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From: Poster Matt on 23 Feb 2010 08:34
Hi,

I received a lot of help 2 years ago in this group concerning a PC build. Now
I've a major problem with the PC and would really appreciate some advise.

When I turn my PC on it won't boot - the PC won't even get as far in the
powering-up / boot process for anything to be displayed on my monitor, so not
even as far as being able to go into the BIOS setup. In fact the monitor does
not even detect a signal from the PC, saying on screen 'No signal detected'.
Pressing the PC's power button to turn it off and then on again results in the
same thing happening - no boot, even if repeated as many as 10 times or more.

For a while I could get around this by turning the PC off at the mains, leaving
it off for a few minutes and then turning it on again, after which pressing the
PC's power on button always resulted in the PC booting successfully. Now even
that is not working - though I can get it to boot by repeatedly trying the mains
off, wait, try to boot process. After a few attempts it works.

Once a boot is successful the PC performs perfectly. Reboots using Windows's
'restart' always work with no problems at all. However I now don't turn the PC
off at all unless going away for more than one night.

Clearly I have a major problem and one that I've left too long to resolve,
having simply not had the time.

My reason for posting is that I do not have a clue how to resolve the problem,
not knowing even where to start diagnosis.

Can you guys advise me on the steps I need to take to diagnose the fault please?

Here are the details about the build PC:

Feb 2008 Build:

Asus P5KC Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual Core CPU
2GB Corsair Dominator 1066MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 x 1GB)
Zalman CNPS9700-LED Super Aero Flower CPU Cooler
Sapphire Radeon HD2600PRO 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express
Compro Videomate T220 - Digital Tuner / PCI Interface
500GB Samsung SpinPoint F1 3.5" SATA Hard Disk Drive x 2
Antec P180 - Advanced Super Midi Tower
Akasa 80mm Ultra Quiet & Akasa 120mm Ultra Quiet (Fans)
520W Corsair HX520W Modular Power Supply
Floppy Disk Drive - Generic Brand
Samsung SH-S203 SATA Dual Layer DVD Writer
Samsung SATA 16x DVD-ROM Drive
Windows XP SP2.

July 2008 added:
Samsung HD103UJ 1TB SATA Hard Disk Drive
SATA II 2 Port Controller Card - PCI Express

Please note the following:

1) The problems described have been going on for the last 3-4 months and so did
not occur immediately after installing the 1TB HDD and SATA controller card
added in July 2008.

2) One of the fans may not be working properly, it screeches loudly for a short
while sometimes.

Many thanks for any advice. Cheers.
From: Rene Lamontagne on 23 Feb 2010 09:10
Poster Matt wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I received a lot of help 2 years ago in this group concerning a PC
> build. Now I've a major problem with the PC and would really appreciate
> some advise.
>
> When I turn my PC on it won't boot - the PC won't even get as far in the
> powering-up / boot process for anything to be displayed on my monitor,
> so not even as far as being able to go into the BIOS setup. In fact the
> monitor does not even detect a signal from the PC, saying on screen 'No
> signal detected'. Pressing the PC's power button to turn it off and then
> on again results in the same thing happening - no boot, even if repeated
> as many as 10 times or more.
>
> For a while I could get around this by turning the PC off at the mains,
> leaving it off for a few minutes and then turning it on again, after
> which pressing the PC's power on button always resulted in the PC
> booting successfully. Now even that is not working - though I can get it
> to boot by repeatedly trying the mains off, wait, try to boot process.
> After a few attempts it works.
>
> Once a boot is successful the PC performs perfectly. Reboots using
> Windows's 'restart' always work with no problems at all. However I now
> don't turn the PC off at all unless going away for more than one night.
>
> Clearly I have a major problem and one that I've left too long to
> resolve, having simply not had the time.
>
> My reason for posting is that I do not have a clue how to resolve the
> problem, not knowing even where to start diagnosis.
>
> Can you guys advise me on the steps I need to take to diagnose the fault
> please?
>
> Here are the details about the build PC:
>
> Feb 2008 Build:
>
> Asus P5KC Motherboard
> Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual Core CPU
> 2GB Corsair Dominator 1066MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 x 1GB)
> Zalman CNPS9700-LED Super Aero Flower CPU Cooler
> Sapphire Radeon HD2600PRO 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express
> Compro Videomate T220 - Digital Tuner / PCI Interface
> 500GB Samsung SpinPoint F1 3.5" SATA Hard Disk Drive x 2
> Antec P180 - Advanced Super Midi Tower
> Akasa 80mm Ultra Quiet & Akasa 120mm Ultra Quiet (Fans)
> 520W Corsair HX520W Modular Power Supply
> Floppy Disk Drive - Generic Brand
> Samsung SH-S203 SATA Dual Layer DVD Writer
> Samsung SATA 16x DVD-ROM Drive
> Windows XP SP2.
>
> July 2008 added:
> Samsung HD103UJ 1TB SATA Hard Disk Drive
> SATA II 2 Port Controller Card - PCI Express
>
> Please note the following:
>
> 1) The problems described have been going on for the last 3-4 months and
> so did not occur immediately after installing the 1TB HDD and SATA
> controller card added in July 2008.
>
> 2) One of the fans may not be working properly, it screeches loudly for
> a short while sometimes.
>
> Many thanks for any advice. Cheers


