Is my PSU fried?

[tim-x]

Hey everyone,
first off i'd like to apologize for being dumb and perhaps even asking dumb questions. But here goes.
My computer won't load as I get no visual on the monitor, but the fans on the motherboard, video card, and cpu still spin along with my harddisks and the cd-roms even open and close. I've tried resetting the cmos jumper and taking the battery out. I've tested the ram in another computer, i've even swapped in a new mobo/cpu/videocard combo but i still get the same result. Could it still be my PSU even though the mobo light comes on and all the things like cd-roms, harddisks, and fans still work when i give it juice? Am i doing something wrong here?
Thanks for your help in advance
Tim

 

[jonnyGURU]

Hey everyone,
first off i'd like to apologize for being dumb and perhaps even asking dumb questions. But here goes.

My computer won't load as I get no visual on the monitor, but the fans on the motherboard, video card, and cpu still spin along with my harddisks and the cd-roms even open and close.

So it powers, but doesn't post.

I've tried resetting the cmos jumper and taking the battery out. I've tested the ram in another computer, i've even swapped in a new mobo/cpu/videocard combo but i still get the same result.

Try just the motherboard and CPU with no RAM and no video card and try it OUTSIDE of the case. No drives, nothing. Just a motherboard, CPU and a power supply. If there's a speaker on the motherboard, it should beep. If the motherboard doesn't have a speaker built in, hook one up.

Could it still be my PSU even though the mobo light comes on and all the things like cd-roms, harddisks, and fans still work when i give it juice? Am i doing something wrong here?

Sure. If you do as I suggest above, and it's a known working motherboard and CPU and you don't even get a beep, then there might be a voltage not working (dead 3.3V FET, for example) or something that's preventing the board from posting.

But until you eliminate all non-essential components and eliminate the possibility that the board is just grounding out on the case somewhere, we can't speculate anything.

 

[tim-x]

thanks for your reply.
I took everything off of the mobo except the cpu/heatsink and powered it up and i got one long beep and two short ones. I'm not sure whether that means that the PSU is working or not.

i tried it with the original motherboard that i had the trouble with and i didn't get any beeps. If this means however that the mobo i had trouble with is broken in someway, that still doesn't explain why the first motherboard can't post
i'm so confused.

 

[jonnyGURU]

That's a good sign.

That means that it doesn't see the video card.

Did you have the RAM removed? Because if the RAM was removed, it should have been a continuous beep like a truck backing up.

 

[tim-x]

That's a good sign.

That means that it doesn't see the video card.

Did you have the RAM removed? Because if the RAM was removed, it should have been a continuous beep like a truck backing up.

Yeah i had the ram taken out. I just got the one long beep and two short ones and it continued like that. No beeps on the original mobo though.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Ok. Now put the RAM back in. See if the beep changes or does it STOP beeping?

If the beep changes, go ahead and put the video card in and plug in a monitor. STILL NO DRIVES!!!!!

Try it. Do you get POST now?

 

[tim-x]

Ok. Now put the RAM back in. See if the beep changes or does it STOP beeping?

If the beep changes, go ahead and put the video card in and plug in a monitor. STILL NO DRIVES!!!!!

Try it. Do you get POST now?

sir you're a genius. my old mobo/cpu/video card posted fine after doing what you said. I still cannot however get the original mobo/cpu/video card to post. I tried taking everything out like you said and just with the cpu/mobo/speaker/psu and i got no beeps.

 

[jonnyGURU]

So either your original motherboard or CPU are toast. If the CPU isn't interchangible with another CPU in your posession, that's about as far as you can troubleshoot it.

Now when you put the other board back in the case, don't hook anything more to it other than the RAM and video card. If you fire it up and it doesn't post once it's inside the case, you're grounding out the board somewhere inside the case.

 

[tim-x]

okay.
quick question. If it was just my CPU wouldn't i get a motherboard beep?

edit:
what originally happened was i did a hard shut down by turning off the power and then when i restarted it the fans and such turned on for a split second and then turned off. i pressed the power button again and the fans and disks and everything worked but no post.

 

[jonnyGURU]

okay.
quick question. If it was just my CPU wouldn't i get a motherboard beep?

Quick answer: No.

edit:
what originally happened was i did a hard shut down by turning off the power and then when i restarted it the fans and such turned on for a split second and then turned off. i pressed the power button again and the fans and disks and everything worked but no post.

Then just the motherboard may be dead. Hard to say w/o being there.