PC dead D:

dubbs

dubbs

dubbs

Associate
Joined
23 Dec 2008
Posts
244
Location
Plymouth
Ok so i was on my pc and then suddenly it instantly turned off.

ON trying to turn it on again the first few times i pressed the power button it went to turn on and then failed.

Now when i power it up it powers up, fans spin and lights come on but thats it. no POST, nothing.

I have tried:

Resetting the CMOS

Reseating the RAM and powering on with only one stick in (in different orders etc.)


Now my guesses have been:

RAM: IF this was the issue surely it would still post?
CPU: as it doesnt post or anything it just powers on
Motherboard: possible but would CPU fan etc power on?
PSU: as above would things power on if this was the issue?


Also im pretty sure i heard the HDD spin up.

Thanks for any help / suggestions.


(sorry if this is the wrong section, if so could a mod please move it? thanks)
 
Look at the thread I created "urgent! Pc dead" in my profile. Should give you a good idea where to start.
 
Power on then fail = sounds like some kind of MOSFET failure to me. I've had them fail, both on the motherboard and (on a seperate occasion) the graphics card in the VRM circuit, and they've both done the same thing.
 
Last edited:
You should really post in general hardware for these types of things.

PSU can power up even if it's the problem so I wouldn't rule it out.
 
There is nothing more frustrating than troubleshooting computers. As it's not a new build I think we can rule out that it's not that you've made a mistake with the connections but hardware failure.

This is what makes it frustrating in that you need spare parts to test what's what. Does the mobo have a speaker attached internally? The beeps you get when the system posts are your best clues to what is wrong. If you are not hearing any beeps at all this is not a good sign!

From what you've described I would hazard a guess that the mobo has given up the ghost but you cannot rule out the PSU too.

Can you borrow a psu from someone to test the system? If that resolves it you know that's what's wrong, although it is known for failing psu's to take components out with them.

If you are going to replace the mobo it may well be wise to upgrade to a ddr3 mobo but one that is still compatible with your cpu. By doing this you will need to buy new RAM (2GB to start off with say) but this will eliminate two parts from the equation at the same time. You should be able to source these for around £60, you can spend more if you wish obviously.

I know this isnt what you want to hear no-one likes to spend (our gfs excluded lol) but far better to spend out on parts than "waste" money paying labour for someone to look it over and then pay for parts on top.

In short borrow a psu, to buy new a good one is going to be £50-60. If this doesnt resolve the issue, that money would have covered the new mobo and RAM purchase. Just be aware it's possible that both your psu and mobo have borked!
 
Last edited:
honosuseri said:
There is nothing more frustrating than troubleshooting computers. As it's not a new build I think we can rule out that it's not that you've made a mistake with the connections but hardware failure.

This is what makes it frustrating in that you need spare parts to test what's what. Does the mobo have a speaker attached internally? The beeps you get when the system posts are your best clues to what is wrong. If you are not hearing any beeps at all this is not a good sign!

From what you've described I would hazard a guess that the mobo has given up the ghost but you cannot rule out the PSU too.

Can you borrow a psu from someone to test the system? If that resolves it you know that's what's wrong, although it is known for failing psu's to take components out with them.

If you are going to replace the mobo it may well be wise to upgrade to a ddr3 mobo but one that is still compatible with your cpu. By doing this you will need to buy new RAM (2GB to start off with say) but this will eliminate two parts from the equation at the same time. You should be able to source these for around £60, you can spend more if you wish obviously.

I know this isnt what you want to hear no-one likes to spend (our gfs excluded lol) but far better to spend out on parts than "waste" money paying labour for someone to look it over and then pay for parts on top.

In short borrow a psu, to buy new a good one is going to be £50-60. If this doesnt resolve the issue, that money would have covered the new mobo and RAM purchase. Just be aware it's possible that both your psu and mobo have borked!
Click to expand...


just tried a new PSU and still doing the same, i guess i should buy a new motherboard then?
 
Try removing CMOS battery for 10-15 mins and see if that helps, sometimes resetting it with a switch/jumper just isn't enough to clear the memory.
 
Remove everything except the CPU and speaker connected to the jumpers on the motherboard.

If it beeps due to lack of memory then add the memory back until it stops, if it doesn't beep at all then by definition it's going to be either a faulty motherboard, CPU or PSU.
 
Durzel said:
Remove everything except the CPU and speaker connected to the jumpers on the motherboard.

If it beeps due to lack of memory then add the memory back until it stops, if it doesn't beep at all then by definition it's going to be either a faulty motherboard, CPU or PSU.
Click to expand...

i tried a new psu with only the motherboard plugged in (and the 4 pin ATX) and still the same. should i chance that it is motherboard and go buy a new one?
 
u have got the speaker pluged in right so u can hear the beeps if it does any ?

u cant really narrow it down without the speaker
but it should beep if theres no ram installed.

some even beep for faulty CPU's

also, without a gfx card, it wont post either, but u should get beeps about it
 
Cycrow said:
u have got the speaker pluged in right so u can hear the beeps if it does any ?

u cant really narrow it down without the speaker
but it should beep if theres no ram installed.

some even beep for faulty CPU's

also, without a gfx card, it wont post either, but u should get beeps about it
Click to expand...

i do have an internal speaker in yes
 
Yip sounds like the mobo has had it, I did suspect this to be so.

You just need to decide wether to replace or take this opportunity to do an upgrade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom