Is there a (PC) doctor in the house?

[:FI:Nellip]

My son's PC has stopped working. He was using it and then the screen output disappeared, although PC itself still seems to be running (fans etc anyway).

I have checked and eliminated the following so far:

1. LCD screen - fine, just not getting a signal from the PC
2. Connections - all cables seem to be OK
3. Graphics card (most likely suspect) - swapped that out for another one I had in the spares box and it made no difference
4. PSU - seems to work, in that the PC still powers up and fans are working etc
5. RAM - made sure the strips were seated OK on the mobo, nothing else

After that I am a bit stumped. The machine is getting on a bit (around 5 years old) but was a reasonable spec machine when new, indeed it was my PC until I upgraded 18 months ago. The fact that the machine seems to power up but no screen output made me think graphics card, but now I have tested that I really don't know what else to look at.

Any bright ideas?

[:FI:Gadje]

AGP slot on motherboard goosed? presuming it is AGP.

Not much you can do then. I used to keep an old pci graphics card to check this sort of thing.

[:FI:Nellip]

AGP slot on motherboard goosed? presuming it is AGP.

Not much you can do then. I used to keep an old pci graphics card to check this sort of thing.

No, its PCIe, but could be the slot? I did test another graphics card (which I know to be OK ) and there was still no output.

Looks like a new mobo then - so that probably means effectively a new PC - ouch.

I guess that's his birthday present for April taken care of

[:FI:Sneaky_Russian]

Is the GPU getting power? ie does it's fan work. If not that, then MB replacement

[:FI:Mefisto]

I have seen something like that in few cans.

Case #1 - the power supply was kinky - suggest to change it.
Case #2 - one of the fans was jammed and used the too much power or try to unplug some stuff, dvdroms etc.
Case #3 - swollen capacitors - motherboard issue.
Case #4 - motherboard battery dead.
Case #x - wt_?!

checking if it can boot from cd not hdd would be a good start.

[:FI:Sneaky_Russian]

Possibly a northbridge fail. ( still = new MB)

[:FI:Armitage]

first thing stop putting new cards in the pc until you know what the problem is. You could have a fault some where that is damaging your graphics card and putting new cards in will damage those as well ( I know someone who did this in a bank with a hd controller and destroyed several hds and their backups. Several thousand people did not get paid. Not nice)

Any way I would check all connections, unseat/reseat the graphics card, memory etc,

Power on the pc. If it doesn't work power off. Power back on and listen/look for
a: beep codes. Most bios will beep if there is a issue during power on(post). Count the beeps and google your make and the beep codes. Will prob tell you whats wrong
b: If there are no beep codes check for flashing led lights. Some newer pcs esp dell have switched to flashing leds at the rear of the machine to tell you about problems. Again google.

Ohh when powering on unplug all peripherals/cables except mouse/keyboard/monitor

any new software installed? any new hardware installed?
have you connected anothere monitor in case it is a monitor issue?

[:FI:Heloego]

Had similar problem a few years ago, and agree with Armitage.
Also would help to accurately describe exactly what happens once you push the Power button.

1. When the PC powers up, does the MB Boot Screen (ID's the BIOS and/or PC Brand) appear? That will tell you if the BIOS/MB is not booting.
If it does not boot, most likely a MB replacement necessary. Also very possible the CPU is not seated properly, or needs replacing.

2. If there is no video output for the BIOS Boot Screen does the HD light on the face of the PC case keep blinking normally?
Normal activity indicates the system is booting correctly and tells you the video card or slot is the problem. Could be a bad card, or lack of power to same.
If the light doesn't act normally and just hangs after a few blinks, it may not be getting past the BIOS boot (lasts several seconds), or the OS boot (lasts much longer), depending on how far along it stops activity. This section won't help get your screen back, but will at least tell you if anything else is messed up.

