Ok, I haven’t asked a computer question for a long time - so I thought I’d ask a really good one:
I have an older PC that suddenly refuses to ‘start’. It’s got an ASUS P2L97 mobo w/Pent. II 300mHz; 2 hard drives; 250 w. power supply; and I’m running Windows 98SE. A very basic PC.
Here’s the thing - it was working fine, and then suddenly it wouldn’t shut off. Tried several times and finally pulled the plug. Put it on the ‘bench’ and the front panel on/off switch is shot. Disconnected it and by shorting the two wires, I know the ‘logic switch’ section if Fine. Also tested the power supply (under load) and the voltages are right where they should be (and the PS fan is running). I’ve pulled every card, tried to boot and it failed. Re-seated the cards - failed to boot. Checked the monitor - it’s working … although nothing shows on the screen while trying to start. Also, No ‘beeps’ so I’m guessing I’m not even getting to the POST test portion.
That’s the problem, any thoughts?
Thanks in advance to all …..
PS: Yes, the hard drives are spinning; I even pulled the RAM and re-seated them.

Pull the ram out and boot with it out... does it beep?
If it doesn't then the mobo may just be dead.

It's a P II... it's not like it hasn't lived a long life already. :)

Also, try replacing the video card with one that you know is good. If I recall correctly, the first thing the BIOS does when it boots is give control to the video card so it can boot up properly. It may be that if you have a bad video card, it's hanging there, and that's why you don't get any POST errors.

With a system this old it's more than likely some component (if not all of them) has far exceeded it's MTBF (Mean-time between failure) which is basically the estimated life-span of that component. The fact that there is no POST beep indicates a dead motherboard.

Sadly, it will probably be very difficult for you to find compatible replacement parts for this system and I recommend a new computer. If the specifications of this system were enough for what you were using it for, then a low-cost solution would be the $399 specials that are now available from most Wal-Marts. The systems are not spectacular by today's standards, but they far exceed this particular system. You can even transfer your hard drives to it (assuming they still work) to recover your data and pick up where you left off.