No POST, no nothing

[Guest]

I've got a major problem here. Earlier today my machine crashed while loading a webpage. By crash I mean completly quit. The fans were still going, as were all disk drives, but the monitor shut off and nothing would respond. I had to cut the power to reboot. Halfway through loading windows it crashed again. Same thing while loading safemode. So I shut it off for a few hours and now I get nothing when I turn it on. No POST, no beeps, no monitor turning on. But it has power(lights are on and everything is spinning). I turn it on and a get nothing. Let me try to give any helpful info.
FOr a few months I've had this weird problem where the computer would not POST the first time a turned it on in the morning, but if I killed the power and tried again it would boot fine and I could leave it on for weeks with no stability issues.
My system
Athlon slot A 800
abit KA7-100
256mg pc133 generic
elsa gladiac 32mb
12X DVD
sb live value
dlink network card
40gb 7200 rpm maxtor

I have the latest nvidia drivers as well as VIA 4in1. I have never updated the BIOS. My CPU used to run about 47 C under load, (I've got some kind of golden orb fan). I dont see how temp. could be a problem so quickly. THe fan is spinning fine and it is hooked up properly w/ thermal compound.
I never bothered to look before, but the GPU fan does not seem to be spinning very fast. But wouldn't the motherbaord beep at me if there was a problem with the video card?
Any suggestions, comments, ideas, answers, anything would be greatly appreciated. Its finals time and a broken computer was not in my study plan.
Thanks, Brian

 

[peteb]

My guess is that the power supply has failed.

What psu are you using, and do you have access to another psu/system to cross test components?

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[Guest]

The power supply is L&C technologies, 250W. I dont have another PSU that I could use, though. The PSU is still providing juice to all the components. Are you saying that it could not be providing clean or steady power?
I bought the case w/ PSU for about 50$, so it is nothing special. But I only bought it in august.
I'll see if I can get another PSU to eliminate this possibility
THanks

 

[peteb]

250W is a bit on the light side nowadays with new high power components. Before you buy a new PSU, take your one into a PC shop and ask them to try it on one of their systems.

It is possible that the PUS is just totally dead, or the ATX output is dead.

It could also be your mobo, but you have to troubleshoot these problems serially. Check the PSU, then check the mobo. A friendly PC shop is invaluable if you do not have spare components to check with...

Look to get a 300W minimum, preferably a reputable maker like enermax or antec.



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[Guest]

Yeah, looks like I'm gonna have to start taking this freaking thing apart. Because it is not beeping or anything, can I assume that the problem lies within either the motherboard or the PSU?

 

[peteb]

yep - seems that way.

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[Guest]

I've checked the PSU and it was not the problem. I plugged a freinds into my own. I cleared the CMOS, I took out all the cards except the AGP. I tried a differnet memory chip. Still no POST. Anyone have any other ideas?

Do motherboards just quit after months of normal operation? I dont see anything wrong with it physically, but thats because I havent shoved a screwdriver through it yet.

Do I have to remove the battery to discharge the CMOS, or can I just use the discharge jumper. Am I right in assuming discharging the CMOS will clear the bios?
THanks

 

[peteb]

yep - battery has to be out when you clear the bios/cmos. This will reset all configurations to standard.

Pete.

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[Guest]

I took the battery out, then moved the jumper. Still nothing. ((((((((((((( Thats a big frown

 

[peteb]

That is a very big frown.

Sounds like time to get it back to the store and have them replace or work on it!

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[Guest]

Yeah, I bought from a web dealer. So I guess I'll mail them to find out if I can get a replacement for it.
I appreciate the help Peteb, I think I'm gonna give up on this thinng until finals are over.

 

[Guest]

update:
I have confirmed that all components work except for the CPU and Mobo which i have no way of testing.
I Also have got it to post, check mem, recognize hard disks, but then it crashes again and monitor turns off. It crashes right after it says "CMOS checksum error- loading defaults" (it says this because I cleared the CMOS, I think)
So in otherwords I can get my machine to run for about 5 seconds once out of every 20 times i turn it on.

Does this mean anything to anyone? (besides that I have to replace either my cpu or mobo)

Thanks in advance

 

[Fltsimbuff]

Aactually, the battery does NOT have to be out when you clear the CMOS.... Just m ake sure theat the PSU is unplugged from the wall, or the ATX connected isn't plugged into the motherboard when you move the jumper. Move it and leave it there for about 10-20 seconds, then move it back, plug it back in, and try to boot.
I'm having a problem similar to the one you were having before, with my Celery 500MHz system. It uses an old AT PSU though... which has worked fine in the past. It just doesn't boot on the first attempt sometimes, and I've noticed that when it is not going to boot, the light where the NIC is plugged into the hub stays off. I suspect it has something to do with my RAM not being seated, or dirty contacts. However, it is just an old Celeron, and I'm to lazy to fix it. (My Duron 700 works nicely for me

--Fltsimbuff