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HTPC gives no display output

T

trooper11

Senior member
Ive been trying to troubleshoot an issue im having with my htpc. its an older system using an MSI K8NGM2-FID motherboard, AMD 3700+ 939 processor and 3GBs ddr ram (2x 1gb/2x 512mb), and Seasonic 430W power supply all in a Zalman 160 htpc case.


the problem started after the system experienced a few shut downs in a row. the system would just shut off on its own. this happened a handful of times as i tried to troubleshoot the issue, but it now wont show any display when trying to boot.


I tried pulling all but one stick of ram( trying each of my 4 sticks individually) , switching out the power supply, and plugging in a video card (using the onboard up to this point), but none of that made any difference. The msi board has a button to reset the cmos, but that didnt change anything either.

my first thought was maybe the onbaord video had failed since the system was getting power (i.e. fans spin up, hdds spin up and stay running, etc). I got hold of another msi K8NGM2-FID board and big suprise, same issue. with the new board in place, i only kept the front panel power/reset switch connected to the board, nothing else except the cpu fan and of course the psu cable. i unplugged all other fans, usb, firewire, audio, etc. I even pulled the mobo battery and left it out for a day. it still does nothing but get power. the cpu fan spins up and stays running, but i get no display at all.


so at this point, either all of the ram i have is bad or the cpu is at fault. i just wish i could confirm that somehow before i go buying more parts. also, could my case be causing this type of issue? since it has a vfd display, i had it connected to the power for power and a usb connection. but ive tested with just the front panel power switch connected, so i dont know if its related.

any other suggestions going forward would be much appreciated
 
Try a differnt PSU. Often when a system powers off on it own, not related to power failure in the house or due to a storm, its a problem with the PSU. Yes the PSU may still be able to run the fans and light up the LEDs but it may not be able to supply enough power to the system to get everything running. So try a new PSU and see if that helps.
 
I've never seen a working processor die on its own...sure fried, but not just up and die. It is possible. I would still try with a 'card' (PCI/AGP/PCIe whatever the mobo will take) video to eliminate that issue.

Are there any jumpers to clear the BIOS/CMOS? Other than just pulling the battery which may not work if the motherboard save a backup in non-volatile memory?
 
i did try a pci-e video card and unfortunately got the same result. although i know usually the system is suppose to just switch over to a card if one is installed, i meay need to change something in the bios before it will work.

as far as clearing the cmos, the board has a button thats suppose to reset it. i try that and pulling the battery, both resulting in the same issue.

im going to try this in a different case and see if somehow it is the culprit, but that would be a first to see that happen.
 
when testing with only the proc and ram connected remove the ram and listen for beeps, no beeps its prolly your proc.
 
I had a similar issue with my old athlon64 3500 when I had all of the memory slots full. The only way I could get it to work was to have only 3 sticks in. 939 was their first shot at dual channel memory and i remember some other people back then having similar problems.
 
another update regarding this issue. i noticed that the motherboard doesnt make any beeps, etc when i have no ram in the system and power it up. im not completely sure if this board has a speaker, but if it does, would that mean the board has failed or could it still be the processor?

 
Originally posted by: schenley101
I had a similar issue with my old athlon64 3500 when I had all of the memory slots full. The only way I could get it to work was to have only 3 sticks in. 939 was their first shot at dual channel memory and i remember some other people back then having similar problems.
Click to expand...


did this happen to you when you first put the system together or did it happen after running correctly for a while? mine had run flawlessly for 4-5 years before this issue cropped up. i did try just 3 sticks, unfortunately it didnt change anything.
 
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