bpetruzzo

After a power failure last night, my computer won't start up. It will turn on and I can hear various components starting up (i.e., the hard drives) but it stops there. Here is a more organized break down of the situation:

ECS A770M-A Motherboard
Current condition:

The computer no longer starts up.
No video signal is output to the monitor and,
the motherboard emits no beeps during bios checks.
The activity light remains on indefinitely without flickering or turning off.

I have already:

Unplugged all the devices from the computer and attempted to start it up.
Removed the memory and tried to start it up.
Reseated the memory and tried to start it up.
Reseated other internal components and tried to start it up.

So far, nothing has showed signs of improving the problem here. Any help would be super appreciated.

Tumbleweed36

Clear the CMOS and see if that helps.

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bpetruzzo

Ok, I ran the procedures for clearing the CMOS. At first I had some problems with the computer staying on. It would begin to start up. Perhaps for half a second or so, the fans would come on and the status light begin to light up then it would die.

I ran the CMOS procedures again and eventually I got the computer turning on again. There's no overall improvement.

Still no beeps and no video output. However, the status light now comes on, flashes a few times, then goes off, leaving the computer running.

dai

see if you can borrow another psu to try in it

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bpetruzzo

Thanks for the help!

Ok, so I have access to another power supply, but using it would mean dismantling an important machine in our home's network and would like to avoid that if at all possible. I plugged my current power supply into a power supply tester which said the unit was healthy.

Unless there are some other functions of the power supply that the tester would have missed, the power supply should be functioning properly.

bpetruzzo

Ok, so I've taken the computer apart, almost entirely (short of taking the motherboard completely out of the case). Turning it on with nothing but one stick of ram attached, I still get no audible response from the board.

It appears from my vantage point that either the board or the processor is cooked. If it were the processor, I would think that I would still be getting signals from the board. Am I correct in saying that? If it were the board, I would expect to see problems like I'm experiencing. Am I correct in those assertions?

speedster123

how did you clear the cmos?

what supply did you replace it with?

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bpetruzzo

It currently has a Ultra 500 watt power supply in it, I swapped it out with an Antec 500 watt power supply that I was able to verify worked.

I cleared the CMOS using the pseudo instructions in the motherboard manual. Switching the CLR_CMOS pin from pin 2-3 to pin 1-2 turning it on, then switching it back.

Tumbleweed36

The clear CMOS button instructions usually have you switching from 1 & 2 to 2 & 3, then switching it back. The "run" setting is normally to have the jumper on 1 & 2.

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bpetruzzo

Yeah, I know but from the factory the jumper was on 2-3. Although the manual lists 1-2 as the defaults, the machine won't turn on if I leave them there.

I just figured for whatever reason the manual was backwards. Which wouldn't surprise me. This ECS company isn't exactly top of the line.

I'll play with it some more.

bpetruzzo

Jumpers were to no avail. There was no improvement using it as the manual suggested and as was just suggested here.

dai

if when you try to start with the ram or video card removed you receive no bios error beeps suspect the m/b

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bpetruzzo

That is my suspicion. I'm going to order a new motherboard. Hopefully that'll resolve the problem.

Thanks for all the help, everyone!

dai

let us know how you go with it

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