Posted on 07/20/2024 4:25:06 PM PDT by Paul R.
Geez, is there some requirement an OP must repost / reply in under an hour? Some of us actually have lives!! And I needed to look at the computer again to get info. for replies, and it was, ya' know, not right at my fingertips.
Anyway, here goes AGAIN:
I've inherited a huge gaming computer from my brother. It seems to turn on ok, except that there is no video from either the Motherboard or the dedicated graphics card. Once the computer is on, the CPU gets warm, the RAM gets warm, the dedicated graphics card gets warm, controls for fan speed (four fans!) appear to work, but there is no indication from either the VGA output or HDMI output on the motherboard, and none from the dedicated graphics card. I even tried the MB video outputs with the dedicated graphics card pulled out of the machine. The monitor I'm using for this runs fine off my laptop (both HDMI and VGA.)
The CMOS battery was dead, but I replaced it. The HD seems to be spinning, but doesn't seem to do searches across the disk, etc. (It is a 1 TB HD, not a SSD.) I'd still think I should see an initial BIOS message on the monitor even if the HD is defective? Oh, BTW, RAM is 32 GB of DDR3, 4 sticks of 8 GB. The DVD player / writer "ejects" and "loads" (no disc in there) but I can't get much further than that without an OS.
It’s the power supply. The power supply is like the liver of the computer. It has +12 volts, - 12 volts, + 5 volts, - 5 volts. Even 3 volts. Look at all those wires. 16. to the motherboard, 4 to each hard drive, and then there’s the wires to the video board. If any of them has a cold solder joint or a blown capacitor behind it, it won’t put power everywhere that it is needed. I’ve had power supply issues before. The computer fans turn on and some lights flash and it is really hard to imagine that the power supply is faulty. This is why I don’t build my own computers. I only buy used ones and only Dell. I have right now 4 dell desktop computers and 7 dell laptops. I bought a desktop brand new at Costco and the rest from Goodwill stores. I have had used and gotten rid of at least a dozen Dell computers that I bought previously owned from thrift stores.
Does the Num Lock key LED turn off and on when you press it? That would mean that most of POST had completed and the CPU is working.
Would that low end NVIDIA GPU have the 7.1 surround output at high quality? That might be the deal breaker (within limits).
That said, if the MoBo is shot, yeah, prolly gonna have to scrap the monster. Or give it to my daughter’s friend.
There is SOME sentimental value since this machine was my brother’s.
Connections checked.
I can check power supply voltages too. Not a problem. Behavior under load could get trickier, but is possible.
There’s just the one HD. Has space for 6, full size!
Definitely will try one RAM stick at a time. That’s easy peasy.
Do you have an old computer with a bootable hard drive you could install temporarily? ......
Yes. Ditto for Caps Lock and Scroll Lock.
[Cables and connections are all checked in triplicate, but, I can also check power supply voltages. (Fluke 8060A meter)
Thing is, most everything that should get warm does get warm, about as expected. But an individual rail somewhere could be down...]
If the power LED is green and the memory LED is not red and Num Lock works, then the mobo should be okay. It might be an external problem, such as the monitor being set to the wrong input.
You said the BIOS got reset. Read the user manual and look for default settings. A mobo that old might default to VGA and not use HDMI unless manually selected in the BIOS menu.
I had that problem once. Turns out I bought the wrong memory for it. But since you inherited the machine, try seating the memory it has. Also research the motherboard and memory and ensure they are compatible.
Q: What does POST mean? A: POST is a way to send hard copy messages from one location to another. >BZZZT< Wrong! POST means Power On Self Test. It’s been that way since the first days of computers. The last thing of a POST is the ASCII control-g character also known as Bell. It is simulated by computers as a beep since they don’t actually have bells in them. If you don’t get a beep then the computer has not passed the POST. If it doesn’t pass the POST it will not boot. Booting is done by BIOS which is short for Basic Input Output System. You can’t enter the BIOS until you pass the POST. Changing RAM may cause additional beeping which tells you that RAM is not your problem.
From here on, if you choose to ignore my diagnosis, you will not be using that computer except for the exercise in futility which I suppose has its own value. I would have said screw it already.
