Computer Crash UPDATE

[dolluper]

Hi I have a computer the mouse doesn't work ,screen or keyboard....Doesn't go past post....P4 Xp pro Asus board...What do you think mother board or power supply..iif you know some tests to determine what it is I;dd like to know thanks bye the way the OS won't load
UPDATE
REPLACED the motherboard and it posts reloading OS

 

[mthieme]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

What happened just before this?
Can you get into BIOS? - reset to factory settings.
If settings have changed, perhaps B/U battery.

 

[mike64]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

I think we need some more info here. What does "Doesn't go past post" mean? What exactly happens when you turn the computer on? If it's starting up at all, it isn't the power supply-- if that was bad, absolutely nothing would happen when you hit the power button.

Assuming it is starting at all, you could try mthieme's suggestion-- to get into the BIOS, it will say, "press F12 for settings" or something similar at the top when it's in the first part of the boot process-- it's different depending on comp. Also when you're in the BIOS see if it's showing hard drive info-- the HD could be dead.

If you have the original system disk, see if you can boot up with that-- most computers if you hold down the "C" key while booting it will boot to the system disk. Or you can go into the bios and change the first boot attempt to the CD drive. If it boots up with the system disk it's either a corrupted OS (you can try to repair or reinstall OS in that case) or a bad hard drive.

 

[arboldt]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

Several things could be the problem, and your eyes and ears are the best diagnostic tool. When you turn on the pc, what exactly happens? Here's some things to look / listen for:

(stupid question but I'll ask anyway -- are the screen, keyboard, and mouse all solidly plugged in and powered up if appropriate?)

Does the screen come on? There should be messages as it progresses thru POST - does memory match what you've got? What's the last thing checked? Does it 'hang' or simply reboot at some point? When? There may be a key you need to press to display these messages.

As already noted, try to get into the BIOS when it's booting. If you can get to that point, a lot of hardware issues don't apply (but many still do)

As you boot, listen. You should be able to hear the power supply fan and hard drive spin up. If your hearing is especially sharp, you might be able to hear the cpu fan spin up. If you don't hear any of those, you'll need to open the case and check each.

In the bios, set the boot sequence to CD-ROM, floppy, and C: drive to see if the PC will boot to something else, indicating probable software (vs hardware) issues.

Does it start to load windoze before it craps out? If so, it's probably an OS / software issue vs hardware. You should try booting from someting else -- an old DOS floppy, your installation CD, a CD for Ubuntu linux if you have another pc to download/burn a cd. If you can boot into something else, then again, it's probably not hardware but a windoze software issue, and you'll need to repair or reinstall windoze.

Let us know what you find.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

This is what I have...power button on cpu fan comes on no screen,no keyboard .no mouse....can't see bios with no screen functions....tried a different hd in it same thing no screen ,mouse or keyboard functions and the cccccccpu fan running....trouble is no screen functions so I can't see anything.....me thinks the board is done

 

[dolluper]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

forgot to say I have tired a new screen mose and keyboard with the same results they don't function on this board but work perfect on another one

 

[mike64]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

hmmm...checking google, apparently a power supply CAN be mostly fried but still supply enough power to the fan only...so I guess that can't be ruled out.

Another thing to try before you go replacing your power supply, motherboard or similar-- might be a bad RAM chip. Take out all your removable RAM and try swapping one at a time to see if you can boot. Long shot but worth a try.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

The power supply supplies both 12v and 5v separately to different circuitry. U R right, could be this. But in light of the new info, sounds like either PS or MB. If there are no lights or drive activity on anything, I would lean toward the PS first.

 

[dchris]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

Do you get any beeps during power on? Most mother boards have a diag code from counting the number of beeps.

 

[ThumbPkr]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

Some models of emachines with a Bestec power supply are notorious for failing with your symptoms.The jury is still out on whether the power supply takes out the motherboard or the motherboard takes out the power supply but the end result is a trashed system that may or may not be worth repairing.I think they use an Asus motherboard but I am drawing on memory here that has failed me before)
You can't even be sure that the CPU survived the ordeal so unless you have adequate resources of parts to exchange it might be worthwhile to part it out.
I have one here with an AMD processor that has gone down with the same affliction.
This may not apply to you but the symptoms are familiar.Ron G

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

Would this be the same Asus MB that you mismatched the RAM?

