HDD, Mobo, CPU, RAM - What can be causing my computer not to start?

In the past this same thing happened. My computer stutter froze (like, it would freeze, go, freeze, go, freeze and stop) in a matter of like 1-3 seconds. I would manually power off the computer with the case Power Button. I would try to start my PC and my motherboard speaker would not beep like it always would upon start up. After replugging everything in, switching a few SATA cords, and trying this for a week, it finally started again.

The same stutter freezing happened again and I've tried what I did before and it's not working. I don't know if it could be my Mobo, HDD, or CPU. I've tested using my Mobo's graphics, my old graphics card, and my new one (XFX Radeon Hd 6770) so I know it can't be my graphics card. I plugged in old RAM to see if it could have been that, but that didn't fix anything either.

Okay geeks, what do you think it could be? It has to be a hardware issue because even with my HDD not plugged in I can't even get to my BIOS.

 

Another question, I had to check my CPU to make sure it was secure on the socket, thus removing my heat sink. If my glue is dried up and my CPU doesnt stick to it, it came off rather easy, could that cause my CPU to overheat? Even with the Heatsink locked down?

Thanks for any thoughts, opinions, or help in advance.

 

I'm not a real hardware person so someone else may give better advice.

How old is the CMOS battery? Try unplugging A/C and removing CMOS battery for a minute or two and then putting back and trying to startup. If no difference try it with no CMOS battery.

Also try booting with no RAM installed. You should get a loud beep. That would tell you it is getting far enough to realize there is no RAM installed.

 

My Mobo speaker actually fell apart when I was plugging in my front Panel to my Mobo (The speaker is disconnected from the wires and I cannot get them back in). I'm not sure on the CMOS, I'm actually not sure how to access CMOS, but atleast looking it up I know what it is, lol.

About the RAM, I did do this yesterday and there wasn't a loud beep.

Another thing I should ad is that my power button on the case will turn my computer on, but it wont turn it off, thus forcing me to unplug the PSU.

I'm 99% sure it has to be my Motherboard, unless I can figure out how to mess with the CMOS. I just want to make sure I know the exact error before I go buy something because of my low budget.

Thanks for your input I will keep looking more into CMOS to see if I can figure this out.

 

CMOS battery is just a quarter coin type battery. Some machines don't boot when it is dead. Most do boot with a bad one but give warnings about having lost time and date settings. A bad battery wouldn't explain the freezes so it may not be involved but it can prevent BIOS from loading on some machines. CMOS and BIOS are essentially the same thing for practical purposes.

http://pctechnotes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/cmos_battery1.jpg

Occasionally they are situated standing upright in a slot, so are a bit harder to locate on the motherboard.

 

Literally right next to the front panel plugs. I'll give this a try and get back to you. thanks!
EDIT: Did not change a thing

 

For testing purposes remove all add in cards apart from the video card,use one stick of ram in slot 0 a known working one if you have one,disconnect all drives,double check all your power connectors,make sure you reconnected your cpu fan.

EDIT if you own some thermal past I would clean off the old and apply new, it isn't necessary though your computer will still boot with old thermal past and allow a temperature reading to be taken in bios.

Its not your HD,its not your video card,if you have tried another stick of memory its unlikely your memory so its either your motherboard,cpu or power supply.

Where are you up to now,with just these components connected what happens exactly,fans,lights,noises?

Do you own an electrical multimeter and know how to use it? This would be my next step to test the psu voltages.

 

CPU fan is spinning, GFX Fan is spinning, I can hear the noise of the HD, the PSU fan is spinning. The LED's in the front of my case light up, but it's not normal.*

*Usually with my LED's in the front of my case, upon start-up, it would show green and red (Not 100% sure on what this means, but, i believe it means it's reading the HD or something) but it is just a solid green.

Even with just the CPU fan plugged in, it still spins and powers on. Like I said it powers on, but nothing is showing up on screen. I do not have a multimeter, which was recommended from a friend earlier.

After messing with the CMOS and looking at all possibilities I strongy believe it is indeed my Mobo, weather it went bad or something isn't reading something correctly. At that, I can't access my BIOS at all, like I said nothing shows up on screen, even with the HD plugged in or un plugged.

I really do appreciate your help, but I think I'm just going to buy the cheap motherboard that I have (Just a new one) to see if that's the issue. Which I hope it is because I'm almost 100% certain it is. I'll bump this topic once I get the new Mobo to let you guys know how it goes.

