Motherboards Desktop PC not booting

Hello there,

I'm looking for some help. After a night of gaming, I booted my PC up this morning. I got as far as logging into windows and went off to continue getting ready. The PC just powered off suddenly, which got my attention.

I tried booting it again, it started but then powered off again almost immediately. I unplugged it and opened it up. There was a cable which possibly could have be impeding the stock CPU cooler but I'm not sure. I moved it to the side and tried to boot again. All fans were spinning fine, however the PC wouldn't boot. No monitor activity. I unplugged the monitor, which immediately reported no signal. Plugged it back in and tried to boot again, again everything spins up, HDD activity but no boot. I don't if it's still cutting out as I've been holding the power button in to switch it off when it fails to boot.

That's as far as I got, I thought I'd seek out some advice before proceeding. The system is about three years old now and I've never had any problems. The inside of the case is fairly dust free as well.

Spec:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66GHz 1333FSB Socket 775 4MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor
Antec Solo Quiet Mini Tower Case
OCZ Stealth XStream 600W PSU - SLI Ready ATX2.2 12cm Fan
Asus P5N-E SLI 650i Socket 775 PCI-E Onboard Audio ATX Motherboard
2 x Corsair 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 800MHz/PC2-6400 XMS2 Memory Non-ECC Unbuffered CL4
Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB SATAII 7200RPM 16MB Cache - OEM Caviar Blue
EVGA 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 DVI TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card
Hauppauge WinTV Nova-TD 500 Dual digital DVB-T PCI TV Tuner card

OS: Windows 7 x64 Ultimate

Thanks in advance.

 

Just came home and tried it again. Again it didn't boot when I powered it up, no beep and a blank screen. This time I left it and it cut out after about 30 seconds.

I tried to boot again and it cut out almost instantly. Could it be a temperature issue with a component or the PSU?

 

maybe a RAM problem, if you have 2 sticks of RAM, try removing one, if it doesnt work try the other one, maybe one of your RAM went wrong.

If you overclock go the BIOS and set everything to DEAFAULT values.

 

I had the same motherboard, GPU and RAM combination in one of my PC's (but mine is an Antec Sonata II case with an E6600 CPU).

The same thing has happened to me twice in the last four years. In my case the BIOS reset itself to defaults for some reason, no idea why but when it boots, it will not detect the RAM automatically (normal for that m/b & RAM combination with two sticks installed).

Remove one stick and go into the BIOS and see if the settings have been reset. If so, manually enter the RAM timings (4-4-4-12/2T & 2.1v) then shutdown, install the other DIMM then restart.

If it doesn't boot with only one stick of RAM, try the other stick as paisa666 suggesed, it could be a RAM problem.

If still no boot, do you have another PSU you can try? Have you tried reseating all cables, including power? It is a matter of eliminating the components one by one.

 

I copied my order from ebuyer forgetting that I installed another 2x1gb sticks of ram of the same type and manufacturer. Sorry I'll update the OP accordingly. So I have 4gb installed.

Tried booting with 1 stick installed. Still not booting but the power is staying on. I'm going to leave it like that just in case. If it stays on can I rule out the PSU?

I can't get into the BIOS at all. Well at least my monitor isn't responding if it is getting that far. No beep so I don't think it is.

 

Tried removing the battery on the MB for a few minutes to see if it would reset anything. Didn't work. Power is staying on though.

 

I don't overclock. Though I would like to give it a go sometime

 

It looks like it is a process of elimination now.

Do you have another PC that you can try the graphics card in?

Do you have another power supply available to try?

Have you double checked all cables to ensure that they are all seated correctly?

 

Before try the altenatives below, remove your RAM, and clean the contacts with a Eraser, if that didn't solve your problem try cleaning your VGA contacts, then proceed to the above, just try to use another VGA possibly faulty one.

My everyday fault steps:

1. Clear CMOS via jumper, first remove power cables and baterry then short pins.

2. Setup BIOS correctly, it's detecting all drives and so.

3.POST it's correctly so move on.

4. Boot from CD or USB, with a Linux Live I manage to encounter some odd faults with newer versions on a old hardware just put an older version or a live and try again or a different distro.

5. Hiren Boot CD always help me test the HARDWARE because of the AIO interface, for that thanks HIREN.


If you still are facing problems try the swap everything method, .

Hope this could help you.

 

Yeah I checked all the cables, I'll check them again as I go through Gunters steps. I could try some of the components in my friends machine if necessary.

 

If you boot the PC without a graphics card in it, does it beep?

Same thing without any RAM installed, does it beep?

 

Yeah tried that. Still nothing.

I've now removed every component from the MB. The only connected component is the PSU and the case connections for the power button and front USB etc.

Still no beep.

I have also reset the CMOS (although it refers to it as the "Clear RTC RAM (CLRTC)" in the manual, but it appears to be the same thing).

It instructs me to:


1. Turn off the computer and unplug the power cord.

2. Remove the onboard battery.

3. Move the jumper cap from pins 1-2 (default) to pins 2-3. Keep the cap on pins 2-3 for about 5-10 seconds, then move the cap back to pins 1-2.

4. Reinstall the battery.

5. Plug the power cord and turn on the computer.

Still no beep at this point so haven't tried the last step.

6. Hold down the <Del> key during the boot process and enter BIOS setup to re-enter data.

 

Ok finally a response. I reconnected the GPU and keyboard to try step 6 regardless. As soon as I pressed the power button I got a long continuous beep, like a siren.

I panicked an pulled the power cord out. Tried reseating the GPU. Same siren on boot. Powered it down using the power button.

What now?

 

Yeah, RTC RAM is the BIOS.

Assuming you have a PC speaker connected to the motherboard pins (or it has an onboard speaker), the fact that you get no beeps when booting without a GPU or RAM sounds odd.

Normally motherboards complain like hell when booted with no GPU or RAM. The manual should list what the error code beeps are.

 

The error codes are not listed in the manual. Concerned about this long beep. I removed the GPU and powered up with no components again. No beep.

 

I just realised that I forgot to put the GPU's power connection in. Silly me. That was the source of the long beep, it's gone now. Still no POST though.

 

With no GPU or RAM it will never POST. Can you look up the the error code beeps in the motherboard manual?

If, for example, the long beep means a RAM error, insert a stick of RAM but leave the GPU for now then try again. You should get a different beep code.

 

I'm fairly sure the long beep was for the GPU. The long beep was gone when I attached the power connector and powered up.

The codes are definitely are not listed in the manual. I've looked at all the pages.

The manual does state that it uses the Award Bios. I found this http://www.bioscentral.com/beepcodes/awardbeep.htm

I've got a single 1gb of RAM, the GPU, a keyboard and a monitor on the board and it still wont POST or even beep.

 

Is it a dual channel board? Some boards require 2 sticks of RAM to be in place to boot.

 

I have the same board and RAM, it will boot with one stick. In fact, it is the only way to get that particular RAM setup correctly as the BIOS will not detect it automatically. Once the timings and voltage are set correctly you can install the other stick.