Computer Woes

Geod

Okay, my roommate built a new computer about 2 months ago. Last week, he shuts the computer down for the weekend, and when he comes back home 2 days later to turn it on - nothing. The computer will turn on, all the pretty fans will run, the motherboard lights up, but the monitor does not turn on, it just keeps blinking like it's on standby, but still seems to get some sort of signal from the computer. The computer does not seem to POST, as it makes no beeps.

Here's what the computer consists of:

Motherboard: eVGA 680i
Graphics Card: eVGA 8800GTS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130071)
Power Supply: OCZ 600W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001)
RAM: 2 Gb Corsair Twin2x2048-6400 R (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590)
CPU: Intel E6600 2.4G (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003)

I've tried troubleshooting by:

- Removing one stick of RAM and booting , and vice versa with the other stick, and different RAM slots - Didn't work

- Removing everything in the computer, except for the motherboard, and CPU - Didn't work, and no beep from mobo

Both of the above gave the same initial results.

From reading around online, I'm thinking it's the PSU or Motherboard. We don't have another PSU to test out. Any help to solving this would be appreciated. Thanks!

ElectricTurtle

You're almost certainly looking at a motherboard problem. If as you say everything is powering up, including whatever LEDs are attached to the motherboard, and you've tried running the system bare (which, with so much integrated stuff these days doesn't mean half as much as it did back in the day), it means the motherboard is probably getting the power it needs, it just doesn't know what to do with it. The only other real potential weakpoint to bare system that won't POST is the CPU itself. So unless you can swap the CPU, or test the PSU for voltage irregularities (which is MUCH less likely from a high end PSU than a dead mobo), you'll just have to get a new mobo.

Geod

Thanks, I did a few more tests too.

- Put the PSU into my own computer, and it worked fine.
- Removed the CPU from my roommates computer, expecting to hear some beeps from the motherboard, but nothing.
- Cleared CMOS

So basically it's a motherboard probably.

Zek

You're sure it really isn't booting properly and it's not just the display?

Geod

Zek wrote: »

You're sure it really isn't booting properly and it's not just the display?

Yeah, fairly sure. It doesn't POST, no beep from the motherboard. Thanks though. Think we'll try RMAing the mobo.