Thanks again so much! For those who can relate, have a happy friday. Peace out for now

 

Bump - I'm going to purchase a motherboard today. I want to make sure it is the motherboard and not the CPU. Here's a TL;DR

Computer stutter freezes forcing a shut down. Upon start up, mobo speaker doesn't make a noise, BIOS does not show upon startup. No way to shut down other than pulling the plug from the Power Supply. Happened previously, after replugging everything it seemed to work again. Now it is not working.

I'm not 100% sure if it's the CPU or Motherboard, I'm 99.9% sure it is the Motherboard. I would like a little more input on what it would be, the Motherboard or CPU. Is there any way to test if it IS my CPU?

EDIT: If I do not have a CPU in my Motherboard, would BIOS still show up upon start up?
EDIT: From research, I'm getting answers that without a CPU, BIOS will not show. If there is a CPU but dead, could it possibly still show?

 

BUMP Again, 30 minute limit here on this opportunity to fix. Sorry for the spam.

 

Hi,

You are better off waiting for Rikky to give you any last troubleshooting steps to narrow down the problem.

Just from reading CPU going bad is the least likely culprit. They are durable. But see what he says.

The only thing that is bugging me is the fact that the problem started out as intermittent which could be a very weak battery. I don't think I was clear but I think you should try a new CMOS battery. I've seen machines that just won't POST/show BIOS if the battery is dead. Or do you have a battery that might be working from another computer to give a quick try?

 

I've tried draining the power from my Power Supply with the CMOS Battery out. I plugged it back in, and tried firing up, nothing changed.

I tried this again, just without the CMOS battery plugged in. Fired it up, nothing changed. I do not have a another CMOS Battery to try.

If this makes any difference, I did get my hands on a Multimeter and the voltages seem normal, at least I was getting a reading. (Just more information of what I've tried.)

Thanks for the input! Thanked.

EDIT: My way of testing to see if it was possibly the CPU was to turn on my PC and let it run. I noticed that the heat sink did get warmer, which I believe means the CPU is working. (I could be wrong, but it makes sense to me)

 

Sorry, I can't be of more help.

I've never had a CPU go bad. Power supply and MB I have had, but each had a burning smell so it was easy to diagnose.

I would agree with you that MB would be my first choice to replace but that is purely a guess from limited hardware experience. If you don't have to decide immediately, I know you will get more knowledgeable advice.

Edit: I just noticed Rikky is online so I hope he sees your new posts and responds.

 

I went ahead and purchased the Motherboard. Like I said I didn't have much time to make a decision and it's a story I'm not going to explain.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128458

Just for the sake of showing what I bought. I appreciate everyones input. If Rikky ends up reading this, I'd still like to know what you think between a CPU and Motherboard with the explanation (As crappy as it might be) I have given.

 

If you round it down to mobo and cpu stopping the computer starting the only way to test the cpu is to put it in another motherboard its as simply as that. If you don't have one which most people don't you need to take it to a computer store and ask them to test it,this will cost some money but not a lot.

The other option is to buy the motherboard and try it,return it if its not the motherboard in which you will have to pay return postage.

A cmos battery is a good step too as sach said as it costs nothing really,you can also try removing the motherboard from the case,clean it off with canned air and inspect for blown caps,burnt solder and dry solder joints,then run it on a bench this eliminates the chance of a short.

I wish there was a troubleshooting step or test that could narrow it down further,if the computer won't turn on cpu test is the end of the road.

Sach gives me that awesome intro and I advise to take it to a store:-D

It may get warmer but it doesn't mean it's stable enough for the computer run,the fact that your heatsink is getting warm without doing any work lets you know the heatsink is installed correctly at least.

 

It wasn't getting hot, I just noticed a temperature difference before/after I turned on the PC. It got slightly warmer, nothing significant or something I felt the need to note.

Well, I hope it was the Motherboard because it's suppose to be here Wednesday! Can't wait to be able to play games again!

Thanks everyone again and again.

 

Good Luck!

Sounds like you will want some thermal paste. Clean off the old and put a very thin layer of new. http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/howto_install_cpu_and_apply_thermal_paste

 

When you clamp down a heatsink to your Motherboard (For the CPU) there are still gaps between the CPU and Heatsink. The glue is designed to fill those gaps for propper heat spread.

From what I understand, it helps prolong the life of your CPU (I could be wrong).

Hope that helps.

 

Having a similar issue. Was it the Mobo?

 

It was indeed the mobo (But, it could of been the CMOS - I didn't try it out, I just installed the mobo); sorry, I actually intended to post an update. I posted the board that I bought - it's fairly good, overclock friendly, over-all good for your $$$.

The one issue with it is that it seems to love to keep my CPU fan at high RPM, you can adjust this in EasyTune 6 (I recommend a non-stock CPU Heatsink/Fan if you haven't purchased one already)