No Video out and Strange Rebooting on Startup

[DMurphy101]

Hello you nice people. I was wondering if I could get some help on a problem I’m having?

(I've put this in the Motherboard section as I do believe it may be the Motherboard causing the problem)

Past:
First a little background on the Computer. About 8 years ago this computer was stuck up in the loft and replaced due to it being faulty. I have now gotten it out of the loft in an effort to try and repair it.

The problem the computer originally had was it used to get the Blue Screen of Death with “Page_Fault_In_Non_Paged_Area” (I can’t remember the specific file causing it). It would then not boot up. Upon pressing the power button, the fans would start, the lights would come on and the Disc drives would start spinning. However 3~ seconds in, the computer would reboot (power still on). I could tell it rebooted because the CD and DVD drive reinitialised (drive lights and relevant sounds). It would do this 3 or 4 times, and no video output would be present throughout and after. We tried replacing the RAM and the Graphics card, and it worked for a while (few days) but the problem resurfaced, and we gave up.

Present day:
I got the computer out of the loft, and plugged in the power cord and screen cable. The first time it booted up fine, and got to the welcome screen. However, upon shutting it down, “Page_Fault_In_Non_Paged_Area” appeared. When trying to boot the second time, the same problem as 8 years ago came up. it would power up, but would reboot 3 or 4 times with no video output. When it has finished rebooting, the power remains on, but there is still no video output.

Things I have tried:
1) Cleaning out the heatsink and fans.
2) Reseating the RAM, trying different configurations of the stick in slots, including just 1 stick.
3) Reseating the Graphics Card (this did give a video output for ~10 seconds upon next power-up, but then it restarted itself.
4) Resetting the CMOS by removing the battery for an hour and replacing it.
5) Replacing the PSU.
6) Disconnecting the Disc Drives.
7) Removing the Graphics Card.
8) Removing the Hard Drive.
9) Booting from Recovery CD.

(The unit has not been dropped, exposed to humidity, spilled on, put in the dishwasher etc.)

All of the above did not change the result. I have looked over the Motherboard for any loose connectors and/or burn marks or broken capacitors, but it all looks okay.

I tried to establish some sort of error code detection after trial and error. The computer doesn’t have an internal speaker fitted, so I borrowed a Voltmeter and used it to find a Voltage across the Speaker (+) and Speaker (-) terminals. It would not produce anything. To test if the Motherboard is configured to produce error codes, I removed all of the RAM and tried to boot (knowing it should beep) but it still wouldn’t beep. I also tried connecting speakers to the Onboard Audio and the PCI Audio card, incase the error codes were being produced through there, but they weren’t.

I have read the Gigabyte Guide Sticky. Whilst it was very informative and a good read, it could not solve my problem. I then tried the rest of the internet, but whilst there are a few similar stories out there, none of them had a definitive solutions.

I am at a loss. The only 2 items I can see being a problem are the CPU and the Motherboard. However I am reluctant to replace them due to the vast undertaking it would be and my limited experience.

Can anyone offer me any advice on further diagnostics and/or possible solutions? Any advice would be most welcome

SPECS

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-8IPE1000 Pro Rev 1.0 (Manual: http://download.gigabyte.eu/FileList/Manual/motherboard_manual_8ipe1000p_e.pdf )
CPU: Unknown due to thermal paste covering markings.
RAM: 2x 512mb 184-pin DIMM sticks (Crucial Part No. CT2KIT6464Z40B)
PSU: 300W (500W PSU did not solve problem, so stuck with 300W that was fully compatible as opposed to 500W lacking enough connectors.)
Hard Drive: Unknown
Graphics Card: Nvidia Geforce 6200 (AGP connection)
Sound Card: Creative Sound Audigy 2
Other PCI: Some form of modem/telephone line connection.
OS: Windows XP SP1

Thankyou

 

[DMurphy101]

After much reading, I unplugged everything except the Graphics Card, MB, CPU, 1 stick of RAM and the PSU. It still wouldn't boot.

Since I have already replaced the PSU and RAM, I am left with either the Motherboard or the CPU being faulty. I removed the CPU heatsink, and checked for any bent pins, burn marks or thermal paste on the pins, but it was fine.

Could anyone advise me on which is more likely to be the culprit? I am on a limited budget and am reluctant to buy components which will not solve my problem.

 

[DMurphy101]

Wow, no responses. Oh well, to help others that may be in my situation, it turned out to be a fault Motherboard. I replaced it and the computer is working smoothly

Take care all.