Question Im stuck with my pc and display

[Anteroz]

So i recently shut my computer down, and later i turned it back on. There was no image on the screen. Thats where the problems started. I tought it was a regular problem with the display since it had done it before, but it was not. I force shutdown my computer and display, do the same again again and again. I tried unplugging and plugging back my hdmi cable, switchin the cable heads(tv head to pc and pc head to tv), i tried switching the whole cable, i even used vga but nothing worked. I unplugged all my cables, and brought the pc to my living room, and tried on different tv. Then i plug my mouse and KB back on, but they dont connect, dont know why (i know they dont connect since they dont have laser under the mouse or the "on" light on the kb), my kb has done this before, but the mouse has not. Now the real problem is i have no mouse or kb working on the pc, and i dont even get image to the display. I am basically stuck. Can anyone help me? I would appreciate it so much!

P.s. i know updating graphics card drivers could help, but i cant do it trough bios since i have no image nor kb&mouse

 

[Eximo]

My guess would be a 5V failure in the power supply. That would typically fail to light up peripherals running on USB.

If you have another power supply to test with, try that. If not, we'll need more system details to recommend one to replace it.

 

[Anteroz]

Hi! Thx for the fast reply! I dont know what my power supply is called, and i'm currently not at home where my pc is. My pc is office pc, about 10yrs old and its called hp pavilion p6000 or something like that, but the other specs are:

OS: Windows 7 64-bit home premium
CPU: Amd athlon x2 220 2.8gHz
Graphics card: Ati radeon hd 5450
RAM: 6GB
Internal storage: 1.5TB
Motherboard: foxconn 2aa9
Chipset: AMD 780g
DirectX: 11/9.0c
Audio: AMD hdmi output (high definition audio)

Now the pc itself is not important, it has served pretty long. The hdd is importamt and i know i can just use that on new pc, but the thing is that if i can get the current pc to work again, why would i buy a new one?

 

[Anteroz]

I got back home now, and im not sure what is the name of the power supply but here it is https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zSwKlhZJZP68VrwLNOD1JOJl6u2S_rqA/view?usp=drivesdk

*correction my pc is hp pavilion p6000, model is p6648sc and all of the parts are srock/original.

 

[Eximo]

Fairly standard power supply. Any ATX power supply with a reasonable 300-450W will do, between $40-60. Look for brands like Corsair, Antec, EVGA, or Seasonic.

As for keeping that system around, it is very dated. You can pick up complete refurbished systems for around $200 that are 3 or 4 times as fast. Or a brand new low end laptop for around $300, that you would gain portability with.

 

[Anteroz]

Thanks... but what about the display problem?

 

[Eximo]

What do you mean? The computer won't work without power. If that is actually the problem then it should 'fix' the display issue. Simple to test. Use something else to run that monitor, if it works, not the problem. Since you tested with two displays, one known good, then it isn't likely a display problem.

You don't really have an alternative. If, for example, the GPU was bad you would at least need another GPU to test with to get a display. If the computer's fans are running, but your peripherals aren't that is a good sign that 5V is missing. The computer's BIOS will need 5V to run, no brains to turn anything else on.

You could remove everything you don't need and see if it at least does something else. All you need for a simple POST test is CPU, one stick of memory, and the motherboard. (Bonus if your desktop has a speaker, then it will give you beep codes)

 

[Anteroz]

Ok... well the pc turns on and the fans are spinning, but the power button light has gone missing. The pc has a green light/led on the back that turn on when the pc is on/it is plugged to power outlet. Then my motherboard has a green light too, should that be red if everything was not ok, or am i just a dumb one? Does that likely mean the motherboard is on? I don't know could plugging the pc directly to the wall help. At least it worked before and i had it on extender cable from wall since the power cable is pretty short. I have no other parts to test with. And how do i perform a post test? I take everything off except the motherboard, cpu and 1 stick of ram? Do i need to take of the cpu cooler too? And so what does the test help? P.s. i have no speakers.

