Need a little help

[Dean Campbell]

Hi. A colleague has asked me to take a look at pc he was given .

Unsure of the spec:

Msi motherboard (no ports for display)

4 sticks of ram . MB has 6 slots in total

Windforce gfx card??? Only number i can see is d33006

Cpu no idea

No hdd that i can see .



It turns on but the screen says no signal.ive used a hdmi on the gfx card to connect to a tv as there is no ports on the motherboard.

Any ideas where to start?

 

[Tetras]

Since it is likely to be an old board, I'd replace the battery.

 

[Simon Belmont]

Replace battery as said above, If it doesn't work then check connections on MB. Trying a different GPU

 

[throwaway4372]

my gut feeling is it might be too old to be worthwhile.
what is the objective here? just to get it working? for what sort of usage?

some pictures could help ppl identify what hardware we're working with:
- photo of motherboard
- photo of the ports on the back of the pc including the graphics card ports
- photo of label on side of ram stick
- photo of label on side of power supply
- photo of graphics card

 

[freddie64]

With it having 6 x RAM slots, my thinking is it is a X58 motherboard.

From what ican remember it did not support onboard graphics so you do need a Seperate GPU.

If it is X58 think the RAM has to be in correct slots if using 4 sticks.

As has been mentioned, change the battery and some pictures will help a lot.

 

[chipps101]

Change the cmos battery, reset the bios and try it with just a single stick of ram would be my first step.
You could also try the gpu in a different pcie slot if there is more than one.

 

[Mel_P]

There is usually a motherboard ID etched / printed on the motherboard? Not one visible?

 

[N17 dizzi]

I am unsure of all this battery replacement advice, one guy said it now everyone is copying . Come on guys it would not stop it posting/sending a signal even if the battery was as flat as a pancake, unless there are additional issues. So we can eliminate needing to replace the battery to get it sending a signal to the monitor.

It is powering on, so possibly a dead HDMI cable, dead GPU, or dead HDMI port, dead monitor, RAM issue, MOBO
issue etc.
First unplug everything that is not essential from the motherboard (usb, audio, thunderbolt connections etc), take out the battery wait 10 seconds then pop it back in to reset any settings. A saved bios setting that is non default could cause this behaviour. Give it a good blast of air in case some human skin particles (dust) are causing a short somewhere. Remove all sticks of memory leaving only 1 as per chipps101, and try alternate ones if the first doesn't work. I would try a different HDMI cable or a display port cable if it has one? Try all the possible ports.

The GPU listed if windforce is a gigabyte model, but that number returns multiple possibilities, a photo would give more information. Possibly a GTX 1650?

My instinct is its the type of signal going to a TV if it is powering on. Also, the fact there is no HDD/SSD and, therefore, no OS present. An OS may recognise the display and adjust accordingly.

We need more info from OP at this point. Like most of these types of issues it is a case of eliminating what it could be to narrow it down.

 

[Dean Campbell]

Sorry ive been occupied with house buying .

Its at work so ill try and give some more info that i know.


its not a x85. I messed up its actually 8 slots for ram 4 to the left 4 to the right . It did show where to the ram if all slots were not filled and they were in the correct slots

The fans do spin constantly but at a low rpm .

Hdmi cable was a new on that i used .

Ill get photos tomorrow

 

[N17 dizzi]

Sorry ive been occupied with house buying .

Its at work so ill try and give some more info that i know.


its not a x85. I messed up its actually 8 slots for ram 4 to the left 4 to the right . It did show where to the ram if all slots were not filled and they were in the correct slots

The fans do spin constantly but at a low rpm .

Hdmi cable was a new on that i used .

Ill get photos tomorrow

Is there any indication it is posting, such as LEDs cycling on the motherboard itself? If the fans start spinning more quickly then slow down and stay steady that could indicate it is posting to bios. If so, she's a good'un, but then maybe the GPU is duff. If you have another type of monitor to try instead of a TV that might help.

Good luck with it

 

[Tetras]

I am unsure of all this battery replacement advice, one guy said it now everyone is copying . Come on guys it would not stop it posting/sending a signal even if the battery was as flat as a pancake, unless there are additional issues. So we can eliminate needing to replace the battery to get it sending a signal to the monitor.

