PC died - Trying to figure out which part is broken - Advice needed please

SkScotchegg · 25 Jun 2011 at 13:32

Hi there, my PC died last night and I spent a while looking at it trying to figure out whats gone wrong and then again today I been trying to work it out still and I was pretty sure it was either the hard drive or graphics card that had gone, because the PC turns on, the fans are all spinning, the LED lights are on.

It just doesnt seem to start up, and nothing displays on the monitor, I thought it was the hard drive because I didnt hear a beep or anything at startup and am sure it used to beep once when starting normally in the DOS section within first 10 seconds of powering on but now it doesn't. So I just been and bought a 500GB sata 3 internal HDD and plugged it in but its still not working, its still doing the same, nothing is displaying on the monitor, so I guess I was wrong about my hard drive dying and I think now its the graphics card instead.

Would you agree?

On the monitor right now as I type this its got a message saying "check signal cable".

I only bought this "ATI HD 5770 1GB" like 9 months ago or something...I'm usually the type of person that upgrades once every 3-5 to 5 years so if its the graphics card am going to be mad!

Also I can see the green light on the motherboard.

Just to explain how much knowledge I have, I usually build my own PC, even tho thats not hard and usually manage to fix these problems myself, I never take my PC to a shop and pay someone else to fix it. But at the same time I probably dont know half as much as some of you on this forum.

I'm just thinking now its got to be the graphics card, dont you think?

EDIT: I've tried taking out all the components and putting them back in, also trying one at a time, and also one stick of ram at a time.

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 13:33

you dont need a hard drive for it to post so i would rule that out.
possibly the gfx card, motherboard, cpu or ram, dont think much else is tested in POST.
another issue could be psu.

if you have no other components to test with i would start with removing and reseating the cpu, gfx and ram. if that doesnt work then removed anything that isnt needed (hard drives, dvd drives, front audio/usb...) and try again.

SkScotchegg · 25 Jun 2011 at 13:57

paradisiac said:
you dont need a hard drive for it to post so i would rule that out.
possibly the gfx card, motherboard, cpu or ram, dont think much else is tested in POST.
another issue could be psu.

if you have no other components to test with i would start with removing and reseating the cpu, gfx and ram. if that doesnt work then removed anything that isnt needed (hard drives, dvd drives, front audio/usb...) and try again.

If it was PSU though would it power on at all?

I wish I had a 2nd PC so I could try all different components in other PC so I could see which works.

I've tried everything am really not sure what it is.

The fact that it doesnt boot up and nothing displays makes me thinks its the graphics card tho.

It's like the PC is on, but its just not booting.

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:02

SkScotchegg said:
If it was PSU though would it power on at all?

not always, i have seen several pcs where the fans all spin, but no post due to dead psu, so its worth checking if you can.

SkScotchegg said:
I wish I had a 2nd PC so I could try all different components in other PC so I could see which works.

I've tried everything am really not sure what it is.

The fact that it doesnt boot up and nothing displays makes me thinks its the graphics card tho.

It's like the PC is on, but its just not booting.

take out the ram and turn it on, if it beeps like mad, then atleast we know the speaker works and that would rule out ram pretty much.

Tealc · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:06

If it was graphics failure you'd expect some beeps from POST.

Are the fans powered through the motherboard or Molex/Fan controller?

Do you have a case speaker? A motherboard display?

Have you tried clearing CMOS(jumper or battery removal)?

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:09

Tealc said:
If it was graphics failure you'd expect some beeps from POST.

Are the fans powered through the motherboard or Molex/Fan controller?

Do you have a case speaker? A motherboard display?

Have you tried clearing CMOS(jumper or battery removal)?

which is why i suggested taking out the ram and turing on, atleast that way we 'should' find out if the mobo speaker is working.

SkScotchegg · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:10

paradisiac said:
not always, i have seen several pcs where the fans all spin, but no post due to dead psu, so its worth checking if you can.

take out the ram and turn it on, if it beeps like mad, then atleast we know the speaker works and that would rule out ram pretty much.

I just took out all the ram a min ago mate and tried individual sticks, didnt make a difference and heard no beeps.

I just read about my problem on another forum, loads of people explaining exact same problem as me, and the people that replied to those people said that because they arent getting the single beep at the start of the dos that it means we're FUBAR'ED and that its most probably the motherboard/ram/cpu.

So now after reading that am thinking this 3 year old PC might have actually proper died on me.

I'm thinking am just gona have to buy a whole new PC :mad:

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:12

SkScotchegg said:
I just took out all the ram a min ago mate and tried individual sticks, didnt make a difference and heard no beeps.

I just read about my problem on another forum, loads of people explaining exact same problem as me, and the people that replied to those people said that because they arent getting the single beep at the start of the dos that it means we're FUBAR'ED and that its most probably the motherboard/ram/cpu.

So now after reading that am thinking this 3 year old PC might have actually proper died on me.

I'm thinking am just gona have to buy a whole new PC

no beep could be anything, i wouldnt write it off just yet.
POST check motherboard, cpu, ram and gfx card, so as its not posting i would say one of those or psu is faulty.
now none of these will cost a fortune (depending on your spec) to replace.
did you turn it on, with NO ram fitted?

SkScotchegg · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:13

Yeah I did try without no ram sticks too, made no beeps, I was expecting beeps, should I have got some beeps with no ram? I also tried with no gfx card plugged in and it still didnt beep, do you reckon its the mobo then?

