So i have a p4 2.8ghz some cheap soltek mobo some other low end hardware , it was working fine till we needed to print something then it BSOD and since then it goes on but it doesnt post anymore no beeps or anything , just powers up and the hdd light is all the time on but i dont hear it :/ can someone help i have a feeling that the motherboard is dead
Pc not booting
- Thread starter limqareb
- Start date
Sudden BSOD can be caused by numerous root causes, but are often memory or HD related if you've been running a few processes at the same time.
On booting, I've lost count of the times when a usb stick/ipod/memory card being left plugged in has had my kids saying the PC's broken as they can affect the boot sequence.(just checking)
Can you get into the BIOS at all? (check your power settings and anything else you last changed).
Watch the memory test at the start (may need to hit the tab key).
If your memory is OK, you should try checking the cables are all fully engaged when you first open the case. Vibrations can loosen them. Then I'd start with trying it with only one stick of ram until you've checked them all.
On booting, I've lost count of the times when a usb stick/ipod/memory card being left plugged in has had my kids saying the PC's broken as they can affect the boot sequence.(just checking)
Can you get into the BIOS at all? (check your power settings and anything else you last changed).
Watch the memory test at the start (may need to hit the tab key).
If your memory is OK, you should try checking the cables are all fully engaged when you first open the case. Vibrations can loosen them. Then I'd start with trying it with only one stick of ram until you've checked them all.
no i cant get into the bios , all i get is a black screen , it only posted once since this incident happend, all it does power up all fans running but doesnt go further than that , if it would be a memory problem or another hardware issue i would imagine a beep from the motherboard
You get a black screen, or no signal (there's a difference!)
when it is powered on, can you power it off as normal, or do you need to press and hold for 5 secs?
are there any beeps?
be sure to disconnect all your drives from the board, remove cards, all but one memory stick (and swap around) to eliminate one by one.
If you have removed everything but cpu, memory and hsf, and have swapped memory around to eliminate bad memory, then i'd be looking at the mobo. cpu's rarely die!
Is it dusty?
when it is powered on, can you power it off as normal, or do you need to press and hold for 5 secs?
are there any beeps?
be sure to disconnect all your drives from the board, remove cards, all but one memory stick (and swap around) to eliminate one by one.
If you have removed everything but cpu, memory and hsf, and have swapped memory around to eliminate bad memory, then i'd be looking at the mobo. cpu's rarely die!
Is it dusty?
What else had you been doing besides printing since it last booted cleanly?
How many other BSOD has this PC had in the last week?
Does the monitor show 'no signal' or is it just black?
Is the graphics card fan turning (what make is it, does it have another output you can try?)
Have you tried clearing the CMOS?
How many other BSOD has this PC had in the last week?
Does the monitor show 'no signal' or is it just black?
Is the graphics card fan turning (what make is it, does it have another output you can try?)
Have you tried clearing the CMOS?
1 well just normal home use no gaming and stuff some browsing and imname='kendo' said:
no other bsod , this afaik is the first BSOD in 5 years of having this pc , no signal on the monitor , yes the fan turns on the graphic card , its a 5700le the make is xpertvision, yes i have tried clearing cmos too
If the monitor is showing the words 'no signal' then something is stopping the signal leaving the base unit. I think it's your graphics card that needs checking next.
If there's a lot of dust, just having the fan run too slowly because of it will cause a graphics card to fail.
Your graphics card should have two outputs, although it's more likely to be the card itself rather than a single output that would've failed, have you tried the other one?
If you have a spare card, give that a try.
Also as a long shot, some older mb BIOS default to PCI graphics on CMOS clearing. Loading optimised defaults can reset this to AGP.
Even though you can't see the screen, if it is posting, you can still load BIOS defaults by pressing the following the right keys at startup (for my mb, check your manual for yours)
- Del - to enter setup - wait 15 secs
- F7 - to load optimised defaults
- F10 - to save and exit
- Enter - to action the save and restart.
If there's a lot of dust, just having the fan run too slowly because of it will cause a graphics card to fail.
Your graphics card should have two outputs, although it's more likely to be the card itself rather than a single output that would've failed, have you tried the other one?
If you have a spare card, give that a try.
Also as a long shot, some older mb BIOS default to PCI graphics on CMOS clearing. Loading optimised defaults can reset this to AGP.