..
From your post I would suspect a bad Power Supply.


Regards, Rene
From: TVeblen on 23 Feb 2010 09:27
On 2/23/2010 9:10 AM, Rene Lamontagne wrote:
> Poster Matt wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> I received a lot of help 2 years ago in this group concerning a PC
>> build. Now I've a major problem with the PC and would really
>> appreciate some advise.
>>
>> When I turn my PC on it won't boot - the PC won't even get as far in
>> the powering-up / boot process for anything to be displayed on my
>> monitor, so not even as far as being able to go into the BIOS setup.
>> In fact the monitor does not even detect a signal from the PC, saying
>> on screen 'No signal detected'. Pressing the PC's power button to turn
>> it off and then on again results in the same thing happening - no
>> boot, even if repeated as many as 10 times or more.
>>
>> For a while I could get around this by turning the PC off at the
>> mains, leaving it off for a few minutes and then turning it on again,
>> after which pressing the PC's power on button always resulted in the
>> PC booting successfully. Now even that is not working - though I can
>> get it to boot by repeatedly trying the mains off, wait, try to boot
>> process. After a few attempts it works.
>>
>> Once a boot is successful the PC performs perfectly. Reboots using
>> Windows's 'restart' always work with no problems at all. However I now
>> don't turn the PC off at all unless going away for more than one night.
>>
>> Clearly I have a major problem and one that I've left too long to
>> resolve, having simply not had the time.
>>
>> My reason for posting is that I do not have a clue how to resolve the
>> problem, not knowing even where to start diagnosis.
>>
>> Can you guys advise me on the steps I need to take to diagnose the
>> fault please?
>>
>> Here are the details about the build PC:
>>
>> Feb 2008 Build:
>>
>> Asus P5KC Motherboard
>> Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual Core CPU
>> 2GB Corsair Dominator 1066MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 x 1GB)
>> Zalman CNPS9700-LED Super Aero Flower CPU Cooler
>> Sapphire Radeon HD2600PRO 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express
>> Compro Videomate T220 - Digital Tuner / PCI Interface
>> 500GB Samsung SpinPoint F1 3.5" SATA Hard Disk Drive x 2
>> Antec P180 - Advanced Super Midi Tower
>> Akasa 80mm Ultra Quiet & Akasa 120mm Ultra Quiet (Fans)
>> 520W Corsair HX520W Modular Power Supply
>> Floppy Disk Drive - Generic Brand
>> Samsung SH-S203 SATA Dual Layer DVD Writer
>> Samsung SATA 16x DVD-ROM Drive
>> Windows XP SP2.
>>
>> July 2008 added:
>> Samsung HD103UJ 1TB SATA Hard Disk Drive
>> SATA II 2 Port Controller Card - PCI Express
>>
>> Please note the following:
>>
>> 1) The problems described have been going on for the last 3-4 months
>> and so did not occur immediately after installing the 1TB HDD and SATA
>> controller card added in July 2008.
>>
>> 2) One of the fans may not be working properly, it screeches loudly
>> for a short while sometimes.
>>
>> Many thanks for any advice. Cheers
>
>
> .
> From your post I would suspect a bad Power Supply.
>
>
> Regards, Rene

I agree with Rene, but it could also be something as simple as the case
switch. (You did not mention whether you get any activity: lights, fans,
etc.) But assuming you are getting nothing at all, you should eliminate
the switch as a possibility before replacing the PS. You can test the
switch at the motherboard where the "Power SW" header connects. Simply
short the 2 pins with a screwdriver to see if it boots normally that
way. If it does then your case switch is bad.
Don't kill your rig with static - use proper precautions, etc etc.

