I've had my current computer build for about 6 months now and it had always operated perfectly. A couple of weeks ago, my computer began to power off spontaneously; no BSOD, no errors and no beeps. The system would merely shut off completely out of the blue. I would turn the system back on, and it would boot up and operate fine. After this happened a few times, my system refused to boot. Following is the progression of the symptoms and steps I've taken thus far:
Initially, pressing the power button did absolutely nothing. Pressing the power button didn't get any response: the CPU fan wouldn't spin up, none of the activity lights would come on, and my HDD's didn't make any noise. After opening the case up, I noticed that when attempting to power on, my CPU fan would twitch on the initial push of the power button and then nothing more would happen.
I then disconnected all of my peripherals (video card, network card, HDD's, DVD's) and left only the CPU, RAM and PSU connected and attempted to boot. When I pressed the power button, the PSU fan spun into action, and the CPU fan appeared to be struggling to spin for about 2 to 3 seconds (yes, it was clear of dust and hair) and then finally spun up into action. However, there was no activity on my monitor (was plugged into on-board video), no lights on the keyboard, the system wasn't POSTing, and I lost functionality of my power and reset buttons (could only power the system down by flipping the switch on the back of the PSU).
I re-connected one of my HDD's and powered on again, and I can very clearly hear the HDD spinning into action, but again, no POST, no beeps, etc. I made the assumption that my PSU had died, so I bought a new one. Unfortunately, the problem remained the same. I have a spare motherboard that I tried, and the same exact symptoms. I also have a spare case that I tried (thinking maybe my power/reset buttons were fried), but still the same symptoms. I tried using each of my two RAM sticks individually in the first slot, and even trying to boot without any RAM, and I received the same symptoms: no POST, beeps, keyboard, video and no power/reset button functionality.
So at this point, I'm fairly confident that I either have a dead CPU or RAM. I'm on a fixed income and tight budget and already wasted over 100 on a new PSU, so now I'd like to be absolutely sure of the problem before I go purchasing more replacement parts. So in summation, the symptoms are that the computer turns on and the PSU fan, CPU fan and HDD all power on normally; however, the system will not POST, there are NO beep codes, there is no keyboard activity/response, the power/reset buttons do nothing and I have to turn the system off by flipping the PSU switch.
I'm leaning towards the problem being my CPU, seeing as neither of the RAM sticks affects the symptoms, and it would be unusual (although possible) for both of them to die so suddenly. I appreciate any input and suggestions offered. Thank you all in advance.
P.S. I have no problem posting the specs of my hardware, but given that I've tried two different motherboards, PSU's and cases; and furthermore given that the system ran fine for 6 months, I'm doubtful it's an issue with hardware compatibility. This post is already lengthy enough, but if something believes it may be helpful, I have no problem replying with the system specs.
Initially, pressing the power button did absolutely nothing. Pressing the power button didn't get any response: the CPU fan wouldn't spin up, none of the activity lights would come on, and my HDD's didn't make any noise. After opening the case up, I noticed that when attempting to power on, my CPU fan would twitch on the initial push of the power button and then nothing more would happen.
I then disconnected all of my peripherals (video card, network card, HDD's, DVD's) and left only the CPU, RAM and PSU connected and attempted to boot. When I pressed the power button, the PSU fan spun into action, and the CPU fan appeared to be struggling to spin for about 2 to 3 seconds (yes, it was clear of dust and hair) and then finally spun up into action. However, there was no activity on my monitor (was plugged into on-board video), no lights on the keyboard, the system wasn't POSTing, and I lost functionality of my power and reset buttons (could only power the system down by flipping the switch on the back of the PSU).
I re-connected one of my HDD's and powered on again, and I can very clearly hear the HDD spinning into action, but again, no POST, no beeps, etc. I made the assumption that my PSU had died, so I bought a new one. Unfortunately, the problem remained the same. I have a spare motherboard that I tried, and the same exact symptoms. I also have a spare case that I tried (thinking maybe my power/reset buttons were fried), but still the same symptoms. I tried using each of my two RAM sticks individually in the first slot, and even trying to boot without any RAM, and I received the same symptoms: no POST, beeps, keyboard, video and no power/reset button functionality.
So at this point, I'm fairly confident that I either have a dead CPU or RAM. I'm on a fixed income and tight budget and already wasted over 100 on a new PSU, so now I'd like to be absolutely sure of the problem before I go purchasing more replacement parts. So in summation, the symptoms are that the computer turns on and the PSU fan, CPU fan and HDD all power on normally; however, the system will not POST, there are NO beep codes, there is no keyboard activity/response, the power/reset buttons do nothing and I have to turn the system off by flipping the PSU switch.
I'm leaning towards the problem being my CPU, seeing as neither of the RAM sticks affects the symptoms, and it would be unusual (although possible) for both of them to die so suddenly. I appreciate any input and suggestions offered. Thank you all in advance.
P.S. I have no problem posting the specs of my hardware, but given that I've tried two different motherboards, PSU's and cases; and furthermore given that the system ran fine for 6 months, I'm doubtful it's an issue with hardware compatibility. This post is already lengthy enough, but if something believes it may be helpful, I have no problem replying with the system specs.
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