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Home > Archive > alt.certification.a-plus > December 2003 > stumped
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| Chris E 2003-12-22, 11:24 pm |
| Had a PC given to me that wouldn't fire up... the HDD would spin up, but no
video to the monitor, etc. The hard drive booted fine in a test PC.
Swapped out RAM, a known good PSU, and ordered a replacement mobo (I
originally thought the mobo was the culprit). System still wouldn't boot
and still no video. I have tried yet another mobo to no avail and swapped
out a different PGA 370 CPU (I have no way of determining if the either CPU
is good or not, so I realize that this could be the problem.)
Here's the problem that I hope to find an answer for. When I introduce
power to the PC (as in just plugging the PSU into the outlet), the mobo
fires up and the HDD spins up without even pushing the power button. It
does this with all PSUs. Is this a hint as to what the problem is and why?
One more question... could a bad ribbon cable cause any of these problems?
I could see the devices attached to that cable not working, but I doubt if
it would bring down the whole system. Any help with this would be
appreciated. Thanks.
Chris
A+, Net+
| |
| Barry Watzman 2003-12-23, 12:24 pm |
| A bad ribbon cable could causee these problems. The hard drives are
very nearly directly on the PCI bus.
Could also be a shorted power or reset button (or improperly connected
to the motherboard).
CPU, as you noted.
Video card - or is video on the motherboard?
In a situation like this, disconnect/remove EVERYTHING except CPU,
memory and video. That includes all drives.
Chris E wrote:
> Had a PC given to me that wouldn't fire up... the HDD would spin up, but no
> video to the monitor, etc. The hard drive booted fine in a test PC.
> Swapped out RAM, a known good PSU, and ordered a replacement mobo (I
> originally thought the mobo was the culprit). System still wouldn't boot
> and still no video. I have tried yet another mobo to no avail and swapped
> out a different PGA 370 CPU (I have no way of determining if the either CPU
> is good or not, so I realize that this could be the problem.)
> Here's the problem that I hope to find an answer for. When I introduce
> power to the PC (as in just plugging the PSU into the outlet), the mobo
> fires up and the HDD spins up without even pushing the power button. It
> does this with all PSUs. Is this a hint as to what the problem is and why?
> One more question... could a bad ribbon cable cause any of these problems?
> I could see the devices attached to that cable not working, but I doubt if
> it would bring down the whole system. Any help with this would be
> appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Chris
> A+, Net+
>
>
>
| |
| natural_4u 2003-12-23, 5:24 pm |
| You mentioned no video... is this a seperate card or onboard? If seperate
you might want to try a different video card.
"Chris E" <evans364@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:vYOFb.633461$Fm2.569215@attbi_s04...
> Had a PC given to me that wouldn't fire up... the HDD would spin up, but
no
> video to the monitor, etc. The hard drive booted fine in a test PC.
> Swapped out RAM, a known good PSU, and ordered a replacement mobo (I
> originally thought the mobo was the culprit). System still wouldn't boot
> and still no video. I have tried yet another mobo to no avail and swapped
> out a different PGA 370 CPU (I have no way of determining if the either
CPU
> is good or not, so I realize that this could be the problem.)
> Here's the problem that I hope to find an answer for. When I introduce
> power to the PC (as in just plugging the PSU into the outlet), the mobo
> fires up and the HDD spins up without even pushing the power button. It
> does this with all PSUs. Is this a hint as to what the problem is and
why?
> One more question... could a bad ribbon cable cause any of these problems?
> I could see the devices attached to that cable not working, but I doubt if
> it would bring down the whole system. Any help with this would be
> appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Chris
> A+, Net+
>
>
>
| |
| Chris E 2003-12-23, 6:24 pm |
| Onboard video. Sorry, should've mentioned that.
"natural_4u" <ask@me.com> wrote in message
news:Cm2Gb.802983$9l5.104747@pd7tw2no...
> You mentioned no video... is this a seperate card or onboard? If seperate
> you might want to try a different video card.
