Member Avatar for scorry

Hi

I would be grateful for some advice.

I recently got a second hand Asus Higrade AS8400. It wont start up (fan starts and lights come on but nothing happens .It does start every now and then, but more often than not it just wont start up) Anyway somebody has already said they think its a problem with the Motherboard. So i have been looking for a replacement and have been told that ive got no chance of getting one for that model as its so old (4 1/2 yrs) Obviously im now gutted. :cry: :cry: :sad: :cry:

Has anyone got any ideas where i might be able to get one, or even better, if anyone can thinks there might be something wrong other than the motherboard i would be extreeeeeeeemly grateful. (i know im clutching at straws here)

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by handslice

Dani AI

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Brief summary and a focused diagnostic path for the Asus Higrade AS8400 thread. The original symptom is intermittent boot (fans and lights but no POST); reported the problem, and , and correctly flagged a BIOS/CMOS issue as a likely, low-effort first check. Below is a practical, ordered approach that expands those suggestions and adds next steps for when a motherboard fault is probable.

Start with the least invasive checks (in this order): remove AC and the main battery, hold the power button ~20–30 seconds to discharge, then try booting from AC only; verify the adapter’s output matches its label or swap a known-good adapter; strip the system to a minimum (remove HDD/optical, PCMCIA/wireless cards and USB devices) and try to POST; watch for beep or LED blink codes; reseat RAM and test one module at a time or try known-good modules if available. These steps isolate power, peripheral, and memory faults without deep disassembly.

On CMOS/BIOS: as noted by and , clearing CMOS can help but should be done carefully. With all power removed and anti‑static precautions, access the coin cell or board reset pads and leave the board without CMOS power for a few minutes before reassembling. If the BIOS image is corrupted, recovery can require specialist procedures (BIOS reprogramming or chip replacement), which carry risk and are best handled by a repair shop.

When it looks like a hardware failure: inspect the mainboard (particularly around the DC jack and power circuitry) for loose connectors, cracked solder joints, bulging/leaking capacitors or burn marks. Given the model’s age, an exact replacement board may be scarce; realistic options are finding a donor unit (used market), having a shop perform board‑level repair, or salvaging parts. Always unplug mains, remove batteries, and use ESD precautions; if disassembly is unfamiliar, professional service is the safer choice.

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Member Avatar for condor117

open it and reset bios thats the only way

Member Avatar for scorry

open it and reset bios thats the only way

How do i do that, Will that make it work again?

Member Avatar for condor117

well i have some experience with laptops, i do it on mine once or twice every two months so it should work quite fine yours. My laptop is an oem built and smugded, but it was screwed up by its former owner who upgraded its bios and an overpowered cpu with an inferior cpu fan so by all means if it works on mine it should work on yours. should it restart(hopefully it does) the next problem will be the bios configuration.Reset the bios and then well talk about the rest. well lets go to business you should unplug all external cables and remove laptop batteries. open the laptop by taking off the keyboard you should find how to on the user manual. then when you have opened it unplug the cmos battery it should look like a silver dime. then give it about 30 seconds or so and put everything back in its place and switch on. I will look forward for your answer

Member Avatar for pm-computers

Hi

I would be grateful for some advice.

I recently got a second hand Asus Higrade AS8400. It wont start up (fan starts and lights come on but nothing happens .It does start every now and then, but more often than not it just wont start up) Anyway somebody has already said they think its a problem with the Motherboard. So i have been looking for a replacement and have been told that ive got no chance of getting one for that model as its so old (4 1/2 yrs) Obviously im now gutted. :cry: :cry: :sad: :cry:

Has anyone got any ideas where i might be able to get one, or even better, if anyone can thinks there might be something wrong other than the motherboard i would be extreeeeeeeemly grateful. (i know im clutching at straws here)

try takeing the bios battery out and see how it goes sometimes the bios battery is low and causes it not to load up propply.

Member Avatar for caperjack

try takeing the bios battery out and see how it goes sometimes the bios battery is low and causes it not to load up propply.

good advise ,and after 4 yrs ,the battery is likely dead by now

Member Avatar for pm-computers

let me know if it solves the problem it has in the past when i have fixed the asus laptops

Member Avatar for jbennet

let me know if it solves the problem it has in the past when i have fixed the asus laptops

"Jan 26th, 2005"

I think he probably binned the laptop

Member Avatar for handslice

Yes... maybe you just need modification about the bios setttings dude...

<snip fake sig>

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