Help!! Computer won't start

Hamza · November 8th, 2006, 06:57 PM

When I power om my computer, the network card flashs away, the rom drives start to spin as do the hard drives. The chasie fan is also spining as well as the fan on the cooler on the cpu.

However, nothing comes up on my screen, the memory check doesn't happen. In short, my pc doesn't work.

Does anyone have an ideas?? Is it my PSU or is it my cpu??

Thanks in advance for any help at all.

AMD 1800+
epox 8k3a
1GB Ram
WD 160 gig hard drive
disconnected floppy and dvd drives
64meg nvidia graphics card

Vyx · November 8th, 2006, 07:02 PM

I'm assuming this was a working computer before and it just started having problems.

Are you getting any sort of beeps from the system?

Have you removed/replaced the graphics card lately?
If so, you might try reseating it and making sure the power adapter is plugged in securely.

Blitzkreig75 · November 9th, 2006, 01:27 AM

To elaborate on what Override says, if you're not getting any beeps out of it, I'd be looking at the motherboard or CPU, (odds would be mobo, not CPU).

The beeps would point to an error being expierienced by the motherboard, if any hardware changes have been done and are not functioning properly.

The CPU fan working and LAN card lighting up says there's power getting TO the mobo.

No beeps? Mobo or CPU
Beeps? Something's not seated properly or malfunctioning

Hamza · November 9th, 2006, 07:10 AM

I thought there would be a short somewhere so I took the pc apart and rebuilt it. Can't here beeps as there's no internal speaker at the moment. will have to connect it.

Could it be anything to do with power as I am using a 300w psu? or memory could be knackered?

I will try the speaker thing tonight to hear any beeps and report back to you.

Thanks for your advices

Hamza · November 10th, 2006, 12:27 PM

added a speaker, rebooted pc, no beep. looks liek the mobo is screwed!

Thanks

Blitzkreig75 · November 10th, 2006, 06:11 PM

You might try a second, different power supply, but I'd wager you get the same results.

I'd only do this if you have one available....don't go buy one when the motherboard is non-responsive....

Hamza · November 14th, 2006, 04:51 PM

Hey,

Got a second power supply, well borrowed, so now I get constant measured bleeping. I have reseated the cpu, memory and graphics card and it's still bleeping.

I'm getting very tired now.

Any more advice?? Please??

Blitzkreig75 · November 14th, 2006, 05:22 PM

Hmmm....here's a few suggestions:

Try putting the old power supply back in and, (just to check), see if any activity occurs.

Try with one stick of RAM at a time...individualy. If no response, add another, and repeat with components untill you get that alarm.

Also, make sure you clear the CMOS. Perhaps your BIOS got misconfigured during diagonosing the problem.

Also, what brand name and watts are each of the PSU's respectively.

One more thing, DON'T GIVE UP!! You'll feel much better when you get it fixed that you were persistent and prevailed in the end!

stroyal · November 14th, 2006, 06:40 PM

If you know what kind of bios you have, here are the beep codes
http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

There is really no trick to diagnosing computer, even a computer shop can only try each part from the broken computer one at a time in a running computer or by trying known good parts in the broken computer.

The only problem is getting or having all those parts and a running computer.

One thing that can't be tested by this method is a motherboard to case short. The motherboard must be removed from the case and assembled on a non conductive surface, if that works you have to find where it is shorting. If you didn't have the motherboard out, that's probably not the problem.

belablack · November 15th, 2006, 10:33 PM

If your computer is beeping, find out what kind of BIOS you have then you can use the length & number of beeps to determine what kind of hardware failure you are having.

To find out what BIOS you have, the easiest way is to look at when the computer posts and see what the 'logo' says or the first info that scrolls up during the post, that is if you can get the computer to get this far.

Otherwise it should be on some of your documentation or you can look up online what kind of BIOS you have by looking at your motherboard and finding out what model/manu it is.

Once you find out the BIOS type, you can match up the beeps it is making to a chart like the one at http://www.biosbeeps.com

hope this helps!