Computer not booting problem... long story

[ferna084]

I built myself a nice PC less than a year ago... AMD 64 3000+, Neo2 Platinum mobo, 1 gig ram, Radeon 9600 Pro, etc. I got case from newegg that came with a 350 power supply, got the PC running for a while with no problems... everything was good. I had to leave the country for about a month and left the computer at a relatives house so he could use it (BIG MISTAKE).

When I came back the computer would power up (when I pressed the on button you could hear the power supply and all the stuff firing up) but it wouldn't send a signal to the monitor. My relative told me that it was working fine until one day it just wouldn't turn on. I tried everything from taking out the video card and putting it back in... to pretty much taking the whole PC apart and putting it back together... still same problem. Anyways I gave up because I didnt have another PC to access the internet and look for help so I just ended up buying a cheap laptop for college.

The PC has been sitting in my room since then but I took out the HD and gave it to a friend (owed him some money). I was wondering if it could just be the Power Supply that died off since it was a cheap generic one... but I was wondering if they can still fire up and send signals even when they are broken. I remember someone telling me that you can trouble shoot hardware problems from some lights and sounds the PC will make when you turn it on.

Any ideas what to do to see whats the problem with the PC and can you do this without a HD? thanks

 

[Lord AnthraX]

is it posting...


Even without a HD it should still post


Im pretty sure its the PSU. Those one that come with the cases are horendous.


Good reliable brands

Antec
PC and Power cooling
OCZ
Enermax
FPS Source
Silverstone


I think anything 400 Watts and up would be good for your system


Also If I were you I would just re formatt and start all over so just in case your buddy didnt screw anything else up

 

[jeremy]

ive never heard of a half working psu if it power up then its fine, a dead psu wouldnt power up at all , and in these sorta cases its nearly always the mobo , make sure the 4pin plug is connected to it

try resetting the cmos,do as follows
1) unplug the power cord
2) get the battery out for 1 hour then put it back (back exactly as it was and not upside down,in most mobos it should be with the + sign ontop)
3) plug the power cord & power up , if it posts then get into bios and load "optimized defaults" , save & exit

if it wont work then get all the ram sticks out and power up , if it doesnt beep then the mobo is defintly dead , if it does beep then put em back and get the video card out then power up and if it doesnt beep.. well its obvious , youll probably need to rma it

anyway after youll get it sorted , naturally youll have to buy an hd if you intend to use it

 

[Cryogenic]

If your monitor is hooked up to DVI instead of VGA on your vid card, try switching it, maybe with a dvi-vga adaptor or something.

on my bros new comp, all of a sudden the monitor didnt display anything, he changed from dvi - vga, and it worked perfect

 

[ferna084]

ok just tried getting it to work but now the PS wont even power up. I remember that it used to before.

 

[jeremy]

it doesnt nessiarly mean its dead , could be the mobo , theres an easy way to find out
http://techist.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=105487#post819393

 

[killians45]

try running it with the mbd out of the case see if it works