Weird PC prob

[johnq86]

Hello everyone,for some reason i turned on the pc in my house and it turns on but instead of loading up it,the fan sounds very loud and the monitor display reads,No signal.I have not done any hardware or software changes and also I also opened it up and air sprayed it clean and still no go.What could be wrong?

[Rart]

It seems as though probably your video card may be acting up. If possible, try removing your graphics card and using onboard to see if it works. If that isn't it, it may be your monitor or another part of your system, most likely trial and error with other spare parts would be your best bet until you find out which part is acting up.

[johnq86]

i connected the monitor to my laptop and it works fine..also the mouse and keyboard connected to the pc do not go on and it tried both of them on my laptop and they work fine as well.

[Rart]

If your mouse and keyboard don't work when connected to the PC that could potentially indicate a problem with the ports on your motherboard.

Have you tried connecting your monitor to the onboard graphics?

[clocker]

Doesn't seem like your motherboard is booting properly.
Visually inspect for leaky, bulging capacitors.
Clear CMOS and see if that helps.

[johnq86]

I;m sorry but you guys are way to advanced for me,what exactly does that mean and how can i go about doing them without killing the system?

[Rart]

:lol:

Personally I don't quite know what clocker is talking about either, he probably knows a lot more than I do.

It does sound like it's the motherboard's problem though. At first I was think it may have been the video card's problem as your monitor wasn't receiving a signal, which is why I mentioned trying to connect your monitor directly to the ports on the motherboard (on board graphics) rather than the ports on your video card.

[Artemis]

The capacitors, or 'caps' are small cylinders on the motherboard usually silver or blue in colour. If one or more is bulging or leaking then there is not enough electrical current being generated on the motherboard. This is not always fatal, individual caps can be replaced, but it is also easy and cost efficient to simply replace the motherboard unless you are or know of an ubergeek (like clocker).
I like clocker believe this to be a motherboard fault, although the other obvious option is the graphics card itself. When a computer first 'boots' it goes through a startup check in which the BIOS checks various functions. The BIOS checks that the CPU registers are reporting correctly that the RAM can be addressed, that the keyboard and video BIOS are present. If these are all present then the computer 'boots' and you hear the beep of confirmation from the BIOS through the PC speaker.
That nothing is coming up on your screen means that the PC isn't completing its BIOS checks. From long experience it is usually the motherboard first which is the culprit followed by the video card, then the RAM, with a faulty keyboard & or CPU being a distant last in terms of possibles.

[clocker]

I;m sorry but you guys are way to advanced for me,what exactly does that mean and how can i go about doing them without killing the system?


:lol:

Personally I don't quite know what clocker is talking about either...
Here is an example of bad capacitors...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/SL400-bad-caps.jpg

Usually you will see the top of the capacitor bulging out as if overinflated...it should be flat.
Sometimes the cap will leak from the bottom and the electrolyte released will eat away at the traces around the defective part.

This sort of failure is more common on older motherboards- it was an industry wide problem for a few years as some dodgy manufacturers contaminated the supply stream- and newer motherboards use different components which are less prone to this issue.

"CMOS" is the battery supplied memory that holds the date, time and setup info for your motherboard.
This is what makes it possible to power off a system and have it come back on with the core info intact.
If the CMOS gets corrupted- or, in the case of overclocking, gets fed parameters it can't handle- the machine won't boot.

"Clearing CMOS"- in older machines done by pulling the battery and moving a jumper, on newer boards there is usually a button to push- erases the changes (or defects) to the CMOS memory and restores it to factory default.

If you're lucky, after clearing the CMOS the machine will at least boot into the BIOS and allow you to work from there.

There is never a hard and fast diagnosis possible with a PC...most "computer repair" consists of replacing components till you isolate the problem.
Since the motherboard is the main platform for all the subsystems, it's usually the first place to look.

[Detale]

Although I believe you guys to be right that the Mobo went bad, I'm going to call PSU (Power Supply Unit) for the hell of it ;)

[clocker]

And I'll counter with a USB phase interlock loop.

[Detale]

touche

[Artemis]

Clocker, you didn't tell Detale what the acronym CMOS stood for, for the win: Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor :naughty:

[clocker]

I also didn't explain what USB stood for.
Partially because I'm a bastard and partially because I don't know.

[Artemis]

It's a silly acronym really: Universal Serial Bus, but at least the name makes sense for a change. The idea was to have a host controller that could support multiple devices in serial (ala Mac's SCSI specification) and replace the jungle of serial and parallel devices at the time (well it has worked in that) anyone remember parallel port scanners ?

[Detale]

I even knew what USB stands for. Off topic-Am I the only one who finds this intel commercial funny as hell. My wife calls me the biggest nerd.

fFKwnHJQXsY

ok I'm back. So whats the verdict on the computer bub?

[johnq86]

its still a no go..i think i should just scrap it and spring for a new pc

[Artemis]

its still a no go..i think i should just scrap it and spring for a new pc

Depending on how old it is you could spring for the tech to diagnose this, it should take less than an hour to find the fault(s). Then you will know your options from there. A replacement motherboard or graphics card plus the labour for a technician to diagnose the fault then replace the faulty part is going to be waaaaaay less than a new PC.

[johnq86]

Artemis,I will def go and have a tech look at it,thanks for all the help!

[Detale]

quitter :P