Computer won't POST

[BlehBlehAmiga]

My computer isn't POSTing any more. Until yesterday it was running just fine (just fine meaning I know everything was plugged in correctly and no case shorts). I did have an overheating issue though, and would get lockups and spontaneous reboots.

I decided to get in and try to start cleaning things and making sure they were running smoothly. I cleaned out the case fans, one of them wasn't working.

Then I unscrewed the fan on top of my heatsink, there was a ton of dust on top of the heatsink. So I removed it either with hands or slight scraping with a paper clip (which is no longer in the case, no new shorts). This is just on the heatsink portion, I never removed it from the processor. I reattached the fan.

I did the same thhing with the fan ontop of the chipset, unscrew and remove, clean a little (though consideribly less dirty), then screw it back on.

I figured I really didn't change much and was low risk (ha).

So when I turned it on, there was a brief second of life, then immediatly shut down. Since then it's as if the power is not even plugged in. No life at all when I try to turn it on, no fans jostling, no board lights.

I reset CMOS, removed everything (including video/memory) and get the same problem, no beeps/fans/lights/anything.

At this point I'm fairly certain something is shot but I'm wondering what the most likely candidate is. I have a few ideas but would like some input on next steps (purchases?) to try to get things moving again, and what may have happened. I should mention I don't really have the resources to individually check the supply/cpu/motherboard to see if they work.

Thanks

 

[Nohr]

My first guess would be the power supply. Don't know if it will help but sometimes my mom's computer would have the same symptoms, wouldn't startup for no apparent reason. Leaving the ATX cable disconnected briefly and plugging it back in would get it back to normal. Just a shot in the dark there. If that doesn't help, try testing another PSU if possible.

 

[Spike]

Not to be insulting, but did you remember to plug back in the chipset fan? Some motherboards will not startup if the Chipset or CPU fans are not plugged into the mobo fan headers. I have heard of people forgetting to plug them back in and then having post issues.

Also, was there just a fan on the chipset and not a heatsink as well? If thats the case then you need to make sure to clean and add some new thermal paste to the northbridge as it can overheat quickly.

I am a little worried about that first starup where the computer briefly worked and then died and now it is doing nothing, it sounds like something fried. The only time I have had a computer do nothing on power-up are the times I forgot to plug in the PSU, forgot to plug in the power button, or had a short.

sorry if I was not much help, but those are the only things coming to mind right now

-spike

 

[Fern]

First thing to come to mind when I read your post is waht Spike said about about the fans.

Otherwise, check all the other connections to see if anything came loose. Which w/b somewhat common under the circumstances.

Otherwise please post your system's specs

Fern

 

[BlehBlehAmiga]

Thanks for the replies.

I made sure to double check that all fans were still plugged in, comp was plugged in and PS switched on, surge was still on, etc. As near I can remember when I turned it on there was nothing different except less dust.

Yes the fact that it turned on briefly and then stopped is what kind of worried me too, I've had situations where it doesn't start and it's always the same usual things that you mentioned. I never removed the power button line, psu is plugged in and switched on, and there were no shorts, and if there were I don't think it would have tried to start up the first time.

I can get to the specs when I get home.

 

[I Saw OJ]

I had that happen to me with an old Biostar mainboard. Turned on, then shutoff right away never to come back on. Turns out the whole mainboard was fried, the caps were about to explode. I never did figure out what caused the frying.


seth