HELP!!! PC won't boot...

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Discussion

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Built myself a spanking new PC about 8 weeks ago - no problems until this morning...

Made a cuppa & thought I'd check my emails before the morning run. Pressed the power button, it started to boot up & then cut out (with the power LED still on.

Disconnect/reconnect power lead & try again - it still won't boot & it seems to cut out at slightly different points - sometimes as soon the fans spin up, sometimes it gets as far as beeping/firing up the monitor & starting to spin up the hard drives...

I'm typing this from my trusty old PIII IBM box, which I'm sure is feeling rather smug this moning (never missed a beat )

I powered down the new/faulty PC as usual last night. It gets a fair bit of use - on for around 14 hours/day. All anti-virused/Zone Alarmed up to the hilt, fresh XP re-install only last week

If it's a hardware problem, who on earth do I speak to about a)diagnosing it & b) fixing it - should it be up to the store that sold me the bits???

Have removed all peripherals, disconnected case fans/slave drive/etc & it still won't work. What next?

Any ideas?

PB

plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Is it beeping?

If so whats the motherboard manufacturer?

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
sometimes gets as far as beeping.

ASUS A7V8X / AMD 2400+

plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Please hold caller...

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Cheers matey. Flippin' technology

plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Who does the BIOS for that board, is it AMI or Award or another one?

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
erm, er, hang on :rummage:

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
I *think* ASUS do it themselves (ASUSTek?)

edit to add - I could (as always) be talking out of my arse... flipping through the motherboard manual now...

>> Edited by polar_ben on Tuesday 16th September 09:13

plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Right if it beeps, heres what it means:


1 long, 2 short Video adapter error Either video adapter is bad or is not seated properly. Also, check to ensure the monitor cable is connected properly.

Repeating (endless loop) Memory error Check for improperly seated or missing memory.

1 long, 3 short No video card or bad video RAM Reseat or replace the video card.

High frequency beeps while running Overheated CPU Check the CPU fan for proper operation. Check the case for proper air flow.

Repeating High/Low CPU Either the CPU is not seated properly or the CPU is damaged. May also be due to excess heat. Check the CPU fan or BIOS settings for proper fan speed.

I'd give everything another push down, VGA card and memory anyway then see what happens...



>> Edited by plotloss on Tuesday 16th September 09:13

>> Edited by plotloss on Tuesday 16th September 09:13

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
cheers Matt - I'll give it a whirl...

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
hmm - I think it's a PSU fault - it's making an odd noise (which I earlier mistook for the HD's spinning up) - a kind of "tssssk... tsssk... tsssk..." then it cuts out.

Weird

plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
We'll get there I am sure...

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
are PSU's user servicable?!

plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Anything is user serviceable with the right hammer...

PSU could be going if all the components are seated correctly. Do you have a spare? Perhaps out of the old machine just to isolate wether or not its the PSU?

If it is the PSU then I am sure you should be able to get one under warranty but if not they are cheap as chips at the moment. 350w for £11...

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
the almight Google came up with this - www.a7vtroubleshooting.com/troubleshoot/ts_general/dead.htm

I'm going to check the mobo isn't grounded anywhere...

:getsscrewdriverout:

plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Unlikely if it was working before but something may have become unseated...

Liszt

4,330 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Is the PSu up for the job. These days I'd say a 350W is a minium and 400w preferable. I had trouble once similar to this. Very hard to track down. No recent changes. Would boot 1 out of 3 times. Failed all over shop. Changed the PSU for a 350 (from a 250) and all was well.

polar_ben

Original Poster:

1,413 posts

266 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
Liszt said:
Is the PSu up for the job. These days I'd say a 350W is a minium and 400w preferable. I had trouble once similar to this. Very hard to track down. No recent changes. Would boot 1 out of 3 times. Failed all over shop. Changed the PSU for a 350 (from a 250) and all was well.


I think you could be right - it's a 350W (bargain basement generic unit) but running Athlon 2400+, 2 big/fast HD's, a DVD/RW, a CD/RW, 2 big case fans & a few USB devices.

I think a decent 400W could be the answer...

plotloss

67,280 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
What graphics card?

I have a 200w in mine running an athlon, 2 cd drives, 2HDD's. a floppy and a Geforce2

If you have GeForce4 then its almost certaintly the power rating of the PSU

400w for £20 odd...

Liszt

4,330 posts

277 months

Tuesday 16th September 2003
quotequote all
MORE POWER! ARG ARG ARG!