Computer doesn't boot into BIOS. No Beep, just LEDs on and fans spinning. Had errors in MemTest before. Is it the Motherboard?

[Doeblinger]

Computer doesn't boot anymore.

Okay, so my PC had been acting weird for quite some time. Since I bought it cheaply as used a few months ago, I ran into the following issues:

1. Everytime at startup it displayed 'A new CPU has been inserted'. I've checked around and it seemed to be a connection issue of my Motherboard (M4A785T-M) and nothing serious, so I ignored it (yeah, I know ...).

2. Often the PC would randomly crash. This might indicate faulty RAM or Motherboard. I ran a MemTest a week ago and indeed it found a few errors; 90 even if I remember correctly. I could not finish the test because I need the PC and I couldn't determine which RAM it was precisely, so I just took out half of them and continued using the PC for a while. I didn't have the time to run further tests again since then.

3. With half the RAM it ran stable but would still reboot if I hit it by accident with my foot or even if I jump next to it. This might indicate a lose connection somewhere. I did look for one, but couldn't find any though.

4. Sometimes it wouldn't boot until I hit it a bit ... Yeah, not very professional I know, but since I assumed it's a loose connection I might get it back in place by hitting the PC ... and well, it worked, so I continued.

But now, it won't boot anymore at all, doesn't even load BIOS nor does it omit any beep, its LEDs are just on and fans are spinning, and that's about it. Even hitting it doesn't help anymore ( I know, I know ...).


What I did now, was taking all parts out which are possible. I unplugged the graphics card, the secondary hard-drive, all USB-devices, and I tried almost every combination of RAM-sticks and slots (I have four RAM-sticks and I tried everyone individually in different slots). All to no avail.

So, I think it's the Motherboard, which is the faulty component. Because I ran into errors with a MemTest my first assumption was that it might be the RAM, but since I swapped them all four, it's very unlikely that all of them are broken. Also the 'New CPU inserted' and the reboots once I hit my PC can indicate a faulty Motherboard, right?

So, is my diagnosis plausible? Is it probably the Motherboard? And if so, might there be a way to fix it or shall I get a new one?

Cheers!

 

[utroz]

Have you tested your PSU and the PSU's connectors? Sounds kinda like a bad connection somewhere. Also were you loosing all BIOS settings when it displayed 'A new CPU has been inserted'? That could be a bad or dead CMOS battery.

 

[Doeblinger]

Hi utroz and thanks for your reply!

After a few days of testing it seems that 1. the PSU is damaged 2. some other components (I guess the motherboard) is damaged too.

1. I took out the PSU and put it into another PC which hardware needs less power. The PC runs with it but the PSU makes a sizzling sound. So probably the PSU is indeed damaged.
2. I replaced the PSU with two different ones (one even with more wattage) and the behavior remained: the PC didn't boot. So other components are seemingly broken too.

So, could it be that first the PSU broke and then secondly it damaged the Motherboard?

 

[utroz]

Yes it is possible that an iffy/damaged PSU could kill components and or the motherboard. I would not use that PSU on anything as it might kill again... Now the fun part is testing each component in know good working systems to make sure they work properly so you can find out what you need to get your system running rock solid stable.

 

[alth0triplemadang]

Failed to pass memtest?
- Bad module or bad channel configuration. Reseat or buy new ram.
A new cpu has been inserted?
- Bad socket contact, broken moterboard, or just a bios issues. For BIOS: Clear CMOS, for MOBO: replace.
Died PSU, tried to replace it still won't boot?
- Mobo power regulator failure or bad contact on power socket. Replace your motherboard. Never reuse DIED PSU or you will see fireworks in your house.
Hitting your pc didn't solve the problem?
- Try more logic solution such let the pc turned off for 10 hours or more, hitting your pc will make it worse.

Try that simple fix before you mess with anything...

 

[Doeblinger]

Yes it is possible that an iffy/damaged PSU could kill components and or the motherboard. I would not use that PSU on anything as it might kill again... Now the fun part is testing each component in know good working systems to make sure they work properly so you can find out what you need to get your system running rock solid stable.

Hey utroz!

Sorry for the delay, but after getting a new PSU and a new motherboard I wanted to test the components first thoroughly and wanted to run the system for a few weeks before posting here. Anyway, so it definitely was the PSU as with these two new components the system is running and memtest also doesn't catch any errors. So yeah, you were right.

Conclusion:
* PSU got bad and damaged my motherboard, which resulted in random crashes and plenty of memtest errors.
* New PSU and new motherboard doesn't result in memtest errors. System is running fully stable.

Thanks again!

Cheers

 

[Doeblinger]

Failed to pass memtest?
- Bad module or bad channel configuration. Reseat or buy new ram.
A new cpu has been inserted?
- Bad socket contact, broken moterboard, or just a bios issues. For BIOS: Clear CMOS, for MOBO: replace.
Died PSU, tried to replace it still won't boot?
- Mobo power regulator failure or bad contact on power socket. Replace your motherboard. Never reuse DIED PSU or you will see fireworks in your house.
Hitting your pc didn't solve the problem?
- Try more logic solution such let the pc turned off for 10 hours or more, hitting your pc will make it worse.

Try that simple fix before you mess with anything...

Hi alth0triplemadang!

yeah, kicking the PC isn't a very professional solution, I know, but patience had left me a few times and a loose contact might still be temporarily fixed by it. Don't worry, I did it gently.

And after getting new components and running a fresh memtest without any errors, it must have been indeed a bad PSU which also damaged my Motherboard. Now it's all fine again (and I don't even have to kick my PC anymore, yay! ).

Thanks for your reply!

Cheers

 

[utroz]

Yes it is possible that an iffy/damaged PSU could kill components and or the motherboard. I would not use that PSU on anything as it might kill again... Now the fun part is testing each component in know good working systems to make sure they work properly so you can find out what you need to get your system running rock solid stable.

Hey utroz!

Sorry for the delay, but after getting a new PSU and a new motherboard I wanted to test the components first thoroughly and wanted to run the system for a few weeks before posting here. Anyway, so it definitely was the PSU as with these two new components the system is running and memtest also doesn't catch any errors. So yeah, you were right.

Conclusion:
* PSU got bad and damaged my motherboard, which resulted in random crashes and plenty of memtest errors.
* New PSU and new motherboard doesn't result in memtest errors. System is running fully stable.

Thanks again!

Cheers

Glad to be of help.