Computer Boots in One Room, Not Another

I've searched the forums, but haven't found my exact problem.

My son had an ex-girlfriend's father try to fix his computer, couldn't, so built him a "new" one. It worked at his house, but he couldn't even get Windows to boot at our house. The monitor won't even come on. I took it to the dining room, hooked it up and it booted just fine. Took it back to my son's room and it won't do squat. Now, I did get it to work once, rebooted and it hasn't worked since.

I hooked up my daughter's old computer in my son's room and it booted up just fine, but is just too old and slow to be of any use (the computer, not the daughter).

If anyone has a clue as to what I can do to rectify this problem before I start banging my head against the wall, I would certainly appreciate it.

 

Sounds more like a wiring problem to me.

 

Exactly! I'd get an electrician in to assess the issue as that's not right. Old fuses or wiring?? You still have the glass ones? Maybe even your main breaker fuse is old, the old cylindrical type. Friend's water heater would only work at half power because of that..

 

Thank you so much for your replies! The house is only seven years old, and my daughter's computer works in that room with my son's monitor. Could the wiring still be a cause?

Should I try an extention cord just long enough to see if it boots?

 

Wouldn't hurt to have the outlet checked. Also, make sure you are not accidently turning the Power Supply off, some of them have an on/off switch. Not that I ever did that when moving the first computer I built.... :-D

 

Riiiggghht.

 

LOL Thanks for the chuckles!

I've used two different outlets in that room. The power supply's fine, as the fans are whirring as they should.

This ain't my first rodeo, ya know? This one just really has me flummoxed!

 

What about loose connections on the machine itself?

 

I've checked all the connections, taken the vid card outand put it back to make sure it's seated well.....and all that jazz. Whoever can solve my dilemma gets a big pan of my homemade lasagne!

 

to glamdring92
Re-read first post.
Runs in dining room, but not in sons room.

to Jannie
Sounds like a good temptation:drool, but probably cold before it reaches anyone.

 

so are you saying that it wont boot in any room now? i would suspect a short in something. maybe it was a bad keyboard, loose something, but you said you checked it all. make sure the cpu is secure with the fan/heatsink seated properly. all the wiring connected securely, the ram and everything else seated properly.

 

Are you taking just the computer or the computer and monitor as you move things around? If it is just the computer try it with your dining room monitor in your son's room. ( I think I've got that straight?)

Basically, it it works in dining room/daughter's bedroom take both the computer and monitor to your son's room and try it there.

 

Okay, y'all.....I used a heavy-duty extension cord to connect from another room's outlet. It worked.....until I rebooted after updating AVG. Then it started doing the same thing, which is nothing. *They really need a banging my head against the wall smiley here*

To glamdring92: I think I can get dry ice packs in which to have the lasagne delivered.

 

They do
:banghead

You can type : banghead (remove the space between : and banghead) or click on the MORE link below the smileys to the right of the reply box and you will see it towards the bottom :cool

 

Well, hot dang! I missed it! :banghead Told y'all I'm old.

 

So when you checked all of the connections, you removed and replugged in all of the power sources to the mobo and video card? I was thinking of something wriggling loose.

So all the fans are spinning up, are you plugging into the same monitor? Using the same power cord (into the PSU that is)? Basically is everything being replicated as it was in the dining room where it worked?

Are you getting a BIOS beep at all with the fans etc spinning up?

Is the monitoring doing anything (like "No Video Display" etc)? so you can say here the "monitor" is getting power.

If the fans are all spinning up does it sound like it is cycling? i.e. normally a PC will boot up and the fans will all start up (spinning about mid range) and then they will cycle back down a bit (or up higher) and their speed will respond to how hot the CPU is during the POST.

Check the plugs to the HDD and make sure this is all connected.

Finally with the side cover off in the bedroom can you see any little lights on the mobo?

 

Worse case scenario is that the mobo may have to be lifted out and placed back in to make sure there are no "shorts" occurring with the back, sides of the case etc. If I help you solve it a pic of the lasagne will have to do......I'm in Australia.........LASAGNNNNNEEEEEE........

 

I had funny problems with an outlet (or wiring) not sure what it was, never really figured it out and it went away, but I'm pretty sure it was due to the old electrical system because my roomate had power issues that day as well..

But I've heard similar problems related to the motherboard not being grounded or something that's beyond my knowledge.

I also had a computer that I thought I had fried the motherboard after installing new ram, it wouldn't boot, turns out I didn't push in one of the ram sticks all the way in, that one was real hard to push in though in my defense, it felt like I was going to snap it or slip and hit something else.

I realize I'm of no help, but I wanted to participate.

 

Yes, I did and made sure it was all plugged back in well.

Yep, fans are spinning. I've moved the monitor I had in the dining room to the son's room and it didn't work in there.

I wasn't getting the beep until the last time I tried to boot up and then it beeped and wouldn't stop. I just turned the whole mess off.

The monitor shows "Off mode in 5 secs" and it means what it says.

As a matter of fact, it doesn't sound like it's cycling at all. Same speed no matter how long I leave it on.[/B]

I checked the plugs and all looks connected.

I don't see any light on the mobo. Am I supposed to? :-o

In the worst case scenario, I may have to get one of my son's friends to mess with the mobo. I'm skeered! (In Texan speak, that means I'm a bit afraid.) I can and will send a pic of the lasagne.

 

Participation appreciated, Jim!

 

Lots of beeps could be that the you did not seat the RAM completely. Make sure it is firmly in the slot(s) and the clips are in place. Other than suggesting using the same keyboard that worked in the dining room I'll just be reading this thread quietly in the background.

 

Is this still happening each time you turn it on now?

Every motherboard I've worked with has always had a small green LED that indicated the motherboard had power. If you don't see the light, look for an LED that isn't lighting up, if it isn't lighting up that may be a sign of something wrong with the motherboard.

This sounds like a piece of faulty hardware. Do you see any black scorch marks on the motherboard indicating a short? Do you have extra hardware like RAM or another video card you can swap out to try to figure out what the problem child is?

 

Okay now. I still don't see a mobo light, BUT.....I plugged the computer into an extention cord and plugged it into an outlet in the living room. Thank goodness it's a 100' long one. It didn't work the first time, so I gave up for awhile. I just tried it again and IT'S WORKING! Therefore, it must be a voltage problem in that room, right?

Thank you all so very much for your help and I'm sure I'll be back again.

 

If it didn't work the first time I think you're still going to run into problems with it not working again. I think it's some kind of short or faulty hardware if it works sometimes and doesn't at other times.

 

i agree with JJJ
i think it was just a coincidence that it seems to only work in 1 room and not the other.

 

I think y'all are right. I downloaded IE8 and restarted. Well, I tried to restart, but it's back to it's old tricks again. :banghead

 

The most common problem I've run into with situations like this is with the RAM. Try re-seating the RAM and/or if you have RAM you can borrow from another computer try RAM you know is good and see if that works more consistently.