[SOLVED] No power to peripherals and monitor, when turn on PC

[rafalex347]

Hello,


I have an old computer which is still in use. What basically happens is when I attempt to turn it on the case fans, cpu fan starts spinning and lights on the motherboard/case lights turn on, however I get no power to and of the peripherals and the monitor. One thing to note is when I unplug the monitor cable from the GPU to the motherboard VGA port, the monitor turns on from the idle state, but the screen is black and then immediately turns as if it was not plugged in.


Things I have already tried from previous threads I found were:

• Plugging in the monitor in to motherboard VGA as previously mentioned
• Resitting the CMOS battery- take it out, wait 5 mins and put it back in
• Turn the PC off, unplug from power, hold power button for 3-5 secs, then try turning it back on
• Resitting the ram, changing the slots within which the ram is inserted, trying it with one stick of ram instead of 2 in all ports.

The specs are as follows:

• Motherboard: P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
• GPU: Radeon HD 7870
• Corsair Vengeance 8GB RAM
• Intel i5 3570k
• Crucial Mx500 SSD
• XFX 750 Watt Pro

 

[Darkbreeze]

When you tried plugging into the motherboard VGA, did you REMOVE the graphics card COMPLETELY from the motherboard first? If not, try that.

To be honest, given the age of the hardware, it would not be at ALL surprising if this was simply a dead board, and getting a replacement board for a system that old is going to be a real gamble since practically any one you find is either going to already have problems or will have similar miles on it to yours and problems are likely just around the corner. It could just as easily be a dead graphics card though, as that HD 7870 is about the same age as the rest of the hardware give or take.

Given the age, the motherboard and graphics cards are the most likely culprits HOWEVER, if that XFX power supply is as old as the rest of the hardware, that could certainly be to blame as well. It's very unlikely to be the CPU or memory. Might actually even be a dead or weak CMOS battery, so if removing the graphics card and then trying the motherboard video outputs doesn't work, I'd probably try replacing the CMOS battery before doing anything else OR at least testing it with a multimeter to ensure it isn't weak. It doesn't take much towards the weak side to cause all sorts of problems.

 

[rafalex347]

When you tried plugging into the motherboard VGA, did you REMOVE the graphics card COMPLETELY from the motherboard first? If not, try that.

To be honest, given the age of the hardware, it would not be at ALL surprising if this was simply a dead board, and getting a replacement board for a system that old is going to be a real gamble since practically any one you find is either going to already have problems or will have similar miles on it to yours and problems are likely just around the corner. It could just as easily be a dead graphics card though, as that HD 7870 is about the same age as the rest of the hardware give or take.

Given the age, the motherboard and graphics cards are the most likely culprits HOWEVER, if that XFX power supply is as old as the rest of the hardware, that could certainly be to blame as well. It's very unlikely to be the CPU or memory. Might actually even be a dead or weak CMOS battery, so if removing the graphics card and then trying the motherboard video outputs doesn't work, I'd probably try replacing the CMOS battery before doing anything else OR at least testing it with a multimeter to ensure it isn't weak. It doesn't take much towards the weak side to cause all sorts of problems.

So I have done as said above, firstly removing the GPU and plugging the screen into the motherboard VGA output, then replacing the old CMOS battery with a new one. Furthermore, I tried a spare PSU lying around (Corsair TX650M). None of this worked.

 

[Darkbreeze]

How To - Motherboard bench testing

Finding the problem through bench testing If you are here then it’s likely you have encountered a serious hardware issue and have been unable to resolve it using the standard no-POST troubleshooting procedures. If you have not yet attempted to resolve your issues using the no-POST...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[rafalex347]

How To - Motherboard bench testing

Finding the problem through bench testing If you are here then it’s likely you have encountered a serious hardware issue and have been unable to resolve it using the standard no-POST troubleshooting procedures. If you have not yet attempted to resolve your issues using the no-POST...

forums.tomshardware.com

Did the motherboard benchmark as instructed; checked all the pins on the cpu, checked capacitors, and generally for any discolouring on the CPU and motherboard, also for interference issues. No problems there. Moving onto the motherboard bench testing, I was not able to go post after the module testing, therefore I assumed that the most probable cause of non post is the motherboard and stopped testing as the guide stated to only continue IF I manage to get a POST.

