won't startup, cdrom flashing but not power issue?

dragonladyohio · 04-27-2006, 05:34 PM

Hi-
I've posted here before and you guys really helped me a lot. (Well, as much as you could). I ended up taking

the lazy way out and buying a hard drive to fit the new computer I was building as opposed to trying to get

my old ide hd to start. Anyways, since I got the new hd and installed win2k, everything has been running

great! For about a month or so... I was playing "the movies" game yesterday when the computer crashed,

going to a black screen, and the cdrom and dvd drives started....er... don't know how to explain. The lights

flickered on and off quickly like it was trying to read a cd and not succeeding? I hard booted, and it

never came back up. The fan goes and it sounds like it's reading something, but nothing comes up on the

monitor at all. I would think the power supply died or something, except I just bought the (high quality)

powersupply, and I've had it connected to a high quality backup powersupply. I have no clue where to start

on this problem since I can't even get into bios or anything! Any ideas would be most appreciated, as I have

some ebay stuff on the hd that I need to post on saturday. Oh, I'm writing this on my old computer. Good

thing I kept it instead of selling it off right away, huh?

The new hardware I have on my current system is:
· Gigabyte GA-8I945PL-G Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945PL Express ATX Intel Motherboard
· Intel Celeron D 336 Prescott 533MHz FSB LGA 775 64-Bit Processor
· Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply
· 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200)
· DIAMOND Radeon X800GTO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
-OPTI-UPS Value Series VS575C 575VA 345W UPS
-Seagate Barracuda 120GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
-all drivers are updated, antivirus, spyware scanned, blah blah...

Linda

dragonladyohio · 04-30-2006, 11:14 AM

Wanted to update the situation... someone else on another forum suggested clearing the CMOS, which I did. That didn't help, unfortunately. I'm getting a power supply tester shipped to me from a friend in a few days. I still doubt that it's the power supply though. Seems more likely that another piece of hardware went out. I found this site which seems helpful... http://arstechnica.com/guides/tweaks...leshooting.ars
I would test the hardware like they recommend, but I don't have any extra hardware laying around that is compatible with this new system. And I don't have any friends closeby that are computer geeks.

Linda

Chevy · 04-30-2006, 12:21 PM

Have you bypassed the UPS? Just plug your PC and monitor straight into the wall.

dragonladyohio · 05-08-2006, 01:01 PM

Well, I got a power supply tester from a friend, and the power supply works fine. I also tried bypassing the backup power supply (UPS), didn't work. Someone said that my BIOS could be corrupted. Is there any way to fix that since it's not posting? If true, does that mean my motherboard is essentially dead?
Linda

Chevy · 05-08-2006, 02:37 PM

It could mean that, but you may want to try one other thing.

Disconnect the power cord from the pc, open the case. Find the main power lead that goes from the power supply to the motherboard - it will be a large rectangular connector. Disconnect it for a few minutes, plug it back in, and try to power up.

If that doesn't work, NewEgg has that board for under $90.

dragonladyohio · 05-09-2006, 08:52 AM

Um, I already had to do that in order to test the power supply. If the motherboard is actually bad to the point that it can't be fixed, I still have a warranty on the board. I bought it from newegg about 3 months ago. Eventually I'll get the 40$ I need to take it into a shop and get a confirmation of what hardware is bad or not.
Linda

04-27-2006, 05:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
dragonladyohio Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 11 OS: win 2000pro	won't startup, cdrom flashing but not power issue? Hi- I've posted here before and you guys really helped me a lot. (Well, as much as you could). I ended up taking the lazy way out and buying a hard drive to fit the new computer I was building as opposed to trying to get my old ide hd to start. Anyways, since I got the new hd and installed win2k, everything has been running great! For about a month or so... I was playing "the movies" game yesterday when the computer crashed, going to a black screen, and the cdrom and dvd drives started....er... don't know how to explain. The lights flickered on and off quickly like it was trying to read a cd and not succeeding? I hard booted, and it never came back up. The fan goes and it sounds like it's reading something, but nothing comes up on the monitor at all. I would think the power supply died or something, except I just bought the (high quality) powersupply, and I've had it connected to a high quality backup powersupply. I have no clue where to start on this problem since I can't even get into bios or anything! Any ideas would be most appreciated, as I have some ebay stuff on the hd that I need to post on saturday. Oh, I'm writing this on my old computer. Good thing I kept it instead of selling it off right away, huh? The new hardware I have on my current system is: · Gigabyte GA-8I945PL-G Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945PL Express ATX Intel Motherboard · Intel Celeron D 336 Prescott 533MHz FSB LGA 775 64-Bit Processor · Antec SmartPower 2.0 SP-500 ATX12V 500W Power Supply · 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) · DIAMOND Radeon X800GTO 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card -OPTI-UPS Value Series VS575C 575VA 345W UPS -Seagate Barracuda 120GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive -all drivers are updated, antivirus, spyware scanned, blah blah... Linda

04-30-2006, 11:14 AM	#2 (permalink)
dragonladyohio Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 11 OS: win 2000pro	cleared CMOS, still won't post Wanted to update the situation... someone else on another forum suggested clearing the CMOS, which I did. That didn't help, unfortunately. I'm getting a power supply tester shipped to me from a friend in a few days. I still doubt that it's the power supply though. Seems more likely that another piece of hardware went out. I found this site which seems helpful... http://arstechnica.com/guides/tweaks...leshooting.ars I would test the hardware like they recommend, but I don't have any extra hardware laying around that is compatible with this new system. And I don't have any friends closeby that are computer geeks. Linda

04-30-2006, 12:21 PM	#3 (permalink)
Chevy Retired Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Notlob Posts: 5,452 OS: Vista Ultimate My System	Have you bypassed the UPS? Just plug your PC and monitor straight into the wall.

05-08-2006, 01:01 PM	#4 (permalink)
dragonladyohio Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 11 OS: win 2000pro	Well, I got a power supply tester from a friend, and the power supply works fine. I also tried bypassing the backup power supply (UPS), didn't work. Someone said that my BIOS could be corrupted. Is there any way to fix that since it's not posting? If true, does that mean my motherboard is essentially dead? Linda

05-08-2006, 02:37 PM	#5 (permalink)
Chevy Retired Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Notlob Posts: 5,452 OS: Vista Ultimate My System	It could mean that, but you may want to try one other thing. Disconnect the power cord from the pc, open the case. Find the main power lead that goes from the power supply to the motherboard - it will be a large rectangular connector. Disconnect it for a few minutes, plug it back in, and try to power up. If that doesn't work, NewEgg has that board for under $90.

05-09-2006, 08:52 AM	#6 (permalink)
dragonladyohio Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 11 OS: win 2000pro	Um, I already had to do that in order to test the power supply. If the motherboard is actually bad to the point that it can't be fixed, I still have a warranty on the board. I bought it from newegg about 3 months ago. Eventually I'll get the 40$ I need to take it into a shop and get a confirmation of what hardware is bad or not. Linda