[vik_221]

I have a P4 3.0 HT with an ASUS P4S800 motherboard. I moved to another city last week and brought my desktop along. Now its just not working.

When I press the power button the CPU fan runs but there are no beeps or anything and the system just doesn't boot up. On the screen its written "No signal".

Also the red light which shows hard disk activity stays on. Cd drives also don't work. Then when I try to turn off the computer using the power button, it doesn't turn off. So I have to turn it off manually by unplugging it.

Can anyone help me with this? Is my motherboard fried? Someone told me that maybe my power supply is gone... but then I wonder... if the power supply is gone then how can the CPU fan run? :(


Thanks

[CroCivic91]

Do you have an onboard video card, or a separate video card? If it's separate - it might have moved a bit, and that would cause the "No signal" effect. Also, perhaps the RAM moved a bit and doesn't have a good contact. I'd just open the case and take out all the cards (including RAM) and plug them back in.

Such problems sometimes happened to me while I was younger and used to kick my tower when my programs wouldn't work the way I wanted them to.

[vik_221]

I have removed the video card and ram both and plugged them in. Also, when the RAM is missing the motherboard should beep. But it doesn't. I turned it on without the RAM and still heard no beeps.

[ScottGem]

Sounds like it may have been damaged in the move. You probably need a tech to check if the mobo is bad or not.

[dj_humpyg]

Did you ever resolve this problem?

I have a very similar problem :( My computer was fine, but I was intending to do a full reinstall. I opened up the case, added in a new DVD drive, and some removable disk caddys, and then when it booted up, the master/slaves weren't set fully on one drive, so I rebooted a few times and kept on checking.

On one occasion, everything died. It no longer boots up, no post screen, no beeps, nothing on the monitor etc.

Also, I can turn the PC on, but I can't turn it off, it now has to be via the plug.

[LTheobald]

That doesn't sound good. The power pack may have shorted out by the sounds of it.

[dj_humpyg]

Well I tested the motherboard outside of the case, to test for shorts and no luck.

I tested 3 pieces of ram in various sockets including b1, and no luck there.

I tested 2 graphic cards, no luck there.

I'm running the system (Athlon64, 1GB ram) bare at the moment, but its got a 500w power supply. The one spares I have is 300w and 450w. The system don't work with these, but they might not be able to cope with the Athlon64?

I think it's either the motherboard or power supply at fault, so I've ordered myself a new viper case that includes a 500w power supply, so hopefully the power unit is good. I was thinking of buying a power unit on its own, but I'm sure the one in the case will be good enough.

If that fails, I guess the fault is with the motherboard. It seems strange though, that it was working fine for me, for the last 6 months or so, and it was only when I upgraded the dvd drive etc.

One other thing, I can turn the power on via the case, but I can't turn it off - this has to be via the plug at the wall - not good for the drives etc.

Power supply or motherboard - what do you think?

Thanks.

[JasonS]

Well, here's my input. I take no responsibility for any monetary, physical, or emotional damages resulting from taking any advice from me or this post, whether the damages are directly or indirectly related to the information I am providing here. You have been warned.

One of the first things an ordinary computer does is to run a POST check to verify the system's integrity. Usually, when POST fails, it will notify you with a series of beeps or light codes. Often times if a device fails, the circuit will be broken and POST will never run. Therefore, the first thing to do on a machine with a hardware error is remove hardware from the machine one piece at a time.

Of course, you should make the proper precautions: make sure the machine is unpluged and wear a static wrist band. In any case, I would start by removing the external peripherals, then the drives, then the cards, and the memory last. Try to start the machine after each removal. (If the machine then starts, note the device most recently removed and start replacing components removed before it, one at a time.)

Only when you have a board empty of most all compents, short of some RAM, you can be sure that one of the three components is at fault. If you have an extra machine that takes the same kind of RAM, you can test RAM in that easy enough, or obtain some RAM that you know works and is compatible with your board.

When you have ruled out the RAM, you can test the power supply. First and foremorst, make sure that the voltage selector switch in the back is set correctly. It should be around 110v if you are in the USA. I would obtain a working power supply from another unit and test it in the malfunctioning unit. If the board won't power up from that supply, it might possibly be the switch. If you can find the switch circuit you can take some wire and touch the pins together for a moment to jump the circuit manualy.

If your power supply is of the form factor ATX, you could test it by shorting pin #14 (green) and a ground pin (black), plugging it in and then unplugging it before removing the short to see if the fan starts spinning. I'd save that for a last ditch effort, as doing this is not good for the power supply. Then again, if the power supply is bad, it won't matter much what you do to it.

If your RAM is good, and your PSU is good, take a good look at the mounting of the board on the chasis. Make sure all the screws are in place, and no part of the board is making contact with any metal other than the mounting screws. Next, with the board unplugged, you can take a can of electric device friendly air and spray off all the dirt from the board and all of it's soldered on pieces. If at all possible, don't clean it by directly applying any material to the board, cloth or otherwise. Doing so may leave an unseen residue which at the very least will cause your machine to run hotter than normal.

If the board is clean and mounted correctly, and your other components are functioning normaly, then there isn't much left you can do with it. You could try connecting yet another PSU to it. If you are determined to find out what's wrong with it, you could try attaching a POST probe PCI card, to see if you get any indication of an error, or that POST was actually initiated.

Good luck.

Jason

[vik_221]

My cpu fan runs... so doesn't that mean that the power supply is working fine?. also I have some led lights in the front... they also come on but just that I don't hear any beeps and neither does the computer boot up.

As far as I think the motherboard is gone. Any opinions? I have don't standalone testing removing one component at a time. I'm not sure if it's the power supply or the motherboard because I haven't disconnected them and tested them separately.

I'm a newbie with computers and have never removed the motherboard from the case... so I don't know if I should do that because I mite end of spoiling some parts.

[themouseman]

May need to clear bios to reset board to original settings see owners manual to do this. VERY! VERY! VERY! Important disconect power before doing this or you will kill motherboard and replace jumper to original setting before connecting power cable.

Better yet get an a+ certified tech to do this for you

[fredg]

Hi,
You can really save yourself some time and aggrevation by taking your computer to a local computer sales/repair store. Let them check it out. Ask beforehand, what the cost will be just to check it out for you.
This will save you time, aggrevation, and possibly save you from damaging your computer even more.
Best wishes,
fredg

[Kavans]

Did u try reinstallin processor? I faced same issue 6 months back while moving to new place.

Reinstalling processor and ram are few of first things intel tells u to check in case system is not starting.