From: Poster Matt on 23 Feb 2010 10:13
TVeblen wrote:
> On 2/23/2010 9:10 AM, Rene Lamontagne wrote:
>> Poster Matt wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I received a lot of help 2 years ago in this group concerning a PC
>>> build. Now I've a major problem with the PC and would really
>>> appreciate some advise.
>>>
>>> When I turn my PC on it won't boot - the PC won't even get as far in
>>> the powering-up / boot process for anything to be displayed on my
>>> monitor, so not even as far as being able to go into the BIOS setup.
>>> In fact the monitor does not even detect a signal from the PC, saying
>>> on screen 'No signal detected'. Pressing the PC's power button to turn
>>> it off and then on again results in the same thing happening - no
>>> boot, even if repeated as many as 10 times or more.
>>>
>>> For a while I could get around this by turning the PC off at the
>>> mains, leaving it off for a few minutes and then turning it on again,
>>> after which pressing the PC's power on button always resulted in the
>>> PC booting successfully. Now even that is not working - though I can
>>> get it to boot by repeatedly trying the mains off, wait, try to boot
>>> process. After a few attempts it works.
>>>
>>> Once a boot is successful the PC performs perfectly. Reboots using
>>> Windows's 'restart' always work with no problems at all. However I now
>>> don't turn the PC off at all unless going away for more than one night.
>>>
>>> Clearly I have a major problem and one that I've left too long to
>>> resolve, having simply not had the time.
>>>
>>> My reason for posting is that I do not have a clue how to resolve the
>>> problem, not knowing even where to start diagnosis.
>>>
>>> Can you guys advise me on the steps I need to take to diagnose the
>>> fault please?
>>>
>>> Here are the details about the build PC:
>>>
>>> Feb 2008 Build:
>>>
>>> Asus P5KC Motherboard
>>> Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual Core CPU
>>> 2GB Corsair Dominator 1066MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 x 1GB)
>>> Zalman CNPS9700-LED Super Aero Flower CPU Cooler
>>> Sapphire Radeon HD2600PRO 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express
>>> Compro Videomate T220 - Digital Tuner / PCI Interface
>>> 500GB Samsung SpinPoint F1 3.5" SATA Hard Disk Drive x 2
>>> Antec P180 - Advanced Super Midi Tower
>>> Akasa 80mm Ultra Quiet & Akasa 120mm Ultra Quiet (Fans)
>>> 520W Corsair HX520W Modular Power Supply
>>> Floppy Disk Drive - Generic Brand
>>> Samsung SH-S203 SATA Dual Layer DVD Writer
>>> Samsung SATA 16x DVD-ROM Drive
>>> Windows XP SP2.
>>>
>>> July 2008 added:
>>> Samsung HD103UJ 1TB SATA Hard Disk Drive
>>> SATA II 2 Port Controller Card - PCI Express
>>>
>>> Please note the following:
>>>
>>> 1) The problems described have been going on for the last 3-4 months
>>> and so did not occur immediately after installing the 1TB HDD and SATA
>>> controller card added in July 2008.
>>>
>>> 2) One of the fans may not be working properly, it screeches loudly
>>> for a short while sometimes.
>>>
>>> Many thanks for any advice. Cheers
>>
>>
>> .
>> From your post I would suspect a bad Power Supply.
>>
>>
>> Regards, Rene
>
> I agree with Rene, but it could also be something as simple as the case
> switch. (You did not mention whether you get any activity: lights, fans,
> etc.) But assuming you are getting nothing at all, you should eliminate
> the switch as a possibility before replacing the PS. You can test the
> switch at the motherboard where the "Power SW" header connects. Simply
> short the 2 pins with a screwdriver to see if it boots normally that
> way. If it does then your case switch is bad.
> Don't kill your rig with static - use proper precautions, etc etc.

Sorry I tried to be as detailed as possible but forgot to mention that, yes, I
do get power, lights on the case, fan noise, HDD activity light too, even when
there is no boot.

I don't understand why you think the problem is the power supply. Why will it
boot eventually after the switch off at the mains, wait, power up, repeat as
necessary process? And once booted, work perfectly for weeks on end with no
problem?

I'm not doubting your diagnosis just not understanding it.

Also could it be that my "520W Corsair HX520W Modular Power Supply" does not
have enough wattage?

