Hardware Failure

[superstringman]

One of my old systems is doing something I haven't seen before. The video bios check comes up fine, but afterwards the screen is black. The motherboard check doesn't even start. I get no post codes at all. I've tried resetting the RAM. I would normally assume the motherboard or CPU, but how could the video bios go through if either one of these has failed? I'm gonna switch the CPU next, but I doubt that's the problem.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[RyanMicah]

You using onboard graphics or a card? First thing I'd do is take the PSU from your newer comp and try it on the old one. Reason being is that after the bios your system tries to initiate all the other hardware on the mobo and cables. Could be a faulty HDD too. But if there are no beeps then there's a good chance it's your mobo as well. You can try a bit of trouble shooting by swapping out the parts you can, but you may have to take it to a shop where they can test your mobo and parts more thoroughly.

 

[superstringman]

I'm using an AGP card for video. The power supply is fine, I tested it. The machine is completely stripped down. I'll try removing the hard drive next, but I doubt that's the problem though because it's failing before it even checks the hard drive. So you think it's possible there's something else wrong with the motherboard even though the video bios comes up ok?

 

[RyanMicah]

At this point I can almost guarantee it's the motherboard. Still troubleshoot your ram though. Do you have any other ram around that would work? If not, try using just one module if you're using two, and then switch it and try the other one. This will eliminate your RAM as the source of the problem. My guess is that static fried your mobo, which may have already been on thin ice since it's old. Perhaps you bumped something with the screwdriver when screwing the mobo in place. It's possible the screwdriver is slightly magnetized as well. Try pulling out your video card too and see if the system shuts down when it's not installed.

You can buy really (and I mean REALLY) cheap PCI video cards online if you just want to use it as an email system, provided your video card is bad. Just note that some PCI cards don't work with newer hardware and OS's.