>
>
> "Chris E" <evans364@mchsi.com> wrote in message
> news:vYOFb.633461$Fm2.569215@attbi_s04...
> no
boot[color=blue]
swapped[color=blue]
> CPU
> why?
problems?[color=blue]
if[color=blue]
>
>
| |
| natural_4u 2003-12-23, 8:24 pm |
| hhmmmm.... Try checking the Bios setting for the video.
"Chris E" <evans364@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:i93Gb.438596$Dw6.1336664@attbi_s02...
> Onboard video. Sorry, should've mentioned that.
>
>
> "natural_4u" <ask@me.com> wrote in message
> news:Cm2Gb.802983$9l5.104747@pd7tw2no...
seperate[color=blue]
but[color=blue]
> boot
> swapped
either[color=blue]
introduce[color=blue]
mobo[color=blue]
It[color=blue]
> problems?
doubt[color=blue]
> if
>
>
| |
| Barry Watzman 2003-12-23, 9:24 pm |
| For that matter, remove the battery, reset CMOS, reinstall the battery
and try again.
natural_4u wrote:
> hhmmmm.... Try checking the Bios setting for the video.
>
>
> "Chris E" <evans364@mchsi.com> wrote in message
> news:i93Gb.438596$Dw6.1336664@attbi_s02...
>
>
> seperate
>
>
> but
>
>
> either
>
>
> introduce
>
>
> mobo
>
>
> It
>
>
> doubt
>
>
>
| |
|
| Chris E wrote:
> Onboard video. Sorry, should've mentioned that.
2 cents worth...
Uhm, check to see if the On Board video has
been disabled in the BIOS.
[color=blue]
>
>
> "natural_4u" <ask@me.com> wrote in message
> news:Cm2Gb.802983$9l5.104747@pd7tw2no...
>
>
> boot
>
>
> swapped
>
>
> problems?
>
>
> if
>
| |
| Navin R. Johnson 2003-12-24, 1:23 am |
| On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 03:32:03 GMT, dave <tmr99@yahoo.name> wrote:
>Chris E wrote:
>
>2 cents worth...
>
>Uhm, check to see if the On Board video has
>been disabled in the BIOS.
That's a little tough with a blank screen.
2 cents it is.
| |
| Navin R. Johnson 2003-12-24, 2:23 am |
| On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 03:50:51 GMT, "Chris E" <evans364@mchsi.com> wrote:
What Barry said......Simplify.
In my experience, Intel CPU's rarely go bad. In fact, they're almost as
good as AMD. :-) And yes, a bad or backwards IDE ribbon cable can cause
a blank screen on some motherboards.
NRJ
>Had a PC given to me that wouldn't fire up... the HDD would spin up, but no
>video to the monitor, etc. The hard drive booted fine in a test PC.
>Swapped out RAM, a known good PSU, and ordered a replacement mobo (I
>originally thought the mobo was the culprit). System still wouldn't boot
>and still no video. I have tried yet another mobo to no avail and swapped
>out a different PGA 370 CPU (I have no way of determining if the either CPU
>is good or not, so I realize that this could be the problem.)
>Here's the problem that I hope to find an answer for. When I introduce
>power to the PC (as in just plugging the PSU into the outlet), the mobo
>fires up and the HDD spins up without even pushing the power button. It
>does this with all PSUs. Is this a hint as to what the problem is and why?
>One more question... could a bad ribbon cable cause any of these problems?
>I could see the devices attached to that cable not working, but I doubt if
>it would bring down the whole system. Any help with this would be
>appreciated. Thanks.
>
>Chris
>A+, Net+
| |
| natural_4u 2003-12-24, 8:24 am |
| Barry is correct...
remove HDD, CD-ROM, Memory,
EXCEPT CPU.
(can not remove onboard video :-)
The computer should still POST without those hardware. You should still be
able to see something. There should a jumper on the motherboard that makes
the onboard video the default video source.
If this replacement mobo is new, the chances of a bad onboard video is
rare... but still a small chance.
