Comp refuses to POST

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2 product reviews

11. July 2006 @ 08:07

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hi, well i got my new build on saturday (see sig), built it myself and it worked perfectly all saturday. then midday sunday, i was using it and the screen just went blank, and since then it's not POSTed at all. Now I'm trying to narrow down the cause of the problem so that i can send the faulty part back. I wasn't updating the BIOS so it can't be corrupted. I've tried resetting the CMOS even though there were no overclocks on it. The way i see it is there are 7 possible causes:
Powersupply is dead <-- ruled out as it works in my spare rig.
The Wire connecting my monitor to my comp is broken <-- ruled out as it works for my spare rig.
Monitor is dead <-- ruled out as it works for my spare rig.
MoBo is dead
CPU is dead
RAM is dead
GPU is dead
The power indicator LED and the Gigabit indicator LED on my MoBo light up when i switch it on, does this mean the MoBo is not the cause?
The fan on my GPU spins at full speed, does this mean the GPU is not the cause?
if anyone can tell me a way i can rule out other components as the cause please let me know. (please don't suggest that i should try the components in a diferent computer until i find the fault, as this is not an option for me)

Senior Member

11. July 2006 @ 08:18

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First off, do you have a PC speaker hooked up to the mobo? It may be giving you error beep sequences that you are unaware of. Do you have an old PCI gfx card? Try it instead (since you dont have integrated gfx on that mobo).

If it were me, I would strip it down to bare chassis, and rebuild it again. Ensuring that I dont have any grounding issues with the underside of the mobo, and double checking all of my connections as I go. I would set it up with the bare minimum to run (ie., if you have 2 sticks of RAM, only use one). I wouldnt even hook up HDDs or optical drives.

Keep us posted on the progress.

~Rich

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2 product reviews

13. July 2006 @ 06:47

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thanks for the advice, i've tried what you said but no luck, there were no beeps or anything. Unfortunately i don't have any GPU's pre-AGP - i'm too young to have ever owned one, but i bought 4 or 5 PCI GPU's off ebay last night, so i should be able to test on saturday

This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. July 2006 @ 06:48

haimback

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13. July 2006 @ 10:31

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If you arent getting to the POST then check all connections and hook it up with bare minimum as DoubleDwn suggested -that being grpahics card, one stick of ram and HDD (you forgot to mention the hard drive). Then try taking one component out at a time..ie try without the HDD, then without RAM. You will obviously get get error mesgs when you do this but you will be able to identify the cause.
If you still get nothing try without the Graphics card, you wont be able to see the comp POST you can listen for the all important beeb.
Failing that your looking at fried mobo or cpu.

ddp

Moderator

13. July 2006 @ 10:59

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check the can shaped objects that are capacitors that they are flat topped & not domed. try the board out of the case as might be a grounding prolem. try a screwdriver in place of power button to see if power button is the problem.

Senior Member

14. July 2006 @ 07:01

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@haimback: I left HDD out on purpose. It is not required for a PC to POST.

Definately try the screwdriver to jump the terminals on the mobo for the power switch as ddp suggested. I have solved many "broken" mother board issues this way.

Let us know the progress.

~Rich

haimback

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14. July 2006 @ 07:11

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@ doubkledwn

I know i was talking about this list...

Powersupply is dead <-- ruled out as it works in my spare rig.
The Wire connecting my monitor to my comp is broken <-- ruled out as it works for my spare rig.
Monitor is dead <-- ruled out as it works for my spare rig.
MoBo is dead
CPU is dead
RAM is dead
GPU is dead

Senior Member

14. July 2006 @ 07:45

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@haimback: Woops...sorry about that. No offense intended man.

~Rich

Member

2 product reviews

14. July 2006 @ 08:21

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@ddp
Yup, tried that, MoBo is sitting on the anti-static bag it came in, using a phillips head screwdriver to turn it on, and i get nothing.

@haimback
I left out hard drive 'cos i knew that if it was that, i'd at least get to the BIOS. I tried what you suggested, i took out the GPU then the RAM, and still no beeps, so it's deffinately a CPU or MoBO problem then?

Senior Member

14. July 2006 @ 12:36

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Do your system/CPU fans spin up when it is powered? I know you said your GPU fan does, but I was just curious about the others. Definately sounds like a cooked mobo or CPU. There is nothing else it could be, being that you eliminated everything else.

When you jumped the power switch with the screwdriver, did you get the same results as you would if you used the actual switch?

Wait a minute......you just bought this stuff, right???? Contact the retailer and get an exchange. Or contact the manufacturer and get an RMA # to get the stuff repaired/replaced.

~Rich

Member

2 product reviews

14. July 2006 @ 13:33

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yeah, all of the fans spin, and i got the exact same results with the screwdriver as the power button. I would have sent all the parts back, but the website i bought them from say that they charge you £10 + VAT + return shipping for each working item you send back for replacement. I'll probably just send back the CPU and the MoBo, thanks for your help everyone.