Member Avatar for nick7er

Hi,
First-off: I'm fairly amateur at repairing hardware components of computers, but I know most of the basics.
The Problem: When I turn on my computer, it turns on but the monitor goes immediately into Power Saver Mode (the usually green light on the monitor turns orange). I know this is not a monitor problem because I tried another monitor on my computer and had the same result. I also tried reseating the RAM, replacing the video card, and taking out the motherboard battery - all to no avail. All the fans are working, some were quite dusty so I cleaned them, but got the same result. There was usually a system beep during the boot, which is gone now. But does this mean that the Power On Self Test is failing or that it doesn't even get to perform the POST? I hit the keys on the keyboard (which normally brings it out of Power Saver Mode during every day use) and nothing happens (the caps lock / num lock light seems to react within the first few seconds of boot, but after that no luck). Moving the mouse doesn't work.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I've been trying to solve this problem for a while now and would prefer not to go out and buy a brand new PC.

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Good troubleshooting so far from and — you’ve already ruled out a bunch of simple faults. The monitor’s immediate “Power Saver” simply means no usable video signal during POST; because fans run and the keyboard LEDs twitch briefly, power is present but the system is not finishing POST or not initialising video. Focus now on a few checks that haven’t been covered yet and that commonly cause exactly this behaviour.

  • Verify the motherboard power feeds: the large 20/24‑pin ATX plug and the separate 4/8‑pin CPU (EPS) plug near the CPU must both be firmly seated. Some PSUs will spin fans without the CPU feed connected and the board won’t POST. Also check any PCIe 6/8‑pin connectors on the video card — a GPU without its auxiliary power will often produce no picture.
  • Test the PSU: swap with a known‑good unit if you can (this is faster and safer than meter-based debugging). A failing PSU can provide enough juice for fans but not stable rails for CPU/VRMs.
  • Add a motherboard speaker or check the debug LEDs/2‑digit POST display (if present). A speaker gives immediate feedback on POST progress; complete silence when there used to be beeps is an important clue.
  • Clear CMOS with the manufacturer’s clear‑jumper procedure (not just a quick battery pull). Then try a minimal bench boot: motherboard outside the case on cardboard, CPU + cooler, one known good RAM stick, GPU (if required), PSU, speaker and monitor. This rules out case shorts and bad standoffs.
  • Visual inspection: look for bulging or leaking capacitors, burn marks, or blown components on the board and PSU. Smell for burnt electronics.

If those steps still give no POST, the likely culprits are PSU or motherboard (CPU failure is less common but possible). At that point a repair shop can often do a free quick PSU swap/POST test — take notes of what you’ve already tried.

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Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
First up try removing the RAM and booting to see if you get any beeps at all. While it is out, clean the contacts with a pencil eraser and only put one stick in a different slot. If you have two sticks, then try the other stick.
Do you get a message on the monitor "No signal"?
Unplug the power to the motherboard and then plug back in and try.
Remove the video card and plug directly into the motherboard and try.
Disconnect DVD drive/s, hard drive/s, Floppy drives (If you have one) anything you don't need just to see a boot screen, and try again.

Member Avatar for nick7er

Hi again,
Sorry for the very late response, I have had very little time to work on this problem. I tried booting without the RAM, cleaning the contacts, and putting in only one stick of RAM and booting (I honestly don't know whether it was in a different slot than it was in before). But I thinkwe can conclude from this that it isn't a RAM problem?
There seems to be two wires running from the power supply to the motherboard, only one of them seemed to be able to be unplugged from the motherboard, so I did unplug it and plugged it back in and booted. No luck. Should I have booted while it was still unplugged?
I have never seen a "No Signal" message on the screen. When I hit a button on the monitor it goes back to saying "In Power Saver Mode" for a moment and then goes black.
What do you mean by "Remove the video card and plug directly into the motherboard and try." ? Are you saying there's another way to plug the video card into the motherboard other than in a slot? Because as I mentioned before I have tried replacing the video card and still had no luck.
I removed my primary hard drive (I have two) and booted with no luck. But I doubt this is a hard drive issue, so I don't think it's neccessary to remove the other one.
So basically all that's left that could be the issue is my CD Drive, the motherboard itself, or the CPU, right?
Thanks for your help!

Member Avatar for nick7er

The connection from the power supply to the motherboard that I had previously thought was impossible to disconnect I did manage to unplug and replug. Booted the machine, the monitor still remained in Power Saver Mode. The other hard drive that I said I wouldn't disconnect, I did disconnect and booted with no luck.

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
Yes you have virtually ruled out a memory problem. Most motherboards have a built in video. As they are normally too slow for gaming they are regularly unused and a video card is used. If your machine has a on-board-video you will find a socket near the PS2 sockets (away from the video card area). If you have this socket, you can plug your monitor directly into the motherboard. You need to remove your video card for it to work. If your video then works it will be your video card/video card slot or motherboard that is faulty. In regard to your hard drives/DVDs, sometimes there can be a conflict with where your drives are plugged in and if someone had changed their position it could effect your ability to boot. I was just saying to disconnect them not remove them and see if anything changes.

Member Avatar for nick7er

Yeah I know you just told me to disconnect them, but I ended up removing one anyway to place it in another computer for temporary use.
I was thinking the same way (regarding the monitor connecting directly to the motherboard) because on most computers you can do that, but for some reason my motherboard doesn't have the right kind of port to connect my monitor to it. Maybe I'd need some sort of rarer cable or something...
Up next I guess I could try disconnecting my CD and DVD drives...

Member Avatar for nick7er

I also tried putting my video card in a different slot to see whether the slot is faulty or not. I did this and when I booted I heard a loud, weird noise that I hadn't heard before. Kind of like a series of weird beeps running together, but it definitely wasn't a system beep.

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
If you don't have a socket for the video to plug directly into your motherboard, then your motherboard does not have an on-board video.
The fact that you got a different result plugged into a different slot indicates a motherboard problem with that other slot.
I know what I said in an earlier post but,,,,, that sound you describe sounds like the sound you get sometimes with some machines when you have a memory problem. Just to make an old man happy, try just one RAM stick with the video card in the new slot. It is possible but not likely that you had two problems, the memory and the video card slot.
If you still have problems, maybe someone else here has an idea to help you before you need to take your machine to a repair shop.

Member Avatar for nick7er

Unfortunately, one stick of RAM and the video card in the new slot didn't work.

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
I am sorry to say but that is the limit of my ability to assist you from here. Maybe someone else here will offer you a suggestion, if not I would say it is time to visit a repair tech. Make sure you can get a free quote.

Member Avatar for nick7er

Thanks for all your patience and help.

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