I was the one that originally suggested it and while I agree with your logic in theory, dead batteries can indeed stop a PC from posting and since they cost very little and are easy to replace, it is the first thing I'd do with an old system when I have no idea about the history.

 

[N17 dizzi]

I was the one that originally suggested it and while I agree with your logic in theory, dead batteries can indeed stop a PC from posting and since they cost very little and are easy to replace, it is the first thing I'd do with an old system when I have no idea about the history.

Nope, you're not going to convince me with pretend agreement with my "logic", logic doesn't come into it. I have been building systems since the 1990s and the first Pentium. While there may be edge cases of it happening and perhaps something else additionally wrong to do with the settings, jumpers or what not, this is not a feature of modern or otherwise motherboards that a flat CMOS battery will prevent a system from booting. Perhaps there have been models that halt post if they detect a flat battery, but I have never ever encountered one. Not once.

Does a flat battery impact saving user settings? Yes. Impact the time and date being reset? Yes. Not, as a rule or even as a rare event in my experience, prevent a system from booting and certainly not the first thing OP should be worrying about in his situation. I might suggest that you go and take the battery out of your own system, and watch it boot with no battery whatsoever. In any case, there are multiple other things OP should try at hand without having to go out and find a new CR2032.

You can try googling a few examples of other cases of a cmos battery killing a system, but you still won't convince me it is the first thing OP should try.

 

[Tetras]

Nope, you're not going to convince me with pretend agreement with my "logic", logic doesn't come into it. I have been building systems since the 1990s and the first Pentium. While there may be edge cases of it happening and perhaps something else additionally wrong to do with the settings, jumpers or what not, this is not a feature of modern or otherwise motherboards that a flat CMOS battery will prevent a system from booting. Perhaps there have been models that halt post if they detect a flat battery, but I have never ever encountered one. Not once.

Does a flat battery impact saving user settings? Yes. Impact the time and date being reset? Yes. Not, as a rule or even as a rare event in my experience, prevent a system from booting and certainly not the first thing OP should be worrying about in his situation. I might suggest that you go and take the battery out of your own system, and watch it boot with no battery whatsoever. In any case, there are multiple other things OP should try at hand without having to go out and find a new CR2032.

You can try googling a few examples of other cases of a cmos battery killing a system, but you still won't convince me it is the first thing OP should try.

The first time I saw it resolve the issue on this forum I thought much like you, "Huh? The battery? How is that even possible?". But, I watched the OP came back and say "Thanks, that did it!" and though I still thought "Eh, what?", I accepted it and moved on.

And then, I saw it a few other times and came to think "... okay, apparently they know something I don't" and now? I'm at a point I will suggest it myself.

I'm not interested in debating which one of us is allowed to make suggestions, but it was not: "pretend agreement".

 

[N17 dizzi]

I didn't say anything about either of us being or not being allowed to make suggestions, my point is it isn't the first, second, third priority. You said you agree with my logic and then you simply made your point again. Seriously, go and remove your battery, power up, and see what happens.

EDIT: the caveat here, when I have heard of the battery being part of the issue, is when it isn't anything about the battery at all, but the saved bios settings. Which is why I said to remove the battery, leaving time for the system to drain or trying the power button to remove any charge, therefore clearing problematic settings, placing battery back in, and booting up to see if clearing cmos has done the trick.

No new battery required.

 

[Tetras]

You said you agree with my logic and then you simply made your point again.

No. I was replying to your point about "pretend agreement", because the condescension in your tone implied it was a distasteful form of appeasement/fakery, presumably with the intention to persuade.

What I said, was that I agree/agreed with the logic that replacing a battery should not fix the issue, except that I've seen it work often enough I've had to change my mind.

Seriously, go and remove your battery, power up, and see what happens.

Where do you think my first opinion about dead batteries came from? I know you think I'm a noob, but believe it or not, I have seen the insides of a PC or two.

my point is it isn't the first, second, third priority

I rarely intend to imply a priority in my suggestions, they aren't even super consistent from post to post, since e.g. it depends on my mood and the time I have available.

I'm comfortable with the OP picking whatever takes their fancy, that's part of the beauty of forums.

