HELP! Computer broken...

[CrimsonChaos]

Any help would be appreciated......

I was playing a game, when suddenly the computer froze and a continuous beep came from the speakers. I couldn't power down normally, so tried the manual "reset" button. It did absolutely nothing on reboot except maybe try to access the hard drive. But nothing came on the monitor.

I unplugged it, and re-plugged it back in... still nothing. I can hear the fans, etc... so I'm pretty sure it isn't the power supply. I tried swapping hard-drives, and still no luck, so I'm pretty sure it isn't the hard-drive.

Any suggestions? It doesn't boot at all - just a black screen.

 

[FlyingPenguin]

You CANNOT rule out the power supply. The fans spinning just means the 12 volt bus is putting out SOME voltage. Your primary suspects are mobo, PSU, memory and CPU in that order.

Due to the manner it failed I would say it's either mobo or PSU.

First check for bulging or leaking capacitors as described here: http://cquirke.mvps.org/badcaps.htm
Better photos here: http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=195

If you have a spare PSU then swap it out (no need to physically install it just disconnect the old one and connect the new one.

If it still doesn't work then you'll need to swap out the CPU and RAM with another known good system.

Hope this helps...

 

[CrimsonChaos]

Thanks for the response.

I inspected the motherboard for any bad "electrolytes" and did not see bulges or leaking. I also swapped out the power supply from the computer I'm on now into the bad computer, and it still didn't boot.

I'm guessing now it's the motherboard. I have an ASUS P4T533-C, and there's a little green light on it. Would the light be some other color if there was a malfunction, or is this light for something else? (noob alert!)

I'm also wondering if it could possibly be the actual processor. It's an Intel Pentium 4 2.66GHz (not overclocked). Is it possible the processor could malfunction, and that would cause there to be NOTHING on the screen upon power-up?

How can I test to see if it's the motherboard or the processor?

 

[Appledrop]

alright if you have 2 sticks of ram, a pretty safe ram-test would be to test each in turn to see if it boots with jsut one. It is more likely the mobo than the cpu, as they have more that can go wrong with them really, but if you could test someone elses cpu that would just show you you need a new mobo

 

[CrimsonChaos]

Thanks Azzy! Actually I have 4X256 RDRAM. I tried booting taking out two at a time (leaving two in) -- but it didn't work.

Unfortunately the computer I'm on is an AMD -- and the one that is broken is an Intel. So I can't swap the CPU's. :/

There was a lot of dust on the fan/heatsink covering the processor - could it have overheated? Are there any physical signs I can look for to see if there is something wrong with the processor?

Would the symptoms of a blown processor be the same as a blown motherboard?

 

[Appledrop]

symptoms of a fried processor: burn .... unless its obvious, it is impossible to tell by just looking at it.. Either find a nerd friend to lend u a p4, or take the plunge and get an old 478 RDram chipped mobo on ebay (very hard to find in shops i'd imagine) and hope that fixes it (70%+ chance it will i suppose.)

 

[CrimsonChaos]

I'm not a big Intel fan, so I'd hate to buy another Intel processor, then have that not be the problem.

Well, I was wanting a new computer but this is DEFINITELY not the way I had in mind. You'd think they would have some sort of diagnostic tool for the motherboard and processor so you don't have to guess what the problem is.............

 

[stevty2889]

It's unlikely the be the CPU, more likely the motherboard, ram, or PSU.

When you took out 2 sticks of ram did you put CRIMMS in the empty slots?..all slots have to be filled on a RDRAM motherboard, you can't just take out 2 sticks, and leave the other slots empty. You could try taking out all the ram to see if it beeps at you.

I would disconnect everything except for the ram, cpu/heatsink and fan, and the video card and try booting up. Then try taking out the video card, and see if you get a beep code, then try the same thing with the ram. If you still get nothing, there is a good chance it's the motherboard.