Hardware Trouble

[icordova]

Hello to all, I encountered a problem.  My manager gave me a tower to have.  I hooked it up and it booted up with no problem.  So I decided to upgrade the harddrive and then I was going to format and install multiple operating systems. I also added a stick of memory.  When I went to boot it up, nothing came up.  Sometimes the moniter would turn blank and sometimes would not turn on at all.  So I took the memory stick out and turned it back on,  same thing happened.  So I put the old HD back in and same thing occured.  I have even swapped out the video cards and also the power supply and nothing has changed.  Basically what I noticed is that all components except the floppy drive get power.  The processor fan does not turn on (i am not sure if it should be on at all times or not. ) I do not even get a BIOS beep.  Does anyone have any ideas? I just hope I don't have to replace the motherboard. Thank you for your time?  

[Raptor]

Every fan that is installed in your computer (Unless you deliberately disconnected it) should be running at all times when the computer is powered on.

As for your problem, have you taken the time to degmagnetize your hands and completely disconnect the computer from the power grid? If not, you may have damaged certain components.

You can try to reset your BIOS by either shortcircuiting the CMOS jumper or taking out the CMOS battery for 10 seconds.

[merlin_2]

motherboard screwed by adding ramstick..and the cpu maybe?system specs ...what are they?and make of pc...more info helps.....more info helps...

[johnwill]

degmagnetize your hands

How does one do that?  

[2k dummy]

First, you get this big magnet. Then you.......
<bonk><slap>
Ouch! That hurt.

[johnwill]

I'm sorry I asked.  

[dl65]

icordova.....To make sure you have discharged and static buildup in your body.......after you have powered down ( turned off your computer) remove the side panel on the tower and touch any unpainted metal part of the case.....If you have any residual static in your body touching the metal case will drain it off .....now it quite safe to remove cards , ram .....etc. Caution do not handle the ram chips ....use the ends of the board they are mounted on.
Hope this answers your question.

dl65  

[Raptor]

How does one do that?  

English is not my native tongue, I only took the word from my Belkin toolset which says 'Demagnetized tools'.

So I assume that demagnetizing is what you do when you place your hands on the computer case to remove static electricity?

[MalikTous]

Demagnetise is what you do to tape heads and CRT monitors. Clearing static electricity is what you do when you touch a grounded object before handling computer components.

You must unplug (or better, plug into a shut-off power strip so it's all still grounded) your system before handling RAM, the CPU, or the AGP graphic card, and preferrably before handling any card or MB component. The ATX supplies provide 5 volts standby power to run the momentary power switch and any wake-up devices you may have inside (LAN, modem, keyboard/mouse, and timer functions can be set to restart the PC). This can damage components if you try to change them live.

[Raptor]

Demagnetizing also means 'to remove magnetic energy from'

Is static electricity not considered magnetic?

[johnwill]

Nope, static electricity and magnetism are quite different.  However, we'll let you slide, since you explained why it was stated like that.  

[Raptor]

I guess that makes sense. I never had metal objects stick to me when I grinded my feet on carpet.