I didn't take any issue with your suggestions, they were reasonable and any of them could work.

However, you also said:

So we can eliminate needing to replace the battery to get it sending a signal to the monitor.

Hence, I replied to say that no, it actually can work and there's a reason it is being suggested:

I was the one that originally suggested it and while I agree with your logic in theory, dead batteries can indeed stop a PC from posting and since they cost very little and are easy to replace, it is the first thing I'd do with an old system when I have no idea about the history.

EDIT: the caveat here, when I have heard of the battery being part of the issue, is when it isn't anything about the battery at all, but the saved bios settings. Which is why I said to remove the battery, leaving time for the system to drain or trying the power button to remove any charge, therefore clearing problematic settings, placing battery back in, and booting up to see if clearing cmos has done the trick.

My suspicion would be similar to that, that corrupt settings are worse than just zero settings, so maybe half dead batteries cause problems and dead batteries don't, but like I said, I don't know why and it didn't make much sense, I just saw that it can work often enough that I changed my opinion.

 

[freddie64]

I am unsure of all this battery replacement advice, one guy said it now everyone is copying . Come on guys it would not stop it posting/sending a signal even if the battery was as flat as a pancake, unless there are additional issues. So we can eliminate needing to replace the battery to get it sending a signal to the monitor.

It is a old PC that was gifted to the OP's mate that does not work. We don't know how old the PC is and batteries can degrade/die over time.

The cheapest thing to try is a new battery if no other parts are available for testing purposes. Imagine if you had a broken PC and you bought/borrowed new/SH parts and it turned out to be the battery all along.

For the record, i think i have replaced a cmos battery once just in case, but i would do it again to rule it out.

 

[N17 dizzi]

Once more, my point, based on vast experience, is the battery is not what is causing this behaviour (possibly incorrect bios settings, so remove said battery, but not a flat battery).

Your PCs, freddie64 and Tetras, will both boot without a battery. I am not saying OP should not replace his battery. You are making it out to be the number 1 go to solution, and it is not. At this point I would actually buy flat CR2032s to send you both to put in your systems, and they would both still boot albeit with incorrect time and date. Which means that advising someone they should replace their battery to help thier system's faulty booting behaviour is not going to solve anything, which is why I have made this point so vehemently. Although Tetras has taken it personally, it is not a personal attack whatsoever.

It is not the first piece of advice I would give someone that has been given a PC not working as expected. "Oh buddy replace your battery!". Two of the RAM slots are faulty, half the I/O doesn't work, but that battery is going to be your problem. NO!!!

This is the last time I reply to this thread about batteries. I am, at this stage, smashing my head against a brick wall. You go keep getting people to replace their 2032s, when what is actually happening in those scenarios (if it helps them) is that any incorrect settings are being reset and hey presto, system works.

 

[labbby]

This is the last time I reply to this thread

Great news..

Now that the amateur has gone let’s sort this problem

 

[Mel_P]

Ill get photos tomorrow

Any photos yet please?

 

[Loxa]

Once more, my point, based on vast experience, is the battery is not what is causing this behaviour (possibly incorrect bios settings, so remove said battery, but not a flat battery).

Your PCs, freddie64 and Tetras, will both boot without a battery. I am not saying OP should not replace his battery. You are making it out to be the number 1 go to solution, and it is not. At this point I would actually buy flat CR2032s to send you both to put in your systems, and they would both still boot albeit with incorrect time and date. Which means that advising someone they should replace their battery to help thier system's faulty booting behaviour is not going to solve anything, which is why I have made this point so vehemently. Although Tetras has taken it personally, it is not a personal attack whatsoever.

It is not the first piece of advice I would give someone that has been given a PC not working as expected. "Oh buddy replace your battery!". Two of the RAM slots are faulty, half the I/O doesn't work, but that battery is going to be your problem. NO!!!

This is the last time I reply to this thread about batteries. I am, at this stage, smashing my head against a brick wall. You go keep getting people to replace their 2032s, when what is actually happening in those scenarios (if it helps them) is that any incorrect settings are being reset and hey presto, system works.

I mean.. Come on, let's be honest. It might be a rare occurrence but a dead 2032 can cause a computer to not boot.