[:FI:Nellip]

Dan/Eamonn

There is no screen output at all from the PC. If I switch on the PC first, then the monitor, the monitor goes through it's normal routine (a screen with the makers logo etc) then I get a message saying their is no input and it goes into sleep mode. I don't think the PC is booting normally - but without any screen output it's hard to tell. The LED's come on and all the fans and drive lights come on, but I don't get the normal "bleeps".

The only think I haven't tried is replacing the mobo battery - but if that doesn't work then I think I will have to replace the mobo.

I might get one of these mobo packages, where it comes with the cpu, fan and RAM already fitted. I can get a package like that with a dual core processor and 2 Gig of RAM for around £120 which gives my son a reasonable upgrade on his PC and should keep him going for a while (although he's desperate for a laptop - not sure why!!!!)

Thanks

Neil

[:FI:Heloego]

Neill,

Replacing the battery on your MB may not be the solution as the MB battery essentially is for the onboard clock, and re-setting the BIOS. Either way, replacing the battery is the single cheapest troubleshooting step. Do it.
Your PSU is OK, or it most likely wouldn't even power its fan.
Sounds as though the BIOS/MB is OK, but the Boot Sector of your HD is messed up, so before you shell out the hard-earned/borrowed/stolen cash for a new MB combo try booting from your CD/DVD unit. (You may also grill your son on what his fave internet sites are. )

1. Put the Windows disk in the CD/DVD unit.

2. Power up the PC. While the Manufacturer logo screen is showing, hit the F8, F10, or DEL key to see if you can access your BIOS. (You may have to do it fast, so be prepared.)

3. IF you can get into your BIOS, find the setting that allows you to select the boot device (HD 0, HD 1, etc.). Select the CD/DVD device, SAVE settings, Exit and re-boot the PC to see if your CD/DVD is then recognized.

3.1 Should you be unable to get into your BIOS (slim chance), reset the BIOS/replace the battery using the manufacturer instructions, and try again.

4. IF this works, use your Windows Setup to format the C: drive and re-install the OS (the Boot Sector will be re-written) and follow with your favorite software.

5. If none of the above helps, try swapping HDs. If a different HD doesn't work you then have a MB issue. Replace it.

Note: There are Recovery software progs on disk out there that can boot and run independent of your hard drive. You may be able to save a few pounds trying one of those, if necessary, for less than half the cost of a new MB combo. But for the money and due to the age of the PC, I'd go for the new combo.

[:FI:Sneaky_Russian]

Neill,


1. Put the Windows disk in the CD/DVD unit.

2. Power up the PC. While the Manufacturer logo screen is showing, hit the F8, F10, or DEL key to see if you can access your BIOS. (You may have to do it fast, so be prepared.)

3. IF you can get into your BIOS, find the setting that allows you to select the boot device (HD 0, HD 1, etc.). Select the CD/DVD device, SAVE settings, Exit and re-boot the PC to see if your CD/DVD is then recognized.

Well if you can get to boot from your Windows disc; go to Recovery console ("R") and use the "fixmbr" command to repair boot sector and save re-formatting.

[:FI:Nellip]

Dan/Andrew

Sorry, should have mentioned that I did try booting from the CD drive - no joy.

I didn't try getting into the BIOS at that point though - will give that a go later and see if that works.

Thanks

Neil

[:FI:Heloego]

Be sure to let us know if it works, OK?

Good point, Snaek and THX for the reminder. Thanks to XP it's been a Looooong time since I've needed to format, or use my XP disk.

Starting to think about W7, now, of course.

(Got to thinking (sorry and since the Manufacturer's Logo Screen comes up (uses any on-board G-chip) would this indicate a prob with the PCIe slot since a different card was tried to no avail?)

[:FI:Nellip]

Had to install the new mobo and psu in the end, but at least he now has a decent PC to keep him going for a couple of years

Now he will refill the hard drive with all his "Sims" games!

[:FI:Armitage]

once the machine is set up
backup the hd or image it