normally i am quite ofey with builds or faults. i have been doing this for years but i am at a loss this time.

i have a 3 year old rig: -

Asus A8V delux Rev 2 mobo
AMD athlon X2 4.4
WD Raptor HDD's on OS
Crucial Ballistix x 2G Ram
Sony LCD monitor
Tagan True 480W PSU
Asus AX 800XT graphics
Asus Zonar Soundcard
Logitec G15 usb keyboard
etc etc

Problem

i was simply playing Mame games just before Xmas, the rig locked so i had to press "reset". ever since then i got "no output signal, going to power save" on the monitor. i also noticed the keyboard didn't lite up at all and neither did the mouse (all usb). for the 1st time i noticed no bios beep when i turned it on but in all honesty, this rig i am using does it but i now cannot remember weather my other rig ever did or not.

as i had recently had problems with the mobo on it: - usb card decided not to work even though it was installed correctly and worked on this rig afterwards. i had also lost the PS2 ports about 2 years ago. so my assumption was the mobo had packed up. no bios screen, no beeps , nothing but everything lit up inside & HDD's spinning.

i got another identical working mobo (at least that is what i was told) swapped all the gear over..same problem.

now realising i was an idiot not to check everything else 1st instead of jumping to conclusions i now systematically checked parts.

i swapped the graphics card for a working one..same fault
i swapped monitors and leads..same fault
i swapped PSU...same fault

i now have no further knowledge. the only thing i havn't changed is the CPU. i have never seen or heard of a CPU going down before? am i overlooking something here?

any suggestions plz?

might be a case fault ? ,is the switch ok ? are the mobo connectors wired up correctly ? is the mobo sitting correctly in the case ?
have you tried disconnecting all the cables to mobo(reset/speaker etc etc) and just having the on/off one connected ,i had a problem a couple of years ago with a faulty reset connection from the case caused the pc not to boot at all

could be CPU especially if thats the only thing you havent changed ..can you get another one from somewhere to try ?
are the pins ok ,none bent etc ,bloody nightmare to spot to be honest if they are ,magnifying glass might help

sorry havent got a spare AMD x2 otherwise i could have lent you that to try

anymore than that im struggling then

So did I understand correctly that the Mobo has been changed SINCE the problem in an attempt to fix it? or was that to solve a previous issue before this happened? I only ask I've got CMOS reset in my head (not literally).

Out of interest - Is the CPU fan running when you try to start it?

I would deffo try unplugging the reset button as Foggys suggests for as long as it takes.

Hopefully it is as simple as that. None conformists PCs are a pita, I've been trying to figure out a problem for a while and I'm close to binning mine .

What I would do in this situation is strip everything out the case and just run the m/board on the desk, power to it, and as little as possible plugged and and gradually build up until you get the problem part or problem combination.
That's basically my trouble shooting technique for electronics for the last 25 years anyway (and was the day job back then )

_________________
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

I had exactly the same fault.

I put the computer aside to work on it when I got a bit of spare time. After a year I threw everything away but for the case and DVD drive, replaced the lot with up-to-date insides and I'm using it now.

This computer is now far faster than my usual one which is now used by my grandchildren and is probably full of viruses.

_________________
I should be dead; I've cheated the Grim Reaper yet again by surviving my third heart attack in June.

Its amazing how quickly kids can wreck a PC with adware etc. My 7 year old is under my new stricter "no downloading anything boyo!" law now!

thanks for the replies chaps. it is bloody annoying when i actually fix faults like this for other people and have been doing for years but when it comes ot my own..can't find a fault

Stods, i am loathed to throw the gear away. even though it is 3 years old, the drives alone are still far better quality than a lot of people have today. the whole rig was fine tuned for speed etc. i gotta admit though, i am getting close to opening the back door and launching it in the garden, in the same fashion as i did to a m8's pc a while back, hmm and a keyboard of mine.

i have tired everything i can think of plus what you lads suggested i have also tried.

MJA, yes that is correct, i changed the Mobo to cure the problem that just occurred thinking that it was the problem because of previous issues.

Foggy, i tried the CPU in my old man's machine an hour or so ago..worked fine. the only thing i havn't looked at now is the rest switch on the case. i have obviously disconnected it already because i changed the mobo but i can restart the rig by pressing the "reset" switch. i can start the rig from cold by pressing the "power" switch and i can shut down by holding it for 4 seconds. all that points to them working correctly i assume.

Hoovie, i tried that m8 but failed at the 1st hurdle, no video output.

now i am totally baffled/screwed.

my old man has the same mobo as me. i took my CPU up there and dropped it in his machine, it woke up and recognised the chip instantly and worked a treat.

so to sumarise: -

i have tried two identical mobo's here..same problem
i have tried all sticks of ram individually..same problem
i have tried a stick of ram from another machine...same problem
i have changed the PSU..same problem
i have changed the graphics card..same problem
i have swapped the monitor...same problem
i have swapped the lead..same problem
i have proved the CPU works as well

i still get No video output/mouse/keyboard but everything lights up on start and the HDD's spin up.

Would your dad be opposed to you trying your Mobo with the rest of his hardware? or visa versa?

Have you tried changing the engineer?

I would be starting to suspect the PSUs - plural - TBH now - they can do weird things when borderline.
any beeps at all when powered up?

_________________
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?"
She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

erm he might be lol. when he was taking his CPU out he noticed the fan wasn't spinning on his graphics card..took it out and it fell apart the card works but the fan in in bits. now he's building a new fan for it lol.

i've thought all sorts Hoovie.

i have just noticed one thing though, and it may or may not be relavent....

with or without HDD's connected, on power up, the HDD led is dimly lit and stays dim permanently. However, when i press and hold the power button, it glows full brightness just as the power goes off.

i am now tempted to disconnect this rig temporarily and use the power and rest buttons fromt his casr to power my mobo up. that would elimninate the power and reset on the case.

was just going to suggest trying another case ,oh another point just thought of ,is the mobo connected ok to the case ? ie not shorting out anywhere ,are the stand offs all in place and correct

different case seems the next step though ..god knows after that
mind you your option on launching into the garden probably seems favourite for you at the minute

_________________
If you feel you have benefited from the Free advice given on the Forum, Please consider making a donation to UHM's Nominated charity, read all about it and donate here :

donnas-dream-house-charity-t52110.html

hmmm
try a hard cmos reset - remove power cord, remove battery, wait 30 secs, hit the power button to make sure mobo discharged (had a mobo once which was still holding charge and thus settings ) , replace batt, re-insert power cord and try turning on again

are all your expansion cards (Graphics etc) properly seated into place?
All power connectors firmly attached?
Try booting the machine without any drives attached, if it comes on, then you have a dead drive / drive data cable which is causing enough errors to make the machine refuse to POST

remote possibilities
Have you tried a diff monitor?

ummm i think im out of ideas

thanks scot but all of those have been tried except a cmos flatten, no point when the mobo has been changed and has the identical fault.
taking this rig offline now to cross wire the start and reset buttons.

One of my thoughts was that swapping good components in & out for what might be bad might f'k up the good ones.

_________________
I should be dead; I've cheated the Grim Reaper yet again by surviving my third heart attack in June.