When do we know if a motherboard or CPU is dead

[PC Learner]

Hi guys

I am pretty much an old pc guy , i've been around since the DOS and DBASE days , i know quite a bit when it comes to software troubleshooting , but i am kinda medium with hardware .

MY question is quite simple .

When a system starts and you can tell that the seek procedure works .... ( cd-rom check , floppy check , dvd check ) but you have no graphics that comes on . like a usual boot motherboard screen display .....

Then nothing ........ black screen ( sleep mode )

Is the motherboard dead or is the CPU dead ????

In the old days we had a pc speaker with error code recognition

On these new systems there is no pc speaker nor error code beeps .

How do i determine if one or the other is the problem ?

My Motherboard by the way is a Lucky Star P4VMD +

Intel Processor .

I first disconnected , hard drive , then floppy , then both DVD and CD drives
Then the memory , and finally all cables .... still a blank screen

I've disconnected everything hooked up to the mother board and then ran it .

My hunch is that Motherboard is good but the CPU is shot !

What do you guys think , and please explain with some detail if there is any procedure to verify both ....

Thanks .

[MakeYourslf2012]

Have you tried this?

http://www.forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409:

Your starting the system entirely out of the case to make sure the motherboard isnt grounded to it - which causes you not to get a signal to the monitor.

Usually that solves the problem, if it still doesnt boot, then you can be sure it's a problem with the motherboard, RAM or CPU. After that, it's just process of elimination.

[PC Learner]

Originally Posted by MakeYourslf2012 Have you tried this? http://www.forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409: Your starting the system entirely out of the case to make sure the motherboard isnt grounded to it - which causes you not to get a signal to the monitor. Usually that solves the problem, if it still doesnt boot, then you can be sure it's a problem with the motherboard, RAM or CPU. After that, it's just process of elimination.

thanks for the info i 'm goin to try this tonight and get back you .

[PC Learner]

Originally Posted by MakeYourslf2012 Have you tried this? http://www.forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409: Your starting the system entirely out of the case to make sure the motherboard isnt grounded to it - which causes you not to get a signal to the monitor. Usually that solves the problem, if it still doesnt boot, then you can be sure it's a problem with the motherboard, RAM or CPU. After that, it's just process of elimination.

Hi Mate ,

So i did try the step by step dismount as you refered to me , via the link you provided , and the results are , not good .

Although i did follow everything , but i awitched RAM to make sure that the Ram was good .

Now , i am down with 2 components .

Mother Board
Or
CPU

If the CPU is Shot

Does that mean the Board is Shot

Or vis-versa ?

I guess the best way to determine which is shot ,is to try the CPU on another board and tried another CPU on my test board right ?

Excuse me if i sound a little hardware illeterate , but i just wanna make sure .

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by PC Learner Now , i am down with 2 components . Mother Board Or CPU If the CPU is shot does that mean the board is shot?

No.

Originally Posted by PC Learner Or vis-versa ?

No.

Originally Posted by PC Learner I guess the best way to determine which is shot, is to try the CPU on another board and tried another CPU on my test board right?

Yes.

Cricket