Please help! Which failed: my motherboard or CPU?

[seattlescotsman]

I built a system back in November of 2007 (system info at bottom of post), and it has worked perfectly for me until yesterday. Yesterday, when I tried to boot up the computer, the fans all came on running at full speed (this includes my 2 case fans, CPU fan and the fan on my video card), but nothing else happens. I can't get the motherboard to POST, and am not getting any beeps or unusual lights from it. Any idea what could be causing this?

Here is what I've checked so far:

I do not think this problem has anything to do with the RAM because I have checked checked by putting each stick in each of the 4 possible slots, and trying to boot up.

Also, I'm assuming that the problem isn't being caused by the PSU, because the fans are all running. Also, the motherboard has a power LED that lights up any time the motherboard is powered on, and it still lights up as usual.

Since I can't even get to my BIOS, I'm assuming the problem isn't with one of the hard drives. That leaves the motherboard or CPU. Is there any way for me to tell which part more likely failed?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Here are my system stats:
MSI P6N SLI-FI motherboard (GeForce 650i chipset)
Intel E2160 CPU
OCZ 600W StealthXStream PSU
4 x 1 GB Crucial Ballistix 800Mhz DDR2 Ram
Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit)
XFX 8800GT video card
2 x 250GB Seagate SATA HDD
CoolerMaster case

 

[roadrunner197069]

Maybe your video card died.

 

[modmandan]

The very first step in troubleshooting this problem is to check the power supply. just because the power LED is lit and the fans come on, doesn't mean the power supply is good.

quite often a power supply can give enough voltage to spin up the fans, but will fail on any kind of load. The next would be to pull everything out of the case (bread boarding) and that will make it easier to check other stuff. I would not suspect the CPU as they don't fail that often unless it has cooked itself due to bad cooling.

 

[hkcu]

Sorry to hear about your PC problem. I was helping a friend with the same issue. His mobo was toasted and it also killed his CPU. So, now he has to replace both his mobo and the CPU.

Test your CPU first at a computer store or your friend's PC (if he/she trust you). If you hear loud beeps that continuously loops, you have a dead CPU.

Good luck!

 

[iceblast]

I think you should make sure it's not your video card. I had the same problem with a friends system I build, and it was doing the same thing you are describing. I pulled his 8800gts 320meg EVGA card out, put my exact card in, and booted up like normal. Put his card in my system, and mine showed the same signs his did. Put my card back in and booted up like normal.

So, Good chance it's your video card. if you have another card, throw it in there and see what happens.

 

[rolli59]

Clean every thing check all connections, re-seat all expansion cards (after you cleaned the slots) if it does not work then start swapping out parts you have already done the ram (leave only one in as you do the rest of he testing) next would be the GPU then PSU before MB & CPU.

 

[deathholes]

same problem. have u come across any solutions? i don't have any external video card.