Help Diagnosing Error

[eltharraxin]

I have an old PC running DDR2 and a Core 2 Quad Q6600. However, it doesn't turn on. I know that the PSU and GPU I'm using work and are compatible with the motherboard, and have tried reseating the RAM and CPU with no change. I suspect the CPU has died, as it doesn't even POST and the motherboard power indicators are all lit up and provide power to the case fans, but wanted you guys thoughts on it.

 

[mortemas]

Sometimes a pc won’t boot if the coin cell battery is dead. If you have a voltmeter, check it. A new one is more than 3 volts. They can still work down to 1 volt or so, but everything has a limit. If you don’t have a voltmeter, just replace it if you haven’t done so in a long time and see if that fixes it.

 

[eltharraxin]

Sometimes a pc won’t boot if the coin cell battery is dead. If you have a voltmeter, check it. A new one is more than 3 volts. They can still work down to 1 volt or so, but everything has a limit. If you don’t have a voltmeter, just replace it if you haven’t done so in a long time and see if that fixes it.

I've tried using a different motherboard, but that still didn't fix it (meant to include that in the original post)

 

[mortemas]

Ahhh, I see. The bios might not support the q6600, so you should look into that on the mobo manufacturer's website. If your mobo doesn't have the correct version and you have the old cpu, put it back in and update the bios to the version that supports the quad core. If that's the only cpu you have, you'll need one that is compatible by default with your mobo. You could borrow one, take it to a shop, or maybe even buy a cheap chip on ebay just to boot and update the bios. Some mobos allow updating the bios without a cpu, but they are uncommon. Hopefully that's all it is. Good luck.

 

[eltharraxin]

Ahhh, I see. The bios might not support the q6600, so you should look into that on the mobo manufacturer's website. If your mobo doesn't have the correct version and you have the old cpu, put it back in and update the bios to the version that supports the quad core. If that's the only cpu you have, you'll need one that is compatible by default with your mobo. You could borrow one, take it to a shop, or maybe even buy a cheap chip on ebay just to boot and update the bios. Some mobos allow updating the bios without a cpu, but they are uncommon. Hopefully that's all it is. Good luck.

I tried a spare Q6600 that a friend had, and it booted first time, so it seems like the old one was dead. However now when I boot it, it says "cpu is unworkable or has been changed". I've already researched this issue, and it seems like a common one for the abit IP35 motherboard, but the suggested fix (going into the BIOS and saving the settings) hasn't fixed it. :/