My PC isn't booting

[peter325]

Hello LTT Forum,

So today my PC has decided to not boot and here is what I already have done.  I replanted the CPU, replaced the RAM with different RAM and replanted it, I reseeded the GPU and CMOs battery twice and I also unpluged everything.  Also the HDD spins up but then it stops.  

 

[Crunchy Dragon]

Sounds like a dead mainboard to me

[peter325]

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Sounds like a dead mainboard to me

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, any way to see if it is actually a dead mainboard? @Crunchy Dragon

[ImperialSteele]

Does it POST? How far in the boot process does it get before quiting?

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, peter325 said:

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too, any way to see if it is actually a dead mainboard? @Crunchy Dragon

Are there any fans in your PC that will spin for a little bit and then stop in a similar way to the HDD when you boot up?

[peter325]

1 minute ago, ImperialSteele said:

Does it POST? How far in the boot process does it get before quiting?

No, its just a blank screen, no beeps but then again I don't think this mobo even has a speaker. @ImperialSteele

[peter325]

1 minute ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

Are there any fans in your PC that will spin for a little bit and then stop in a similar way to the HDD when you boot up?

No,  The fans are always spinning from the moment when I turn on the PC @Crunchy Dragon

[peter325]

I'm thinking it could be a HDD problem as it is a bit old only 2yrs and its half way filled.

[ImperialSteele]

1 minute ago, peter325 said:

No,  The fans are always spinning from the moment when I turn on the PC @Crunchy Dragon

Do they turn off on their own, or keep going until you turn off the PC?

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, peter325 said:

I'm thinking it could be a HDD problem as it is a bit old only 2yrs and its half way filled.

Yeah, likely a dead HDD

 

[peter325]

Just now, ImperialSteele said:

Do they turn off on their own, or keep going until you turn off the PC?

They keep going @ImperialSteele

[ImperialSteele]

Just now, peter325 said:

I'm thinking it could be a HDD problem as it is a bit old only 2yrs and its half way filled.

You would get post, and a error in BIOS if it was HDD. Does your monitor like wake up at all (even turn a grey color) or just stay black like it's completly off?

[peter325]

Just now, Crunchy Dragon said:

Yeah, likely a dead HDD

 

Darn, is there a way that I can save my data or is it gone?  To be honest most of them are games and what not so I should be good. @Crunchy Dragon

[peter325]

1 minute ago, ImperialSteele said:

You would get post, and a error in BIOS if it was HDD. Does your monitor like wake up at all (even turn a grey color) or just stay black like it's completly off?

My Monitor just says no signal, I know its not my monitor because I have LED mouse and keyboard and they don't turn on either @ImperialSteele

[Crunchy Dragon]

Just now, peter325 said:

Darn, is there a way that I can save my data or is it gone?  To be honest most of them are games and what not so I should be good. @Crunchy Dragon

I'm not currently aware of any way to get data off a dead drive, sorry man. 1-2Tb HDDs come relatively cheap though. You'll also have to reinstall Windows or whatever you had on there. If your games were installed from Steam, you can reinstall those pretty easily as well.

[ImperialSteele]

1 minute ago, peter325 said:

Darn, is there a way that I can save my data or is it gone?  To be honest most of them are games and what not so I should be good. @Crunchy Dragon

It's highly unlikely it's a HDD problem. When your HDD goes bad, your BIOS can't find your MBR (master boot record) and says so, it doesn't just not post or boot. BIOS is handled by MoBo firmware, uneffected by HDD.

[Anghammarad]

1 minute ago, ImperialSteele said:

It's highly unlikely it's a HDD problem. When your HDD goes bad, your BIOS can't find your MBR (master boot record) and says so, it doesn't just not post or boot. BIOS is handled by MoBo firmware, uneffected by HDD.

Sometimes the HDD can get so out of whack (defective) that it hinders a full boot to bios but keeps the system locked down, or in a kind of boot loop.

 

Easy to test, just unplug the sata cable and try to boot.

