Bootup Problem

Mr E

OK, had to reseat the CPU and heatsink last night. Went fine, but when I boot up, the lights come on but nobody's home....

PSU starts, fans spin, CD drives spin, but no beeps and no signal to the monitor.

I was very careful handling the CPU. Had an antistatic wristband on the whole time. What do you think the problem could be? Have I inadvertantly fried something?

- Dave.

scojones

I had a similar problem last year, figures i just didn't have the two hdds jumped properly, both were master. One master one slave fixed it for me.

Mr E

Didn't touch HDs.

I unplugged the CPU fan and the power to the motherboard. Plugged them both back in afterwards.

- Dave.

vibe666

could be hard to tell with no beeps. if the mobo speaker is one that's not onboard, did you accidentally pull the wires out?

if you aren't getting any beeps at all and there is definately power going to the mobo, it's likely to be that that's the problem.

even with no memory or CPU in the mobo it should be making beeps, so it isn't likely to be that.

had one that did the same thing once, but it was a freshly built machine, and turned out that the PSU didn't have enough juice to boot it at all, even though the light on the mobo wwas on, but if it's an existing PC then it should be OK.

try removing any excess cards & drives and see what happens, it may be something else that's causing it.

as a side note (and sorry if this is a stupid question), you did unplug it from the mains didn't you?

it was common practise to leave AT machines plugged in to earth them when working on them, but ATX leaves the board powered and something as minor as dropping a screw onto the board while it's powered off but still plugged in could be enough to kill it stone dead.

edit: just noticed your post about unplugigng the power to the mobo. I'm assuming you did unplug the mains first (again sorry if it sounds patronising, it's not meant to be).

Mr E

Don't worry, Vibe ... I'm glad of the input.

Yes, the PC was completely unplugged from the mains before I did anything.

I'll detach and reattach everything from the mobo tonight, just in case something got loose while I was sorting out the CPU.

What are the telltale signs for a CPU problem?

- Dave.

Drazhar

when it doesnt boot up (sorry)

sounds a bit weird alright. If the power lights came back on (ie the HDD activity and the Power LED on the front of the computer) that means that power is going to your board.

As Vibe said, you should be getting beeps. try removing the CPU, and powering up the computer. See if you get beeps then. if not, then id say it might be a problem with said CPU.

Mr E

Thanks Drazhar.... I'll play about with it tonight.

-- Dave.

CyberGhost

had the same problem, maybe you touched RAM by accident? if not it's probably fryed CPU

vibe666

I'd be tempted to say something other than the cpu though, cos you should still normally get beeps of some sort, although I tried a PC here with no CPU in it and it didn't make a sound, so it could be that.

what make of mobo is it anyway? might be able to look something up on the m/f's website (look for beep codes) or maybe google it.

try reseating the CPU again and make sure alls well on the pin side too, those little buggers can be delicate.

come to think of it, what CPUis it? P3, P4 or AMD?

I have a spare 933 P3 knocking around if it does turn out to be that, if it's any good to you.

Mr E

It was a P4 2.5GHz.

I was earthed the whole time, so I don't think I affected the RAM. I'll reseat it just to be sure. It may have been nudged slightly during the process (the RAM is right beside the CPU)

There were no beeps at all, so I doubt it will be in a beep guide on the mobo website (Abit BH7, by the way....)

- Dave.

Mr E

Cleaned CPU, cleaned heatsink, reconnected everything to the motherboard....

Long story short - I'm typing this from my (now working!) PC.

It remains to be seen if my overheating problem is fixed.... I'll play something over the weekend and see what happens.

Thanks for your help, guys.... I really appreciate it.

Rgds,
Dave.

vibe666

glad to hear you got it going anyway. now all i have to do is get my new one going. having the same problem.

maybe it would work better if I had a case to put all the parts in.