"No POST", "system won't boot", and "no video output" troubleshooting checklist

[kyeana]

Well, it looks good... blue numbers and underlined text ftw i guess... hope we have a sticky come this way now

 

[Proximon]

Could it get any better? It's a long way from my random thoughts, that were just taken from other people and put in one place anyway My name doesn't really need to be there.

 

[randomizer]

I edited the original post. Apparently the checklist was too "boring" for the forum mods. I'm not sure how exciting a checklist can be, but hopefully they like it better now.

Perhaps I should clarify what I meant by "boring" (and why I said that). I know who the target audience is - it includes people looking for answers quick. Those people will not want to read through a monotonous list of do's, they would rather post a help thread and get straight to the point. To be brutally honest, I took a quick look at the OP and didn't read more than the first point before returning the PM I got requesting this be stickied. Why? Because it looks long and "boring."

What I am looking for in the new stickies is a certain level of professionalism and easy of reading. What you have now is getting better because you can clearly see where one point is separated from another - it doesn't look like an essay with white spaces every 2 lines. You've also highlighted the main points so people can skim read more easily to find points they might have missed. If you could separate it into sections of "related" checks that would be better still, but after going through it I don't think that would be particularly easy because mostof them are installation problems.

I would like it if the *How To Ask For New Build Advice* OP was tidied up a little as well. The reason why it is already stickied is because it contains particularly important inofrmation for that section which we needed to get up ASAP.

I want stickies on this forum to be closer to a well-formatted article than simply a "good" post. People read articles, they don't read ramblings. It doesn't matter what the content is, if it looks like a bunch of rambling people won't read it (and before you jump on me, I am not saying this is rambling). People are lazy, so we need to work around that and keep their attention.

 

[xthekidx]

Hmm well I can see your point randomizer, but I don't think we should just assume that everyone is lazy. Yes some people are, but the DIY PC builder I don't think typically fits that description; I think Dell dominates that portion of the market. I for one try my hardest to figure out a problem myself before asking others so that I don't look like an idiot when something really simple is the problem, and I don't think I am that much of an anomaly. I think that the majority of the people who undertake building their own PC's are going to put a fair amount of time and research into it, and will take the time to read this checklist, particularly if their system isn't POSTing. I am also under the impression that most people are surprised by how quickly they get answers to their posts. Making a thread isn't exactly a guaranteed quick answer; you are at the mercy of the community to respond, and most first timers coming to the forums are not aware of how active the community is, so I don't think they would be expecting a quick answer. It would seem to me therefore that most people would want to be proactive in seeking their solution and would read this thread, if it were stuck to the top of the forum and appeared in big, blue, bold text.

Plus, there are always going to be people who just go straight to making a new thread without consulting the stickies, no matter how pretty and attractive you make them. I think 90% of the battle is getting them to click on the sticky first before they create a new thread, which no amount of face-lifting will be able to increase...unless you make a really attractive thread title...**READ THIS IF YOUR SYSTEM WILL NOT POST** or something like that. New build won't post checklist isn't exactly a gripping title for this thread.

 

[randomizer]

Plus, there are always going to be people who just go straight to making a new thread without consulting the stickies, no matter how pretty and attractive you make them.

Yea, check out all the temperature threads. CompuTronix has put an almost ridiculous amount of time into his sticky and people just don't read it (I don't expect everyone to understand it, just read it and ask questions later). Perhaps you should direct them to the stickies first rather than submitting to their laziness (or blindness). That is entirely up to you, of course.

I think 90% of the battle is getting them to click on the sticky first before they create a new thread, which no amount of face-lifting will be able to increase...unless you make a really attractive thread title...**READ THIS IF YOUR SYSTEM WILL NOT POST** or something like that. New build won't post checklist isn't exactly a gripping title for this thread.

I am hoping to get stickies to appear in a different font colour so that your attention goes there first. The developers aren't really on board though it seems, or at least somebody further up the chain isn't.

 

[xthekidx]

Perhaps you should direct them to the stickies first rather than submitting to their laziness (or blindness). That is entirely up to you, of course.

That is exactly what we do, particularly on this topic. You will notice this thread has over 5000 reads since the beginning of Feb, despite its not being a sticky. In fact I am feeling bold and I challenge you to find a "PLZ HELPPP!! My system won't post!!" thread where this thread has not been linked in the last month.

