Hi,
First-off: I'm fairly amateur at repairing hardware components of computers, but I know most of the basics.
The Problem: When I turn on my computer, it turns on but the monitor goes immediately into Power Saver Mode (the usually green light on the monitor turns orange). I know this is not a monitor problem because I tried another monitor on my computer and had the same result. I also tried reseating the RAM, replacing the video card, and taking out the motherboard battery - all to no avail. All the fans are working, some were quite dusty so I cleaned them, but got the same result. There was usually a system beep during the boot, which is gone now. But does this mean that the Power On Self Test is failing or that it doesn't even get to perform the POST? I hit the keys on the keyboard (which normally brings it out of Power Saver Mode during every day use) and nothing happens (the caps lock / num lock light seems to react within the first few seconds of boot, but after that no luck). Moving the mouse doesn't work.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I've been trying to solve this problem for a while now and would prefer not to go out and buy a brand new PC.
Hi,
First up try removing the RAM and booting to see if you get any beeps at all. While it is out, clean the contacts with a pencil eraser and only put one stick in a different slot. If you have two sticks, then try the other stick.
Do you get a message on the monitor "No signal"?
Unplug the power to the motherboard and then plug back in and try.
Remove the video card and plug directly into the motherboard and try.
Disconnect DVD drive/s, hard drive/s, Floppy drives (If you have one) anything you don't need just to see a boot screen, and try again.
Hi again,
Sorry for the very late response, I have had very little time to work on this problem. I tried booting without the RAM, cleaning the contacts, and putting in only one stick of RAM and booting (I honestly don't know whether it was in a different slot than it was in before). But I thinkwe can conclude from this that it isn't a RAM problem?
There seems to be two wires running from the power supply to the motherboard, only one of them seemed to be able to be unplugged from the motherboard, so I did unplug it and plugged it back in and booted. No luck. Should I have booted while it was still unplugged?
I have never seen a "No Signal" message on the screen. When I hit a button on the monitor it goes back to saying "In Power Saver Mode" for a moment and then goes black.
What do you mean by "Remove the video card and plug directly into the motherboard and try." ? Are you saying there's another way to plug the video card into the motherboard other than in a slot? Because as I mentioned before I have tried replacing the video card and still had no luck.
I removed my primary hard drive (I have two) and booted with no luck. But I doubt this is a hard drive issue, so I don't think it's neccessary to remove the other one.
So basically all that's left that could be the issue is my CD Drive, the motherboard itself, or the CPU, right?
Thanks for your help!
The connection from the power supply to the motherboard that I had previously thought was impossible to disconnect I did manage to unplug and replug. Booted the machine, the monitor still remained in Power Saver Mode. The other hard drive that I said I wouldn't disconnect, I did disconnect and booted with no luck.
Hi,
Yes you have virtually ruled out a memory problem. Most motherboards have a built in video. As they are normally too slow for gaming they are regularly unused and a video card is used. If your machine has a on-board-video you will find a socket near the PS2 sockets (away from the video card area). If you have this socket, you can plug your monitor directly into the motherboard. You need to remove your video card for it to work. If your video then works it will be your video card/video card slot or motherboard that is faulty. In regard to your hard drives/DVDs, sometimes there can be a conflict with where your drives are plugged in and if someone had changed their position it could effect your ability to boot. I was just saying to disconnect them not remove them and see if anything changes.
Yeah I know you just told me to disconnect them, but I ended up removing one anyway to place it in another computer for temporary use.
I was thinking the same way (regarding the monitor connecting directly to the motherboard) because on most computers you can do that, but for some reason my motherboard doesn't have the right kind of port to connect my monitor to it. Maybe I'd need some sort of rarer cable or something...
Up next I guess I could try disconnecting my CD and DVD drives...
I also tried putting my video card in a different slot to see whether the slot is faulty or not. I did this and when I booted I heard a loud, weird noise that I hadn't heard before. Kind of like a series of weird beeps running together, but it definitely wasn't a system beep.
Hi,
If you don't have a socket for the video to plug directly into your motherboard, then your motherboard does not have an on-board video.
The fact that you got a different result plugged into a different slot indicates a motherboard problem with that other slot.
I know what I said in an earlier post but,,,,, that sound you describe sounds like the sound you get sometimes with some machines when you have a memory problem. Just to make an old man happy, try just one RAM stick with the video card in the new slot. It is possible but not likely that you had two problems, the memory and the video card slot.
If you still have problems, maybe someone else here has an idea to help you before you need to take your machine to a repair shop.
Unfortunately, one stick of RAM and the video card in the new slot didn't work.
Hi,
I am sorry to say but that is the limit of my ability to assist you from here. Maybe someone else here will offer you a suggestion, if not I would say it is time to visit a repair tech. Make sure you can get a free quote.
Thanks for all your patience and help.
We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.