dead comp?

[bigblockmatt]

i have a computer that we use in our family room to cruze the net and other random stuff. yesterday, it stopped working...

It "trys" to start, but stops. the light on the mobo is on (when the power switch on the psu is on). i hit the power button to start the comp and all the fans start to spin for maybe 2 seconds and then stop, then it automatically "trys" again, fans spin and stop. i check to make sure the plugs are plugged in and everything looks good. nothing looks broken. I have no idea where to start...

comp spec:

abit mobo - is7
p4 2.4 ghz socket 478
ati 9700 aiw
PSU: turbolink atx-cw500 p4 500w
HD: seagate barracuda 7200.7 40 gb
optical: HP CD-r
RAM: 512 mb ddr cheapo brand
and a wireless card.

It has been working fine for a while with no problems. it didnt show any signs of issues. I have no idea where to start.

[dicecca112]

best bet is to take every component in the broken computer and put it in your working rig. If you rig powers up you can cross that part off the list

[bigblockmatt]

damn, thats a pain in the rear.

[bubba]

process of elimination, it about all you can do. Start by taking all add in cards out, try to boot. If it don't start to swap parts. Start with power supply, then ram, then CPU.

[ibleet]

damn, thats a pain in the rear.

Sure is, but its the best way to be sure what the problem is.

[bigblockmatt]

I think it is the mobo.... I unplugged pretty much everything but the mobo and proc. and it did the same thing. I tried a different psu, same thing. now i just need to find a new mobo.

If i drop a new mobo in, do i need to reformat and reinstall windows?

[dicecca112]

same chipset, no, different chipset, yes

[Darkstar]

I havethe same thing going on with 2 Abit K7 systems, takes me a combo of unplugging, clearing the bios, hitting the PS switch till i can finally get it to boot. One system after boot i just leave on and its ok so far, the other i have in a Q at the workbench till i can get to it. (i think its the PS i have in it)

[Indignity]

I've had this same issue before. For me, it took clearing the BIOS (jumper) & setting the voltages to the memory and CPU to their factory specs.

As other people have posted, the PSU could be the culprit as well. I bought a digital PSU tester from NewEgg that has saved me some time trouble shooting.

[Methious]

This is kinda standard stuff you might have tried it already. Open the case, find JP1 it's a capped jumper with 3 pins, 2 are covered with a cap (this is cmos reset), it's usually the pin closest to the battery. Most times the cap on the pin is going to be the only one of a different color (white, red, blue) move the pin from pins 1 + 2 to 2 +3 for like 30 seconds (to reset cmos/bios). Move it back to pins 1 + 2 and try to start the machine. If that's a little to fuzzy to understand, unplug the power supply, remove the coin battery for like a minute (starves cmos/bios of the power it needs to maintain it's memory, same as jumping JP1 from 1/2 to 2/3) then replace the battery and try for a boot.

Failing that try a different power supply.

Failing that try unplugging every thing on the board one item at a time and replugging it, then try for a boot.

Failing that go find a guy with a pocket protector or store it in the garage for parts.

Good luck with it.

[DL126]

Might wanna check the voltage on the MOBO battery also.

I worked on an Asus board a few weeks back that wouldn't power up until after repeatedly switching the PS on and off, and hitting the power switch multiple times.
When it finally came on, it gave a cmos error.
Yup, battery was bad. Put in another one, all was well afterwards.

[kenc51]

Might wanna check the voltage on the MOBO battery also.

I worked on an Asus board a few weeks back that wouldn't power up until after repeatedly switching the PS on and off, and hitting the power switch multiple times.
When it finally came on, it gave a cmos error.
Yup, battery was bad. Put in another one, all was well afterwards.

Good point!
I had the same issue with an Asus P4C800-E Dlx the other week.
I replaced the battery from a lanparty board and all is well, except it's still sitting in the corner unbuilt

[Major_A]

Usually when you turn on the PC and the fans spin for 2 seconds and nothing else happens the PSU is dead. I've had this happen 3 times to me, all the same problem. Pick up a cheap Fortron power supply from Newegg and see if it fixes the problem. Even cheaper would be to go to Circuit City, Best Buy, Office Depot, etc... and pick up an ATX Power Supply Tester.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Antec-Po ... tDetail.do

[bigblockmatt]

wow, thanks for all the responses... been busy...

I tried the little pin thing... didnt solve it. I tried the removing the battery, didnt solve it. tried swapping the battery, didnt solve it.

I got a power supply tester from a buddy and it says the PSU is good.

it is weird, when i hold down the power button, it "tries" really really hard to start up. it is almost like trying to turn a car on that wont start - it just cranks over but never really starts.

[Major_A]

It's could be a dead motherboard then. I've had the same problem you are describing when I received a DOA motherboard. Depending on the age of the motherboard look on the board for bad capacitors.
http://www.badcaps.net/

[bigblockmatt]

same chipset, no, different chipset, yes

well, i couldnt get it to work so i get the cheapest mobo that had the same chipset. picked up a MATSONIC MS9087C Intel 865PE 478 off ebay for 40 bucks. i dropped it in and it worked no problem!! thanks for the help and suggestions!