 

[captquest]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

Sounds to me your on track either the power supply or Mother board. You can take your power supply to any computer store or Best Buy and have it tested. That should narrow it down. Listen for the beep codes at start up, they can tell you if a hardware issue is present. Take a good look at the power connections to the board, and watch out for static when touching the board.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

It appears as if the HD failed and the power supply ....going to try a spare power supply ,then on one ram in her....this board does have opitions on ram 2slots to use pc3200.2700or 2100 and 2 that take PC 133 it's running on 2 PC 3200's currently....different cpu could run both types at the same time

 

[mthieme]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

Make only one change at a time.

 

[i386]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

The first thing that happens when you power on a PC is the display. Generally you get a single beep (meaning your display subsystem is working) followed by the light on your monitor turning green and then you see something.

If I were troubleshooting it, the first thing I would do is re-seat the video card. If that doesn't fix it, or if it's integrated video, I'd throw in a known good video card.

If that didn't work I would put my ATX power supply tester on it. A known good power supply would work just as well.

If that didn't work, I'd look closely and the ends of the capacitors on the motherboard. If any are swollen or oozing, it's junk.

If that didn't work, I'd reseat the RAM. From there you can remove and swap ram to try and isolate.

If that didn't work, I'd reseat the RAM. From there you can remove and swap ram to try and isolate.



All you need to see something on the diaplay is motherboard, processor, RAM, video card, and powersupply. You can easily rule out the rest by unplugging everything else.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

Did some more checking Hd is corrup....power supply seems fine....did reseat the video card ....pulled ram....no cap swoolen....teid another hd with same results no screen ......Question would a bad video card stop the functions of the video screen ,mouse and the keyboard if so I'll grab another one some where and try before replacing the Cpu and board.....yea by the way the cpu fan didn't run like I said before it was the power supply fan

 

[KeyWestBoater]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

I had a problem recently with a HP desktop and after a storm it was dead. I was thinking the power supply and found some info on the web on how to troubleshoot it. I bought a PS at CompUSA and that fixed it. If your HD failed that would not cause your video to go out. If your video is out then it will of course you won't see your KB or mouse. If your CPU fan and HD are running then my bet would be your video card.

Hope you get it fixed!

KWB

 

[i386]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

Question would a bad video card stop the functions of the video screen ,mouse and the keyboard

Video is the first thing that happens in the boot process. If that fails, nothing afterward works.

Does the CPU fan plug into the motherboard or is is powered straight from the power supply? That fan not working indicates a failure of the motherboard, power supply, or just the fan itself.

Add possible fried cpu from lack of cooling to the list of possibilities. All of these things are pretty easy to isolate, just keep testing.

 

[dolluper]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

The events before the crash...the wife got some pic's back from the shop on a cd......she download the free program included on the cd.....there was a warning on a problem with the dl of coarse she didn;t pay attention to it.....she proceeded to watch her pic in a slide show mode using this software I would only assume.....then she had a cd a friend made of pictures ...she also watched the pictures in slide show mode....closed it and then shut down the computer useing the start button and shut down....later on that evening I walked by the computer room and her computer was running...told her but she said she turned it off......hit space bar,moved mouse sreen never lit up,so I did a hard shutdown with the computer button [5-6 seconds] later start the computer no screen mouse or keyboard functions.....After trying to get more info out of the wife she said it was updating when she shut it down and she came back later and it was running so see was in a hurry so she hit the computer start button to shut i down {hard shutdown}about 6 times and left ......She did not hold the button down for 5-6 seconds just rapidly hit it about six times DOH!....later is when I walked by and did the hard shutdown after trying to get the screen back up for a proper shutdown

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Computer Crash

Re: Computer Crash

If your CPU fan is not running at all then I bet your CPU is toasted. Is the Numlock light on the kb lit when pc is on? power up and hold down one of the key to see if you get a constant beep. If you have an optical mouse plug it in and see if the light on the mouse is lit. Sounded like you have lost all basic drivers (mouse, kb and basic vga). I have troubleshoot a pc once that had no display but I could tell that the monitor was on. At first I thought, graphic card but because the pc was in an awkward place. I booted it up in safe mode just to see what would happen. It turned out that apparently, one of the customer kid had changed the background and text color to black while playing on it.