 

[jasonf2]

When you tried plugging into the motherboard VGA, did you REMOVE the graphics card COMPLETELY from the motherboard first? If not, try that.

To be honest, given the age of the hardware, it would not be at ALL surprising if this was simply a dead board, and getting a replacement board for a system that old is going to be a real gamble since practically any one you find is either going to already have problems or will have similar miles on it to yours and problems are likely just around the corner. It could just as easily be a dead graphics card though, as that HD 7870 is about the same age as the rest of the hardware give or take.

Given the age, the motherboard and graphics cards are the most likely culprits HOWEVER, if that XFX power supply is as old as the rest of the hardware, that could certainly be to blame as well. It's very unlikely to be the CPU or memory. Might actually even be a dead or weak CMOS battery, so if removing the graphics card and then trying the motherboard video outputs doesn't work, I'd probably try replacing the CMOS battery before doing anything else OR at least testing it with a multimeter to ensure it isn't weak. It doesn't take much towards the weak side to cause all sorts of problems.

CMOS battery would typically show up with a post error due to bios corruption and request an f1 to continue. Honestly CMOS battery replacement is never really a bad ideal, just not very probable if jumper has already been set and system still not booting as it is defaulting at that point anyway. CMOS doesn't really do anything while the machine is running. Just retentive space for bios config while unit off. If peripherals dead and GPU dark would check the power outputs on the PSU especially the 5v and 12v power circuits.

 

[Darkbreeze]

CMOS battery would typically show up with a post error due to bios corruption and request an f1 to continue. Honestly CMOS battery replacement is never really a bad ideal, just not very probable if jumper has already been set and system still not booting as it is defaulting at that point anyway. CMOS doesn't really do anything while the machine is running. Just retentive space for bios config while unit off. If peripherals dead and GPU dark would check the power outputs on the PSU especially the 5v and 12v power circuits.

Honestly, I've seen weak or dead CMOS batteries, both on the bench AND on this forum, cause practically every variety of "ill" you can think of including things that you would not ever expect to be a result of a battery issue. Losing settings, corrupt hardware tables, inability to load the boot loader or Windows boot manager, failure to configure or recognize installed hardware. Even failure to even POST. So, I never discount the possibility that a problem is a result of a CMOS battery issue. Yes, I realize that technically some systems will run even with a completely dead battery, but I've definitely, WE have definitely, seen some boards with true schizophrenia due to weak or dead coin batteries.

 

[rafalex347]

CMOS battery would typically show up with a post error due to bios corruption and request an f1 to continue. Honestly CMOS battery replacement is never really a bad ideal, just not very probable if jumper has already been set and system still not booting as it is defaulting at that point anyway. CMOS doesn't really do anything while the machine is running. Just retentive space for bios config while unit off. If peripherals dead and GPU dark would check the power outputs on the PSU especially the 5v and 12v power circuits.

I replaced the battery, and also how would I test the power outputs on the PSU? Also, I tested the system with a working PSU that I use for my currently working system and had the same issue.

 

[jasonf2]

I replaced the battery, and also how would I test the power outputs on the PSU? Also, I tested the system with a working PSU that I use for my currently working system and had the same issue.

If you swapped the PSU then testing the outputs would be point moot. With that in mind I have to agree with Darkbreeze in his first post. Most probably either GPU or motherboard. If you have one to swap trying the video card is the easiest to test. That CPU has integrated graphics, so if you plug into the motherboard video output without a video card installed it should come up that way. If it is giving some output and then going black with the card in that isn't abnormal as the integrated graphics should disable when a discrete card is detected.

