Is This Computer Toast?

[ThreeDollarBill]

I have this computer at work and one day it just stopped working. I've been trying to figure out just how a serious of a problem it may be having.

After powering up, the computer does nothing. No video signal. No PC speaker beep. The hard drive LED is continuously glowing.

I've tried removing the RAM module, the video card, disconnecting the floppy, ZIP drive, CD-ROM, and hard drive. No luck.

Any ideas as to what the cause of the problem may be? What more can I do to find the root of the problem?

Thanks.

 

[bgeh]

check the PSU

 

[ThreeDollarBill]

What should I be checking the PSU for? The computer powers up alright. Doesn't that mean that the PSU is working properly?

 

[themask75]

try clearing the BIOS....

 

[ThreeDollarBill]

I turned off the power and flipped a jumper to the position for clearing the bios......then I flipped it to normal and switched the power back on......
I also removed the battery.....

No luck......same problem.

 

[JamesM3M5]

I had a dead Athlon 1800 that caused the exact same conditions. I swapped vid cards, RAM, and mobos. Nothing, the video didn't even turn the monitor on. I was building PCs for my business and brother at the time, so I swapped in an other Athlon. Presto! Tried the 1800 in a good PC, and the same story, no beep, no POST, no video.

 

[Jeff7]

Do you have another power supply to test with the system? A power supply puts out 3 different voltages. If something's wrong with one of them, the PC could probably turn on - spin fans and hard drives - but not much else would happen.
This is why I prefer to have 2 PC's - it makes it much easier (usually) to weed out faulty and functional components.

 

[ThreeDollarBill]

Well, the PC was sent to the shop a couple of days ago....
When it came back it had a new motherboard....

I'm guessing there was a power surge during a recent thunder storm and that fried the motherboard.....but that's just a guess....


Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[KGB1]

I had the same situation in my sisters boyfriends house. His Chaintech BX440 and P2@400 was thought to have died. He had a dog though, which I thought would make things worse for the PC (hair, seasonal shedding). I figured pets are NO GOOD when you have a PC (well maybe fish are OK) When you noticed that the PC won't start did you put your hand BEHIND THE Power Supply to feel if any AIR was moving, I changed the PSU and it booted up. (and I REALLY cleaned the inside, so dusty I tied a rag over my nose and mouth..hehe) Then it was fixed.

But since the PC was not his (his older brothers) he still got HIM to get it fixed and the local PC guy ripped him off. He got a Celeron 1.8/Aopen 845G motherboard and 128 MB DDR Memory into the SAME ol' system and got billed $425. And on top of it all the bastard PC GUY took the POWER SUPPLY I gave (Antec 350W) and put in a POS one. Always check a PC with a new power supply if you THINK its dead. Go step by step, never give to a local shop guy, I DONT trust 'em. He lives in the Hamptons, I guess maybe they are used to getting overcharged.

 

[IanthePez]

Fish would be a good pet, as long as they don't swim through your case....that's bad news too.