Maximum PC

I have had a series of problem s previous to this one ,(see thread viewtopic.php?f=36&t=111940)My specs, Windows XP Pro, MOBO Gigabyte GA M59SLI S5. CPU AMD 3 GIG 64, 4gigs Corsair DDR 2 RAM, video card ATI HD 4970 1 gig , Power supply PC power and Cooling 750 watt Sli I installed a new Seagate 1 TB hard drive. My machine was back up and running. Then about a week later I tried to start the machine and the main bios or start up screen never appeared, nor did I hear the alarm beeps that accompany the the start up. also the illuminated keyboard never lit up. I though perhaps the when I installed the new hard drive that I may have damaged a SA pin on the MOBO or loosened a power connector on the main hard drive. I took the video card out re installed it, checked the RAM modules, I did find a loose power cable to a hard drive, pressed it back in. Also during this non boot problem, I notice all the fans turn on the Video card fan works the optical drives light up on the front side momentarily, but a strange thing occurs sometimes with one of the fans , I am not sure which one but when I try and start it up, one of the fans turns a a very high RPM and makes a louder that usual noise, not a bearing noise but just a very high RPM like its on overdrive. I just get a no DVI signal on the screen. I have got in it to load several times them it worked for a week. thought I fixed it by messing with the cable wiggling them. Now after I turned it off one night, the next morning Kaput! Could it be my Power supply or a video card, any ideas where to eliminate bad hardware step by step, Please look at the previous thread I posted a few weeks ago. on my hard drive dilemma prior to this, it may shed some light.
viewtopic.php?f=36&t=111940

Looks like an old system. Look on the motherboard for busted caps, they look like this:

http://tinyurl.com/4y7sqy7

If you find any, it needs to be replaced or the motherboard needs to be replaced. They may honor a RMA even though the board is out of warranty...worth a phone call I would think.

Nasty

Sounds almost exactly like my problem last week.
Nasty's right, look for bad caps. But don't forget to look at the caps on the video card as well as the mobo.
Your board has no onboard video. Got another video card to swap in to test?

I will look for that on the MOBO, also I do have a spare PCI E video card new not used I will pop that in and give it a try. Also I looked in the case closely and as I played with the on and off power switch trying to get it to load the" post screen" then load (it never did) I did get the intermittent high RPM fan sound, it was definitely originating from the video card. Is that a indication or a sort of default built in protection for the GPU and would that point to a defective card?

I had a similar problem and I wasted like $800 on a laptop and a motherboard substitute I didn't need. Turns out the RAM got unseated. Sometimes it looks like it's seated alright, but, at least with my computer, it has to be really on there. Take them out and put them back in and make sure they're locked in nice and tight. Also, I forgot to attach the six pin power connector to my graphics card once and if your card has one of those, it really needs to be connected. Try reseating all your cards and making sure everything that needs power has the connector pushed all the way in.

Possibly. I know a guy with a rig with a CPU fan and case fan that run at full speed between the time the power button is pressed and the blue Windows bars show up. Then Cool n' Quiet kicks in and slows the fans down.

I am sure the high fan noise is from the from the video card.I put my ear up close. I will pop in a substitute GPU tonight after work. I also will check the RAM and all power plugs. I did remove the video card, place it back in and some of the drives SATA cable etc. unplug and plug in. I will report late tonight or tomorrow as if the Video card swap works, Thanks

I'm sure it is coming from the video card, too. What I implied was that the video card fan was getting full voltage, just like a CPU would, before any software or ROM could kick in and lower the fan speed... by default, just like you suggested. If you swap in another card and the problem stops, you've found your problem. If it doesn't stop, it's something else.

I swapped a spare new unused video card last night, no luck , still no post screen or star up , I will go by" Fried Electronics" today and pick up a power supply tester. I did a close visual inspection of the capacitors on the MOBO with the video card removed during the card swap. I saw no real sign of leaking or swollen or blown capacitors. The RAM modules looked secure , even pressed them again in, and pressed the main power plug from the Power supply to the MOBO. I sure hope that the power supply tester will find that the unit is defective, I was on the phone 2 days ago with tech support a PC Power and Cooling. Allan was very helpful. He told me if it is in fact the power supply, they will replace it with a new one. I still think it is less that 5 years old.

Since you replaced your card (with a known working GPU card?) and the monitor is still blank we can rule out the card. I assume your monitor gives you a 'no video signal detected' box?

