So, LJ hivemind, I wonder if any of you are computer experts? My whole system (which was only a year old) went dead about a month ago. We had the motherboard serviced, but once we installed it again, we couldn’t get any video output at all–can’t even get to BIOS. Everything whirs and goes, but nothing comes up on the screen. My husband has tested every possible component (CPU, memory, video card, monitor, power supply, even bought a brand-new motherboard), and can’t find the issue. He reset the CMOS. He’s even tried to make sure nothing’s shorting out on the case.
Does anyone have any ideas?
UPDATE: He thinks he has it figured out. Apparently one of the RAM modules is bad. We’ll see!
Windows? I’ll ask my spouse, but he’s more a Mac person… (I think his idea is primarily to get a Mac Mini…)
Drat, his somewhat headaching comment is “boot Linux on it.” Also something about “connect terminal to serial port.”
Other thing: If it’s a multiple video port motherboard, it may be switched to “onboard video” instead of the video card, somehow.
Or the video card slot may be broken — that’s usually a separate slot (he says).
Sorry I’m not more helpful!
So when your power up the computer, you see absolutely nothing on the screen? It’s literally just blank?
I know this’ll sound perfectly silly, but sometimes the simplest solution is the right one. Is the monitor working?
If it’s not that, let me know and I’ll have my hubby ask his friend, who builds computers (and did an excellent job on ours when it got fried).
Have you / he tried using the monitor with anothere CPU?
How about the CPU with another monitor?
So, LJ hivemind, I wonder if any of you are computer experts?
Yes. And the answer you won’t like. Dell is having a sale. Short of that, contact the Geek Squad to get it to talk.
Well, there IS the Mac mini . . .
But as devoted as I am to the Celtic computer, she’d have to get new software, and that would be pricey.
no, no, no, please, don’t buy dell. please, for the love of little uglies. don’t go there.
(mostly because there’s a reason they call the customer service ‘dell hell’.)
I’m a Mac person, but I’d add my voice to the question: have you tried the pizza box with a different monitor? (Showing my age, there.) Sometimes trading out & in can help narrow down on the troubleshooting.
Yeah, the monitor’s fine hooked to a different system. So is every other component we can test.
Yeah, we’ve swapped out everything we can while trying to figure it out.
So you think it sounds kaput? That’s my fear. I just want to figure out exactly what went belly-up so I know not to buy that component again. I mean, one year!
Yep. The monitor’s fine. The CPU with a different monitor provides the same blank-screen result.
Very Kaput. And if you do decide to get a Dell, go through dellauction.com .
Other than that, the only thing I can think of is the actual output connector is bad. That’s it.
-=Jeff=-
Well, he refuses to accept defeat yet, because the components check out individually. (Well, except the motherboards, but it’s bizarre that *two* supposedly good motherboards, one brand new, wouldn’t work.)
If you’re not even getting beeps or any noise, it is most likely the CPU. If it was the video or mempry, you’d be getting beeps from the BIOS. No noise usually means a bad Power Supply or bad/loose CPU.
See if the CPU is loose or if you can reseat it. Mind you, that you will need to remove the heatsink/fan unit to do this and you will need thermal grease to reseat the fan/heatsink properly (you can get a little syringe of it at Radio Shack).
If you’re really stuck, drop me an e-mail via http://adriftatsea.com and I’ll contact you directly.
Try reseating everything; both ends of ram and cards, for instance.
If there are cables that are easilly swapped, swap them.
This is my opinion, FWIW. Yes, try a different monitor, but somehow I seriously doubt that’s going to be the cause. When you start mucking around with the CMOS and trying to make it work, even if you do manage to get it up and going, I’ve found that the integration is far from seamless. But yeah, given the fact that you have a new computer, if I were in your shoes, I’d be doing that too.
Four computers back, I had problems with my first computer. Long story short, I ended up shorting out the motherboard with a field repair, got frustrated and bought a new computer from some PC guys I worked with who put one together for a few hundred bucks. I was never happy with that either.
If I didn’t have the bucks to buy a computer, I’d probably be looking at some reputable PC shop who does the analysis on computers all the time and have them get it talking. (Even so, it might be cheaper to just buy a new one). May I ask where you got your computer?
I am not a PC hack. In a former life, I was a UNIX systems administrator, which meant I had to deal with PCs quite a bit at their guts. (I still have scars from replacing the boards). I’m now a pro writer, which shows you how much I loved the job. When my put together computer was finally too frustrating, I called up Dell and ordered a PC the way I wanted it. I threw about $1000 at it. That was over five years ago. I haven’t looked back. It’s the computer I’m working on now. In fact, I bought a laptop from Dell for business trips and it works wonderfully.
