Access BIOS w/no graphics?

[JBURNS489]

I am trying to help a friend troubleshoot his PC. He has an AMD Athlon II 235e @2.7 CPU, which doesn't look like it has integrated graphics, as far as I can tell anyway. When he tries to boot the PC, it will post (single beep), but will only show a black screen or a mostly black screen w/random blue squares. He has a graphics chip installed(not sure of make or model), and I am trying to diagnose what exactly is wrong. When I plug in the monitor in to his motherboard (bypassing the GPU), the PC will display the boot screen and I can access the BIOS. Doing it this way is when the random blue squares pop up when it tries to actually boot. When I plugin the monitor to the GPU, it is almost exactly the same except I don't even get the blue squares after the boot screen. Just all black..but the monitor still stays on and doesn't detect a lost signal. I am guessing it is a graphics card or possibly a motherboard issue. Would I be able to access the BIOS or hear the PC post at all if the CPU didn't actually have integrated graphics? I always thought it would just give me 8 beeps or something similar saying no graphics detected.

 

[mjslakeridge]

No, either the CPU has integrated graphics, or there is a graphics chip on the motherboard. Without one or the other you wouldn't get to the BIOS screen. Are you sure it is not the monitor?

 

[JBURNS489]

I have tried 3 different monitors and 2 different cables and have gotten the same result. I had the same thought, but thank you for your response. Any idea what could be going on? Possibly a motherboard failure? I didnt think it would post if there was a motherboard failure though...

 

[mjslakeridge]

Agree, a motherboard failure probably wouldn't allow you to post. Can you physically remove the graphics card and try to boot into Windows using the video connection on the motherboard? What type of connections do you have? DVI, Display Port, HDMI, VGA?

 

[JBURNS489]

It is a VGA connection. I will completely remove gpu and try that tomorrow. Thank you again for your help man

 

[mjslakeridge]

I confirmed that your CPU does not have integrated graphics, so there must be a chip on the motherboard. I have a Gigabyte board with the onboard chip.

 

[JBURNS489]

I confirmed that your CPU does not have integrated graphics, so there must be a chip on the motherboard. I have a Gigabyte board with the onboard chip.

OK so I removed the graphics chip (pics below), and the PC still posts with a single beep, but I get no display at all. The monitor doesn't come out of sleep mode, and I cannot see the BIOS. I am betting this is the culprit right here! Any idea what this is though lol? I have built a few computers but I haven't ever dealt with anything this old before, so it's a mystery to me. I don't even see a brand name, and I thought it odd that it had a BIOS version sticker right on the graphics card itself.

 

[mjslakeridge]

By Googling the part number on your pictures, it looks like the card is an EVGA GeForce 8400 GS DDR3. Here is a link I found:

https://www.evga.com/Products/Product.aspx?pn=01g-p3-1302-lr

And if you click on the specs icon, it leads to this:

https://www.evga.com/products/Specs/GPU.aspx?pn=0fb8a542-3e4f-4edf-af6f-a2bdf7ae8727

It says it supports Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7. Perhaps there are drivers available for later versions of Windows. You didn't mention which Windows version you have.

What is the motherboard name and model #?

 

[JBURNS489]

The PC runs on windows 10. Motherboard is an ECS MCP61PM-GM with a coolermaster RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W PSU. It looks like the motherboard has onboard graphics according to google, but it doesn't seem to work either lol. Is there a better GPU you could recommend, or you think I am better off just replacing the exact same one that I think went bad? Your advice has been invaluable man I appreciate it more than you know!

EDIT: The PC does indeed post, and the screen DOES turn on while using the onboard graphics. I must have had a loose connection with the monitor before. I am waiting to see if it will actually boot into windows now. So far, I have gotten further than I did before. It showed the boot screen, and it is sitting on a black screen with a blinking cursor.

 

[JBURNS489]

Okay so the PC may actually be booting into windows, but the on board graphics is not working correctly. It will show the bootup screen, post with a single beep, then go to this screen. The graphics card is not installed. Back to a possible bad motherboard?

 

[mjslakeridge]

This is a strange one. You are getting essentially the same symptoms with either the motherboard's graphics chip or the GPU. That would seem to rule out the GPU as the culprit. You have tried multiple monitors and cables.

Do you have a LINUX disk or USB that you could try to boot from rather than Windows? I think LINUX has some basic video drivers that would allow us to see if maybe the issue is Windows related (or Windows drivers). If it boots fine into LINUX and the display is good, then we could rule out motherboard, cpu, monitor, and GPU.

 

[mjslakeridge]

Now this is getting interesting. Per the specifications for the motherboard, it is a type AM2 socket:

http://www.pc-specs.com/mobo/ECS/ECS_MCP61PM-GM/1456

But the CPU you have is a type AM3 socket CPU:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103988

I actually found your CPU on PCPartpicker.com. When I select that CPU and ask for a list of compatible motherboards, they are all AM3 or AM3+. It didn't find your specific ECS motherboard, although it did find a bunch of ECS motherboards.

Was this the original CPU and motherboard combination?

 

[JBURNS489]

You're right this is very strange...I asked my friend if he had updated anything recently, and he said the last upgrade was his graphics card about 3 yrs ago. I double checked the information I sent and it is correct. Here are some photos of the Mobo, and the bootup screen showing the CPU. He says the PC has been slow but been working fine, until one day it just didn't. I am surprised the PC worked at all with a seemingly incompatible CPU and mobo combo....

 

[mjslakeridge]

I found this other thread on Toms, which essentially says the AM2 motherboard can support the AM3 CPU with a BIOS update. So perhaps when the initial specs were issued, it only supported AM2 CPUs, but that has changed. I think the issue was how much wattage the motherboard could support, since your friend's CPU is only 45 watts, it is within the limits of the motherboard. The motherboard could not support the higher wattage AM3 CPUs like the FX 8xxx series.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/266637-30-emachines-mcp61pm-support

You may want to check whether there is a BIOS update is available, since the one per your picture above shows the BIOS is from 2009.

Since your display on the "entering setup" screen looks fine, I don't think we have a hardware issue. Try the LINUX disk/usb thing I suggested.

 

[mjslakeridge]

Here is a link to another thread where they are discussing (arguing) about that motherboard, which is in an eMachine computer. I just noticed from your screenshot that your friend's computer is also an eMachine. It says the BIOS is exclusively for eMachines, so I don't think you are going to find a BIOS update anywhere.

http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1152817-New-CPU-Not-Working-A-BIOS-Issue

 

[JBURNS489]

Thank you for your time and efforts man. Im going to recommend a new motherboard for him and hope i can avoid him having to purchase windows again lol. I was stumped and you helped a great deal