Just will NOT boot

Simple as that.

Will NOT boot.

Nothing on the screen at all.

Does not respond to F8 or Delete.....NOTHING...sorry not shouting just emphasizing

 

Sorry to learn of your situation. Since this covers a multitude of possible causes you are first going to need one of those double billed Sherlock Holmes hats.

It would also be helpful if you could advise us of any abnormal behavior leading up to this or thunder and lightning or the ozone-like smell of burnt electrical components. You should physically inspect the inner workings of your PC with special focus on any charred components, traces and or bulging/leaking capacitors. If that checks out OK, completely unplug your machine from the power outlet it is connected to and disconnect all peripherals (printers & etc) - wait 20-30 seconds and reconnect the power cord. Now try to power up.

If you still are dead in the water, concentrate your initial investigation on the power supply. If you have a power supply tester, this can be answered quickly but if not, you are going to need to to try a known good substitute. A PSU tester can be purchased for $8-10.

I could go much deeper with next steps, but for right now I'll leave that as your sole challenge.

 

Thanks Rockster2U,

Have dis and re connected all HD cables and ribbons.....powered up with di and reconnect scenarios.

Have done likewise with memory.

All lights activate when upon boot but just wont kick in to bring up anything on monitor.....even IF monitor was down I should HEAR windows.

Have switched on and off and twigled the power at back of PC and front as well.......tried all the previous methods and more that I am aware of in previous situations such as this.realizing how ornery these things can be at times...but am beatup on this one so far.
Have tried F/8 and delete during boot but Nothing.

MYSTERY.....working perfectly until I rebooted using Ccleaner which I use on a regualr basis.

Only once have I had the need to take a PC to the "computer repair shop" and there they removed all the info on my disc......which I could have done myself so I don't have a lot of confidence in going to them again.

Fortunately I have a laptop that I am able to connect to BBS with.

Realise that none of this is really much help...I have even tried to run my MS XP disc but it won't kick in either????????

 

This would also be my first approach once you head down the "replace hardware road ". I have not noticed if you stated the age of your computer, but PS's are generally a 2 year or longer component. My primary computer was showing some PS issues about 6 months ago .. (during startup/environment temperature sensitivity -- also infrequent, but noticeable powerdowns/reboots under no load), so I ordered a PS for the inevitable. One morning when starting my computer it would stall / not complete bootup (well before windows load) no matter what I did. So I change out the PS and everything was back to normal. That is when I noticed I had left a DVD movie in my player (slave on primary IDE channel - my preferred bootorder) the night before. I surmised the extra powerload on PS (spinning up/reading DVD) was to much of a load for PS... it was time to change it.

 

Thanks Rockster n Dennis for hanging in there with me.

With regard to the PSU and the tester you speak of are you refering to an ac/dc multimeter voltage tester..if so OK I have one of those.

Could you enlighten me more on the particular points/location that need to be tested and the results I would be looking for....I gather that the in of the PSU is ac voltage [240 here in OZ] and the output is dc voltage 300w/12v.as I just read on the PSU.

A million wires some directly to the main board an others it appears directly to drives.

It seems you are both indicating the possibility of overload similiar to when a car battery is dying could actually be happening to the PSU!

BTW I removed and replaced the CMOS battery in anticipation that it would reset settings back to normal just in case there was an issue there but it hasn't helped.

I'll wait to hear more from you to evaluate if I'm getting your message correctly.

Thanks

 

Thanks Pete. I made it safe and sound.

Roy - This is what I was referencing. And, although this particular one is made for 24 pin connectors, it will also handle 20 pin ATX along with most common molex connectors which is a bonus.

 

http://www.phillica.com.au/power_supply_tester.html

http://www.myshopping.com.au/PU--54...pin_power_supplies_3_way_LED_output_indicator

Thanks guys...ours are a bit pricier than yours though and for me the first link above would be my choice as it provides a more detailed readout.

I tracked the appropriate leads and all read OK except two fine wires which were 1volt lower than the posted voltage...not sure if that would make any difference.

Anyway you have given me a starting point...I'll take out the power supply and see if I can get it checked.

Thanks

 

I'd try one more thing since your testing (I assume with a multimeter) panned out OK (I think). You mentioned that you pulled the CMOS battery but to effectively clear CMOS settings, one should disconnect the 20 pin (in your situation) ATX power header from the mainboard and then move the CMOS jumper from pins 1&2 and place it on pins 2&3 for 10-15 seconds. Then re-jumper it 1&2, reconnect the power header to the main board and tap the Delete key while attempting to boot. Despite all the commentary about pulling batteries and etc., I know of no better way to clear CMOS unless a system has no CMOS jumper and there are darn few boards that have no jumper.

If, after this, you can't get into the BIOS setup, then your problem is PSU, Motherboard, CPU, video or memory in declining order of probablity. Might sound like I'm offering a smorgasbord of potential causes but the part that throws me about your problem description is that it happened right after running CCleaner and I'm of the assumption you were running fine before this. If you can provide additional symptoms or had other issues, it would be helpful to know. The fact that you can't get into your BIOS is evidence that this is more than an OS or software issue. You can also disconnect all drives - floppy, opticals and HDDs and try the same re: Delete key while attempting to boot.

 

Been there.

Not sure on this one

My motherboard is Asus P4B533 and cannot see the jumpers you are refering to...then again I notice PCISMB_SW1 and PCISMB_SW2 in the proximity of the battery so could I assume correctly that is what you are refering to?

Is there anything that would alter or affect the BIOS and if so would that prevent a bootup?

Anyway I'll go ahead with testing the PSU.

 

Nice catch Pete - haven't seen many two pin jumpers and sure would have said "no way" had you not posted that thumbnail. Roy - there's your roadmap - let us know if you can get into the BIOS after following instructions as detailed by Pete.

 

You guys are absolutely awesome....I am ever so grateful for the learning curve you are presenting me and for all who drop in.

I tried to scan and post the layout but couldn't get it to happen..so thanks a million.

I had the PSU tested and that came up OK so I'll run with you through the next stages.
This is what is known as a 478 board apparently, not that such means anything to me.

Just looking at my invoice I had it custom made January 2003 it has a
2G P4-B Socket 478 Northwood CPU.

Ok, Have jumped the CLRTC will reinstall PSU and try to boot holding delete key.

Will get back to you soon.

No Go.. looks like a MB issue
Thanks

 

Don't hold it, just keep tapping it.

 

Have done.......won't Beep or Boot.

Thanks

 

yea, a 478 pin (socket A) is anceint, thats what i have. you would be better off upgrading the whole mobo, thats what im doin

 

greenday5494,

One has to be very careful with the terminology used when posting.

Don't know where that places me at 70+ when my MB is only 4 1/2 years old.

However you have raised a good point.
My PC came with a 6year RTB warranty so if I do need a new MB then now might be the time to do it.

 

Not to worry Roy. 478 is not a socket A so the rest of the dialogue is similarly meaningless.

 

Hi All,

I have had to replace the MotherBoard with-- MS-7104v2.X Micro-ATX

[PM8M-V]

However can't boot into Windows.
BIOS setup shows

IDE Channel 0 Master -[ST340016A] my H/D
IDE Channel 0 Slave - [Sony DVD Rom DDU1]
IDE Channel 1 Master -[WDC AC28400R] my second H/D
IDE Channel 1 Slave - [HL-DT-ST-DVD RAM GSA-]
IDE Channel 2 Master -[None]
IDE Channel 3 Master -[None]

Ongoing assistance appreciated

Thanking you
roy