 

[Eximo]

I suspect your power supply has lost 5V output. It still has 12V at least, that would spin the fans and cause SOME LEDs to turn on. Depends on where the LEDs get power. Again, front panel would run off 5V, so the power LED being off is a pretty good sign that is what has failed.

Now since you have everything still plugged in, that doesn't rule out a faulty component causing a short or high load on the 5V line (though typically that would just mean there would be no power at all). By removing components that aren't strictly necessary for operation you can rule out faulty components by reinstalling them one at a time.

POST stands for Power On Self Test and happens every time the system turns on. If anything goes wrong, it will shut down or stop. In this case I don't think it has the BIOS running to even attempt a start. (Pretty much all electronics do this type of test, before sending power completely through the system, mostly against catching something on fire)

You still need a CPU cooler. The power supply, the motherboard, and a stick of ram for the most basic of computer operation. You would be looking to see if your peripherals turn on or the front power light turns on, any different behavior. I am not referring to external speakers. Many computers have at least a small piezo electric buzzer. Often when the computer is operating properly it will give a single beep when turned on. Motherboards typically have the port even if they don't have the speaker or buzzer.

RAM is a low possibility of failure with the symptoms you describe. A shorted cable, hard drive, graphics card, etc, anything that would drive 5V too low for operation is a possibility. Though I still suspect the power supply itself. Given the age of the system and the quality typically provided by OEMs, power supply failure is quite common.

You could ignore everything else and buy a power supply. But if it isn't the problem, money wasted. If you are okay with swapping out your drive, assuming it still works, then getting a cheap refurb desktop is not a bad idea. That gets you one of everything at least.

 

[Anteroz]

Thank you so much for your help! I will see what i can do. Now that you said about the buzzer/speaker, my pc (motherboard) does some little sounds/(kind of)buzzing. The thing is that the buzzing is not just in the start, it continues pretty much forever until the pc is shut down. I read some things from other places that a power supply fail MIGHT shut the pc down after few seconds from starting, but my pc stays on. I have also been thinking of buying/building a whole new system since this has served well and long, it might not be worth it to repair this old pc. Thanks again.

 

[Anteroz]

Hi! I'm here with update. I found this old pc from my house that i didn't remember. It works perfectly with it's own parts. I could use that, but the bad thing is that it has windpws xp and has no internet. I decided to test my hdd from the faulty pc, and it worked but suddenly said something like "please insert original hard drive" or somthing like that. Now i decided to put it back to the faulty pc, and i tested it with the psu from the old xp pc. Still, nothing new. The fans spin, leds turn on, but the power button is still not lit up and i get no picture. So that should prove it's not in my psu. What should i do next?

 

[Eximo]

Did you follow the rest of my advice and remove every unnecessary component? If there is something preventing a start beyond the motherboard/CPU/RAM having it plugged in could prevent a start.

All it takes is one failed circuit somewhere. Normally that would result in the power supply immediately shutting off. However, if a component has a leak to ground rather than a short it may simply drive things too low to operate.

That or the CPU/Motherboard is dead, but you can't narrow things down if you still have everything plugged in.

 

[Anteroz]

Yes, i took everything off. I had motherboard, cpu, cpu cooler, psu and 1 ram stick in, and i powered the pc on. No differnce. I suspect motherboard or cpu fail.

 

[Anteroz]

Now im thinking again, i think i could be the motherboard since my kb and mouse dont connect. They connect normally to other pc:s. Also i dont think cpu fail could cause something like losing the led from the powerswitch. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

 

[Eximo]

You've exhausted the tests that you can do without known working, compatible, hardware. Beyond simple electrical measurements anyway. That is a bit more specialized and requires some working knowledge of expected voltages at various points. They don't exactly hand out schematics for these things.

That could maybe indicate if the CPU is powering up at all. And checking around on the motherboard for a few voltages might reveal a problem. Either way, there really is no fixing it without access to parts, and thermal soldering gear, and a good knowledge on circuit board design.

 

[Anteroz]

Yea... i know something about pc parts but not about circuitboards neither fixing them or anything. I am now - actually - considering just buying a new system and stopping wasting my time on this old system.