Monitor on PC Won't turn on, never ending problems!

[Airplanepics]

Hi all,
First time here so go easy on me!

I built my first PC nearly a year ago now, and have had nothing but problems with it. If it's not dodgy hard-drives it's faulty RAM, if it's not faulty RAM it's a blown PSU!

I started my pc up yesterday morning, but when it reached the Windows XP Welome screen it restarted itself. It done this for a quiet a while until XP finally loaded up, but I couldn't do anything as it kept telling me what programs had to close down etc.

I opened up the case, checked out the cables and connections - all seemed fine. I left it till this morning, when I thought I'd have a further 'play' around inside it.

Turnt the pc on this morning, nothing - monitor won't turn on, no beeps...nothing. The monitor is definatly on, and cables are connected. I've disconnected everything inside including the video card, and I've repositioned the heatsink for the CPU. There's nothing wrong with the HardDrive as I tested it on another machine.

I just can't see what could be wrong with it. Everything has been replaced since I got the PC, the only thing's that havn't been replaced is the CPU and the Graphics Card!

My System Specs:
AMD 2800+
1024 RAM (2x 512's)
2 x 160 gb HDD's)
GeForce FX 5200
Abit NF-7 Motherboard
DVD-R/W
DVD Player
Hercules Muse XL Soundcard
Wireless Internet Card
400W Power Supply.

Anyone have any ideas?

Best Regards,
Simon Nicholls

[RJ]

Random restarts are usually a sign of a weak PSU. If you have a cheap no-name PSU, it's not capable of running your whole system.
If you don't replace the PSU, eventually it'll destroy your PC. My guess is that the mainboard is broken, but you'd need another CPU in order to verify that.

To avoid these kind of problems, get quality parts. What brand is the PSU ?

RJ

[Airplanepics]

Hi there,

Thanks for the quick reply.

The PSU is a cheap Maxima one, so maybe that's the problem. On Christmas Eve, I had a named one that blew up on me.

Simon.

[RJ]

I bet that's the problem. I tested a cheap 350W PSU and it couldn't even power my PIII 800 system. The better 235W PSU has no problem with it, it's been working since feb 1999.
A cheap 400W and a modern AMD system. . no way it's powerful enough. You need a quality PSU, and I'm sure your mainboard is blown. If it doesn't beep anything, it's too late for it. But I wouldn't use that cheap PSU again.

When the named PSU (which one was it ?) blew up, did it also destroy other PC components ?

RJ

[Airplanepics]

Originally Posted by RJ I bet that's the problem. I tested a cheap 350W PSU and it couldn't even power my PIII 800 system. The better 235W PSU has no problem with it, it's been working since feb 1999. A cheap 400W and a modern AMD system. . no way it's powerful enough. You need a quality PSU, and I'm sure your mainboard is blown. If it doesn't beep anything, it's too late for it. But I wouldn't use that cheap PSU again. When the named PSU (which one was it ?) blew up, did it also destroy other PC components ? RJ

Hi there,
No, no components as far as I know were destroyed. The thing is though, the PSU has powererd the pc for nearly 7 months, could it just stop powering like this?
The motherboard was working until this morning, this is what i'm confused about!

[RJ]

The thing is though, the PSU has powererd the pc for nearly 7 months, could it just stop powering like this?

Yes. A weak PSU will try to power the PC, but sooner or later, it will die, or at least become unstable enough to destroy components. Half a year sounds realistic. I know a case where somebody installed a Radeon 9700 into an old AMD K6-550 system, and after half a year the PSU just blew up and destroyed a few components. Especially cheap PSUs will do that.

I once experienced that myself with my old PIII 800 with the 235W PSU. I actually wanted to find out how much stuff my PSU can handle. My mistake was that I thought a PSU has to run hot to blow, and that isn't true.
So first I got the random reboots, and then a few days after my board (and a few other components) were dead.
That 235W PSU didn't actually blow, but it became unstable and therefore killed the components. It still powers the PIII 800 system fine (with less things inside), whereas a cheap 350W PSU failed.

RJ

[Airplanepics]

Originally Posted by RJ Yes. A weak PSU will try to power the PC, but sooner or later, it will die, or at least become unstable enough to destroy components. Half a year sounds realistic. I know a case where somebody installed a Radeon 9700 into an old AMD K6-550 system, and after half a year the PSU just blew up and destroyed a few components. Especially cheap PSUs will do that. I once experienced that myself with my old PIII 800 with the 235W PSU. I actually wanted to find out how much stuff my PSU can handle. My mistake was that I thought a PSU has to run hot to blow, and that isn't true. So first I got the random reboots, and then a few days after my board (and a few other components) were dead. That 235W PSU didn't actually blow, but it became unstable and therefore killed the components. It still powers the PIII 800 system fine (with less things inside), whereas a cheap 350W PSU failed. RJ

So, do you reccomend me getting another PSU to see if it'll power the computer?

