Computer Issue

De-marko

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I don't know who on here is a computer guru, but I have a problem with mine, it's a Dell computer running Windows XP.

You hit the power button and the computer turns on and you can hear the drive. But, it doesn't boot up any systems and will not turn on the mouse, screen or keyboard. Any ideas? :confused:
 
When you press the power button, press F9 over and over and if you see nothing, unplug the computer and try the same but press F10 over and over and see if anything shows up on the screen.

If I had it here, I could probably fix it, but...

If nothing happens at all, I would have to say your motherboard has seen her last days.
 
I know how to fix it for you. First go get the biggest hammer you own, next take your PC to the driveway and proceed to bash it with said hammer, then go here http://store.apple.com/us and purchase your next computer, then when your all done sit back enjoy your computer and drink a cold one!!:shifty:











JK I'd have to agree i think your mother board took a dump on you.
 
First problem: Dell

Second problem: Running a 10 year old OS!
Switch to 7!

DO NOT buy an Apple. Way overpriced and very limited for ordinary computing duty. I do concede that it does some things very well and seems to be the defacto system for interior designers, some architects, and the fanboys.

But really, we need more info about your system to provide assistance. What model Dell are you using? Is it stock? Do you have a video card, or onboard graphics? I would guess if you are not getting any video (POST screen) using the onboard graphics that the motherboard (or processor) is shot. If your problem is not booting XP but showing video you have different issues.
 
Thanks guys for the response. Yeah it's an older computer, about 6-7 years old. It's worked well for me since I bought it new and does what I need it to do.

It's the consensus from here and some other boards i've posted on along with calling a few computer shops that it indeed is the mother board.
 
Make sure that the monitor works. Does the computer beep when you turn it on? If so, is it just one beep like you are used to hearing, or multiple beeps? It could just be a dead battery on the motherboard, too.
 
I know how to fix it for you. First go get the biggest hammer you own, next take your PC to the driveway and proceed to bash it with said hammer, then go here http://store.apple.com/us and purchase your next computer, then when your all done sit back enjoy your computer and drink a cold one!!:shifty:

JK I'd have to agree i think your mother board took a dump on you.


:lol: Yeah, I may do that if this doesn't get fixed.

Make sure that the monitor works. Does the computer beep when you turn it on? If so, is it just one beep like you are used to hearing, or multiple beeps? It could just be a dead battery on the motherboard, too.


The monitor is brand spankin new. That's what really sucks is I just bought a 22" LED wide screen monitor not too long ago. :rolleyes:

When I start the computer there are no beeps. The lights on the computer go on and the drive and fans you can hear running, just nothing else. It's as if the computer isn't sending a signal or whatever to activate any thing else.

Now, I took the access panel off and there is a green LED light that is lit on the mother board. When I unplugged the computer this light stayed on for about a minute or so. Can you guys tell I'm not computer maintenance savvy? :p
 
When I start the computer there are no beeps. The lights on the computer go on and the drive and fans you can hear running, just nothing else. It's as if the computer isn't sending a signal or whatever to activate any thing else.

Now, I took the access panel off and there is a green LED light that is lit on the mother board. When I unplugged the computer this light stayed on for about a minute or so. Can you guys tell I'm not computer maintenance savvy? :p

If there is no beep, then there is no POST. Either the motherboard is toast or the battery on it is dead...most likely the former.
 
Before doing anything else, unplug the computer from the wall plug.
Wait 60 seconds and plug it back in.
This allows the computer to clear it's memory,
Sometimes a virus will affect the system to the point where it will not boot up.
If unplugging the computer doesn't work, you may have a corrupted hard drive which could be caused by a virus.
I would replace the hard drive (really easy, and less expensive) before opting for a new mother board.
If you are hearing a beep, fan, and the hard drive activating, odds are the mother board is functioning.
Sounds like the boot up signal is not being recognized by the hard drive.
To check this out, if you have another computer, or a friend that has a spare hard drive with an os installed on it, exchange yours with it, and see if the problem is solved.
I have a feeling it will be.
Changing out a hard drive should take less than two minutes.
Bob.
 
Before doing anything else, unplug the computer from the wall plug.
Wait 60 seconds and plug it back in.
This allows the computer to clear it's memory,
Sometimes a virus will affect the system to the point where it will not boot up.
If unplugging the computer doesn't work, you may have a corrupted hard drive which could be caused by a virus.
I would replace the hard drive (really easy, and less expensive) before opting for a new mother board.
If you are hearing a beep, fan, and the hard drive activating, odds are the mother board is functioning.
Sounds like the boot up signal is not being recognized by the hard drive.
To check this out, if you have another computer, or a friend that has a spare hard drive with an os installed on it, exchange yours with it, and see if the problem is solved.
I have a feeling it will be.
Changing out a hard drive should take less than two minutes.
Bob.

You cannot swap out OS drives into another computer and expect it to boot into windows. It simply won't happen. It may POST, but it should do that with no OS drive at all.

To the OP: you said you just got a new screen. I assume it did work for a while, right? How are you connected? video out on MB or video card? Is it VGA, DVI, or HDMI? Try reverting to the old screen if you still have it (use the onboard video if so equipped).

One more thing to check is the power connections from your power supply. Unplug all of them and replug.

Still much missing information to provide an online diagnosis.
 
If you can get into bios, i would replace the hard drive and change the boot settings to boot from a cd.

You can load windows 7 on there but if it is an older computer i would stick with xp. theres several ways to get a copy of it but a clean install could solve any issues with the drive.

you can then get a usb adapter for the hd (should be ata) and move over any important files. drivers can be found from the dell site although xp will load its generic drivers.

I still run xp on 3 systems including my home server but i may move them over to 7 since they all have dedicated graphics cards and plenty of memory.
 
Thanks guys for your help, but I just went ahead and bought a new computer. With the age, wear and tear etc, plus the old OS I wasn't going to screw around with it. I had the hard drive out of the old compter "slaved" into this new one so I didn't loose anything like I had feared I would. Thanks again!:Beer
 
Thanks guys for your help, but I just went ahead and bought a new computer. With the age, wear and tear etc, plus the old OS I wasn't going to screw around with it. I had the hard drive out of the old compter "slaved" into this new one so I didn't loose anything like I had feared I would. Thanks again!:Beer

Well if you still want to fool around with the old one I'd suggest clearing the bios. There's a small usually blue jumper, but could be a number of colors the you will move over and press the power button to clear the CMOS. Once you've done this move the jumper back and try to start it.

Google "cmos motherboard" and go to images and you'll see examples of what it looks like.

Here's good one; see how it says CLR_CMOS, most are marked like that.

http://support.gateway.com/s/MOTHERBD/Shared/4006232R/4006232Rmvr17.shtml
 

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