Good luck.
Paul -
Just saw your post, let me offer you some free help from thirty years of providing support. Lots of good info in the replies and information.
What you describing is known as a POST (Power On Self Test) failure.
So properly diagnose the specific problem, start by unplugging power then disconnect everything from the motherboard that isn’t necessary for booting. That includes the hard drive(s), Optical (CD/DVD) drives, any USB devices (except the keyboard), including the mouse (it’s not needed for booting), any daughter cards (graphics, audio, whatever is installed the expansion slot), case fans, etc. Disconnect case fans, but keep the CPU fan connected. Remove all but one memory module (preferably in the first slot), check to see if you have a motherboard speaker and connect just the vga video cable.
Before you plug power back in, unplug and replug the power supply connectors into the motherboard. Check that the vga and keyboard are connected and the monitor is turned on.
Power on the computer. Check that CPU fan is turning. Watch to see if the monitor power LED changes color (typically from amber to green or blue). Listen for any beeps from the motherboard speaker (if available). Watch ANYTHING to displays on the monitor. If you see anything at all, start tapping either the DEL or F1 key and see if you can get into the BIOS.
You can personal reply to me with the test results and I’ll be happy to go even deeper if you’re interested.
The default BIOS settings of that era had a lot of bad defaults necessary for backwards compatibility. For example, this particular board defaults to “native IDE” instead of AHCI, which absolutely wrecks HDD speed.
Yanking stuff and messing around on the mobo at this point is not recommended. The CPU works (Num Lock). Power is good (green). Memory is good (no red).
Yanking cables and unmounting and remounting components on the mobo at this point could easily make things worse. First try checking the simple stuff like video inputs and cables.
If you have a multi-meter you could measure all of the power supply voltages at the connector.
“All PC power supplies provide at least +5VDC, +12VDC, and -12VDC. Some power supplies also provide +3.3VDC, -5VDC, and/or 5VSB.
Remember that the wire color represents the voltage. Here is pic that shows the color and voltages on a common power supply connector.
https://i.sstatic.net/XfJWS.jpg
The thing is that no matter what the bios settings are you should see bios come up. Otherwise you would not even be able to make settings changes. Now if someone flashed the bios to do an update and that update did not complete then your motherboard would be a paper weight.
I did see one brand a while back that could recover from that by having a backup copy of the bios in hardware. But that is not the normal thing.
No beeps whatsoever. Green power LED comes on (if rather hidden behind that giant graphics card!) Mem test LED comes on initially, then goes off. Also comes on if mem test button is pressed, goes off after maybe 10 - 15 seconds.
That is true today but wasn't always back then. My Dell T130 (which I still use today) would not output DVI until you connected a VGA input to flip it to DVI.
Take out the graphics card and don’t put it back in until you can boot to the OS.
That mobo has some complicated BIOS settings for discrete graphics.
Is the monitor used for gaming (and any other required unit, like the laptop you mentioned) properly connected to the correct A/V ports and turned on?
Yes, I've tried it several different ways. The only thing I've not tried is the DVI out.
Did you ever see your brother use the game system you inherited? Are you doing what he did to get it all going?
No, and don't know. :-(
Is there any documentation that came with the game system that explains how it should be set up?
No, I think he likely built this thing himself.
Do you know anyone that gamed with your brother on the game system? Can you reach out to them to see if one of them can assist you? Maybe they can help you find the online forums for your brother’s favorite games and someone out there can help you.
No. He lived a long way away and didn't communicate with us much. :-(
Does the entire system from one specialized gaming outfitter? If so, contact them about your case. There may be user a forum or a tech that can help you.
Don't know.
There are professionals that put together gaming systems for clients. You might track down someone in your locale that does that and see if they can diagnose, trouble-shoot, or set up yours. Look at professionals that put together home entertainment systems, too. They may be able to handle it or put you in contact with someone who can.
It's possible that this was what he was doing, as I know he built custom systems for people. Maybe someone didn't pay and he kept the thing. My brother never said a word to us about gaming, and there was no evidence to support that hobby, besides this machine, in his apt.
Good luck!
Thanks!
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