System Wont Post

[Romstar]

I have had my system since may 2007. I am running q6600@default 4gigs of pc2-6400 ram. 4870. sound blaster x-fi elite pro. badaxe2 motherboard by Intel. Western Digital raptor 150 gigs. 1 Kilowatt PSU by silverstone

This is my problem. I have had this problem multiple times randomly throughout my computers lifetime. Whenever I unplug the system and transport it to another location it wont ever POST. Usually after a few hours of tinkering with it by switching out the battery on the motherboard and the 3 pin jumper I can get it to boot. This time I have already tried all of that and I have no sign of life. Whenever I boot it up the harddrive spins but I get no picture on the monitor. They keyboard never turns on and I can instantly turn off the system by tapping the power button once. If I take out the jumper then i have to hold the power down in order to shut it off but still I wont have a boot. I can confirm that the ram is not at fault and neither is the video card. My best guess if something is permanently dead that it is the CPU.

 

[jsc]

More likely the PSU or motherboard.

Whenever I unplug the system and transport it to another location it wont ever POST.

Try this (treating it like a dead new build):
Take the motherboard out of the case and place it on an insulating surface. Make sure that both PSU power connectors (main 24 pin and 4/8 pin CPU power) are installed.

Pull everything except the CPU and HSF. Boot. You should hear a series of long single beeps indicating memory problems. Silence here indicates, in probable order, a bad PSU, motherboard, or CPU - or a bad installation where something is shorting and shutting down the PSU.

If you get the long beeps, add a stick of RAM. Boot. The beep pattern should change to one long and two or three short beeps. Silence indicates that the RAM is shorting out the PSU. Long single beeps indicates that the BIOS does not recognize the presence of the RAM.

If you get the one long and two or three short beeps, install the video card and any needed power cables. If the video card is good, the system should successfully POST (one short beep, usually).

Note - a PSU with inadequate 12 volt output will also cause this step to fail.

Another note that you do not need drives or a keyboard to get this far.

If you successfully POST, start plugging in the rest of the components, one at a time.

Building the computer outside the case is called "breadboarding" (from the 1920's days of homebuilt radios). I use an insulated cutting board. I always breadboard a new build. It lets me test the components before I go through all the work of installing them in a case.

 

[Romstar]

I didnt get any beeps when I added the ram but the Hard drive started making all the crackling noises of booting up so this leads me to believe that it could be the video card? I will try another card now but if it isnt the card then it is the Ram for sure?

 

[Romstar]

son of a gun it was the video card.............. I appreciate the help greatly you sir are a genius.

 

[Romstar]

so it turned out to not be the card but the 6 pin PCI-E connector I was using from the PSU. Thank god I have my 4870 back up and running instead of the 2900 xt.