Completely out of ideas and getting really frustrated!

[scubaslim]

My problem started with my computer not waking up one morning and then not booting up when turning it back on. I started by replacing the PSU. Then I replaced the motherboard and RAM. Then I noticed the GPU was running super hot and the fan wasn't running, so I replaced that, too. Every time I replaced something, the computer booted up and worked for a bit, but then either froze or when I'd restart it after driver updates, it wouldn't boot back up. I have tried unplugging optical drives, but that had no affect. The only thing left is the hard drive or something on it, right?

any ideas? thanks

 

[nhasian]

"No POST", "system won't boot", and "no video output" checklist

 

[rdc85]

Is u replaced the gpu or just the gpu fan?

U had replaced mobo , ram, and psu.... (it almost everything)

If u had onboard vga try to use it without hdd will it post?

 

[scubaslim]

I replaced the GPU. Unfortunately, there is no onboard vga.

nhasian, I looked through that list and it doesn't appear to be anything on it. It seems unlikely since it happened almost 2 years after it was first built and still happens after replacing most parts.. especially since it does boot up initially, right?

 

[swifty_morgan]

processor/HD........ did you check the HD for errors ?

 

[Hawkeye22]

If you didn't replace the motherboard with an identical one, the system won't boot without either a repair install or a clean install as the drivers will still be for the old motherboard.

 

[scubaslim]

when it booted up for the first time with the new motherboard, it seemed to load the drivers just fine. do I still need to do a clean install?

as for checking the hd for errors, i can't even turn on the computer at the moment. i'm thinking of taking the HD out and reformatting it after trying to get some stuff off of it. i was hoping this is a last resort.

 

[Hawkeye22]

If you format the drive it, you will lose more data. A clean install is always recommended when changing out the motherboard.

If you have another computer, you can install the drive as a secondary and try to retrieve the files that way.

 

[scubaslim]

i'm going to plug it into my laptop as an external hd and copy stuff over. then i will format it. i'm not really sure how else to do it. i don't have another computer.

 

[swifty_morgan]

you should scan it for errors after you hook it up. if it's bad you'll only waste more time if you don't.

 

[scubaslim]

i have decided to buy another hard drive and do a clean install on that. After that install, can I just add my old hard drive?

 

[Hawkeye22]

Yes, you should be able to add your old hard drive after installing the OS to a new drive. Be sure that only the drive you are going to install the OS to is connected to the system before installing the OS. Install the remaining drives after the OS install is complete and you are sure the OS is ok.

 

[scubaslim]

ok....so i unplugged the hard drive that was giving me problems, i installed a new hard drive. I did a clean install on the new hard drive. Everything was running perfectly. Turned off the computer, plugged the old hard drive back in... and it loaded from the old hard drive. what did i do wrong? both drives are SATA

nevermind...that was easy...

 

[popatim]

Boot priority in the bios. Then you may need to put the new drive on a lower numbered sata port though I've seen some motherbds boot from sata 5/6 before 0/1...

 

[scubaslim]

thanks everybody! i think i'm up and running! if not, well... there's nothing left to replace...

 

[scubaslim]

Best answer selected by scubaslim.