PSU or MOBO problems? Interesting issues.

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jstrad

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Jan 2, 2017
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Hi all. So I found my first gaming computer from around 2009 and I wanted to get it running if I could keep the budget under $200 for my brother. I hooked it up and turned on the power and the keyboard/mouse lights do not light up, there is no display to the screen and the disk drive also does not open. The fans on the MOBO run, the light on the MOBO is on (PWR) and I can hear the hard drive start up.

I then decided to test the PSU. The pins all tested safely within the 5% margin of the voltages. However the blue pin (-12V) read around -11.1V. While the PSU was disconnected from the MOBO, I decided to try and open the disk drive and it opens with no issues. I then plugged the power supply back to the MOBO and tried to open the disk drive again and it wont open. It makes a faint sound the the light on it blinks once. There is also no beeps when starting which leads me to think the CPU is working properly?

Does this sound like a PSU issue even though the pins, except blue, tested in the margins or somehow a MOBO problem? Are there some tests I could do to test the MOBO even with no display showing up. I also removed the RAM and tried both in different slots and individually. I also tried to not use the GPU and hook directly to the MOBO, still no display. Curious is anyone has any suggestions? Appreciate the help!

MOBO: M3A76-CM
PSU: 550W
RAM: 4GB (2X2GB DDR2)
GPU: NVIDIA 9500GT
HDD: 500GB 7200rpm 3.0GB/s
 
Solution
J
I thought I would write a reply to this thread for the off-chance someone finds this in the future. The solution to my problem was the motherboard battery. If you have an older motherboard (2-10 years) and it has the symptoms that my computer has (mainly no display but fans spinning and PSU works w/ no error codes) then I would try replacing the CMOS battery on the motherboard first. $2 fix.
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PC Tailor

PC Tailor

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Jun 29, 2017
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I would first breadboard the PC, remove EVERYTHING except Mobo, PSU, CPU, Heat sink (fan), and retest to on integrated graphics to see if you at least get monitor signal - but you should get a memory error.

Then if this works, try with 1 module of RAM. If this does not work, it would sooner suggest a motherboard problem.

However, what make and model PSU are you using, and what CPU are you using?

Equally, whilst this does not answer your other issues, have you tried a different video cable?
 
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J

jstrad

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Jan 2, 2017
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Hi there... The PSU is: bfgr550wgxpsu. I had done what you suggested however still no response on the monitor. I will try to find a new VGA cable however the one I am using was a spare that was unused before.
 
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PC Tailor

PC Tailor

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Jun 29, 2017
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Right well the PSU is more dated and I believe BFG are out of business now. They are average quality PSUs.

On top of that, the 11.1V is technically out of tolerance, as it shouldn't really go below 11.4V. So I would suggest swapping the PSU to see if you can get a display at this point. the 12 rail is ultimately the source of the power for your most power hungry components.

If a different PSU still yields the same results, I'd say it is a faulty motherboard.
 
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J

jstrad

Commendable
Jan 2, 2017
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Thanks for the input. I have parts arriving this Wednesday so I'll report back with my findings.
 
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J

jstrad

Commendable
Jan 2, 2017
17
0
1,520
I thought I would write a reply to this thread for the off-chance someone finds this in the future. The solution to my problem was the motherboard battery. If you have an older motherboard (2-10 years) and it has the symptoms that my computer has (mainly no display but fans spinning and PSU works w/ no error codes) then I would try replacing the CMOS battery on the motherboard first. $2 fix.
 
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