Thanks guys.
From: Rene Lamontagne on 23 Feb 2010 10:31
Poster Matt wrote:
> TVeblen wrote:
>> On 2/23/2010 9:10 AM, Rene Lamontagne wrote:
>>> Poster Matt wrote:
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> I received a lot of help 2 years ago in this group concerning a PC
>>>> build. Now I've a major problem with the PC and would really
>>>> appreciate some advise.
>>>>
>>>> When I turn my PC on it won't boot - the PC won't even get as far in
>>>> the powering-up / boot process for anything to be displayed on my
>>>> monitor, so not even as far as being able to go into the BIOS setup.
>>>> In fact the monitor does not even detect a signal from the PC, saying
>>>> on screen 'No signal detected'. Pressing the PC's power button to turn
>>>> it off and then on again results in the same thing happening - no
>>>> boot, even if repeated as many as 10 times or more.
>>>>
>>>> For a while I could get around this by turning the PC off at the
>>>> mains, leaving it off for a few minutes and then turning it on again,
>>>> after which pressing the PC's power on button always resulted in the
>>>> PC booting successfully. Now even that is not working - though I can
>>>> get it to boot by repeatedly trying the mains off, wait, try to boot
>>>> process. After a few attempts it works.
>>>>
>>>> Once a boot is successful the PC performs perfectly. Reboots using
>>>> Windows's 'restart' always work with no problems at all. However I now
>>>> don't turn the PC off at all unless going away for more than one night.
>>>>
>>>> Clearly I have a major problem and one that I've left too long to
>>>> resolve, having simply not had the time.
>>>>
>>>> My reason for posting is that I do not have a clue how to resolve the
>>>> problem, not knowing even where to start diagnosis.
>>>>
>>>> Can you guys advise me on the steps I need to take to diagnose the
>>>> fault please?
>>>>
>>>> Here are the details about the build PC:
>>>>
>>>> Feb 2008 Build:
>>>>
>>>> Asus P5KC Motherboard
>>>> Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Dual Core CPU
>>>> 2GB Corsair Dominator 1066MHz DDR2 Dual Channel Memory (2 x 1GB)
>>>> Zalman CNPS9700-LED Super Aero Flower CPU Cooler
>>>> Sapphire Radeon HD2600PRO 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express
>>>> Compro Videomate T220 - Digital Tuner / PCI Interface
>>>> 500GB Samsung SpinPoint F1 3.5" SATA Hard Disk Drive x 2
>>>> Antec P180 - Advanced Super Midi Tower
>>>> Akasa 80mm Ultra Quiet & Akasa 120mm Ultra Quiet (Fans)
>>>> 520W Corsair HX520W Modular Power Supply
>>>> Floppy Disk Drive - Generic Brand
>>>> Samsung SH-S203 SATA Dual Layer DVD Writer
>>>> Samsung SATA 16x DVD-ROM Drive
>>>> Windows XP SP2.
>>>>
>>>> July 2008 added:
>>>> Samsung HD103UJ 1TB SATA Hard Disk Drive
>>>> SATA II 2 Port Controller Card - PCI Express
>>>>
>>>> Please note the following:
>>>>
>>>> 1) The problems described have been going on for the last 3-4 months
>>>> and so did not occur immediately after installing the 1TB HDD and SATA
>>>> controller card added in July 2008.
>>>>
>>>> 2) One of the fans may not be working properly, it screeches loudly
>>>> for a short while sometimes.
>>>>
>>>> Many thanks for any advice. Cheers
>>>
>>>
>>> .
>>> From your post I would suspect a bad Power Supply.
>>>
>>>
>>> Regards, Rene
>>
>> I agree with Rene, but it could also be something as simple as the
>> case switch. (You did not mention whether you get any activity:
>> lights, fans, etc.) But assuming you are getting nothing at all, you
>> should eliminate the switch as a possibility before replacing the PS.
>> You can test the switch at the motherboard where the "Power SW" header
>> connects. Simply short the 2 pins with a screwdriver to see if it
>> boots normally that way. If it does then your case switch is bad.
>> Don't kill your rig with static - use proper precautions, etc etc.
>
> Sorry I tried to be as detailed as possible but forgot to mention that,
> yes, I do get power, lights on the case, fan noise, HDD activity light
> too, even when there is no boot.
>
> I don't understand why you think the problem is the power supply. Why
> will it boot eventually after the switch off at the mains, wait, power
> up, repeat as necessary process? And once booted, work perfectly for
> weeks on end with no problem?
>
> I'm not doubting your diagnosis just not understanding it.
>
> Also could it be that my "520W Corsair HX520W Modular Power Supply" does
> not have enough wattage?
>
> Thanks guys.

Switching off at the mains resets the power supply failsafes and allows
the powersupply to restart, Also doing a restart from windows allows
the PS to use stored power from its capacitors to help overcome the
higher current requirements of drive spin up.
once everything is running the power demand is much lower.
I do sparetime repairs on computers for friends and family and have just
lately run into 2 sytems with exactly your problem. BTW fans and lights
will all run at much lower voltages than the whole system and makes
things confusing.
Your PS is probably sufficient in size when working properly.

Regards, Rene

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