Computer Crashed and won't start

[Dreath]

Hello everyone, as the title says, I was just talking with some friends on skype and then the computer froze like when it's going to give you a BSOD but instead of that it just froze, so I turned it off and now the computer won't even show BIOS menu. RAMs are fine, they were tested by the retailers for 48 hours with memtest and tested by me for 24 hours (when the computer used to work).

So to give you a clearly idea of what's happening, I press the power on button, there's a beep and the computer starts, right? my pc powers up but it never beeps, the CD/DVD reader works, the processor starts up, but it's just stuck there. I checked on the motherboard's user guide and it doesn't say anything about "not beeping"

Thank you.

Computer specs:

Motherboard: Asus M4A78T-E
Processor: AMD Phenom II x4 3,0 GHZ
Ram: Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) 1600mhz DDR3
Power Supply: Thermaltake toughpower 750W

 

[DemonNecron]

I had this problem a few times it could be several things.
loose internal connections?
starting up from wrong device area?
burned out hard drive?
when you turn it on how far into start-up does it go?

 

[DustSailor]

Dreath,

Has your computer been running hot?
If it cannot POST, then more than likely it is a hardware component in your computer. The reality is it coud be anything from the CPU to the motherboard. Remove the Graphics card, network card, all other cards. Does the problem still happen? At this point, you might check the cpu and check to see if it looks fried, but that might not even be clear. You may need some harware parts to swap out to test, or you mgith need to take the computer into a repair shop so that they can test it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

 

[Dreath]

I had this problem a few times it could be several things.
loose internal connections?
starting up from wrong device area?
burned out hard drive?
when you turn it on how far into start-up does it go?

It won't go to post, computer starts and i just see the "no signal" on the screen

 

[Dreath]

Dreath,

Has your computer been running hot?
If it cannot POST, then more than likely it is a hardware component in your computer. The reality is it coud be anything from the CPU to the motherboard. Remove the Graphics card, network card, all other cards. Does the problem still happen? At this point, you might check the cpu and check to see if it looks fried, but that might not even be clear. You may need some harware parts to swap out to test, or you mgith need to take the computer into a repair shop so that they can test it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

The oldest component in my computer is my C: HDD, I checked the graphics card and it's ok

Edit: TEST1 :250gb HDD isn't the problem.
TEST2: unplugged 1TB HDD, still not working.
TEST3: unplugged the CD/DVD thingy, still not booting.

At this point is either the motherboard or the cpu right?

 

[DustSailor]

Or the psu

 

[Dreath]

but if the PSU was dead it wouldn't even power up, right?

Also, let's say I take out the CPU, how do I know if the CPU is the problem? in case it's not, How do I know the motherboard is f-ed up?

 

[DustSailor]

The PSU doesn't need to be completely dead, it could have a problem though. I would bet it would be the motherboard or PSU.

But if it is the CPU, the motherboard might not turn on because of it.

 

[essenbe]

You may try to clear BIOS 3 ways to clear bios. Also, you said your graphics card is OK. Just because the fans turn does not mean it is OK. I would try a different GPU if you have an extra or have a friend who has one to try. Also, disconnect everything except what is absolutely necessary for the computer to run. No external devices except mouse and keyboard and monitor. I would check everything possible before buying new hardware. Try to attempt to find the problem device if at all possible. Your computer should post with no hard drive at all connected.

 

[Dreath]

You may try to clear BIOS 3 ways to clear bios. Also, you said your graphics card is OK. Just because the fans turn does not mean it is OK. I would try a different GPU if you have an extra or have a friend who has one to try. Also, disconnect everything except what is absolutely necessary for the computer to run. No external devices except mouse and keyboard and monitor. I would check everything possible before buying new hardware. Try to attempt to find the problem device if at all possible. Your computer should post with no hard drive at all connected.

