Computer powers on but nothing displays on the screen

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scrider

Commendable
Jan 27, 2017
3
0
1,520
My Dell Inspiron 570 Desktop computer has shut itself off several times over the past few months and hasn't come back on right away. Eventually I was able to get it back up and running just by waiting it out. However, this time it will power on but the HDD light never comes on and nothing ever displays on the monitor. Not even the BIOS information. I tested the monitor on another computer and confirmed it still worked. The motherboard has onboard VGA and HDMI. I tested both connections with the same result. The fans come on so it doesn't appear to be the power supply.

I ordered a replacement motherboard which I installed tonight and I still get the same results.
I disconnected the hard drives and removed the ram and it's still the same thing

I've never had a CPU die on me, but could these symptoms be from a dead CPU? After replacing the motherboard, I'm not sure what else to try. The monitor doesn't kick on at all to detect an incoming signal.

Also this happened overnight while I was sleeping. When I went to bed the computer was fine and I turned off the monitor like I always do when retiring for the evening. When I got up the next morning it was down. Also, in this condition I can't power it off with the on/off button but rather I have to disconnect the power cord.

My sense is that the CPU is dead but since people I've talked to said that hardly ever happens I wanted to see what folks on this forum thought.

Any and all helps is appreciated. Thanks!
 
Solution
S
Problem solved. The power supply was bad so even though it powered the fans there must have been something else wrong that prevented it from powering the whole computer. Also the new motherboard I ordered was bad. With that in and the new power supply, when we booted up we got 5 beeps indicating a bad CPU. The new CPU I ordered was in so I pulled that and put the original back in. Still 5 beeps. So we put the original motherboard back it with the new CPU and new power supply and all is well. Keeping the old CPU because there's probably nothing wrong with it.
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scrider

Commendable
Jan 27, 2017
3
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1,520


My son and I went through the laundry list of things ontthe the link you posted. We concluded that replacing the CPU was the thing to do. So I ordered on, it came today, I put it in and presto -- still have the same problem. So we talked about the power supply. There's a green light below the power cord that comes on when I plug the cord into the back of the computer. Once I turn the computer on the light goes out which I'm pretty sure it shouldn't. Otherwise what's its purpose. The fans power on but now I'm wondering if maybe one or more pins going from the power supply to the motherboard are bad and even though the fans are running it's not putting out enough juice to power the whole computer. Do you suppose that's a possibility?

What I've done thus far:
1. Replaced the motherboard,.
2. Replaced the CPU.
3. Pulled the RAM out and tested. Same thing.
4. Disconnected the hard drives and tested. Same thing.
5. Uttered a few choice words. (That didn't fix it but it made me feel a teeny bit better.)

Replacing the power supply is next. My son has some spares at his house so we'll try that tomorrow.

The bottom line is I've practically rebuilt the entire computer. If it isn't the power supply, what else for the love of all that is holy could it be?
 
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S

scrider

Commendable
Jan 27, 2017
3
0
1,520
Problem solved. The power supply was bad so even though it powered the fans there must have been something else wrong that prevented it from powering the whole computer. Also the new motherboard I ordered was bad. With that in and the new power supply, when we booted up we got 5 beeps indicating a bad CPU. The new CPU I ordered was in so I pulled that and put the original back in. Still 5 beeps. So we put the original motherboard back it with the new CPU and new power supply and all is well. Keeping the old CPU because there's probably nothing wrong with it.
 
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breek

Honorable
Jan 4, 2013
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10,660


Sounds like you've had a fun week. I'm happy to hear everything got sorted out. I tend to only be on Tom's at work (oddly enough) so I apologize for the lack of communication.

At least the PSU didn't damage anything! Here's hoping the mobo was DOA.
 
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