Win XP stuck in standby mode

[jayw]

My neighbor has a gateway desktop that he put into standby mode, and now it wont come out of it. He is running Win XP, probably SP3. When you move the mouse, hit keys, there is no response. The fans are spinning, but the power button is not lit when pressed. The monitor is on. All external and internal connections are good. I tried to boot into safe mode, but since its on standby, its not going through POST. The screen is just black. Im thinking this is either a windows or a video issue as he gets a "no signal" message with the machine running and powering the display on/ off. The machine has discreet graphics, i would install a test video card, but my spares need external power that his PSU does not provide. any help will be much appreiacated.

 

[digitalprospecter]

Hold down the power button for 10 to 15 seconds and the computer should power off completely. Then try powering on again.

 

[jayw]

Thanks for the quick reply. I tried that already with no luck. The machine powers up, fans turn, but nothing on the display........

 

[aford10]

It doesn't sound like it's in standby mode, it sounds like it's not POSTing.

The PSU may be failing or already failed. Try disconnecting all nonessential hardware. The PSU may not be putting out enough power for the system to POST.

 

[jason_bauman146318]

Well just a noob here still but.... Might also have been a bug to mess up your bios but i would save that as a last resort type thing. Kind of shooting that out there for aford and digitalprospecter.

 

[digitalprospecter]

Following aford10's hardware path, also try disconnecting the data and power cables to the cd/dvd, hard disk(s), and floppy drives and then try booting. I've seen bad drives and/or even a bad/loose connection keep a computer from POSTing as well.

 

[jayw]

Stripped it down to board, cpu and heatsink, display, 1 stick of ram in slot closest to cpu and am still getting the same problem. I also tried different sticks in different DIMM slots. Ive reseated all board power connectors. What really has me puzzled is he says the last thing he did was put it in standby mode, so check me on this, is it possible the OS has it stuck on standby and preventing a POST up?

 

[aford10]

No. Once the PC restarts, it removes it from the standby state.

I would suggest trying a different PSU.

 

[digitalprospecter]

Also try reseating the CPU and wiping the CMOS settings. You can do this either by a jumper on the motherboard or by removing the battery for several minutes.

 

[aford10]

If there are no beep codes coming from the PC, my bet is on the PSU. And I'm feelin lucky

 

[digitalprospecter]

I have seen a badly seated CPU not produce beep codes, but I am not going to bet against a person who is feeling lucky!

 

[jayw]

I got a little time this evening and was able to break out the multimeter. All voltages +3.3, +5, +12 on the 20 pin ATX connector and the two +12 pins on the 4 pin connector are good. I have good power on 5v standby, PWR OK signal voltage is good, as is the PS ON, so the power switch is good. Continuity checks on ground pins to chassis are good. All voltage checks were made with neg voltmeter probe to chassis ground as i dont have a schematic. The voltage checks I made using ground pins were also good. Power Supply seems good! It should POST with just a power supply, cpu, cpu fan, memory and graphics, but it wont. I did swap both memory sticks into different slots one at a time, I doubt both failed at once. I dont have a spare DDR2 stick to test with though. CPU becoming unseated seems a bit of a reach as it has not been disturbed, which leaves mobo and graphics. The board has on board graphics, so possibly a bad mobo? What do you guys think? Thank you for your help on this!

 

[aford10]

There may be power on the 12v, but how much? That is where most of the power is supplied. If the power is diminishing, it may not have enough amps and voltage to support the hardware.

I still think trying a different PSU is the best first step.

 

[digitalprospecter]

You are allowed a .5 volt variance on 12 volt.

For the cost of the process I would still take the CPU out and then reseat it. While it might be a long shot so to speak, I have brought over a dozen computers back to life by trying this over the last 20 years.

Also, if you haven't already done so, pull that CMOS Battery out for 10 or 15 minutes.

Cheers.

 

[rgotti]

Unplug the AC cable from PC. If it's a laptop also pull the battery. Unplugged and with battery out, press and hold the power button in for about 30 seconds. NOTHING WILL HAPPEN! Let go of power button then press and hold it again. again, nothing will happen. Plug in AC cable only leaving battery out if it's a laptop. Press the power button and see if it powers on.

Ron

 

[aford10]

That would be an option to rule out the existing hard drive. But the system has to POST first.

 

[digitalprospecter]

Hi Tilweh,

JayW has stripped the system down to the bare minimum of motherboard, CPU, video, and RAM... the mobo battery is still in play and your right, a defective hard disk can certainly keep a computer from POSTing sometimes.

 

[jayw]

Hey guys. First of all thanks a load for all the help! Digital, I cleared the CMOS using the jumper, then reseated the CPU, unfortunately it did not help. Aford, I got 11.75 on the 12v rail. I little low I know, but I would'nt think low enough for a problem. Although my OCZ puts out 12.2 on that rail. Mmmmm. The 3.3 is exactly 3.3 and the 5v is 5.2. Rgotti, I'll try it!

 

[aford10]

That's a real weak rail. What is it, 250w? I would really recommend trying a different PSU.