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View Full Version : motherboard or cpu gone?


toms100
12-14-03, 12:20 PM
i built a pc a while ago, using an athlon 1400 and this (http://www.vitalitycomputer.com/vitalitycomputer/sysvmo.html) motherboard.
it was all working fine until friday night when it all went a bit pete tong:eek:
i turned on the pc, it booted up as normal, and got into windows. it was at this point i went off to do other things. upon returning later that evening, i found that it was powered on, but the screen was off, moving the mouse did nothing.

I turned it off then on again by holding down the power button for 6 seconds.
i heard it powering up, the fans come on, the cd-drive light lights up briefly, and the harddrive powers up. but thats it.
no lights on the front of the case light up (as they used too), it does not post, nothing.
i have removed the graphics card, still the same problem (no lights light up), unplugging the harddrive and cd-rom ide cables does nothing. even without any ram in it still functions exactly the same.
but how do i tell which has gone wrong?
i have an old cpu which might work, but im yet to test as it is likely to prove inconclusive.
i have noted that the heatsink does not get hot ( a nice decent coolermaster one), but i dont know if it did before it went awry:s

anyway, to cut a long story short, id appreciate some tips which can help me deduce the cause of my problem, ie;
CPU or Motherboard?

many thanks

Tom

9mmCensor
12-14-03, 12:25 PM
Trail and error. Strip it. And rebuilt it. Swap know working parts in, and see if you can get anything.

Or parts out to test them.

Captain Slug
12-14-03, 12:31 PM
When in doubt, Clear the CMOS.

toms100
12-14-03, 12:33 PM
Originally posted by Captain Slug
When in doubt, Clear the CMOS.
done that

toms100
12-14-03, 12:56 PM
i tried the other cpu i have, same effect.
im not sure weather it works, but it might;)

dorimon81
12-14-03, 01:36 PM
Maybe your not getting power to your motherboard. Try changing to a different board and see what happens.

toms100
12-14-03, 01:56 PM
well i presume i am because i can press the power button and the psu does start working

dorimon81
12-14-03, 02:07 PM
It could be that the PSU does not have enough power. What kind of PSU are you running?

toms100
12-14-03, 02:08 PM
300w, but it was running fine beforehand:(
i tried it without the hds etc plugged in and it made no diff

dorimon81
12-14-03, 07:29 PM
Try another motherboard. It could be that a resistor or capacitor on the board is gone.