PC won't boot

[gman2]

Over the last few days the PC has been playing up. The screen would display everything pixellated before going grey (not blue!) and freezing.

Restarting normally worked but now it won't work at all. The power is there, fans are running but no output to the monitor and no beeps.

I've done all the normal stuff. Reseating everything (including the memory), replacing the CMOS battery, disconnecting all peripherals but it makes no difference.

Because of the weird displays I was getting before it failed I wondered if it could be something to with the graphics card then realised it's on-board graphics.

Any suggestions? A cheap graphics card perhaps?

 

[BD]

first thing as you say no beep,thats POST,Power On Start Test.if you dont even get the basic sreen (black white) asking if you want to enter setup then the graphics are not working,if onbourd it could be that or the controller on the MB or cpu.have you got a slot for a graphics card, if so can you borrow one 1st to save some money,but before that is the power pack all ok?. always fun sorting these out

 

[gman2]

first thing as you say no beep,thats POST,Power On Start Test.if you dont even get the basic sreen (black white) asking if you want to enter setup then the graphics are not working,if onbourd it could be that or the controller on the MB or cpu.have you got a slot for a graphics card, if so can you borrow one 1st to save some money,but before that is the power pack all ok?. always fun sorting these out

Thanks, that rather confirms the way I was thinking. I have a couple of repair shops near me so I'll call in and see if they have an old graphics card they can lend me (or sell cheap)!

It's a relatively new PSU so I'm ruling that out.

 

[Fanum]

Tesco 35 quid

http://www.tesco.com/direct/asus-nv...low-pr/589-2904.prd?skuId=589-2904&pageLevel=

Ask around your neighbours...most people who have a PC will have two or three sitting around in draws at home

PS is the lead from PC to monitor ok? not been squished behind a desk or anything?
Borrow a lead and try that...

The pixellation does rather suggest a GPU though.

 

[gman2]

Tesco 35 quid

http://www.tesco.com/direct/asus-nv...low-pr/589-2904.prd?skuId=589-2904&pageLevel=

Ask around your neighbours...most people who have a PC will have two or three sitting around in draws at home

PS is the lead from PC to monitor ok? not been squished behind a desk or anything?
Borrow a lead and try that...

The pixellation does rather suggest a GPU though.

Thanks. The monitor connection looks OK and the lack of beeps means it's not even getting past the power up phase.

Good point about neighbours as it's reminded me that I have a mate who probably has some old graphic cards

 

[rodders]

It's a relatively new PSU so I'm ruling that out.

I wouldn't rule it out just because it's new

 

[ferrol]

Check for any fat diodes.

 

[Grey Beard]

I doubt that it is the graphics card if you don't get then POST tones on start-up.

More likely to be the Power Supply Unit or a damaged Mother Board. Newish electronics can and do fail sometimes shortly after installation. If it survives the first 2 months or so, then it often runs for years without a problem.

Grey Beard

 

[gman2]

Thanks chaps, I'll investigate all the suggestions.

 

[Pip_UK]

My previous PC managed to destroy pretty much all of its components at some stage.

When the power supply went, it gave the same symptoms as you: lights and fans came on, as did the green power LED on the motherboard, but no POST beep and no boot. It was counterintuitive because clearly there was power, however swapping in the power supply unit from an even older PC fixed the problem. So I bought a replacement 450W PSU from Maplins for £25 and that did the job.

I also managed to fry a video card. When this happened, the PC booted fine, except that the display looked like I'd taken an overdose of LSD.

If you can borrow a video card, that's an easy check. PSUs have a complicated-looking splurge of spaghetti coming out of them, but the plugs only fit where they're supposed to, so if you try changing that too, just remember how many plugs you unplugged when disconnecting the old one and it's a 5-10 minute job.

PC probs are a pita, but also an opportunity to gain useful knowledge

 

[gman2]

My previous PC managed to destroy pretty much all of its components at some stage.

When the power supply went, it gave the same symptoms as you: lights and fans came on, as did the green power LED on the motherboard, but no POST beep and no boot. It was counterintuitive because clearly there was power, however swapping in the power supply unit from an even older PC fixed the problem. So I bought a replacement 450W PSU from Maplins for £25 and that did the job.

I also managed to fry a video card. When this happened, the PC booted fine, except that the display looked like I'd taken an overdose of LSD.

If you can borrow a video card, that's an easy check. PSUs have a complicated-looking splurge of spaghetti coming out of them, but the plugs only fit where they're supposed to, so if you try changing that too, just remember how many plugs you unplugged when disconnecting the old one and it's a 5-10 minute job.

PC probs are a pita, but also an opportunity to gain useful knowledge

Thanks.

The PSU went a couple of months ago with a loud bang. I too bought a £25 Maplins one and it's been working fine but I guess it could have gone wrong. I've got a couple of people to call to see if they've got an old video card I can borrow.

 

[gman2]

Solved. Reseated everything yet again. Operator error ...

Thanks for the suggestions and the help.