PC Will Not Boot

[Eli Little]

Okay, so I was browsing around on the internet (not gaming) on my desktop PC, and out os nowhere, the screen went black and the audio began to skip and than eventually went out. I manually restarted the computer but it didn't boot and the CPU fan ran at full speed ( I started the PC with the CPU fan unplugged to make sure. Only left on less than a few seconds).

I rearranged my RAM and tried starting with only 1 of each of my 2 RAM sticks plugged in individually, but that didn't work. I plugged the SATA cable in my HDD in each SATA slot, but none of them worked. I also tried with my GPU unplugged, but that also didn't work.

I am confident now that it is either my RAM, PSU, or Motherboard, and just need to find out which before I order new parts. Which of my parts have died and need to be replaced? Here is my build-

FX-6350
GTX 760
Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD
Gigabyte Mobo taken from a HP Pre-Built PC (confident this is the issue)
XFX 550W PSU

 

[i7Baby]

"it didn't boot and the CPU fan ran at full speed" - sounds like the CPU is getting too hot.

Post your build. What CPU cooler?

Blow it out with compressed air. Bump the CPU fan speed up to over 1000rpm. Get rid of any CPU overclock.

 

[Eli Little]

I already cleaned out the cooler of my CPU, and the fan ran at full speed from the second I hit the power button instead of ramping up speed over time. Also, even if the CPU was overheating, the PC would still boot. All I get is a black screen, and can't even get into BIOS, and it seems that the Mobo isn't even posting, even though every fan runs.

 

[i7Baby]

Have you plugged BOTH PSU connectors into the motherboard?

 

[Eli Little]

Have you plugged BOTH PSU connectors into the motherboard?

I am experienced with building and working with PCs, so trust me when I say I would not make that kind of mistake. If either of the power connectors for the motherboard were broken, then either the CPU and the CPU cooler fan would not work, or the GPU would not function without the PSU plugged into it (which it did), so I am confident that that is not the issue. I am pretty confident that it is the motherboard, although I want to be sure before I drop <$100 on a new motherboard instead of only around $70 for a new PSU or RAM. Is there any troubleshooting I could do that would not require access to the BIOS and OS?

 

[i7Baby]

Go through Tom's checklist - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-post-boot-video-problems

 

[Eli Little]

Trust me, I have all of these done. I built this system about 15 months ago, and it worked just fine up until a few weeks ago. It began to give me random black screens more and more often (whether I am gaming, watching a movie, or surfing the web), and I have honestly been expecting this moment to come due to that reason. I cut corners on the motherboard (regretting that now) by using a Gigabyte motherboard taken from a (Made in China) Pre-Built computer, as well as RAM sticks from the same PC. The PSU, GPU, CPU, and HDD are all much higher quality (AMD, Nvidia, XFX, and Seagate), and are most likely not the parts that failed.

It is most likely that it is either the RAM or the Mobo, but the Mobo seems most likely due to the CPU fan malfunctioning and the fact that it wouldn't even start with any of my RAM sticks individually.

 

[i7Baby]

What PSU voltages - 12v, 5v and 3v - readings did you get in step 23?

 

[Eli Little]

Well, after some thinking, I decided that now would be a decent time to just upgrade my PC in general. I am going to end up buying a new PSU (one that is modular this time, instead of my current one, which blocks airflow with the wires), going to get new RAM from Corsair, going to buy a new motherboard, will probably buy a second 760 in order to SLI, and might change out my case for a Micro-ATX build. I appreciate the help though. Note, this is not me giving up on the troubleshooting process, just me cleaning house and making my future college dorm mates envious.

 

[i7Baby]

You still haven't posted your build.

 

[Eli Little]

You still haven't posted your build.

Current Build
CPU- FX-6350
GPU- GTX 760
HDD- Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7600RPM
PSU- XFX 550W Bronze Certified PSU
Mobo- Gigabyte Motherboard (AM3+), not sure exact model
RAM- 10GB 1600Mhz CAS 9, not sure exact model
Case- Cooler Master HAF 912

Newer Build (Planned to stay under $400)
CPU- FX-6350
GPU- GTX 760 (May SLI in future, or upgrade to GTX 970 over summer)
HDD- Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM
PSU- EVGA SuperNOVA 650W, Gold Certified, Fully Modular
Mobo- MSI 970 Gaming
RAM- 8GB G.Skill Sniper 1866Mhz CAS 9 (May keep old RAM if it isn't the issue)
Case- Cooler Master HAF 912

 

[i7Baby]

OC'd your CPU? Got a custom cooler on it?

 

[Eli Little]

OC'd your CPU? Got a custom cooler on it?

Nope, My CPU has run at stock speeds ever since I built this PC, and it has used the stock cooler as well (I am going to change that soon). The only issues before this was that it blue-screened a few times, but those stopped after I switched out the SATA cable connected to my HDD.