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Author Topic: Computer Won't Start Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 09-10-2004 03:05 PM                    I have an Athlon system that won't start--totally dead. I thought the P/S was gone but a new one didn't solve it. Standby control voltage is there & present on the USB lines. I'll have to check the front panel start button but that seems unlikely. What else should I look for before presuming the MB to be toast--or would that even stop the P/S from firing up? Not sure if this is significant but last night while shutting down Winblows hung before completing the shutdown. (It was on the logo screen.) Not a totally unusual occurrance. As I normally would I killed the mains switch and the flipped it back on. I must not have had it off long enough or there was something else afoot because turning it back caused the computer to start re-starting. So turned it off again a sec and then back to normal. Probably a meaningless coincidence.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 09-10-2004 03:37 PM                        That simtum, with an Athlon chip, often means you've got a fried CPU chip. Is the CPU fan working? Is the CPU heatsink seated well? Try reseating the RAM modules and all of the PCI/AGP/ISA cards. If that doesn't work, remove all the cards except the video card, and unhook the harddrive(s) and floppy drive(s). If that doesn't work, remove all but one RAM module. If that doesn't work, swap RAM modules (assuming you have at least two). If that doesn't work, either the chip or board is dead.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 09-10-2004 04:49 PM                    Fan was running fine when it last ran. I've stripped everthing so I'm down to MB & P/S and it's not doing anything. Does the CPU really get involved even with turning it on? I would think the P/S would at least start up even if something is fried. A few months back I had to go through and strip everything from this same box to isolate a problem which proved to be a bad memory unit (Kingston replaced it no charge). In that instance the P/S would run but the motherboard would just beep and not invoke BIOS.  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 09-10-2004 04:59 PM                        Often a dead chip will prevent the power supply from switching out of standby, it depends on the motherboard. A CPU chip in the socket is required to power up the system. Check to make sure that the CMOS jumper is in the correct position, or hasn't fallen off. That can prevent the PS from leaving standby too.  |  IP: Logged Dustin Mitchell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1865 From: Mondovi, WI, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 09-10-2004 05:28 PM                     Steve, when you start you computer the first thing it does is an operation known as POSTing (Power On Self Test). The system does a quick check of all your components to make sure everything is okay. If something is amiss electrically-like a card not fully seated or something that got 'fried' the system won't start up to prevent further damage.  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 09-10-2004 07:33 PM                        If the power supply detects a short on one of its outputs, it won't come up at all. Try disconnecting the IDE and floppy cable(s) from the motherboard (not just from the drive(s)).  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 09-10-2004 10:52 PM                    Well, I had it down to nothing but the MB and one SIMM (or is it DIMM) and it still was dead although I found I could force power on by grounding the "on" line from the connector. Playing around with it some more and I am now able to get it to start via the power button. It beeps in a way that means it's not happy about something and there is zero output on video having now put the card back in. I also put the floppy back online and interestingly it does attempt to read it a few seconds after starting and that at least sounds (literally as well as figuratively) like something BIOS-y in nature. Doesn't seem like a totally dead CPU / MoBo would do that if not under some sort of program control. Oh yeah...reset causes it to shut down. Will keep playing with it but in the meantime I've picked up an Athlon 64 3200+ box (reminds me of 65mm). Now the question is do I put up with the annoying and new (to me) Winblows XP or wipe it clean and go back to the annoying but at least familiar W98SE. It's not like either will avail themselves of 64 bit capabilities. I really hate change.  |  IP: Logged Adam Wilbert Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 590 From: Bellingham, WA, USA Registered: Mar 2002 posted 09-10-2004 11:46 PM                        You should be able to find out what the post beep code is telling you is wrong, depending on what BIOS you're running. Check here for translations.  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 09-11-2004 12:00 AM                     You can set XP to at least look like Windows "classic" with your display settings.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 09-11-2004 05:41 AM                        quote: Steve Kraus I also put the floppy back online and interestingly it does attempt to read it a few seconds after starting and that at least sounds (literally as well as figuratively) like something BIOS-y in nature. If it tries to read from the floppy then I can't see how the CPU can be knackered. This shows that something must be asking for data from the floppy, and that something won't be the BIOS. Some weird motherboard fault would be my guess. My inclination would be to install XP on your new machine, if only because it'll give you the more reliable NTFS file system and at least it's a genuine 32-bit OS rather than a GUI sitting on top of a 16-bit DOS. As Adam points out, you can configure it to look and feel like older versions of Windows if it's the XP interface (which I also hate) that makes you uncomfortable with it.  |  IP: Logged Jason M Miller Master Film Handler Posts: 284 From: Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 09-11-2004 07:47 AM                     Go with Windows XP 64bit addition if you want 64bit operation...Here is the homepage http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/64bit/default.mspx if 32bit is ok then go w/ Windows XP  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 09-11-2004 08:29 AM                     What good is "64-bit Windows" going to do when there really isn't a mainstream 64-bit version yet (and won't be for years)? 64-bit also isn't going to be of much use in that there aren't any mainstream 64-bit applications for Windows available either. 64-bit computing at this time is relegated almost entirely to industry specific niche applications. And while it remains at that level, UNIX is a far better solution. So many things on a main board can have a computer unable to start. I've had parallel ports go bad, thanks to needing to switch between hardware dongles for one app to attaching a printer cable for another app. A bad video card will leave a computer unable to launch; you'll typically get a series of beeps for that.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 09-11-2004 11:11 AM                    Mostly because it was an open box special at the local Average Buy store at a good price which helps to offset having to go out and buy quickly instead of getting online with a no-name assembler's Configurator, buying just what I need, and leaving off components that I can move over. Plus I'll probably use it until it drops so 64 bit 'putin will be old hat by then.  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 09-11-2004 12:28 PM                        Change is good. Go with XP. You'll wonder why you waited so long. Don't think about the activation issue or any of that stuff -- Just enjoy using a MUCH more stable and robust OS.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 09-11-2004 06:29 PM                    Not only that but they make my feet and legs look damn good. Activation? **shudders** Dang...I forgot to pick up a tube of K-Y but there is still time.  |  IP: Logged

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