Even though you can't see the screen, if it is posting, you can still load BIOS defaults by pressing the following the right keys at startup (for my mb, check your manual for yours)
- Del - to enter setup - wait 15 secs
- F7 - to load optimised defaults
- F10 - to save and exit
- Enter - to action the save and restart.
well nothing worked so i decided to take out the hdd and connect it to another computer my old amd rig anyways, after a few days of working fine my sister put in a cd for her listening comprehension which was one of the last things she did on the other pc and it started bsoding often and a few hours later i put it off and now the exact same thing happened on the amd , power up , no post and stuff and no signal on lcd
could this be the work of a virus or ? oh and the only one time it posted after me resetting it severl times i got a screen with
-------------------- EXCEPTION-------------------
and a lot of gibberish and symbols this was just after post before windows loads
could this be the work of a virus or ? oh and the only one time it posted after me resetting it severl times i got a screen with
-------------------- EXCEPTION-------------------
and a lot of gibberish and symbols this was just after post before windows loads
Rastalovich
New member
Think if the mobo+cpu are alive, if u take all the memory out it`ll beep at u.
EDIT: if it`s a virus, it`d be on the harddrive b4 it causes u a problem. If u take the harddrive out of the equation and it still acts up, there`s nothing foul going on.
EDIT: if it`s a virus, it`d be on the harddrive b4 it causes u a problem. If u take the harddrive out of the equation and it still acts up, there`s nothing foul going on.
Rastalovich
New member
If it beeps with no memory, that shows signs of life.
If u stick memory in and it`s duff again, it points to ur memory being screwed.
Try em a stick at a time, keeping the drives disconnected, until u get a basic post. If u run out of sticks, steal some.
Until it even posts, theres a cpu-mobo-memory situation going on.
If u stick memory in and it`s duff again, it points to ur memory being screwed.
Try em a stick at a time, keeping the drives disconnected, until u get a basic post. If u run out of sticks, steal some.
Until it even posts, theres a cpu-mobo-memory situation going on.
well i tried all the possible combinations with memory only using one and it posts , now i try 2 sitcks works , connect hdd no go , swap places of memory with hdd and it works ? i really cant understand :/ so you think the other pc has the same problem? cause i cant understand how 2 perfectly working pcs have memory problems in less than a week ?
Rastalovich
New member
I`d concentr8 on using memtest against all the sticks u have and the slots u r using.
It could be ur slots are acting up, or that some, if not all of ur sticks have gone south, but are "un-faulty" enough to post - but crap out soon enough.
It`s gonna involve memtest on something bootable, keep ur harddrive out imo, a sheet of paper to log what happens to each stick on it`s own and together.
Could also be that ur mobo suddenly doesn`t like using dual-channel (128 bit) for memory, so using the slots to do that will screw up. - this usually means the mobo is on it`s way out and u might find a raised surface to a capacitor or 2, or "stuff" leaking from them as they hiss >.<
EDIT: meant to add to be sure ur bios is running stuff @ stock whilst u do ur tests.
It could be ur slots are acting up, or that some, if not all of ur sticks have gone south, but are "un-faulty" enough to post - but crap out soon enough.
It`s gonna involve memtest on something bootable, keep ur harddrive out imo, a sheet of paper to log what happens to each stick on it`s own and together.
Could also be that ur mobo suddenly doesn`t like using dual-channel (128 bit) for memory, so using the slots to do that will screw up. - this usually means the mobo is on it`s way out and u might find a raised surface to a capacitor or 2, or "stuff" leaking from them as they hiss >.<
EDIT: meant to add to be sure ur bios is running stuff @ stock whilst u do ur tests.
gotmaxpower
New member
name='limqareb' said:
If your desperate to use your computer, just buy some new RAM, theres no point salvaging the old 1 stick of RAM because its cheap as chips anyway.
Oh yeah, i would also suggest trying both the sticks on the different RAM slots in your PC so that you can decide whether its the RAM slots or the RAM which is messing up.
name='Rastalovich' said:
He said that he was using both sticks with the same slot and that only one was faulty, only if he used the sticks with different slots could he know that the slots are faulty. Either that or i misheard him
Rastalovich
New member
name='gotmaxpower' said:If your desperate to use your computer, just buy some new RAM, theres no point salvaging the old 1 stick of RAM because its cheap as chips anyway.
Oh yeah, i would also suggest trying both the sticks on the different RAM slots in your PC so that you can decide whether its the RAM slots or the RAM which is messing up.
He said that he was using both sticks with the same slot and that only one was faulty, only if he used the sticks with different slots could he know that the slots are faulty. Either that or i misheard him
Meh, I`d want to be sure the mobo isn`t about to crap out b4 spending any more cash.
There are degrees of faultyness in ram, it can sometimes depend on what instructions u throw at it or what area of memory u try to address as to if it craps out on u straight away or teases u into trying to boot into windows.
It`d be irrelevent if the mobo is acting up tho. Hence the testing of single sticks in different slots, then knowing which sticks pass memtest - trying them together. If they fail in paired slots, try unpaired slots.
The latter tests in memtest can sometimes be the more critical ones. U can often pass all the other ones and 8/9 will fail.
Sounds longer winded that it would be.
