ASUS P4P800 SE Computer turns on but screen remains black

My four-computer family has been trouble free for a year or so now, so I've not spent much time on this board. I hate to only visit when I have a problem, but it seems that is what happens.

My home-built tower computer with an ASUS P4P800 SE motherboard will not boot up. The computer turns on but the screen remains black. The computer switch will not turn the computer off, so I have to switch it off on the power supply.

I took everything off the motherboard but the CPU and the memory, and turned the power on by shorting the two power switch pins. The motherboard turns on, but will not then turn off like it is supposed when I short the power switch pins for three seconds.

I think the motherboard may be shot. This is the third one. The first and second were ruined by a bad power supply. But my new power supply has worked well for the past two years. I doubt it is the problem.

Any ideas? Any tests I can do? According to the manual for my motherboard, it is supposed to beep when it powers up normally. No beeps are heard.

Thank you.

 

I'm not sure if it has beeped on boot in the past. Never noticed.

Taking your suggestion, I replaced the lithium battery. That didn't help. But I did find that the board turns off when I short the power switch pins. I had not been waiting the required three or four seconds.

Look like a bad motherboard again? Before I replaced the power supply. But I have a good one now, and don't think that is the problem.

 

I removed the memory so it was a bare motherboard with just the Intel microprocessor and the heat sink and fan above it. The two power supply connections were connected. That was it. No memory or anything.

When I shorted the power switch pins, the microprocessor fan and the case fans both started up. But no beeps of any kind. Just silence.

When I turn the power supply on, the power light on the motherboard comes on even if I do not turn the fans on by shorting the power switch pins.

The only thing that seems a little unusual is that the heatsink in the middle of the motherboard gets hot fairly quickly.

 

I can't add much.

Read in the motherboard manual about "clearing the CMOS ". An Asus will have jumpers.

See if you can borrow other RAM to try.

Try another graphics adapter if you can.

P4 mobos suffered from leaky capacitors, so see if there are any bulged or leaking.

Matt

 

Thanks for the suggestions. Tried it with different memory sticks. No change. Tried it with a different video card. No change.

My motherboard manual seems to be missing, but tomorrow I'll dig that up and try clearing things by using a jumper on the pins. See if that helps.

Otherwise, looks like it's time for another new motherboard.

 

The m/b manual will be available for download at the Asus website if you can't find it. A slight maybe, check through the FAQs at Asus. The manual might have one or two suggestions (they usually have some troubleshooting).

 

Could be easier said than done. I don't look for P4 motherboards any more, they are very rare. You might be looking at replacing the main hardware.

 

That's a coincidence. The manual is in Japanese, which I can read. Thanks for the link.

 

No joy on the motherboard. It's dead. Now I've got three dead ASUS P4P800 SE in my junk box. And I was thinking of buying another one! No, I think I'll try something else.

Any recommendations on a cheap new motherboard for an aging computer?

I guess I'll need to retire my Pentium 4, and replace it. And my AGP video card will not work, I assume. Do I also have to get a SATA hard disk drive in place of my EIDE hard disk drive?

Will my old memory still work? How about my DVD/CD unit?

Sorry for all the questions. But it's been years since I've built a new computer. I'm still thinking 2004. Anyone who can share their more recent experience will be very helpful.

 

Things have moved on. Of course the CPU is outdated, it has DDR RAM and now DDR3 has been almost completely phased in. As you said, EIDE is being phased out, but you should find most still have one IDE controller (so it should take one HDD and the DVD/CD drive). Some motherboards will still supply two IDE controllers. If you get a motherboard that takes an APG graphics card, you will limit yourself for any upgrade. Graphics are now PCI-e X16.

I was thinking you could get a reasonable motherboard with built-in graphics. A "good" CPU and if you have enough slots, you could add extra RAM later. "Reasonable motherboard ", would you want to upgrade later? I prefer a motherboard without built-in graphics and you can get a very low priced graphics card. If you want to think about upgrading the m/b later, you would need to replace the thermal compound when you swapped the CPU. (Have you done that before?)

I always look at getting reasonable/decent parts to begin with. I get a good motherboard, with expectations of upgrading the add-on hardware in the future (when the price will have come down, say around 3 years).

Try and get a "decent" motherboard, unless you plan to upgrade it in the future. I have been getting around 7 years out of mine. In the mean-time I pump up the add-on parts if I find I need to.

Don't get discouraged if you have had some bad luck. Don't get low priced parts to make up for it, you might regret it in the future.

Do some planning, how long do you want your computer to service your needs? What parts will "just" keep you going until they need to be upgraded? What parts do you need to last or run the applications you are interested in using (easily)?

Matt