Member Avatar for knip808

Hi with no computer building/repair experience at all, I don't know why my computer won't start up. The lights in my computer go on, but my screen doesn't turn on. Here's what happened yesterday:

The problem occurred yesterday after I discovered my computer was acting kinda funky. When i turned on my computer, it worked fine... but I noticed it wasn't reading my video card. The screen resolution was larger than normal, and an error message about reading my video card popped up after I had logged into my account. My video card is an ati radeon x800 256mb and I next proceeded to reinstalling its drivers with my ati cd-rom. Unfortunately, another error message popped up and it was unable to install the drivers (the message stated that something was wrong with my hardware). The next move I did was by turning off my computer and hoping it would reboot. But as soon as I pushed the reboot button, my screen didn't turn on! The fans and lights inside my computer were working, but I noticed that the blinking light in front of my computer wasn't working. At first I thought my video card had died, but I found that this wasn't the case. I proceeded in trying my brother's older video card, but again, my screen wasn't turning on. I seriously don't know what is going on. I hope this extra info will help you discover my problem:
- My computer would freeze if no one was using it for 15 minutes+ (yes even in standby mode!) I've noticed this problem beginning of last week.
- When I was proceeding to turn off my computer, i noticed that the stand by option wasn't given.
- My computer doesn't appear to run slower than normal

Please I need all the help I can get. As a high school student who really doesn't know much about computers, I seriously don't know what to do. I'm sorry if my grammar is difficult to understand because I only had 5minutes to type this out. I appreciate all the help i can get, Mahalos in advance. My email is if this will help you reply to my problems.

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Brief diagnostic summary: fans and some USB devices getting power while the system produces no video, no keyboard lights, no POST beeps and the front-panel LED is dark most often means the board never completes POST. Typical root causes are motherboard failure (common electrolytic-capacitor or VRM faults), a CPU-power feed problem (CPU 4/8‑pin), bad RAM seating, or a PSU rail that supplies partial power but not the rails the board needs for POST. Software/driver work done inside Windows would not prevent a BIOS/POST from running after a reboot.

Recommended, ordered checks (minimal risk, highest information gain):

  • Work with power unplugged and document cable positions before unplugging.
  • Reduce to a minimal test bench: motherboard + CPU + single known-good RAM stick (try each stick in the primary slot), onboard video or one discrete card, PSU, monitor, and system speaker if available. Remove HDDs, optical drives and extra cards.
  • Verify the 4/8‑pin CPU power connector is seated. Clear CMOS (remove battery for 60s or use the jumper) and then attempt a cold boot.
  • If no POST, fit a motherboard speaker or short the speaker header to hear beep codes; test each RAM stick in every slot. If removing all RAM produces no beep, the motherboard/CPU/PSU is likely at fault.
  • Check PSU rails with a multimeter or simple PSU tester; a fan spin alone is not proof of correct voltages. If using a known-good PSU to test, ensure the board is out of the case or not shorting to metal and swap only when comfortable.

Visual and safety checks: inspect the motherboard for bulging/leaking capacitors, scorched components or a burnt smell. Avoid repeatedly powering a system that shows signs of electrical failure. Swapping PSUs can help isolate the problem but should be done carefully; ’s caution about risk is valid and ’s suggestion to test components in another machine is useful if those other systems are known-good.

If the minimal bench tests fail, the most likely outcomes are a failed motherboard or a CPU/VRM fault. Data recovery is straightforward by connecting the drive to another PC or a USB enclosure. For component-level diagnosis or capacitor replacement, a local repair shop or a skilled technician is the prudent next step.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for Chaky

Never post your email. You will get spammed.

Did you try your video card on that other PC?

You should try reinstalling the motherboard and video drivers. No standby option is a sign that the motherboard drivers are not working.

That would explain why your display is acting funny, because you need functional motherboard drivers (AGP to PCI bridge and so on) to have fully functional video drivers.

Member Avatar for knip808

thx for the help chaky. As soon as I get home from school, I will try my video card on another PC.
But how do I reinstall my motherboard and video drivers if I can't see it on my screen? Should I just insert the motherboard cd and let it run?
I really appreciate the help. Mahalos braddah

Member Avatar for Chaky

If you can't see any video feedback (and your monitor is OK) then you can't boot the machine.... Trying the VGA on other machine is to see if it is working at all.


It is not clear to me if you can manage to boot the PC in question or not....

If you can, you should be able to reinstall the drivers without problems.

Member Avatar for knip808

If you can't see any video feedback (and your monitor is OK) then you can't boot the machine.... Trying the VGA on other machine is to see if it is working at all.


It is not clear to me if you can manage to boot the PC in question or not....

If you can, you should be able to reinstall the drivers without problems.

Sorry for my ignorance about computers, but what is the vga? is that my reboot cd or my motherboard reinstallation cd-rom? If you're asking if I tried my video card on another computer i have not yet, but I did try another video card on my own pc (and it still picked up no signal from my screen or my brother's). I will try my video card on another computer as soon as I get home from school.

How can I check if I can boot my PC? Should I try to put my boot cd in my cd-rom drive and let it run? Or what do you suggest? Again I apologize ever so much for my incompetant knowledge on computers. Thx again!

Member Avatar for knip808

Oh I should also try my monitor on another computer too, thx for the heads up chaky. I will try that as soon as I get home as well!

Member Avatar for Chaky

VGA = Video Graphic Array a.k.a. Video card
Booting = starting up
BIOS = Basic Input/Output System <--- a program that runs the motherboard, tests hardware, sets CPU speed, memory timings... everything
POST = Power On Self Test <--- done each time PC boots. You may receive POST error messages or error codes if there is faulty hardware detected by BIOS


If you get anything on the monitor you can see if it is booting or not... observe the HD activity also... if there is disk activity, it is booting. If you hear any beeps, please post.... number of beeps and their sequence. Ex. 7 short and 1 long beep stands for bad or no VGA.

Member Avatar for knip808

oh ok. I'll list somethings i'm noticing when I turn on my computer.

- When I turn my computer on, my monitor detects no signal from it (yes I tried another monitor as well)
- I hear no beeps, just the sound of the fan. But the blinking lights in front of my computer is not showing any light at all. But my mouse still shows signs of working (the red light is shown)
- My keyboard is not showing any activity or signs of it working (I pushed numlock and capslock, but no light appears indicating these actions.)
- Yes I am able to open my cd-rom drives.

Member Avatar for jbennet

A dead motherboard or power supply sounds likely

Member Avatar for Chaky

Try reseating RAM sticks. (pull them out and plug them back in)

You should test the original VGA on other machine to see if it still works.
If possible, take out your processor and try it also on other machine, but try not to touch the pins, for it is very sensitive electronics. That way you will know if your processor is still working. If it is, you will know that it is faulty motherboard or faulty PSU (Power Supply Unit). You can try the PSU from other machine on your PC, but that is a complicated task... Lots of cables to plug out and remember where they all were originally plugged in.

Member Avatar for jbennet

or faulty PSU (Power Supply Unit). You can try the PSU from other machine on your PC,

DONT do that. If your PSU or motherboard is faulty it will probably kill the other machine

Member Avatar for Chaky

jb you got it wrong.
Not the suspect PSU.. The healthy one.

Member Avatar for jbennet

oh i see. Still sounds risky though

Before i put a working PSU in a dead machine and it killed the PSU (motherboard was touching case)

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