Member Avatar for mikethehat

Hello guys & girls......... My first time here -- Ive spent a lot of time looking round and whilst there is a lot of faults the same as mine - ie, non starting pc's... I cant find one that fits exactly -- so,
Mine is as I say, a TIME machine, yes its old... but I did rebuild it - twice in its rotten little life - so really, whilst its original designation was TIME, thats not really true anymore. I dont know what it is !!! I did fit an atx baby motherboard to it some years ago - its since had a new PSU - in '93 (!) its about a 256 ram and I cant remember much else....... it has a cd and a dvd drive I fitted - a floppy drive -- I think thats about it..... Oh , and Yes, its running windows 98 !! ( You can stop laughing --now !)
Its been a relativly good machine - a plodder - and I generally use it for car programs ( Im a car technician ) = there's lots of stuff on there I need...... but, and here we are at last -- it just will not switch on! Well, thats a bit misleading actually -- it will switch on - but thats about it! It wont boot up. There are no beeps of any kind, so no beep codes. What I do notice is that the 3 keyboard lights come on - and stay on bright - ( you know caps lock , num lock, and the 'other one' ) and thats as much as it will do. I do notice the reset button wont do anything -- You have to literally switch the power off to stop it.-- and thats all. No screen, blue or otherwise... just nothing. The CPU and PSU fans are running - I cant hear any of the drives doing anything - the floppy drive light dont flash - ( I have tried sticking in a win 98 boot up disc but thats not doing anything )---- Thats about all I can tell you Im afraid.
I did have a POST card somewhere....... but can I find it!!!!!!
Im thinking , in my own little way, that its HD failure...... but on reading around these forums it looks like it could be anything -- Im just hoping for some directions if someone will --- I'd really appreciate it....... Thank You -- and Thank you for reading......

Rgds.,,,, Mike
ps, I know it sounds like grovelling - but I just really did say - from what Ive seen , I have high hopes......... this looks to be a cracking site !

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jbennet

Dani AI

Generated

Brief context: described a machine that powers on but never reaches a POST screen; flagged power/CMOS as possibilities. The steps below expand on diagnostics that were not fully covered and give a practical order to narrow the fault without repeating earlier suggestions.

  1. Minimal bench boot (isolate the motherboard)

    • Remove drives, expansion cards and all peripherals. Fit only CPU + cooler, one known-good RAM stick in the primary slot, onboard video or a single video card, power and a case speaker.
    • Apply power and observe: speaker beeps (POST) vs. silence, fan behaviour, any diagnostic LEDs on the board. If a single short beep appears, the board is likely posting; if silent, proceed.

  2. Swap and simplify to isolate components

    • Try the same single RAM in each slot; if a different stick is available, test it. Use a different video output or monitor to rule out display issues. If no beeps with a speaker attached, remove the video card and try onboard video (or vice versa).

  3. Visual and connector checks

    • Inspect the motherboard for bulging or leaking electrolytic capacitors, scorch marks, or loose heatsinks. Verify front-panel power/reset leads and grounding standoffs are correct and not shorting the board.
    • If accessible, clear CMOS via jumper or by removing the battery for a minute, then retest.

  4. Power-supply verification

    • Verify PSU rails with a multimeter or a dedicated PSU tester on a peripheral Molex and the 24/20-pin ATX connector (+3.3V, +5V, +12V). If uncertain about a spare PSU’s pinout (some OEM supplies are non-standard), avoid using it until the pinout is confirmed.

If the board still does not POST after these steps, the fault is most likely the motherboard or processor. At that point, a POST card or a local bench test service is the fastest way to confirm. If data on the hard drive is critical, remove the drive and connect it to another PC via an IDE adapter or USB-IDE bridge for recovery before deeper repairs.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for jbennet

Maybe the BIOS battery has died.

It only lasts ~5 years

There fairly cheap, if that is the problem, it silver and looks like the back of a wristwatch (if you know what i mean) and is located on the motherboard.

Alternatively it could be,

disk
ram
psu
motherboard in general
pci error

Member Avatar for mikethehat

Maybe the BIOS battery has died.

It only lasts ~5 years

There fairly cheap, if that is the problem, it silver and looks like the back of a wristwatch (if you know what i mean) and is located on the motherboard.

Alternatively it could be,

disk
ram
psu
motherboard in general
pci error

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Hi there & thank you for replying.....

I must admit I never thought of that -- Would that cell battery ( I know , the BIOS battery ) actually cause this????

Mike

Member Avatar for jbennet

maybe yes

Generally if the BIOS battery dies you end up stuck at the initial boot screen (usually system/manufacturer logo screen).

I think the PSU is quite likely too though, those symptoms are generally what occurs with dead PSU.

Yeah, PSU or Battery are my guesses, i just said battery first due to the age of the system, and that its cheaper/easier to replace than a PSU.

Member Avatar for mikethehat

Ok... well the battery is no problem to check & or replace... so thats the first thing..
The PSU is no problem either -- thoughj as I say, it is powering - but I have wondered if perhaps it could be not putting out 'enough' power - I can check that too...... 5V - is that correct for the HD? Long shot but could be...... and Im sure Ive got a spare DELL one kicking about the place.

The other thing is - I dont know if I said, but its not putting anything at all on the scren -- not even the blue death screen....... its just as if the monitor is switched off. - well, apart from the PWR light that is.....

I'll let you know how I get on --- but Thank You thus far.......

Mike

Member Avatar for jbennet

dont use the dell one

dell ones are custom, they tend to fty other pcs

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