what have done - and HOW!?

linne you are a star to take time to help. Thank you. I probably won't go for the board on the USA site because of postage costs, but eBay looks the best hope doesn't it. Either that or I wait until I have enough spare dosh to get an upgrade. Anyway, first we see if the new processor works, should be here tomorrow - and another one is in the post!

I used to have - and may still have, a similar PCI card - not with the video screen, just little lights that would indicate at which stage of the POST the machine had failed, which related to a printed data sheet. There was a much whizzier one available in UK, but it cost a lot more, and my little 'chinese copy' seemed to work. Of course, you need an active POST for it to do anything, and I doubt I have that with this current problem, but thank you for reminding me, I shall see if I can find it and give it a try. Today the processor(s) should come...

processors came, put one in, didn't work. There is one more to try, and I will, but not hopeful. If that is also a no-go, have to assume the board has died. Not doing it now as have been suffering with toothache since Sunday and find it difficult to concentrate as the pain is getting me down. Dentist tomorrow, hopefully he will sort that problem out quickly.

linnemeyerhere, if you are still watching this thread, my apologies for not getting back sooner. The dentist put me on a course of antibiotics - which I am still on - which have dealt with the infection, but make me feel unwell, and so I have just been lolling around and not feeling a bit like getting on with job in hand. I am going to put my machine on back-burner for a bit, until I can give it my full attention. Thank you for being so willing to help. Greatly appreciated.

might be a dead hard drive unplug the hdd/hdds and then try might just be a s.m.a.r.t issues have heard of computers not booting cos of hard drive issues