That leaves power supply, video cable and motherboard. If you have another known working video cable swap them at least temporarily to rule out.

Swapping a known working PSU (of at least 500W) should rule out the PSU. PSU testers are virtually worthless as the PSU is not under load at time of testing.

Also, where did you acquire a HD4970---they were never released except as engineering samples?

Gigabyte MB support

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128011

You need to prove the new GPU works. If it does work and needs less power than a 4970 needs then a lower powered known working PSU can be used in combination to rule out the PSU too.

Spotting bad caps is about a 50:50 proposition. But since neither Gigabyte nor Newegg is boasting that MB has solid caps it is worth doing, since I assume they are electrolytic. While bad electrolytic capacitors can be anywhere the ones that kill the system are generally located around the CPU. Also look on the MOSFETs -- square black objects located near the CPU -- for one discolored from the others.

The last troubleshooting option you have is an external ("bootstrap") build, in minimal configuration. This allows complete inspection of all parts, eliminates the possibility of a short to case and eliminates a slew of parts. And if it works you add a part back one at a time until you can replicate the problem; identifying the culprit. Sometimes the act of pulling an old PC apart and putting it back together can reactivate the PC due to loose or more likely corroded connection somewhere in the system.

This assumes you have confirmed your monitor is working.

You never said if you do have the little message box floating around on your monitor screen...do you? If you don't, there is something wrong with the monitor.

Nasty

I get a "no DVI signal" on the monitor. I don't think its the monitor because the few times it did work, I heard the small case speaker beep several times at start up. Now no beep at all. The 4970 card I mentioned may be a typo It is a 1 gig card probably I meant a 4870. I will try the PSU tester or just shell out the cash for a new one to test with. I do not have a spare PSU to try. Allen at PC power and cooling suggested I try a tester. Maybe I will ship it to them for them to bench test. Or just by one from them after they have my old one, if it is defective they will credit me back. The idea of the Boot strap build is a good choice too as it may shed some light if there is a short or loose cable. I will know in a few days when I can get a break from work, in the meantime, thanks for your help. I will post as soon as I try the tester and or a new PSU.

Monitor not likely the problem then.

Shipping a PSU usually runs between $8 - $15 Fedex/UPS ground--probably on the higher side with a well build PSU like yours (heavier). And they do have the equipment to properly test. Bargain. Be sure to do it as instructed with RMA #.

The fact you were getting "beeps" (should have only been one beep-and the importance of counting/characterizing them for diagnostics) and now are receiving none points to a very early problem in booting (pre-RAM or video testing; either PSU or motherboard (or maybe CPU) (or the MB speaker coincidentally gave out)).

Here are beep codes for various bios manufactures:

http://www.technick.net/public/code/cp_ ... beep_codes

What code did you hear before it craped out all together?

Nasty

I never did record the codes or make a note I should have I did try the Coolmax PSU tester I bought at Fry's. All the voltages seemed OK except for a PG alarm beep with a HH code. It displayed a figure of about 800MS briefly then displayed HH and beeped. (the tester) I will call Allen at PC Power tomorrow and see what he thinks.
Thanks all, I will keep posting when I know more.

I got the power supply back from PC power and cooling. It is my original that was repaired with a RMA ticket. Plugged everything in and restarted. Still no POST screen or loading of Windows XP. I will have to retest the power supply, also call Gigabyte and see if they can RMA my MOBO. I don't know if I can save my original install of XP with my programs, etc. Or just start from scratch with a new MOBO and CPU. Looks very bleak and hopeless now bu I will have to keep on trying and see if it is in fact the MOBO now. Strange, when I talked with Allen at PC power and cooling, he stated that the code I got from the tester, "PG HH" would cause such a problem.

Sounds to me like they didn't do anything to the psu. The darn things have to be tested under load, if they didn't do that they wouldn't find anything wrong with it.

Did they say what they did to the psu...what they fixed/replaced?

Nasty

I was told that a resistor was changed. He gave me a new RMA number. I will test it again with my store bought tester. I will let him know the results. I contacted Gigabyte, they gave me a few suggestions, my board is out of warranty but the worse case scenario is after I remove the RAM one by one to eliminate that possibility disconnect all of the drives, the tech support guy at Gigabyte said I could drop the MOBO off at the city of Industry location and they could bench test it with their components, CPU video card etc. I will keep on on trying

That was a nice offer from Gigabyte, I would take them up on it.

Nasty