Power is on, nothing is running

[chesneyj]

I am trying to figure out a problem with a users computer that is vexing me. Any help would be appreciated.

The machine is an AMD Duron 650MHz with 128Mb of RAM, and is about 1 1/2 years old. I believe the motherboard is from EPOX (EP-8KTA). It worked fine on Friday when the user went home. When he came in on Monday, it would not boot up. The fans all run and it sounds like the hard drive is spinning but nothing appears on the monitor. The lights on the NIC are not lighting up but the CD drive will open.

I tried the hard drive, NIC, and video card in another computer and they all worked fine. I have switched out the power supply but nothing changed. I am left with either the motherboard or the processor chip unless someone has another idea.

Thanks for your help. Brenda Sherrod
Network Administrator
Alliance Architects, Inc.

 

[BChumie]

Have you tried switch the PCI slot in which the NIC was located? If not you should do so. This may sound stupid but I had a similar set up with and epox 8k7a motherboard, and when the nic was in the 3 PCI slot I would get nothing. When I changed it to the 4 or the 2 it would boot up fine. I don't know if that is the problem but it might be worth a try.

-Brad

 

[edfair]

Memory causes this on some M/Bs, otherwise you've narrowed it down to the essentials. You might try reseating the processor. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
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.

 

[Antimatter]

It's possible that both the mainboard and the CPU are fried if a voltage regulator has gone.
If you can, check the Vcore and VIO with a multimeter.

Have you tried a different PSU?

It's possible that the BIOS has become corrupt. If you have a universal programmer or want to try hotswapping to flash the BIOS, it's worth a try.

A good POST probe card will tell you more about the problem.

 

[Mulga]

Probably the motherboard, but I have known this syptom to be caused by all sorts of devices going bad, including but not limited to, CD ROM, Floppy, Sound Card, even in one instance the system speaker. Try unplugging absolutely everything that is not essential including all drives, cards and motherboard connectors and try to boot. Another possibility is a short between motherboard and chassis. To eliminate this take the board out of the case and place it on a soft, non conductive surface and try it there. All things are possible except skiing through a revolving door.

 

[chesneyj]

So far, I have tried the following:

-reseat memory and cpu chip. no change.
-disconnect all drives, speakers, etc. no change.
-changed pci slots for cards. no change.

>check the Vcore and VIO with a multimeter<

Unfortunately, I don't have access to a multimeter. Getting my office (a small architectural firm) to buy extra equipment is difficult. I don't have a universal programmer either.

I appreciate all of the suggestions. At this point, I think I will have to get a new motherboard. A similar board will cost me $100, so I might as well go ahead and replace it.

Thanks for all of your help.
Brenda Sherrod
Network Administrator
Alliance Architects, Inc.