Hello,
my pc fails to boot.
The screen remains black, although all the fans are spinning and all the other components seems powered.
the motherboard is an asrock extreme 3 870 which I bought 2-3 years ago.. it should have Dr. Debug led which actually doesn't show anything.
I also removed all the RAM modules, and the MB did not beep at all.
First thing to do is remove ALL connected components EXCEPT the memory and CPU, and of course the PSU and power switch, then try it.
Next, measure battery voltage. Was it running stock speed or overclocked? Either way I would try clearing CMOS with AC power disconnected for a few minutes.
I tried the gpu (a 2008 Geforce 9600GT) on another pc (even though not on the main PCI Express lane) and it failed to send any signal to the monitor. (I unpowered its gtx 770 by unplugging the pci-e power cable and connected the monitor to the 9600gt).
What does this mean? You can't just plug in a 2nd video card, leaving the other video card in, swap the monitor cable and expect to get a signal. It would have to be designated in the bios as the primary video adapter (or however your bios words it), OR the other video card would need removed and possibly also clearing CMOS.
However, IF you do this and there is still no video initialization it only indicates a video card problem with no reason yet to assume any other problems, meaning the next thing you should do is put a different video card in the questionable system, clear CMOS, and then see if it will post. The order I have mentioned throughout my post is important, if not followed you could come to false conclusions.
I think that it is most likely that the PC suffered from some electrical shock, and I fear that the CPU is fried as well.
I should back up a bit. It could be as simple as a single component failure that is not related to a power problem, but it could be that the PSU itself is the failing component and dirty power killed something else before it was realized the PSU was failing.
For this reason, when a system that was otherwise running fine with no changes at all fails to POST, the first thing I do is check on the warranty status of the PSU and if not under warranty I pull it out, open it up, blow out any dust, and check for vented capacitors. If any are vented I cease use of the PSU and seek a replacement before further testing, then start following the steps mentioned above.
HOWEVER, it is possible only the video card is damaged. It is possible only the motherboard is damaged, but based on the test I posed previously you can check the video card as it is possible that both the motherboard and video card are damaged.
It is also possible that only the CPU is damaged, or only CPU and motherboard, or only CPU and video card.
Of these three components, the CPU is the least likely to have been damaged. However, I have seen cases where the CPU was the only part that was damaged except for the original cause of a failing PSU.
Do you have any tip?
I'd rather avoid to spend money for someone to check it, I would prefer to do it on my own if there is a simple way.
thanks in advance.
I always suspect the PSU first. I try to buy good components, not necessarily always high performance but always with good design and find the PSUs are often the first part to fail then if not detected soon enough, can cause stress that kills other parts.
If all else fails then pull the board out, and try it with another PSU using only one memory module and CPU for the time being, clearing CMOS before doing so.
On a side note, I once had someone describe something similar to what you did, but they failed to mention that their case HDD activity light was blinking and HDD access sounds were heard. It turned out that their system was posting and booting fine but their monitor had failed so they assumed the PC wasn't working when it was the monitor instead.
