troubleshooting....is it my PSU??

G

gavb23

Geek Trainee
Afternoon all

Background
Recently could not start computer due to a "system32" file missing - winXP disc would not run as "aha154x.sys" currupt... so tried swapping hard drives to see if i could use the recovery console.
Needless to say it did not work and i have now put everything back to the previous setup (inc slave for 2nd HD) and the computer will not start...

The Problem
Turn computer on - fans on both the cpu and graphics card work - green light on the front comes on and stays, but so does the red light for the hard drive. (no blinking)

not sure if i can hear the HD - but there is no friendly beep, oh and the CD drive light also stays on (but will not open)

and thats how it stays if i leave it for a number of minutes. Have left for 24 hours with everything disconnected but to no avail...

I am gonna guess its one of either the PSU/CPU/Motherboard

So i am hoping someone will have more knowledge of the situation? - or point me in the right direction

Thanks in advanced - find what specs i know below...

MoBo - ASRock P4VX4 socket 478
CPU - P4 478 2.66
RAM - 2 DDR = 1.5GB (recently put extra 1GB but has ran ok for a few days prior)

if you need more info just let me know.. thanks
 
unplug the pc from the power aoutlet. Remove the ram, leave them out. Disconnect the cables going from the HD and cdrom. Plug the pc back in and turn the pc back on. The pc should start beeping, that is good. Unplug again , pu the ram back, remove the cmos battery for awhile and set the jumper tp clear the cmOS. P ut the jumpeer back on. Power up the pc you should see the bios screen. Now power off and connect the cdrom. boot the pc . check in bios for the cdrom. Are your cdrom and HD on the same chanel. you may have to change the jumpers. power down and try the hd. Check your jumpers. You can also buy a hd tester at most computer stores for around $25
 
Is there anything on your monitor at all? Does BIOS boot? Do you get a black screen on your monitor but the input light is green?
 
Sometimes your POST can go into a never ending loop if a damaged component disrupts it, giving no error messages or beep codes to work with. la1's method of isolating the problem is probably the cheapest way to solve it yourself. Alternatively if you can lay your hands on a POST card you can identify any unruly components in that way too.
 
Thanks for the quick response...

ok, so unplugged from outlet - removed both Ram - disconnected all cables from HD's and CD-Rom's...

..re-connected power - and the same, no beeps, still green light on front no red (obviously)

To answer other point raised, no there is no input to the monitor when it was connected - just ends up going to stand-by. "no signal"

does this narrow the issue down further???

Thanks again...

Also any more details on this POST card? will look for info about it...
 
I would unplug from the power , put the ram only back in , connect the monitor , then power on . If the lamp on the monitor stays yellow and no display. You have tried another p[ower supply , right? . I think your processor or mainbord are bad AND you may have multiple bad components, like power supply and mainboard.
 
Background
Recently could not start computer due to a "system32" file missing - winXP disc would not run as "aha154x.sys" currupt... so tried swapping hard drives to see if i could use the recovery console.
Needless to say it did not work and i have now put everything back to the previous setup (inc slave for 2nd HD) and the computer will not start...
Click to expand...

Did you make any CMOS changes when you switched your drives?
 
Did you make any CMOS changes when you switched your drives
Click to expand...
If you left the cmos jumper in the clear position the pc will not boot and may roll over and play dead.

Tech is that Woody Allen in your avatar...looks like from sleeper
 
[ot]
Tech is that Woody Allen in your avatar...looks like from sleeper
Click to expand...

D'ya think?! LOL. Well it wasn't a deliberate attempt but I like your thinking. Suddenly my Av has an air of culture around it :P
[/ot]
 
i can say now that the jumpers were in the open position when i attempted to solve an issue and found i made things worse ....lol :doh:

It was suggested on a different forum to clear the CMOS which i tried, by shorting the two jumper pins (while also removing the flat battery for a few minutes) But this seems to have made no effect.

would you suggest getting hold of one of these POST cards (there £10 on ebay from a 'store') rather trying that than taking to tech shop for £55 if it is something i can fix..

Thanks again for the help so far!

Gav
 
I think in my first post i said clear the cmos, i also said to make sure and put the jumper back... so what is your pc doing now, does it post , beep with out ram ?
 
Hi la1

Sorry about that, with your initial post i got up untill the point of testing the computer with the RAM removed and as there was no continuous beeping i thought it pointed to a different issue so did not continue with the other points you suggested.

At the moment it seems i have cleared the CMOS and removed/replaced the battery but with not effect although i say 'it seems' as its the first time i have done this so just wanted to run through the steps to make sure they sound right...

...Basically followed the instructions in the MoBo book to find the 2 relevant CMOS pins. Although i took the jumper 'cap' for the pins from a 3 pin section named PS2_USB_PWR1, placed onto the 2 pin CMOS for over 3 seconds then placed back.

..Will try the process again though just to be sure i have not missed anything such as have the cdrom disconnected when trying to restart.

Apologies if my explanations are abit lame but im learning as we go with this lol...

thanks.
 
You know I think leaving the cap off does not make a difference, should boot, just will not save cmos settings. I think it is leaving the cap on the clear setting that will keep from booting. Have you tried a different monitor ?
 
If you cleared your CMOS correctly and your system is still not working or showing any mssgs of any kind then you have to start looking at hardware. When you clear your CMOS it should return to factory settings allowing boot (although you'll have error mssgs as it does this)

note - I'm not exactly sure when your mobo came out so this may not be the case, check your mobo book to be sure.

You must be sure of your IDE setup as that is what you've played with, so go through the usual chks, jumpers etc (that is if you haven't already).

From there on I cant see any other way of diagnosing the problem other than using a POST card and for a tener I'd give it a try. It should at least point you in the right direction. :(

Sorry I cant help more
 
can you help me?
i need to format my hdd sata seagate but it fails it said that the partition cannot be deleted?
how can fix it?
 
Ok got one of these POST cards on order - also got a friend of a friend (lol) who has more experiance involved so hopefully will have some results in the coming days.

Either way thanks for the help so far - will keep posted of how the situation develops...

...and whether it leads to more questions or whether i get a result for future referance.

Have a good Christmas and new year if i do not post before..

Gav
 
download seagates free tools for your model hd and usse to reformat
or.. boot off of your win xp cd, do just like you are installing. Afeter awhile the install program will find your hd's partition and ask what you want to do.
Delete the partion then format. When the format is done, xp will start coping files, so reboot. If you have multiple HDs you may have to disable one or more to get the rifht one as the primary...MAKE SURE YOU GET THE RIGHT ONE.
 
you should check the ram 1st then check any beeps comes or not. it may be possible that your Mobo bios has currupted...
 
Morning All,

Just to let you know that the MoBo had given up in some way so replacing it fixed the problem - strange as it was still providing power to the different components but i must of shorted out a part of it or something.

Just to conclude the initial post

Thanks for all your help!
 
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