POST issue--PLEASE READ...AND HELP IF YOU CAN!!!

[Chieftain459]

OK... so I've had this computer for nearly a year, and recently decided to install a new CD-RW drive (the old one sucked).  Afterward, when I turned the computer on, it didn't do POST, and afterward I proceeded to try the troubleshooting suggestions here on Computer Hope's website.  Eventually, I resigned myself to buying a new processor and motherboard.  After installing these two things, nothing.  So, I bought a new hard drive.  Still nothing.  I am at my wit's end, and out of ideas.  Can anyone help me?  I'm desperate to have my computer back!  PLEASE!!!???

[rs8389]

What happens when you press the power button?  Does the powerlight turn on?  Does the keyboard flash?  Any beeps?

[Chieftain459]

I push the power button, and all the fans come on--the two fans, the cpu fan, and the power supply fan--all come on.  I hear a couple of whirrs from either the CD drive or the hard drive (can't tell which), and the floppy drive light comes on.  No beeps, nothing on the monitor or the keyboard.

[Flame]

Maybe your video card came loose... Unplug all items going to the computer (including power), and plce the computer on a TABLE over a TILE flooring, and take off the case... Ground the static electricity from your body by toughing the inner metal frame of the computer... Now... Find your video card, and make sure that it is in its slot nice and tight... (No too tight of course)... Close the case back up, insert wires, and try again...

[glb]Flame[/glb]

[Chieftain459]

Thanks for the advice, but it didn't work.  Any other options?

[dl65]

Chieftain459......Ok , lets run through this again........
The pc is about a year old and was ( is ) working ok ......( apart from some problem with the cd-rom) ....."the old one sucked" really doesn't tell us a lot .........So you decide to replace it .......... Now the system won't boot up .........So it seems to me that you disturbed something when you removed the old one or when you put in the new one .......
Tell us exactly what you did . Did you set the jumper correctly on the new media device ?
What operating system are you using ?

let us know

dl65  

[Chieftain459]

I *was* running windows 2000.  The jumper was set correctly--it being the only cd rom drive in the computer, it was set as the master.  I made sure of that.  I followed the instructions provided with the cd drive for installation.  But I don't think that's the issue any more--I removed that drive afterward (as per the troubleshooting instructions), and that didn't solve the problem.  Even without any drives at all (hard, floppy, or cd), the computer doesn't do anything.  BTW by "the old one sucked" I mean it was a straight up CD ROM drive--not capable of writing or re-writing cds.  And it was slow.

[Dural]

I'm having the same problem, fans come on drives spin up but no post.  I have tried everything; three different PSU, four different brands of memory, three video cards (one PCI), and two motherboards and still the same thing.  It just beeps, I'll check tonight to see if the beeps match any from the Phoenix list, but I'm guessing they won't.  I'm going to look for a CPU tonight, but I don't think anywhere close carries them (maybe CompUSA but I'm not sure about their return policy on CPUs).  I'll probably have to go to Fry's this weekend.  

One other thing that just started with the new motherboard that I got yesterday is that the PSU turns on as soon as I switch it on the back, I can't turn it on with the power button on the case.  The front panel connectors are hooked up correctly, the LEDs, speaker,  and reset work.


Here is the hardware I've tried;

Motherboards
Chaintech VNF3-250
MSI K8N Neo Platinum

Memory
512MB Mushkin PC3200
256MB Kingston PC3200
128MB Crucial PC2100
128MB Infineon PC2100

PSU
Thermaltake 420w
Thermaltake 480w
Mad Dog 500w (bought at CompUSA and returned after the same problems as with the other two)

Video Card
Geforce 3
Voodoo 3 3000 PCI
Geforce 5200

The CPU is a Sempron 3100+ and the case is a Cooler Master Cavalier.

[Chieftain459]

OK, Dural... let's think this through logically--maybe we can solve this problem ourselves based on what we already know:  I would assume that since we've both tried new motherboards, CPUs, hard drives, and so on, and since none of those have worked, the problem must lie somewhere else (I highly doubt that everything we've both bought is defective, don't you?).  Even if (in my case), it is the new CD drive, that information is useless now, since the computer won't start up with or without it.  So... what else is there?  If we can figure out what else can be replaced, we might find the solution to our little quandry.

[Chieftain459]

Could the problem have anything to do with the power supply?  When I installed the new motherboard, it had a 24-pin plugy-thingy, as opposed to the standard 20-pin.  It also had the usual 4 pin thing.  MSI suggests that you use a 350-watt power supply with the 24 pin thing and the 4 pin thing.  The supply I had was only 300-watt, had the 4 pin thing, and a 20 pin thing.  The manual said that the 20 pin plug would work, so long as it was plugged in correctly, and I made sure it was.  But could the fact that I'm 50-watts short of the recomended amout and missing those 4 pins affect the fact that my computer won't run POST?

[Chieftain459]

Another thought--there's a jumper I just found on the mother board.  What does it do, and would it help me in any way?

[jim_me2]

Have you been to the website of whoever makes your motherboard? They should have diagrams and specs on your unit and troubleshooting help.
Unless your new system is a power hog I can't see 50 Watts making a difference. Could be wrong though.
By the way, touching an unplugged computer case does NOT get rid of static. If you're near a wall plug or switch touch the screw holding the cover plate on it, better yet, get a grounding wrist strap, better known as an anti static strap. Static has zapped more monitors, chips and assorted oddiments than you can guess.
jim

[jim_me2]

Just found this on he Windows board. If your worried about the capacity of your PSU, use the calculator here:

http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/Power_Supply_Calculator.php?cmd=AMD

jim

[charliebrown]

OK, Dural... let's think this through logically--maybe we can solve this problem ourselves based on what we already know:  I would assume that since we've both tried new motherboards, CPUs, hard drives, and so on, and since none of those have worked, the problem must lie somewhere else (I highly doubt that everything we've both bought is defective, don't you?).  Even if (in my case), it is the new CD drive, that information is useless now, since the computer won't start up with or without it.  So... what else is there?  If we can figure out what else can be replaced, we might find the solution to our little quandry.

A thought...if you remove or disconnect the new CD burner, will your computer boot ok?

[Chieftain459]

That was the first thing I tried--a long time ago.  It didn't work afterward, thought you'd think it would.