The only things I have connected are the screen and the keyboard. Also, I had this problem before and tried turning it on without the Graphics card without any changes (at least I could get it to post after some tries, now it's dead)

Edit: I did what you told me, ran it without CD/DVD, took out the VGA, tried with and without HDD and still won't go post. We tested the voltage of some of the connectors of the PSU and they were fine.

 

[Britton30]

Have you tried the BIOS clearing that essenbe linked to? I would try the third method of removing the CMOS battery and then short the two battery contacts to be sure the BIOS is cleared. Pull out the power cable from the PSU when you do this. This will re-set everything including the BIOS clock, which will go back to near the manufacturing date of the board.

I've had a lot of no POSTing. Some things to try:
Remove all but one DRAM stick, leave the one closest to the CPU.
Disconnect all drives from the motherboard.
IF you can get into BIOS now, go set the boot order and basic DRAM settings, nothing else. Power off, re-connect your OS drive only and see how it goes. This does sound like a bad board.

 

[GeneO]

I think it beeps right after it detects the graphics card. I would suspect that if your graphics card checks out, it is a CPU or Motherboard/chipset, of PSU issue that is stopping it from getting that far. It has to have a graphics card recognized before it goes on to detect and report on other peripherals - it hasn't even gotten to detecting any hard drives yet me thinks.

 

[pscowboy]

When you don't get a beep, it's either the power supply, or less so the cpu, and even much less so the mobo, in that order.
Unlikely the mobo. When they go, it's normally in their first month of use. Pretty much the same with the cpu. They go early in their life, if they go (overclocking or overheating are other issues). How long have you been using this mobo-cpu combination? Do you run 24/7?

When I was working, I had to replace 8 of 11 Thermaltakes I came across. I wouldn't trust them. The way you tested your psu is not definitive of its' ability to perform under a load.

If you have a really good friend, and one of you is handy around desktops, break his pc down temporarily and bring his psu to your machine & replace yours with his.

This will label or eliminate that part as the problem.

 

[Dreath]

Alright so, I ran the pc without the VGA, won't post. Disconnected both VGA and DVD reader, won't post. Disconnected VGA, DVD reader, 1 HDD won't post. Disconnected VGA, DVD reader and both HDD, won't post. I can't really get another PSU cause the 2 friends I have that use desktop pc are out of town so I'll have to pay someone to check it out :/ (I hate to do this xD, I never had to pay someone to fix my computer)

 

[Dreath]

Have you tried the BIOS clearing that essenbe linked to? I would try the third method of removing the CMOS battery and then short the two battery contacts to be sure the BIOS is cleared. Pull out the power cable from the PSU when you do this. This will re-set everything including the BIOS clock, which will go back to near the manufacturing date of the board.

I've had a lot of no POSTing. Some things to try:
Remove all but one DRAM stick, leave the one closest to the CPU.
Disconnect all drives from the motherboard.
IF you can get into BIOS now, go set the boot order and basic DRAM settings, nothing else. Power off, re-connect your OS drive only and see how it goes. This does sound like a bad board.

I tryed BIOS clearing without any changes, and I have never overclocked anything. Even if I did, the motherboard has a OC protection thingy and it resets itself if you fail to OC

 

[pscowboy]

Dreath:
Bringing it in for a techie to service will cost $95-$125 labor besides the part.
Try this first; it may solve the issue. Purchase an Antec Earthwatts (or Corsair) 750w, and replace your existing. At least you'll know you have quality in there.

It's not your video card; if IT was the culprit, you'd get a series of beeps. Hook it up along with your boot hd & let's see if you post and boot at that point with the new psu.

How long had you run this mobo-cpu combo?

 

[Britton30]

Also did you try with only one memory stick?

 

[essenbe]

If you will remove all the ram and try to start it, you should get a whole serise of beeps. If you do, that's a good thing. It tells you your motherboard is doing what it should.

 

[Cadiaqe]

Have you checked on the PSU and see if it is still functioning?

 

[pscowboy]

IF the psu is bad, the BIOS post won't get to memory check. Post won't even start.