[RJ]

No. I recommend that you get rid of the cheap one you have now, and get a PSU that does power the computer for sure. Like an Enermax PSU in the 370W - 400W range, for example.

RJ

[Airplanepics]

Originally Posted by RJ No. I recommend that you get rid of the cheap one you have now, and get a PSU that does power the computer for sure. Like an Enermax PSU in the 370W - 400W range, for example. RJ

Hi,

Do you reccomend Q-Tec?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...ory=44949&rd=1

Simon

[RJ]

A 650W PSU for 20 pounds ? No way. . .stay away from that.

Look at these 2 threads:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=101151
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...threadid=98650

I personally have had good experience with Enermax and a friend with Noiseblocker. I have no experience with the other quality brands.

I do notice that you are trying to get a cheap PSU. Don't do that. Look for a quality one, and then look where you get the best prices for them. You'll have to pay about 40 to 50 pounds for a good PSU in the 400W range.

Once you have a new PSU, follow the instructions of this thread to find out if the essential parts like board, cpu, ram and video card are actually working. I've seen a defective HDD and also sound card preventing the PC from turning on (not even the fans worked).

RJ

[Airplanepics]

Hi.

Just ordererd a 550W Enermax one, hopefully that'll do the job. Do you think it could be anything else? Maybe dodgy Motherboard?

Thanks for the help.

[RJ]

550W is way more than you need (my friends and I use 350W to 370W Enermax PSUs to power PCs with even more components than your PC), but well, that way you have plenty of room for future upgrades.

There is a possibility that one or more components are broken and you need to replace them. But it could be anything or nothing. You have to find out if something is broken and if so, which one. Once you get the new PSU, look at this thread to see if board, cpu, ram and video card are working properly. If so, add the other parts one by one until the PC doesn't turn on anymore, then you've found the defective part.

RJ

[Airplanepics]

Originally Posted by RJ 550W is way more than you need (my friends and I use 350W to 370W Enermax PSUs to power PCs with even more components than your PC), but well, that way you have plenty of room for future upgrades. There is a possibility that one or more components are broken and you need to replace them. But it could be anything or nothing. You have to find out if something is broken and if so, which one. Once you get the new PSU, look at this thread to see if board, cpu, ram and video card are working properly. If so, add the other parts one by one until the PC doesn't turn on anymore, then you've found the defective part. RJ

Thanks for the help! I'll keep you updated!
Cool name by the way, Airbus do indeed rule!

Cheers,
Simon
www.londonaviation.co.uk

[Airplanepics]

Hi all,

Just had a play around swapping components into a differernt PC.
I tried another graphics card in the faulty PC, still no luck. I also tried my HardDrive in another computer, it loaded up - but contained lot's of errors on XP, and then restested itself. However, it worked as a slave harddrive.

I still havn't recieved my new power unit yet, that should arrive tomorow, but i'm beginning to beleive that the motherboard is faulty.

Simon.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Airplanepics but i'm beginning to beleive that the motherboard is faulty.

You won't know for sure until you replace the current power supply first. Never guess or assume when troubleshooting a computer, that's the reason you do the troubleshooting in the first place...you're trying to pin-point the exact cause of the problem.

Replace the current power supply first and then go from there...if the problem goes away, you had a faulty power supply. But if the problem remains you then work on the next logical component that may be the cause of the problem.

Cricket

[Airplanepics]

Hi all,

Well, just got the Power Supply, still doesn't work! I've put a RMA in the the return of the Motherboard back to the place where I bought it. Is there anything else I can try before I take it apart to send it back?

Simon.

[RJ]

So you've followed the instructions in this thread, right ?

Well, if it still doesn't work with this bare minimum, then either the board or the CPU might be shot. You can only test it with another CPU or another board.
But judging from my experience, I'd say the board is dead.

RJ

[Airplanepics]

Everything has been taken out and tested.

One thing, If I havn't got an anti static bag big enough for the return of the motherboard, could you use bubble wrap?

[Airplanepics]

Sent the motherboard back today......I'm going on holiday next week so i'm hopefully i'll have it back by then!

[Airplanepics]

Hi all,

Well good news it seems, I got an email this morning, telling me that the company had found a fault with the motherboard - and they were prepared to replace it.

Unfortunatly, they didn't have the one that I sent back in stock (I think it's been discontinued) so there sending me a Abit NF7-S VER 2.0.

Should be here on Monday, will have to go out and get some more thermal paste!

Wish me luck!