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:16

SkScotchegg said:
Yeah I did try without no ram sticks too, made no beeps, I was expecting beeps, should I have got some beeps with no ram? I also tried with no gfx card plugged in and it still didnt beep, do you reckon its the mobo then?

yes you should have got beeps with no ram. so either your speaker is dead, or its not even getting to the stage of checking the ram.

SkScotchegg · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:36

paradisiac said:
yes you should have got beeps with no ram. so either your speaker is dead, or its not even getting to the stage of checking the ram.

This situation is funny, but at same time, not funny, because I got a great setup usually, I have a massive desk with PC, monitor, xbox 360 and projector, and I can play games and movies from PC or xbox through monitor or projector but now that the PC is dead I got no sound, because I plug my PC and xbox 360 into same sound card, and if PC dont turn on, I got no sound, so now I cant watch or play anything, with anything lol...

Am like omg, sent me back to the stone age, I dont have a TV either coz I prefer to watch movies on my projector and I dont like tv programs or soaps.

I got old creative inspire 5,1 setup round the bedroom, only problem is its anolgue and not digital so I can't plug in my xbox to speakers coz I only got opticle cable and no other method of output appart from hdmi on new xbox slim.

So now I got no sound basically without my PC, I prob wont have the cash to buy anything we need, even if it was the mobo, I aint got money for one.

Which is why am thinking my last available option is just to buy a new tower from comet on comet card, even tho I dont like to do that kind of thing because I usually like to buy seperate components and build it myself from scratch, but just been looking at their site and specs are pretty good, can get an i5 setup for £350 and then could just strip it out and put it in my own case and buy upgrades for it later,

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:37

what is your exact spec?
do you have anyone you can borrow a psu or gfx to test?

SkScotchegg · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:44

paradisiac said:
what is your exact spec?
do you have anyone you can borrow a psu or gfx to test?

Its prob over 3 years old now, but from memory I think it was this:
Intel quad core q8200 2ghz
Intel DG45ID mobo
4GB ram
ATI HD 5770 1GB PCI express
Sound Blaster 5.1 PCI sound card

Everyone I know just has laptops, nobody seems to buy PC's anymore, well my family and friends dont anyway.

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:46

intel said:
Introducing the Intel® Desktop Board DG45ID built in micro-ATX form factor. This board is designed to bring you the next level of quality home entertainment experience with integrated HDMI display output and hardware accelerated decode during high-definition playback. With support of Intel® Core™2 Quad processors and up to 1333 MHz FSB, this desktop board truly brings joy to your living room.

that mobo suggests it has onboard video? so remove gfx card and see if it works off that?

SkScotchegg · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:50

I know I was wrong about the hard drive, but I really dont think it can be the graphics card ya know, because the rest of the PC is over 3 years old but I only bought this graphics card like 9 months ago or something when the last one died due to overheating.

Also from my experience with graphics cards in the past, it didnt have any of the tell tale signs of failing.

Also I play games all the time, I was gaming yesterday an hour before it broke and I had 60fps in cs and bf2 and sc2 all on max settings and so it never felt like it was struggling in any games or anything, and always watch bluerays etc.

PC felt fine and fast.

And graphics card temperature I actually checked other day and it always seems to be around 45-55° which I think is good for stock heatsinks/fan without watercooling.

I think its either motherboard or PSU now. You can get a new PSU for £40 like...

I just never had problems like this before with PSU tho, and just find it weird how it can seem as if its on with the power like coz fans and lights are on.

I really dont know what it can be tho, but surely its got to be PSU or mobo.

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:54

if you have onboard video, remove the card and try that. it could be that (pretty sure all 5770s are powered) the psu just cant power it enough. so i would start there.
its best to go through everything thats free to eliminate it first.

SkScotchegg · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:56

paradisiac said:
that mobo suggests it has onboard video? so remove gfx card and see if it works off that?

I didnt even know lol, just tried it, still didnt display, does same thing.

BUT...I got some more info!!! Ya know whats happening now, its doing sommat different, its turning on and as it was doing before with fans and lights but then after 5 seconds turning off, and then 5 seconds later turning on and staying on...

So now that makes me think its the power.

Just to clarify, when I say on, I dont mean on, like booting up, I just meant like what it was doing before.

But before when I pressed power buttong it would power on and stay on but with nothing displayed and no beep and wouldnt boot up.

Now it turns on, 5 seconds, goes off, and then comes back on again 5 seconds later on its own....wth.

...Also thanks for your help so far mate.

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 14:58

i would remove the cmos battery (and disconnect the psu from motherboard) for 5-10 mins so bios can drain. has it been overclocked at all?
i would say its pointing to mobo or psu, with the outside chance of cpu.

SkScotchegg · 25 Jun 2011 at 15:00

paradisiac said:
i would remove the cmos battery (and disconnect the psu from motherboard) for 5-10 mins so bios can drain. has it been overclocked at all?
i would say its pointing to mobo or psu, with the outside chance of cpu.

Ok I'll do that, and no nothing has ever been overclocked, mobo doesnt support overclocking.

paradisiac · 25 Jun 2011 at 15:01

its a shame you have nothing to test with, but atleast you are slowly eliminating things. i would say 99% your ram and gfx card are good.
do you know the make/model of your psu?