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd almost bet the house on faulty motherboard. He already tried removing the graphics card and using the iGPU.

 

[rafalex347]

I'd almost bet the house on faulty motherboard. He already tried removing the graphics card and using the iGPU.

So, the best course of action would be to probably build a new system due to this one being old and replacement motherboard probably facing similar issues just around the corner as stated in an earlier post?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Depending on your actual financial capabilities and whether you can source the desired hardware at a price that isn't stupidly unrealistic, which might be a task, yes.

On the other hand, given the current conditions, unlike usually, it MIGHT be worth trying to find a cheap compatible used board or a new old stock board just to get by but ONLY if you can find one for a reasonable price given the age and the conditions AND only if you can do so with at least some option for return if there is a problem within the first say 30 days.

Truthfully, seems like any money put towards extending the life of a system that old is throwing money away but in the current market I also fully understand that the cost of a new CPU, motherboard and memory might be out of reach for something desirable at this time. Obviously, how important this is and what your finances are like will generally be the biggest considerations in that decision.

 

[rafalex347]

Depending on your actual financial capabilities and whether you can source the desired hardware at a price that isn't stupidly unrealistic, which might be a task, yes.

On the other hand, given the current conditions, unlike usually, it MIGHT be worth trying to find a cheap compatible used board or a new old stock board just to get by but ONLY if you can find one for a reasonable price given the age and the conditions AND only if you can do so with at least some option for return if there is a problem within the first say 30 days.

Truthfully, seems like any money put towards extending the life of a system that old is throwing money away but in the current market I also fully understand that the cost of a new CPU, motherboard and memory might be out of reach for something desirable at this time. Obviously, how important this is and what your finances are like will generally be the biggest considerations in that decision.

Do you mean that RAM and CPUS are expensive right now aswell? Because I was thinking the GPUS are only the real big problem.

 

[Darkbreeze]

RAM isn't terribly expensive right now, but it's more expensive in general than it was a year or two ago. CPUs are definitely a bit more expensive although of course, not along the lines of the increased price of graphics cards. Motherboards, especially if you want an upper tiered or flagship model, are extremely expensive compared to past years, but mostly you can still get a decent mid tiered board for 130-200 bucks.

Graphics cards are by far the most inflated hardware components when it comes to cost right now, but everything is more expensive than it was before the beginning of the pandemic including storage devices like SSDs and HDDs, and most other essential hardware. Cases are slightly more expensive, but not terrible.

 

[rafalex347]

RAM isn't terribly expensive right now, but it's more expensive in general than it was a year or two ago. CPUs are definitely a bit more expensive although of course, not along the lines of the increased price of graphics cards. Motherboards, especially if you want an upper tiered or flagship model, are extremely expensive compared to past years, but mostly you can still get a decent mid tiered board for 130-200 bucks.

Graphics cards are by far the most inflated hardware components when it comes to cost right now, but everything is more expensive than it was before the beginning of the pandemic including storage devices like SSDs and HDDs, and most other essential hardware. Cases are slightly more expensive, but not terrible.

OK, I guess I'll ask the person that is the owner of the broken pc and see how badly he needs a new one. Would you say building a new pc now and getting a graphics card later on is a bad idea?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Not really. And I'm actually not saying that I expect anything to get better later, really, at least (MAYBE) until the availability of various essential materials and chips gets better and that likely won't happen until we see a few more new fabs, which are seemingly under construction in various places, become a reality. Maybe not then though because if fabs can't get some of the materials needed, or water is scarce (Water is often a big part of the process), or there are other unforeseen concerns like a lack of employees or supply chain issues, it could be a very long time, or never, before we see any significant changes.

In fact, things COULD get worse, and never get better, so at this point I think it's anybody's guess and I don't really believe there is anybody out there, economics genius or not, that really has any idea what is likely to happen given all the unknowns we've faced over the last two years and those certain to come along in the future.