Member Avatar for luis2423

Please help! Just recently I got a new USB MP3 player (Nomad Muvo), while inserting it into my USB port, I heard a tweeking noise and my Monitor turned off, and it said Selft Test (G), Check check you PC and Signal Cable (R), Monitor is working (B) and then it goes into sleep mode. I rebooter my computer several times, but no video output, all I see is self test msgs again.

I connected different monitor and I get same thing. Connected my original monitor back and , after restarting the computer several times and turning the power suply on off several time somehow I could here the bootup sequence (floppy disk), then the windows logo came on and I was able to log in. After 5 minutes or so, I got a dll msg while using Music Match and aked to send MS error. After I oppened Music Match again, and played a song for about 30 seconds, my computer froze, I could not end task, I rebooted again and I was back to square 1, monitor goes into sleep mode and i don't hear the floppy disk. Also when I restart I don't see any lights on the keyboard and mouse.

I don't know what the problem is. Could it be my HD, Motherboard or who knows. Could it be my power supply?

NOTE: the MP3 player works great in diff computer. I also reformated my HD about 4 months ago. :mad:

I'm running Windows XP SP2, 384 MB RAM, AMD Athlon 1800+, NVDIA Gforce 64mb video card, 40GB hd, and it has been running great for the past 2 years.

Any help or troubleshooting tips will be greatly appreciated.

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Good outcome — the broken front USB ended up being the culprit, as reported. Several members (, , and ) steered the troubleshooting in useful directions; the thread highlights a common trap: a damaged front-panel USB or miswired header can create a hard short or VBUS problem that stops POST and leaves keyboards/mice and LEDs dead.

Why that happens: the USB VBUS (the 5V supply on a USB header/port) is a powered rail on the case connector. If VBUS is shorted to ground (or a front connector is physically damaged), the power rail or PSU protection can trip and the board may never finish POST — so you see no keyboard lights, no beep codes, and no video even though the case looks “on.” The motherboard manuals and vendor threads warn that wrong or damaged front-panel connections can cause damage or no-boot symptoms. (manualowl.com)

Non-destructive follow-ups to keep in mind (complementary to the excellent suggestions already in the thread):

  • Do a visual inspection (unplug wall power first): burnt/melted plastic, discolored PCB near the front-header, or a smell of ozone are red flags — stop and consider professional repair.
  • Test the PSU rails with a multimeter or a simple PSU tester (+3.3V, +5V, +12V and +5VSB tolerances) before repeatedly powering a suspect board. Lifewire has a reliable, beginner-friendly walkthrough for multimeter checks. (lifewire.com)
  • If the board sometimes boots, use that window to check Event Viewer or run hardware stress/diagnostic logs; if it never boots, bench-test the motherboard (minimal components outside the case) and use debug LEDs/beeps to localize the fault. Community diagnostics and bench-testing procedures are well covered in PC hardware guides and forums. (forums.tomshardware.com)

If the front USB port or its cable is visibly damaged, replace the front-panel assembly or stop using those ports. If visual inspection or PSU tests suggest permanent motherboard damage (burns, blown components, persistent rail faults), contact the motherboard vendor for RMA or get a professional inspection rather than continuing risky power cycles. (manualowl.com)

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

Were you plugging it into a front USB connector or trying to fish it blindly into a rear port...

Is there a chance you tried to stick it into a 1394 firewire...
It looks similar but very different...

If your video card is a plug in card and not onboard could you have knocked the card loose?

Just a couple of things to check... or think about...

Member Avatar for luis2423

Yes, I have 2 USB ports in the front, but they look exactly the same. I also checked my Video Card, took it our of the mother board and placed it back; everything looks good.

The weird thing is that every time I power-up, only the CD-ROM and CDR lights come on for a few seconds and I don't hear my Floppy Disk or see the keyboard and mouse lights come on as they should. I've tried resetting my PC many times and no luck. Any other suggestions or ideas. Thanks in advance...

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

There is another possibility...

Is this a store bought PC or custom build?

If the USB connector from the front jack is connected incorrectly to the motherboard it will work... but only until a USB device is plugged in then it can short out... Basically, those four wires can be on wrong but if they are only acting as extensions to the motherboard pins you would not see any problem until you actually tried to use the device... Many of these usb (front case) plugs have individual wires that plug onto the motherboard....

Pin 1 RED VCC +5
Pin 2 Orange Data -
Pin 3 Yellow Data +
Pin 4 Brown Ground
Pin 5 Black Ground (Sometimes this is not used or included)

Pin 1 on the motherboard is usually identified with a mark of some kind...

If you get these backwards... Bad things happen....

Member Avatar for alc6379

Try this:

  • Ensure monitor connections are secure to the video card
  • Reseat the video card
  • Try a different video card.
  • Attach the monitor to a different computer, see if it gets video there.

The USB device might have had something to do with it, but I'm somewhat doubtful. This should be troubleshoot just like any other no video issue initially. Do you get any video at all (BIOS Startup messages, etc), or nothing?

Member Avatar for oalee

does the computer perform it's POST and stops at bootup? or is the monitor just simply dead when you turn it on? I agree with alex, it'd be the video card. unplug all of your USB devices and start it up again so you'll know if it's the USB.

Member Avatar for luis2423

Thanks a bunch! I disconnected the front USB wires from the motherboard and now it works. After inspecting the front USB ports, I noticed that one of them is broken (missing the middle plastic part). I recall plugging in my MP3 player to that specific port. I'm so glad I didn't fry my motherboard. :mrgreen:

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

Luis,
So glad to hear that fixed the problem and you got your PC back up and running.

Sometimes I am good at this stuff,

Sometimes I am just plain LUCKY...

How is that for a Christmas present?

Member Avatar for The DJ

You know, for the longest time, I had a similar problem and I couldn't figure it out either, I don't know how I did this but somehow the plug was not inserted into the video card correctly, i.e. it was turned the wrong way and when I corrected that it worked again. I felt pretty silly about it afterwards. :mrgreen:

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