Get the manual for this mobo and have a look.
Good Luck!!!!
"Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:3FE86C3F.10006@neo.rr.com...
> A bad ribbon cable could causee these problems. The hard drives are
> very nearly directly on the PCI bus.
>
> Could also be a shorted power or reset button (or improperly connected
> to the motherboard).
>
> CPU, as you noted.
>
> Video card - or is video on the motherboard?
>
> In a situation like this, disconnect/remove EVERYTHING except CPU,
> memory and video. That includes all drives.
>
>
>
> Chris E wrote:
no[color=blue]
boot[color=blue]
swapped[color=blue]
CPU[color=blue]
why?[color=blue]
problems?[color=blue]
if[color=blue]
>
| |
| Chris E 2003-12-24, 2:24 pm |
| Thanks for all the help. Yes, very hard to check the onboard video settings
in BIOS with a blank screen. There is only one jumper on the mobo (my
assumption is to reset the CMOS). It's a pretty basic board (Gateway
replacement). I will try firing up using just the RAM, CPU and video, after
removing the battery and replacing. I'll install new ribbon cables if I can
get the thing to fire up correctly. I may also try replacing the soft power
cluster. That it powers on without a button being pushed just floors me.
Machines from scratch are so much easier: ) Thanks again.
Chris
A+, Net+
"Navin R. Johnson" <TheJerk@optigrab.net> wrote in message
news:7hbiuvg4tkr2dl4p6h03dnt8u
82fsajetj@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 23 Dec 2003 03:50:51 GMT, "Chris E" <evans364@mchsi.com> wrote:
>
> What Barry said......Simplify.
>
> In my experience, Intel CPU's rarely go bad. In fact, they're almost as
> good as AMD. :-) And yes, a bad or backwards IDE ribbon cable can cause
> a blank screen on some motherboards.
>
> NRJ
>
no[color=blue]
swapped[color=blue]
CPU[color=blue]
why?[color=blue]
problems?[color=blue]
if[color=blue]
>
| |
| Andrew Tang 2003-12-24, 3:23 pm |
| Not sure if CPU motherboard mismatch is your problem but what CPU is this
and does the motherboard support this type of CPU?
There are three types of socket 370 CPUs (usu one motherboard covers only
two adjacent types):
PPGA/Mendocino 266 - 533 MHz,
FCPGA/Coppermine 533 MHz - 1.1 GHz, and
FCPGA2/Tualatin 1.0 GHz - 1.4 GHz.
More info and pictures here:
http://support.intel.com/support/pr...b/CS-007435.htm
FCPGA2 has heat spreader like Pentium 4.
"Chris E" <evans364@mchsi.com> wrote in message
news:vYOFb.633461$Fm2.569215@attbi_s04...
> Had a PC given to me that wouldn't fire up... the HDD would spin up, but
no
> video to the monitor, etc. The hard drive booted fine in a test PC.
> Swapped out RAM, a known good PSU, and ordered a replacement mobo (I
> originally thought the mobo was the culprit). System still wouldn't boot
> and still no video. I have tried yet another mobo to no avail and swapped
> out a different PGA 370 CPU (I have no way of determining if the either
CPU
> is good or not, so I realize that this could be the problem.)
> Here's the problem that I hope to find an answer for. When I introduce
> power to the PC (as in just plugging the PSU into the outlet), the mobo
> fires up and the HDD spins up without even pushing the power button. It
> does this with all PSUs. Is this a hint as to what the problem is and
why?
> One more question... could a bad ribbon cable cause any of these problems?
> I could see the devices attached to that cable not working, but I doubt if
> it would bring down the whole system. Any help with this would be
> appreciated. Thanks.
>
> Chris
> A+, Net+
>
>
>
| |
|
| Navin R. Johnson wrote:
> On Wed, 24 Dec 2003 03:32:03 GMT, dave <tmr99@yahoo.name> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> That's a little tough with a blank screen.
>
> 2 cents it is.
You mean you don't have a spare video card?
Sheesh... 
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