PC won't boot up, can anyone help?

[ostrich69]

I have an old computer lying around that will not boot up. When I turn it on, there are no beeps, no fans turn on, and no lights turn on. It's as if I didn't press the on switch.

Here are the parts:

This is my motherboard:

http://www.ecsusa.com/products/k7s5a_v3.html

I have an AMD Athlon XP 1700+ CPU

I have 2 x 128 MB 133 mhz SDRAM sticks.

A 6 gb HD

GeForce 4 MX 440 Video Card


This is what I have tried so far to fix the problem:

-Check all the power connections, to make sure they were properly connected.

-Hook up the power supply with my other running computer. The computer worked with the power supply in question. It is a 400W power supply.

-I removed both RAM sticks and tried them in my other computer, one at a time and the computer booted up fine.


I don't know what else to check or try. Can anyone help with this problem?

 

[lgebhart]

Make sure the correct pins are jumpered on the motherboard power button, I forget what color the wire is maybe green and white. Your motherboard manual will tell you what wires attach where on those (12 or 13)pins. If you are one pin off on the power, one direction or another it will not turn on at all, as if you never touched the button.



lgebhart

A+, Network+, IC3
MAI for MS Office 2000
OSHA Outreach Trainer

 

[micker377]

Power switch pins are: 2 4 6 8 10
1 3 5 7 9
# 6 and #8 - #10 is missing (locating key).

I'd first check the CMOS battery (may be dead, changing BIOS settings). Reset the CMOS (JP1 - next to the AGP slot). 1-2 = clear, 2-3 = normal. Pull CPU and reseat (replace thermal paste).

 

[wolluf]

After checking as suggested above, if still no good, disconnect everything apart from RAM, cpu, graphics card/monitor and keyboard (ie, no floppy, hard drive, CD/DVD drives, PCI cards). See if it will boot now - and if it will, connect hardware back one at a time.

PS. Have you tried the cpu in another machine too?

 

[ostrich69]

micker377,

I checked the Front Panel Connector, and the power switch was not in the correct place. Now that I put it in the correct place, the PC powers on, but I get some beeps.

The bios setup utility is AMIBIOS.

When I power on, this is what happens:

I get 2 fast beeps, about 2 seconds later I get 8 beeps, about 5 seconds later I get 2 fast beeps, followed by 1 last beep.

What can be the problem now?

 

[micker377]

Memory or video card. Remove and re-insert.

 

[Gloryhound]

First off, your system is behaving like it's shorted out.. Take the main board out of the case. I'm betting that this happened after you moved the computer from one place to another.

Once out of the case hook up the power supply and reinsert the video card. Make sure the mainboard is placed on a
non-conductive surface, no metal tables allowed. Turn the unit on by temporarily crossing the pins that the power supply switch would connect to. You can do this with a screwdriver or a paper clip. There should be no chance of shock, well at least in all the years that I've been doing I've never recieved one.

You should be rewarded with a POST screen. IF not toss it, it's junk

 

[ostrich69]

Reseating the RAM and Video card helped. The computer now boots properly, however I am having a huge problem with my floppy and IDE drives.

I have a 48x CDROM, This HD and floppy.

The computer doesn't detect any of the 3. What should I check for? If necessary I can provide a picture of the cabling inside.

 

[pcdoc4christ]

Hey Ostrich69:

I'm not sure what you mean by "the computer boots properly" but "doesn't detect" the hard drive, floppy drive or CD-ROM drive. The PC cannot boot unless it is able to detect one of the three (or another drive that you have not mentioned). Do you mean the power supply fan turns on but the computer stops before it boots to the operating system?

Please explain.

 

[ostrich69]

What I meant to say was that I was not getting anymore error beeps. I managed to fix the problem, I put the HD and CDROM on their own channel.

My only problem now is a minor one, the cdrom light seems to be always on. I tried to install Windows 2000 and several .rmi, .cls and .wav files had to be skipped in the installation. Is this a sign that the CDROM is going? It is 1.5 years old, and hasn't been used much in that time.

 

[pcdoc4christ]

Ostrich69:

Could be. A small amount of static electricity may fry some connections on the circuit board of the CD-ROM drive. It's always a good idea to use a static strap (available for a few dollars at Radio Shack or some other electronics supply store. If you can't find one, at least touch a metal, non-painted, side of the PC case before installing hardware. I even run a humidifier for a half an hour or so before i open up a PC's case.

It may also be that the IDE cable is simply loose. Try unplugging it & plugging it back in (be careful not to bend any of the pins). Try unplugging & plugging the power supply connector as well.

Your CD-ROM drive may also be dirty inside. There are kits you may purchase to clean the lense on the laser, but i have not had much success with these.

If all else fails, buy a new CD-ROM drive. I recently purchased a Lite-On CD-RW drive from Circuit City for about $70.00. After the store & manufacturer's rebates it cost me just $15.00!

Regards

==============================
"Freely you have received, freely give." --Jesus
pcdoc4christ@yahoo.com

 

[speedy58]

CD ROM lights will stay on when the ribbon cable is plugged in wrong. Make sure the side with the red strip is on pin 1 on the motherboard and on pin 1 of the CD ROM connector. Otherwise try another cable. Same with your Hard Drive.

 

[pcdoc4christ]

Speedy:

Yeah, that is certainly true with floppy drives. In that case, the drive also won't work at all. I'm thinking that the light being on, in this case, indicates that there is a compact disk still in the drive.

Ostrich:

My guess is that (1) maybe your Windows 2000 installation CD is scratched or needs cleaning, or (2) your CD-ROM drive is not functioning properly. If you do try to clean the disk, do NOT rub in a circular motion; instead rub gently, with a soft cloth, from the center to the outside edge of the compact disk in a straight line.