 

[randomizer]

5000 hits, to be more precise. The important question is: Have you noticed any significant reductions in "It won't POST!" threads? If you have, fantastic, otherwise the effort is unfortunately not paying off (although it may if it were a sticky). I don't read or respond to every thread here so I can't answer that.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I've noticed a definite decline in the "It won't POST!" threads when this checklist is on the first page of the forum. People aren't going to go looking for it, but it gets hits and the "It won't POST!" threads are reduced when it's easy to find.

Edit: A quick scan of the first page of this section only shows 2 "It won't POST!" threads. That's a lot lower than the 6 - 8 we were getting before the checklist was created. If we let this thread go down to the second or third page you would see an increase in "It won't POST" threads.

 

[xthekidx]

Yeah when we bump this thread every day or so there is a dramatic decrease in those threads than when we let it get to the third page. If its easy and convenient to find people will read it, but almost no one goes to the second and third page looking for similar topics to theirs. They scan the first page and if they don't really see anything that pertains to them they create a new thread.

 

[Proximon]

I've noticed a definite decline in the "It won't POST!" threads when this checklist is on the first page of the forum. People aren't going to go looking for it, but it gets hits and the "It won't POST!" threads are reduced when it's easy to find.

Edit: A quick scan of the first page of this section only shows 2 "It won't POST!" threads. That's a lot lower than the 6 - 8 we were getting before the checklist was created. If we let this thread go down to the second or third page you would see an increase in "It won't POST" threads.

Yes I think that's true. Also, the TYPES of problems have changed.... The easy ones are almost gone

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Yes I think that's true. Also, the TYPES of problems have changed.... The easy ones are almost gone

That's true. Some of us used to spend half of our time on the forums telling people to plug in their 4/8-pin CPU power connector. I haven't seen many of those since the checklist was created.

 

[kyeana]

And when they do come up it is so much nicer to be able to link them here instead of typing the same block of text for every thread.

 

[randomizer]

The title of this topic has been edited by Randomizer
This topic has been sticky in top of the forum by Randomizer

 

[xthekidx]

TY!

 

[kyeana]

YES!! Happy Days

 

[Proximon]

Woot.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Thanks randomizer! Now I just have to figure out what to do with all this free time that I used to spend directing people to this checklist.

 

[Proximon]

I have a little project going... well, I need some free time. Been pretty busy with F.E.A.R. 2 and work the last few days. If anyone wants to comment on it... needs lots of suggestions.

There is an excellent thread on another forum that inspired this one, but I wanted to see if we couldn't do it even better:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/264823-31-progess-troubleshooting

I also want to put together a big list of utilities (like CPU-Z) and links, maybe in the same post.

 

[aevm]

That big list of utilities is a great idea !!!

 

[kyeana]

^I agree. It would be nice if we could keep it up to date with the newest versions of each software, along with a link to download them.

 

[randomizer]

As a reminder, we're keeping the number of stickies in each subforum to a maximum of 3. That is why the Overclocking root forum is no longer a mess of stickies (in fact it's got half as many as 2 weeks ago). Stickies are good but only the most important information need be a sticky. You can always consolidate related information into a single sticky as well to keep the number of them down. Just note that extremely long posts or edits will be truncated.

 

[Proximon]

Yep, I figured. I have some major changes planned for my guide also.

 

[Tolga_Han]

11. If the stock cooler has push-pins, did you ensure that all four pins snapped securely into place? (The easiest way to install the push-pins is outside the case sitting on a non-conductive surface like the motherboard box. Read the instructions! The push-pins should be turned the OPPOSITE direction as the arrows.)

I use a roll of packing tape or duct tape to support the motherboard while I am pushing on the pushpins.

I had a lot of trouble trying to get the push-pins to actually come through 1 corner wouldn't so I assumed it wouldn't make a difference.

How will this prevent my computer from turning on?

 

[Proximon]

While this is not the place to ask for help, I'll answer that. Uneven pressure and contact between the heatsink and PSU could result in rapid overheating of a modern processor. It would overheat during the POST, possibly. More likely after the OS loaded, but still a possibility.

 

[kyeana]

Just ran across another issue that could potentially be added to this list, although it isn't very common so perhaps it shouldn't be. Anyways, at work today and a computer crapped out and wouldn't turn on. Turns out the problem was the actually power switch, and bridging the power pins on the mobo fired it right up.

I thought it was at least worth mentioning.