Build Advice Retro build - powers up but no screen, please help!

[rorywatt14]

I am trying to revive an old PC, I have tried many things but now don't know what to do anymore, please if someone could help me diagnose the problem that would be great!

Motherboard: GA-7N400 Pro2 (bought used and tested)
CPU: Athlon (unsure which in particular, but apparently good spec for its time) and some Sempron as a backup.
DRR RAM: 2 sticks of 256Mb, 266Mhz. And 1 stick of 512Mb
PCI video card: GeForce3 Ti200 128Mb

What happens:
Regardless of setup; the PC powers on, all fans spin, no change in noise, and there is no screen output. Ram light is on (good sign), but the keyboard lights (lock screen, scroll lock etc) do not flash or turn on at all - this is a sign for modern PCs but not sure about retro ones, I'm using the old socket keyboard. It simply stays powered on with all fans running, no screen, until I turn the system off. I have felt the heatsink of the CPU and it is *slightly* warmer than usual - which I imply means its being powered at least?


Could it be that the video card is not working, and I need to buy another to test (if I ignore lack of keyboard light)? I appreciate any help or suggestions and I will try follow and implement whatever recommended, thank you!

 

[vov4ik_il]

You need to first clear cmos and ensure there is a fresh 3v lithium battery (shelf life is about 3 yrs).
I would remove all those RAM sticks and try 1 at a time. Also, try to find an AGP GPU. It is AGP.

 

[CountMike]

I am trying to revive an old PC, I have tried many things but now don't know what to do anymore, please if someone could help me diagnose the problem that would be great!

Motherboard: GA-7N400 Pro2 (bought used and tested)
CPU: Athlon (unsure which in particular, but apparently good spec for its time) and some Sempron as a backup.
DRR RAM: 2 sticks of 256Mb, 266Mhz. And 1 stick of 512Mb
PCI video card: GeForce3 Ti200 128Mb

What happens:
Regardless of setup; the PC powers on, all fans spin, no change in noise, and there is no screen output. Ram light is on (good sign), but the keyboard lights (lock screen, scroll lock etc) do not flash or turn on at all - this is a sign for modern PCs but not sure about retro ones, I'm using the old socket keyboard. It simply stays powered on with all fans running, no screen, until I turn the system off. I have felt the heatsink of the CPU and it is *slightly* warmer than usual - which I imply means its being powered at least?


Could it be that the video card is not working, and I need to buy another to test (if I ignore lack of keyboard light)? I appreciate any help or suggestions and I will try follow and implement whatever recommended, thank you!

Even in those old systems you need a fan connetcted to CPU_FAN header to pass POST.

 

[rorywatt14]

You need to first clear cmos and ensure there is a fresh 3v lithium battery (shelf life is about 3 yrs).
I would remove all those RAM sticks and try 1 at a time. Also, try to find an AGP GPU. It is AGP.

Thanks, how do I clear cmos on this old motherboard? The board was working before apparently, so I assume the battery is fine... but I will replace it with one I know that works just in case.
Thanks for the reply

 

[rorywatt14]

Even in those old systems you need a fan connetcted to CPU_FAN header to pass POST.

The CPU fan is connected, and spins on start up, just no output
Thanks for the reply

 

[vov4ik_il]

how do I clear cmos on this old motherboard

Well, you might want to download the motherboard manual (bottom of the list on the page) and scroll to page 30, where it directs to remove the lithium battery cell for 30 seconds and reinstall it.
Also, I would make sure the SW_CLK and CLK_RATIO jumpers are all off (failsafe) otherwise you might be clocked too high for the CPU.