Urgent - Rig wont POST - how to tell whats blown?

I should have added that speedfan was reporting 70c temps and it was not overclocked at all - completely standard.

clean out the case, or get better airflow, lol, on a more serious note, was there any lead up aside from the freezing, also, what are the systems components?

Did the computer get moved recently? - check all cards, cpu and RAM to make sure everything is seated correctly...

Check and see if your Dad may have attached something to the computer, like a flash drive... printer etc... that he may not have mentioned or forgot about.

If all looks good, disconnect the power and pull the CMOS/BIOS battery, power it up then back off again and replace the battery.

Do the drives spin up?
When you disconnect the monitor, does it say no signal?
Almost sounds video related...

That seems pretty warm, but anyway, could be the PSU croaked. That should be easy to test, just plug the PSU from your e4300 into his machine.

edit: I wouldn't recommend vice-versa, just in case the PSU has gone bananas and damages your components, as unlikely as that is.

Hi,

Thanks for the tips. I did the following

First test as is - power up, no beeps, all drvies and fans spin up , gfx card fan spinning. Couldnt tell if the HDDs were running or not as no hdd light! NO SIGNAL on screen.

Tested Monitor on different PC- OK.

Removed all drives and periphs leaving only cpu, ram, mobo and gfx card connected. No difference.

Removed and reinstalled CMOS battery, no difference.

Removed middle ram stick (3 slots, two in use), PSU sparked (+funny smell) and wouldnt spin up after.

Replaced PSU, now nothing on screen at all (not even no signal)

I remember that prior to all this, the monitor would click in and out sometimes for a few minutes after boot. Perhaps the GFX card is fried? But then why did the PSU pop?

OK I think what I will try to do is try a different gfx card. I found another AGP one but the gaps in the slots where in the wrong position  .

Any other comments / ideas?

Cheers

W

Maybe try disconnect monitor and make sure it still says "check signal"
Remove graphics card and see if you get a beep or spin up.
Remove memory and see if you get a beep or spin up.
If there is no response then you may be looking at CPU/MB issue.
At that point check all groundings to case and wiring to the board, signs of damage to integrated circuits (Chips) and components (resistors and capacitors). If there is no sign of damage, you may need a CPU that you can test with to determine if it is MB or CPU.
Good Luck!

OK, tried a different GFX card, still nothing on screen (not even a no signal box). Monitor definately works.

Removed GFX card altogether, everything spins up and no beeps....

Probably the mobo?

Cheers

W