Motherboard problems?
MissMoneypenny
Posts: 5,324 Forumite
in Techie Stuff
I have a self built desktop, that is well used but old. It is now at the stage where either-
1. The power source works but the screen flashes "no imput signal" on and off as the tower peeps as it keeps trying.
2. It starts to load, but only gets as far as "Memory Runs at Single Channel" or stops just before that; and then it freezes.
3. It works.
Is this a motherboard problem? Can it be sorted? Or is it time to build another PC?
1. The power source works but the screen flashes "no imput signal" on and off as the tower peeps as it keeps trying.
2. It starts to load, but only gets as far as "Memory Runs at Single Channel" or stops just before that; and then it freezes.
3. It works.
Is this a motherboard problem? Can it be sorted? Or is it time to build another PC?
RENTING? Have you checked to see that your landlord has permission from their mortgage lender to rent the property? If not, you could be thrown out with very little notice.
Read the sticky on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board.
Read the sticky on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board.
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Comments
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Remove and replace memory sticks first .0
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This can be a power supply issue. Power supplies are under their most intensive load when a machine is switched on.
If this is a cheap nasty power supply it should probably be binned or promoted to door stop.0 -
Neil_Jones wrote: »If this is a cheap nasty power supply it should probably be binned or promoted to door stop.
For calrity a decent 450w psu is much better that a crapy 1000w (or more) one.
Weight is a good indicator of a cheap psu. If it's light its .......0 -
Indeed, and even then its been proved that a cheap nasty 700w unit doesn't always provide anywhere near 700w. In the worst case situation they go pop at two thirds stated capacity, so that means a 700w may only be able to provide 469w.
There's a 350w Corsair I think it was I installed in my parents computer in 2008. It is still running today, and in its early life that computer was used day in and day out seven days a week. My own 480w decent brand was new in 2008 and is still working today. They weren't cheap, I won't lie, but they are solid and they are SO quiet. The 350w is overkill now for what that computer is used for but my 480w unit is part of my gaming PC. When it does die, it will get a Corsair or an Antec or something like that.0 -
Have you made any hardware changes to the PC recently? Or installed a new BIOS? Or transported or dropped it?
Sounds to me like a PSU problem. But worth reseating the RAM and testing it with Memtest:
https://www.memtest86.com/download.htm
What sticks of RAM do you have? When the PC does boot, does it detect all of them?MissMoneypenny wrote: »1. The power source works but the screen flashes "no imput signal" on and off as the tower peeps as it keeps trying.
peeps = beeps? What is the beep pattern? (e.g. two short tones and one long one, etc.) And what's the make & model of your motherboard?
The beep code will indicate which component the motherboard considers at fault.0 -
Remove and replace memory sticks first .
Actually, I've only been running it on 1GB RAM. I've been meaning to replace this for ages as it can take up to 4GB (2GB x 2) DDR2, but it has never given me much of a problem before. I built it 8 years ago. It did slow when I changed from XP to 7 the other year.
I'll try the remove and replace; when I get the courage to turn it off again.:)RENTING? Have you checked to see that your landlord has permission from their mortgage lender to rent the property? If not, you could be thrown out with very little notice.
Read the sticky on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board.0 -
Neil_Jones wrote: »This can be a power supply issue. Power supplies are under their most intensive load when a machine is switched on.
If this is a cheap nasty power supply it should probably be binned or promoted to door stop.
I built it in 2009. The PSU came with the case. Cooler Master Elite 333 w/460 PSU for £60. The PC is used every day, for hours and hours.RENTING? Have you checked to see that your landlord has permission from their mortgage lender to rent the property? If not, you could be thrown out with very little notice.
Read the sticky on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board.0 -
Have you made any hardware changes to the PC recently? Or installed a new BIOS? Or transported or dropped it?
No, no and no.What sticks of RAM do you have? When the PC does boot, does it detect all of them?
It only has one, Crucial 1GB PC2 6400. That's not a typo, it really is just 1GB of RAM.peeps = beeps? What is the beep pattern? (e.g. two short tones and one long one, etc.) And what's the make & model of your motherboard?
Motherboard is GIGABYTE S-Series G31.
Just the one beep, as it usually does when it boots up. It then flashed "no imput signal" and beeped once again, like it was trying to boot up again. Then put "no imput signal" again and just the one beep as if it is trying to boot up again. It kept trying until I stopped it. That only started today.
Or it just does the normal one beep as it starts to boot up, but only gets to where I put in my first post, that I numbered 2. That started over the last few days.
Or it will boot up without a problem. As it eventually did today when I thought it had had it.
I'm beginning to wonder if it is the 1GB of RAM now that is causing this boot up problem? When I moved to Windows 7 from XP the other year, it struggles if I try to open lots of tabs and I can go away and make a cup of coffee while it is loading them all. It didn't have that problem with XP. It does open them all eventually - apart from the other day, when it went to what I put in the OP as number 2. I then had to reboot and it started without any problem.
Is it time for me to buy that 4GB of RAM?:o And it's not the motherboard or PSU?RENTING? Have you checked to see that your landlord has permission from their mortgage lender to rent the property? If not, you could be thrown out with very little notice.
Read the sticky on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board.0 -
There are many variants of this board.MissMoneypenny wrote: »Motherboard is GIGABYTE S-Series G31.
Q: What do the beeps emitted during the POST mean?
A: The following Award BIOS beep code descriptions may help you identify possible computer problems.
(For reference only.)
1 short: System boots successfully
2 short: CMOS setting error
1 long, 1 short: Memory or motherboard error
1 long, 2 short: Monitor or graphics card error
1 long, 3 short: Keyboard error
1 long, 9 short: BIOS ROM error
Continuous long beeps: Graphics card not inserted properly
Continuous short beeps: Power error
this and next pages should be useful https://www.manualslib.com/manual/271392/Gigabyte-Ga-G31-S3g.html?page=75#manual0 -
There are many variants of this board.
Q: What do the beeps emitted during the POST mean?
A: The following Award BIOS beep code descriptions may help you identify possible computer problems.
(For reference only.)
1 short: System boots successfully
2 short: CMOS setting error
1 long, 1 short: Memory or motherboard error
1 long, 2 short: Monitor or graphics card error
1 long, 3 short: Keyboard error
1 long, 9 short: BIOS ROM error
Continuous long beeps: Graphics card not inserted properly
Continuous short beeps: Power error
this and next pages should be useful https://www.manualslib.com/manual/271392/Gigabyte-Ga-G31-S3g.html?page=75#manual
Thanks for this. No matter what it does, it is always the one I embolded above. It just started without any problem.
It doesn't sound like it's the motherboard.RENTING? Have you checked to see that your landlord has permission from their mortgage lender to rent the property? If not, you could be thrown out with very little notice.
Read the sticky on the House Buying, Renting & Selling board.0
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