 

What else can be, defective PSU... 

 

If you have a igpu try to start your machine with minimum hardware.

[peter325]

1 minute ago, ImperialSteele said:

It's highly unlikely it's a HDD problem. When your HDD goes bad, your BIOS can't find your MBR (master boot record) and says so, it doesn't just not post or boot. BIOS is handled by MoBo firmware, uneffected by HDD.

I think it could be RAM related or maybe MOBO related @Imperial

 

1 minute ago, Anghammarad said:

Sometimes the HDD can get so out of whack (defective) that it hinders a full boot to bios but keeps the system locked down, or in a kind of boot loop.

 

Easy to test, just unplug the sata cable and try to boot.

 

What else can be, defective PSU... 

 

If you have a igpu try to start your machine with minimum hardware.

Okay,  I dough it I the PSU because that has always worked flawless

@Anghammarad

[ImperialSteele]

1 minute ago, Anghammarad said:

Easy to test, just unplug the sata cable and try to boot.

 

Ya, if you want to be sure it's not your HDD, when you remove the SATA cable and try and boot the problem will persist. It is possible your PSU is bad, booting to your Intergrated GFX w/o card is ideal because it will remove one more possible problem, and possibly prevent bad power from going to your card.

[ImperialSteele]

Just now, peter325 said:

I think it could be RAM related or maybe MOBO related @Imperial

 

Unlikely it's RAM, you would get a BIOS error code if it was, and possible MoBo, but hard to tell w/o ruling everything else out. Also try reseating all your MoBo power cables.

[peter325]

1 minute ago, ImperialSteele said:

Unlikely it's RAM, you would get a BIOS error code if it was, and possible MoBo, but hard to tell w/o ruling everything else out. Also try reseating all your MoBo power cables.

Okay, give me a min Ill see @ImperialSteele

[Anghammarad]

from my own experiences when troubleshooting such a system:

 

1. unplug everything that isn't needed to boot => try to boot

2. usually you don't need to reseat your cpu, ram maybe, gfx card maybe too, could get lose due to fan vibration

3. as @ImperialSteele said, unplug everything and replug (not the cpu speaking about the cables)

4. if system boots to bios at some time, add hardware until it stops again.

5. To single out the ram, use the modules in different slots, and different modules (at best only one and move it, if nothing changes swap the ram stick and restart until all ram has gone through all banks in single stick mode.

 

[Anghammarad]

6 minutes ago, peter325 said:

Okay,  I dough it I the PSU because that has always worked flawless

@Anghammarad

yes, the washing machine worked flawless too, until smoke came out

 

The "worked flawless before" is never an excuse to rule anything out. 

[peter325]

2 minutes ago, Anghammarad said:

yes, the washing machine worked flawless too, until smoke came out

 

The "worked flawless before" is never an excuse to rule anything out. 

HAHA okay well how would I test it exactly?

@Anghammarad

[Anghammarad]

if it is the system from your signature... the 750 watts would have been nearly all used... Titan X, AMD CPU, etc. 

If you have a gfx card that uses less power, try that. If the FX 8320 has an integrated gpu, try booting without additional gfx card and minimum hardware, only one ram stick, no dvd or hdd connected etc... just cpu, igpu and a stick of ram.

 

If the psu just aged and can't deliver peak performance anymore, your system will then boot up. If the psu is dead, then it wouldn't.

 

Sometimes dead psus manage to get the system into a boot loop, but not further... had some seasonic die on my at work after 5 years of "flawless work" in an office enviroment, no smoke, not much dust etc... just due to age.

 

If the system comes up in minimal config, you can be sure it is the psu. If it doesn't then it can be the psu, or mobo.

 

I had a friend once who had to reseat his cpu... well the whole socket... his machine just went bluescreen on him... it was an Athlon before they head overheating protection... So what he saw when he opened the case, his cpu cooler had died, and the cpu got so hot, that it desoldered the socket with cpu and cooler on it... it hang on the last 2 lines of pins...