ATAR Notes: Forum
General Discussion => General Discussion Boards => Technology and Gaming => Topic started by: Tan on November 23, 2010, 05:08:54 pm
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My computer won't turn on anymore :(
Is anyone here good with them and can help? :D
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more details?
what happened before you couldnt turn on the computer?
does it turn on at all?
u might have fried ur motherboard or maybe ur psu isnt working
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Yeah I'm thinking it might be the PSU or motherboard. Kind of hoping the problem is the PSU cos it'd be easier to fix.
So this is a custom computer which worked fine for about 8 months or so I believe.
Motherboard is a GA-X58A-UD7 and I'm pretty sure PSU is a cooler master 650W.
When I press the power button of the computer, the fan at the back (I think its called NB fan, not sure) spins for like 2 seconds and stops and the computer just doesn't turn on. CPU fan doesn't seem to do anything and yeah. Its just dead.
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Oh, and as for what happened before hand, I'm not too sure. It was fine. Left it on and went out to walk the dog. Came back, computer was off so I turned it on only to find that it was dead D:
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hmm actually i have exactly the same problem as u ...and still need to get it checked and fixed
my main computer i press on and it beeps and all and open up for like a few seconds and shuts off and i have a very high suspicion its something to do with the psu/electricity/wires or something because i checked the insides and it looks fine nothing melted or anything just yeah../or maybe it overheats at the start and that automatically switches off the power supply... i dunno
but i actually manage to turn it on after like 30 minutes of switching it on and off at the power switch lol
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99% of the time these issues are caused by RAM. There's a program called memtest you need to run... which is an issue if you can't get your computer on. Other problem is the PSU, though CM PSU's tend to be pretty decent (not the best for their low cost they run well).
You need to put the RAM into another computer and run memtest through it. You just need to dl a memtest iso image and burn it to a cd, and boot off it. Let it run until it finishes atleast 1 'pass' - it'll be obvious if there are RAM issues. RAM issues can be caused my your motherboard, but it's highly unlikely.
Edit:
You say it won't turn on. You press the power button - exactly what happens? System beep? Fans speed up? Nothing at all? It's important.
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No beeps or anything. Only the fan at the back spins for like 1-2 secs and nothing else happens. But the fan only turns if I pressed the power button after I turned off and turned on again the powerpoint.
I've also tried taking out the ram and testing them i've tried putting in 1 ram, 2, and 3 but still nothing
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haha i tried opening it right now and it turned on straight away ... lucky ...for me what usually happens is that it will open and itwill make a beep noise...itactuallychanges depending sometimes... it will go beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeep... or it will give a sharp bip! and then beeeep .... and actually one time i opened it it was revving really bad like rvvvvvrrrrr and i thought it was the liteondvd drive spinning or something and i turned it off at the wall cause i thought it was going to wreck... oh and also it sounds like there is a very weak electric current noise when turning on like it its like a low zzz noise andi know if that goes on for a long time it will shut off...and yes the fan is still spinning...oh and i also saw that when it does go through these beeeeep moments the fan in the motherboard or whatever stops spinning and then resumes afterwards
can i just download this memtest? on the computer or do i need to take the ram out cause i dunno how to take the ram out
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Memtest is free software. You don't need to remove the RAM, but you do need to run memtest on a computer that has the RAM in it that you want to test (dur). You need to then boot off of the CD.
Memtest (iso is in the zip) download: http://www.memtest86.com/memtest86-3.5.iso.zip
This doesn't sound like a RAM issue, though, TrueLight. Either power or the motherboard would be where my money is it. The rurr sound is obviously a fan... if the fan on the CPU heatsink isn't firing up then that will cause overheating > alarm will sound > emergency power off. Possibly the motherboard is not delivering the power to the fan (hence likely not to a lot of things) or the PSU is not delivering the juice. Doesn't hurt to run memtest, when that doesn't help though you'll need some physically help to isolate the PSU and motherboard for testing.
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"Possibly the motherboard is not delivering the power to the fan (hence likely not to a lot of things) or the PSU is not delivering the juice."
yeah i think thats it... cause i the motherboard i have now is pretty newish sorta...cause i destroyed my motherboard like 2 yrs ago and lost everything lolcause of overheating
mypsu is really old though and i think its 450 w its like those atxsomething
yeah i need to call someone to test those things cause dunno how to do it
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So do you think mine would be a RAM issue or a PSU issue? D:
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Sounds like a generic (Read: crappy) PSU. I used generics for years, they use to be all that was around... but they don't make them like they use too.
@Tan: I need to know more. When you say it won't turn on... to what extent? You press the power button, and NOTHING happens? Do you hear a noise? And lights come on?
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I had the exact same problem one time when I rebuilt my computer. Fan spins for 1-2 secs then nothing. All I did was took it apart again and rebuilt it and it worked lol.
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No noise, no nothing except for the back fan spinning for 1-2 seconds and the Power light on the motherboard and 2 DDR phase lights I think..
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schnappy how does memtest work
i ripped it and it came out as an isoimage
i extracted the isoimage theres a few files...isolinux, src_v35 which i extracted and theres all these other files
so anyhow what do i press?
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Kay, I just tested my PSU on my brothers computer, turned out to be a dud so it looks like I'll be buying a new PSU. Thanks for the advice guys :)
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It sounds to me that it may have been a result of overheating. Perhaps your fans weren't working correctly, or dust accumulated.
If it is a laptop, I find this type of problem occurs if you place it on the bed. Laptops should always be on a hard surface so the little rubber legs can elevate it and allow heat to flow out. If it was a minor issue generally the computer would shut dpwn, and would start working once the computer is turned on and the system cooled down, but you may have fried some hardware :X
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@true light:Burn the iso and boot it from the BIOS (try f12, esc or similar to get a single boot option or go into setting and change boot settings)
To the OP, you can't run memtest at all (since your computer won't boot) and it doesn't sound a thing like a RAM problem to me.
The PSU isn't too bad and from the sounds of things you weren't running extreme hardware (coolermasters aren't the best but they are a nice cheap alternative that won't explode like Shaw ;))
It sounds very PSU/Motherboard based. Do you have friends with custom PCs? If so go over to their place and use their PSU with your parts, Skip all non essential part, IE only have the Mobo, CPU, (your friend's) PSU, a stick of RAM and a graphics card if your Mobo doesn't have onboard. If it still shows hte same problem, it's going to be harder since you will need to test the motherboard and that means finding another motherboard that fits you PSU.
Report back and good luck.
EDIT: well probelm solved then, go for something decent this time, for recommendations post your specs.
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Not sure if it was said, but did you try booting with a Linux usb thing?
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schnappy how does memtest work
i ripped it and it came out as an isoimage
i extracted the isoimage theres a few files...isolinux, src_v35 which i extracted and theres all these other files
so anyhow what do i press?
Don't extract the iso file. You need to burn the iso image to a disc... don't burn the iso to disc though! Get a program like ImgBurn and 'burn image to disc'. I believe windows 7 can actually do this now... right click and see if there is an option.
You then need to boot off of the cd you made (Google is your friend).
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Not sure if it was said, but did you try booting with a Linux usb thing?
wouldn't have helped in this case since it wouldn't get past POST.