The Dell, IMO, is one of the best integrated PCs around. At 5+ years, the damn thing is still rock-solid, if a little slow. I’ve had virtually no trouble except with three lightning strikes that took out the modem 3 times. (I learned my lesson and got a cheap UPS after that). Yes, Dell outsources their customer service to India, but if you have any real problems, the parts are usually in the mail the next day. (I don’t pay for tech support because I was third tier tech support). But they have a one year tech support with an option for buying more.
Now, I have heard others complain about Dells, but that hasn’t been my experience. I simply recommend them because I know they work well for me. However, if you do choose to get a new computer, skip the one-off integration and go with a company who will set the entire thing up for you. And look for someone who can transfer your old stuff to your current machine — assuming the hard drive isn’t fried.
Just my two cents. This ended up being long, but I want you to understand the position I’m taking. Some things aren’t worth the hassle and cost you darn near the same money as getting a new one. PCs are pretty much throwaway items now.
I’m knocking furiously on wood at this point. I don’t want to buy another PC for a long time.
Thank you for all the information!
My husband put this computer together himself, which is why I think he’s throwing so many hours at it trying to figure out what’s wrong. :-)
He’s now decided that the problem is a bad RAM module that he was having the bad luck to use in the minimum configuration he was setting up. :-/ I have no clue. He’s going to send it off for replacement, and I guess we’ll know when he gets it back whether that was the issue.
My laptop’s a Dell, and I’ve never had any trouble with it. I don’t know if I’ve ever dealt with their customer service, but I like the brand fine.
That was me. Sorry. :-)
Thank you for the suggestion! He’s tried that a few times with no luck. He decided just now that it must be a bad RAM module he was having the ill luck to use in his minimum configuration for testing.
No, it’s very helpful, thank you.
He thinks the culprit is a bad RAM module at the moment….
Yeah, he tried that. He thinks now that it’s a bad RAM module that he was having the ill luck to use in his min. config. for testing.
I assume that you’ve trouble-shot the monitor cables.
I find it odd that you get no picture at all; if you start up the machine in “just show me bios” mode, you ought to see *something*. As a wild guess, the connector to the monitor may be blown. That is, you have a monitor, a cable to the machine, a socket on the machine — what about those internal connectors? Could it be a bad mechanical connection on the case of the box? Of course many motherboards have built-in video nowadays, so replacing the mobo should solve that problem. Otherwise I would look to internal cables, the connectors, and whatnot.
When you say, “everything whirs and goes,” does this mean you belive it’s booting up but just not showing video? Or that all parts seem to be functional yet nothing the machine does not boot? The latter would indicate a different kind of problem. I’d consider booting it up without the mouse or keyboard, USB, etc. connected, just in case one of them is bad and that’s preventing BIOS from working. I wouldn’t get my hopes up on that working, however…
Oh, I hope it is; that’s the easiest and one of the cheaper things to fix.
Do make sure that it’s not the socket; it’s not the end of the world if it’s a bad slot since often you can just work around it.
Good silicon vibes headed your way.
As I said before, I was a professional in this. I am not trying to disparage your husband in any way, but does he do this for a living or is this something of a hobby? (Software engineers, computer programmers and whatnot still put this in the realm of a hobby).
He may get it working ok, but my experience with home-built pcs have never been satisfactory.
The reason why I recommend an integrated solution is because a team of systems designers came up with it, some quality pukes wrung their hands over it, and some testers beat the crap out of it. It’s a proven design. That’s why it works.
But, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) and he may indeed get it going again.
No, it’s a hobby for him. Never fear: I’m with you and would be giving up by now and resigning myself to spending the money on a new one. (And yeah, I wouldn’t have tried building one of my own in the first place, primarily because I just don’t know enough about it.) He has his pride wrapped up in it at this point, though, and I suspect I’lll be using this spare machine for a while yet. :-)
Yeah, he thinks it’s a bad RAM module now. It seems like it’s going, but nothing ever comes up. He’d been trying a minimum configuration, like you say, but he’d had the bad luck to choose that module for it. Perhaps replacing it will help.
Be careful. It wouldn’t be the first time a board was bad out of the box. In fact infant mortality is often a problem. If the ram module doesn’t work, don’t hesitate to take the mother board back and ask for another.
This is an addition to my comment about mother boards being bad out of the box. Building computers isn’t all that complicated. When there is a problem it is often a simple bios setting or a bad component. Be careful though, chips are easily fried. One little spark of static and that’s the end of a component. Always make sure you are grounded. Never work in a room with a rug. Make sure it is humid. Don’t wear rubber soles. When I work at home I work in bare feet. Professionals where a wrist grounding strap and work on a grounded table surface (preferably stainless steel).