PC would turn ON but would not boot and the screen remains black with no beeps

[ghostdoc]

Hi, I transferred my old HP Pavilion P6310y components into a new Antec 300 case. When I plugged the PC, and press the ON button the PC would turn on but would not boot and the screen remains black with no beeps/sound. The PSU is working as the fan is spinning and the ON button is lit-up, the DVD tray will open once I press the button but will close back immediately. I double checked the wiring cables, but to no avail. I searched the net and tried some of the fixes including removing and re-installing the RAM, video card and even removing the battery to clear the CMOS, but again to no avail. Prior to the components transfer to the new case, I already replaced the PSU (Corsair 400) and installed a GT240 video card and even installed a Blu-ray as a 2nd drive (in the last 2 months). The HP PC was working fine with all the upgrades until I decided to transfer the whole system into the new case as it is getting crowded/poor ventilation in the old case. Thinking it may be the cables/ wiring, I finally returned back the components to the old HP case but still got the same problem- would turn on but will not boot. Please help. Thanks

[patio]

What OS are we dealing with here ? ?
If it's anything newer than Win2K then it will never boot properly being swapped into new hardware...

Repair Install of XP

[Computer_Commando]

What OS are we dealing with here ? ?
If it's anything newer than Win2K then it will never boot properly being swapped into new hardware...

Transferred all components from old case to new case...nothing.
Transferred all components from new case back to old case...nothing.
Only the case was changed.  Must have forgotten to plug in something, maybe the motherboard P4 power plug?

[DaveLembke]

Hopefully not an EPIC FAIL from improper ESD Safety... Were you properly grounded when performing this transplant to the other case? A single static discharge can ruin a computer, but I have never seen a static discharge other than a lightning struck system be a blacked out brick.

One of the most common issues with transplanting name brand into a universal case is that the name brand systems wiring harness for the HD LED,RESET,PWR LED,SPEAKER,PWR SWITCH connections are not labelled and so you can have cables plugged in incorrectly causing an system that wont power or LED's to not light in reverse polarity. If you plugged the motherboard back into the original case and the original name brand system had a single molded connection for this which is usually key'ed so that you cant connect it 180 degrees out, then your likely facing a hardware failure. The worst miswiring you could do through the transplant would have been to dead short one of the LED drivers by use of reset switch or speaker if there is a speaker wire for external from MB, but internal speaker to case.

Try to boot your system off of minimal hardware, just the motherboard with its CPU and a single Ram stick installed, with no drives attached and if your motherboard has an integrated video VGA port etc, remove the higher end video card from the AGP or PCIe slot to boot the system bare minimum. If you get the boot splash screen then you can add a device 1 by 1 (first powering down of course) and see how much you can add before the condition comes back. When the condition comes back then remove that most recent added piece of hardware and add another piece of hardware if any others are left to add. You should then be able to work towards the single point of failure and identify it. If your system doesnt boot on the bare minimum hardware, try swapping out the power supply with another power suppy if you have one available. PSU issues have been known to cause a system to power on and stay at a black screen!

[ghostdoc]

Thanks so much guys for the prompt response. I had a wrist strap on me during the whole process of transplanting the components. Also, the  HD LED,RESET,PWR LED,SPEAKER,PWR SWITCH connections had a single "keyed" molded connection in my old HP pavilion.

This afternoon I tried some more fixes and took out the connections for the HDD, DVD drive and all 3 sticks of RAM. I also removed the CMOS battery and re-installed the battery after a couple of minutes. The PC turned ON and made a series of beeps. 1st beep is slightly longer than the second and continued with this sequence.   The DVD tray would open once I press the button but would immediately close. Still the screen is black. I powered down and re-install a stick of RAM, powered ON and no beeps, black screen. I thought maybe the RAM was the culprit and replaced with the 2nd stick -- still same result-- no beeps, black screen. Btw, I also replaced the heat sink with a Hyper 212 plus before I transplanted the components into the new case. Someone suggested I re-seat the CPU but kinda wary I may end up bending the pins or worst damaging the CPU too.

Sadly from the looks of it, I may end up buying a new MOBO. BTW, is there a specific test to determine if the MOBO is still viable?

[Computer_Commando]

... I also removed the CMOS battery and re-installed the battery after a couple of minutes. The PC turned ON and made a series of beeps. 1st beep is slightly longer than the second and continued with this sequence....

Not long enough.  Remove battery and move shorting jumper to clear CMOS, move jumper back & reinsert battery. I'm still wondering why CMOS needs resetting.  Could be RAM slots are dirty or module not fully seated.  Did you remove the RAM when you did the 1st move to the new case?  If yes, you've found the problem.

[jason2074]

Might help you here --> http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000421.htm
Its about installing a new mobo, however, some applies to probable issues and previously suggested on this thread. See screws/pegs/standoffs. Its also a critical part of installing and or could damaged or pressure the mobo from such installation. Proper adjusting of screws on mobo... and used the minimum hardware to boot as suggested.

[ghostdoc]

Also, I re-installed my GT240 video card and the fan was also spinning. A newbie question, but do you think the video card fan would not spin if the MOBO was fried? 

[jason2074]

I transferred my old HP Pavilion P6310y components into a new Antec 300 case

MOBO was fried?

 
Other than transferring HP mobo,components, was it still working or had any earlier issues?

Try to boot your system off of minimal hardware, just the motherboard with its CPU and a single Ram stick installed, with no drives attached and if your motherboard has an integrated video

I also removed the CMOS battery and re-installed the battery after a couple of minutes. The PC turned ON and made a series of beeps. 1st beep is slightly longer than the second and continued with this sequence.

There is a sign going in this part... You should continue on this unless the mobo as you suspectly mention is really busted.