PC wont boot!!

geordie_joe

callansdad wrote:

The 9 pin slot is attached directly to the motherboard. There are 4 spare slots on the motherboard, 2 white and 2 brown. Fans are both working. The PC is a Time computer , unsure of motherboard model , it might be MS-6340 Ver5.

In that case I think your onboard video has gone. The orange light on the monitor says there is no signal getting to the monitor.

The motherboard sounds about right, although ver5 has 3 white slots and 2 brown ones.

it does have onboard video, but can use a video card.

Your mother-in-law needs to get a video card and install it. The computer won't even attempt to boot up without one.

There may be other things wrong with the computer, we don't know what happened to it over night. it could have been hit by lightening!

But without the video working you will never see the other faults (if there is any).

She should buy, beg borrow or steal a video card. Without it she can get no further.

By all means try other suggestions, but the video is the first thing the computer checks, and if that doesn't work then it doesn't check anything else because it can't to you if they are right or not.

Not forgetting that no beep is often used as a signal for the video not working. it is also used to indicate no power or a short, but as the fans are going and drive lights are coming on I think we can discount no power or a short.

Please don't anyone reply to say checking the video is actually the 9th thing the computer checks. I know this, but the other checks are internal and it doesn't tell you if the were ok or not. It just stops working if they fail, and its time to buy a new motherboard.

The video check is the first thing it checks, that it can tell you about.

Tallymanjohn

Try removing the 'PCTel' card as it's the only one you have.

geordie_joe

callansdad wrote:

Have removed all cables. Its 100% not HD. The ticking noise is coming from the area beside the Bios Chip but cannot pinpoint it precisely.

Ths ticking worries me, I've never heard a motherboard ticking before.

Your mother-in-law desereves 10/10 for finding the bios chip. Most people look at a motherboard and haven't got a clue. She at least has looked closely at the board and found things.

I'm not slightley worried that the whole motheboard may be damaged. But if that were the case then the fans wouldn't work, niether would the cd & hd lights come on.

davilown

mines doing the same - no monitor, oneor two ticks and all the lights working!!!

:beer: monster

albertross_2

geordie_joe wrote:

Ths ticking worries me, I've never heard a motherboard ticking before.

It is a time machine..

It could be psu related, they sometimes make a noise when they are dying.

Does everything clearly power up, fans, hard disks?

Make sure you unplug it from the mains overnight, just in case..

callansdad

Thanks for all help so far ... will try a video card if i can get hold of one .... will post back this afternoon with any more info.

callansdad

Any idea what type of video card i need (bearing in mind that i just want to purchase summit cheap for testing it)

cheers!

geordie_joe

albertross wrote:

It is a time machine..

It could be psu related, they sometimes make a noise when they are dying.

Does everything clearly power up, fans, hard disks?

Make sure you unplug it from the mains overnight, just in case..

i did some searching and found some sites that said the ticking could be the overvoltage protection kicking in. Indicating either a faulty psu or faulty motherboard.

I would go for fitting another video card first. Especially if I could borrow or find a free or very cheap one.

geordie_joe

callansdad wrote:

Any idea what type of video card i need (bearing in mind that i just want to purchase summit cheap for testing it)

cheers!

I've lost the motherboard info page now. But I seem to remember it had an AGP slot and a couple of PCI slots. So just get the cheapest pci or agp card you can find.

callansdad

Ok .. have given up trying to fix problem myself for now ... have left pc with local pc repair shop ... will update about tues wed time.

Thanks to all