolf95]

this is an system that is a couple years old it is a pentium4 1.6 ghz we made no changes to it but about a week before this happened it starting rebooting on its own with no warning what so ever. i did put an ether net card in it about a month and a half ago so that i could link up my laptop to it but it had no problems until a week or so ago.

 

[wolluf]

tymberwolf95

ceh4702 has given you an excellent checklist - it does sound like a hardware component has died, just a case of identifying which (I'd back the cpu, but that's just a guess).

 

[edfair]

The rebooting on its own is kind of a flag on the PS, although there are other reasons.
Drives should spin up with power, unless they are jumpered to only come up with selection. You could pull the ribbon and see if they spin.
And if you lost power, there is no telling what else may have been taken out.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[tymberwolf95]

ok i've done all of these things and still nothing all the led lights inside come on but i still get nothing from my drives. if i do unplug the ribbon from them then they spin up but still no boot up. from what i have been reading i think the motherboard is fried but i dont know.

 

[micker377]

ILoveCheese:
Some power supplies have an on-off switch for a-c power, some don't. If there is no a-c switch, there is still 5v. power to the board any time it is plugged in. As far as static problems, you don't necessarily need to be at "earth" potential, as long as you touch chassis ground (so you are at the same potential as the system) you'll be OK.

 

[Rhombus65]

IloveCheese:

The US most surely has an "equipment grounding conductor" that is ultimately connected to the "grounding electrode system" that is connected to earth...

micker377:

If you unplug the computer form it's power source than the chasis is no longer a ground. If you use this ungrounded chasis to discharge any static electricity than that discharge can find its way into some of the components of the MB / computer.

In my opinion the best way to work on a computer is to first discharch any static electricity by touching something grounded. For example my surge protector has a small metal plate on the front of it that you touch and this discharges you of any static. Next, you need to put yourself at the same potential as your computer. The safest way to do this is to attach your anti-static strap to the chasis of your computer while the power cord is still plugged in. Once your strap is attached then you unplug the power cord and do your work.

I actually have taken the time to bolt on a static strap to the back of my computer so it is always available and has no chance of falling off.

That's my opinion!







Jim: A+, MCP W2k, Master Electrician

"The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing..."
-Albert Einstein

 

[edfair]

AT this point, yes, your M/B is suspect.

Do you get any display during powerup POST. Splash banner from the graphics chipset, memory test, BIOS entry splash.
If none of those it indicates that the processor isn't clocking through BIOS as it should.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[tymberwolf95]

i dont get any type of display what so ever all i have is a black screen

 

[edfair]

For whatever reason the processor isn't clocking, or is blowing smoke. Sounds like the M/B is probably gone.
Will require diagnostic tools of some sort to take it further.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[tymberwolf95]

ok thanks for all the help guys

 

[micker377]

Rhombus:
In a perfect world, yes, (have you ever checked to see if your "house" ground is actually at "earth" ground? You'd be surprised at how many wiring systems aren't up to code). However, grounding isn't a problem as long as you and the system are at the same potential. Going 100 m.p.h. on the freeway is not a problem as long as everyone is doing 100. It's only when you find someone doing 30 that problems arrise!

 

[Rhombus65]

micker377:

I appreciate your comments.

Actually, I am very familiar with earth grounding of houses and am very proficient with the National Electrical Code. I am also always very aware of the condition of the electrical system where ever I live.

As far as your computer being safe just because you are bonded to it. Not necessarily. If you do not discharge any static before you touch an ungrounded chasis you can do damage. Actually even while you are bonded to the chasis if you and the chasis are not grounded you can still induce a static charge into your computer. You just will not know it because there will be no spark from your hand to the computer. Instead it will just travel through the satic strap.

That is why they have anti stat mats, raised access floors, grounding halos and static straps that are permanently attached to ground bars in some large computer rooms and telecom central offices, cell tower sites, etc...





Jim: A+, MCP W2k, Master Electrician

"The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing..."
-Albert Einstein

 

[BadBigBen]

BTW - has anyone mentioned that reseating the GFX card might alleviated his problem, aswell/or the RAM sticks? or taking out the NIC card that he installed a while back, which might be drawing power because of being disfunctional (BUSTED)...

BTW - here in GERMANY, all outlets are GROUNDED (Single PHASE power line Brown in color, NEUTRAL - BLUE in color hooked directly to GROUND aswell as GRN/YLW line which is earthed/Grounded aswell)... Radiators, Waterpipes all are grounded directly to, as the name says, GROUND... just to clear a few things up...

and yes I do know about wiring in the good ol' USA (lived 2 yrs in a DORM that had wiring from the 50 and 60's, weeehaw what fun that was, Computers down when the neighbor blow dried his hair or perked the coffee...)

Ben

 

[chriseubank]

Some motherboards don't like invalid jumper settings on the IDE channels, double check them...

oh, and don't hook up the ribbon cable backwards !!

Good luck!
Chris