babbys first time using computer

[Sparrowhawk]

So I have computer problems AGAIN. How lucky that I just dinged 85 and next morning my computer will not start anymrore.

It appears either my psu or mobo is fucked but which? As I startup my computer all fans start but I get no beeps and thats it. So basicly I have all my fans running but nothing happens. I tried removing some of my ram, unplugging cd-drive, graphics drive and even HDD but still no beeps. Can you supernerds deduce something out of this? And what parts should I buy in their place...

[Gaeios(Graxlos)]

Sounds like you have tried replacing everything but your motherboard and psu. Its hard to make more conclusions than you have.

Your psu is not completely dead since the fans are working so its probably your mb. But it doesnt really conclude that its not your psu.

Dont you have an extra psu around that you could try

[Daekesh]

Could be either psu or motherboard issue.  If the motherboard was working, u'd get beeps.  A broken psu can cause taht problem also (I've had it before.)

[Sparrowhawk]

Yeah thats what I thought... and I don't have any spare mobo or psu available. What do I need to do in order to check which one it is other than replacing them? Cant just go and buy both of them <.<.. quite expensive

[Gaeios(Graxlos)]

its not really an easy thing to test unless you have advanced electronic equipment like an oscilloscope
I would try to ask among my friends if anyone had a psu I could borrow for a few hours. if it doesnt work with a psu that works then you can conclude that you need a new mb. If it works buy a new psu.

EDIT: it could also be your processor I guess, did you play with overclocking? if its an expensive processor it might be annoying to replace the mb with a burned out processor.

[Daekesh]

There is the possibility that the mobo is broken nad it will break the other psu, as well.

[Gaeios(Graxlos)]

that i have never heard of. you mean a suddenly appeared short circuit in the motherboard bad enough to fry the psu?

[Smorisha]

U dont really need osciloscope, a simple voltmeter will do in order to check PSU. Faulty MB cant really fry second PSU so try testing with other PSU as Grax recomended, in most of cases that is your solution and u should hope for that since PSU is waaaay cheaper then MB.

[Rash]

I've had exactly the problem you describe a while ago! Anyway, what happened was:

I switched my video card with that of my brothers, when I swapped it back, it wouldn't do anything except run the fans. I brought it to the computerstore, and after a week they called me saying the computer worked perfectly fine, before they even touched it. So what you could do is shaking it around a bit, don't boot it for a while and maybe keep it at a lower temperature.

Most likely the problem won't fix itself like what happened to me though. So I think your mobo is just fucked, and if cleaning it/replugging everything doesn't work, I think you'll need to use one of those tools to see what's wrong in a store.

Don't PSU's go down with a bang or at least a burning smell btw? I don't know this for sure, but I think if it was the PSU you either would have noticed, or the fans wouldn't work either.

[Yathezai]

So what you could do is shaking it around a bit

Hahaha Rash, I'm so glad we have you around. Computer skills everywhere!  

[Galtez]

If shaking does not work, get a hammer.  If hammer does not work, get a bigger hammer 

[Gaeios(Graxlos)]

Therash PSU's can die in many ways, it wont work even if the voltage just gets unstable. The fans can still work though if that is the case.

With regard to shaking it, I have experienced that a graphics card had fallen "out" of the pci-e slot because the case and motherboard didnt allow me to fix it in place properly, that sounds like what happened to therash that some component wasnt properly plugged in.

[Yjnar]

With regard to shaking it, I have experienced that a graphics card had fallen "out" of the pci-e slot because the case and motherboard didnt allow me to fix it in place properly, that sounds like what happened to therash that some component wasnt properly plugged in.

Hmm this reminds me of a particular finnish guy...

[Daekesh]

Just don't do the Mickah trick of checking if your cpu is hot by touching it while it's running (yes, he didn't have a heatsink or fan on.)

[Sparrowhawk]

I dont have anything spare available and I dont have anything I can carry my pc with to stores. Guess I just have to buy both of them..