Pc Failure, not booting

peter999

Pc has failed & is not booting.

No BIOS boot message at start (before Windows starts), nothing.

Pc suddenly crashed last night & was giving out single repeating beep.
Tried to reboot, initially started, Windows was starting (windows logo screen) then crashed again giving out single repeating beep.

Now does not boot at all.

1) Have checked Hard Disk on another Pc, is spinning up, data accessible, looks ok.

2) Replaced Graphics Card with new spare one I have, still no boot message.

Looks like it's CPU, Power Supply, Motherboard.

I have plenty of experience fixing Pcs, but not when total failure & fault may be CPU or Motherboard.

Any suggestions what to do, what to check ??

peter999

Browntoa

number of beeps should give the clue, just look up which bios you had, and what the message means

jaydeeuk1

You tried memory? Just have one stick in (if you have 2) disconnect the HD, CD, graphics card (only if you have onboard too) and any PCI cards.
If its still not booting, try reseating the motherboard incase something is shorting out.

If not working again, then yes its a problem with the CPU or motherboard (more likely this)

aliEnRIK

Mine was the power supply when it gave long beeps.
Maybe you can borrow one out of another computer to try it?

gaming_guy

i have a computer like this which has had it completely.

have you tried booting it up on the bare minimum (motherboard, cpu, ram, graphics card (no cd & hdd)) and seeing if you get an image on screen

peter999

Browntoa wrote: »

number of beeps should give the clue, just look up which bios you had, and what the message means

Not getting any beeps now.

peter999

prowla

Try unplugging any USB devices you have attached.
I had a computer that wouldn't boot if my iPod was plugged in.

peter999

jaydeeuk1 wrote: »

You tried memory? Just have one stick in (if you have 2) disconnect the HD, CD, graphics card (only if you have onboard too) and any PCI cards.

gaming_guy wrote: »

i have a computer like this which has had it completely.

have you tried booting it up on the bare minimum (motherboard, cpu, ram, graphics card (no cd & hdd)) and seeing if you get an image on screen

Will try just CPU, 1 stick memory, graphics card (no onboard graphics).
Will unplug everything else.

See if anything happens.

peter999

peter999

prowla wrote: »

Try unplugging any USB devices you have attached.
I had a computer that wouldn't boot if my iPod was plugged in.

Good call. :T

I hadn't unplugged my USB modem on front of Pc.
Unplugged it, rebooted & hey presto straightway it kicked into life, BIOS boot menu appeared on screen.

After first time, it was booting ok even with USB devices connected, so it seems it's a one-off to reset system somehow.
(it crashed again later today, would not boot with USB mouse connected, unplugged it & Pc booted ok)

I now have to update the hardware drivers, particularly Graphics Card drivers.
The Pc actually crashed 1st time when I was watching some streaming video.
I had just rebuilt my system using Recovery cd, updated to Service Pack 3 & all other Windows updates, but had not installed any hardware driver updates.

I think the original problem is related to the Graphics Card drivers (NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420)

peter999

peter999

peter999 wrote: »

Good call. :T

I hadn't unplugged my USB modem on front of Pc.
Unplugged it, rebooted & hey presto straightway it kicked into life, BIOS boot menu appeared on screen.

I think the original problem is related to the Graphics Card drivers (NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 420)

Spoke too soon, Pc started crashing again. :rolleyes: :mad:

Unplugging everything including USB devices isn't getting it going.

Have to start investigating again.

peter999

peter999

Anyone know how to check for Pc Power Supply failure ??

I've swopped Motherboard, Processor, Graphics card, Memory.
Assumed problem would be one of those, but Pc is still not not booting up.

Only thing I haven't swopped are Power Supply/Case & now think that might be problem.

What do people think, how likely is Power Supply the problem ??

A 20 pin plug connects the Power Supply to motherboard.

Anyone know how to check for Pc Power Supply failure apart from swopping it ??
Can I check voltages on supply plug ??

peter999