No post, beeps or video

[Fitz]

System:
AMD XP 1800+
Biostar M7NCG 400 (integrated video)
512 MB Crucial PC 2100
Pioneer 106 CD/DVD R

It's a system for a kid, and she didn't bother telling me she was getting
multiple reboots and occasionally a "CPU fan speed 0" warning.

Now there is no boot, beeps, or video (initially it would give me the BIOS
setup screen, but now that's gone too). I have power to the system, and all
fans spin (including the CPU fan- a Thermaltake Volcano 9).

So, it's not a question of "if" something is dead, just a matter of what.
I'm leaning toward the motherboard. I don't think the Volcano actually
stopped spinning- I think the motherboard quit sensing it.

I would replace things one at a time, but I live in Alaska. Shipping prices
are high, so I want to get what I need in one shot instead of paying
multiple shipping charges.

Any thoughts on best bets? I was thinking of just upgrading the processor to
a Sempron 2400 (Newegg $60.00) and replacing the motherboard with the same
model (also sixty bucks). I can upgrade to Crucial PC2700 memory and she
would have a new machine. Originally, this processor had come from one of my
old machines, as did the memory and DVD. The motherboard was only a year
old. I have three Biostar boards running, and this is the first to give me a
problem.

Thanks,

Fitz

 

[philo]

It's a system for a kid, and she didn't bother telling me she was getting
multiple reboots and occasionally a "CPU fan speed 0" warning.

Now there is no boot, beeps, or video (initially it would give me the BIOS
setup screen, but now that's gone too). I have power to the system, and
all fans spin (including the CPU fan- a Thermaltake Volcano 9).

So, it's not a question of "if" something is dead, just a matter of what.
I'm leaning toward the motherboard. I don't think the Volcano actually
stopped spinning- I think the motherboard quit sensing it.

I would replace things one at a time, but I live in Alaska. Shipping
prices are high, so I want to get what I need in one shot instead of
paying multiple shipping charges.

Any thoughts on best bets? I was thinking of just upgrading the processor
to a Sempron 2400 (Newegg $60.00) and replacing the motherboard with the
same model (also sixty bucks). I can upgrade to Crucial PC2700 memory and
she would have a new machine. Originally, this processor had come from one
of my old machines, as did the memory and DVD. The motherboard was only a
year old. I have three Biostar boards running, and this is the first to
give me a problem.

the only way you can tell for sure is by substituting parts.
it's best to just start out with a minimal system and go from there.

anything you cannot substitute will of course be questionable.

since you live in a remoter are with high shipping charges...
you may actually be better off just buying any parts that could possibly
be bad...
considering the time & extra shipping costs you save..
it will prob be worth it. and it;s always good to have spare parts on hand.

for what it's worth however...
unless the cpu *really* overheated, it's more likely to be a mobo problem
than the cpu itself

 

[Zotin Khuma]

System:
AMD XP 1800+
Biostar M7NCG 400 (integrated video)
512 MB Crucial PC 2100
Pioneer 106 CD/DVD R

It's a system for a kid, and she didn't bother telling me she was getting
multiple reboots and occasionally a "CPU fan speed 0" warning.

Now there is no boot, beeps, or video (initially it would give me the BIOS
setup screen, but now that's gone too). I have power to the system, and all
fans spin (including the CPU fan- a Thermaltake Volcano 9).

So, it's not a question of "if" something is dead, just a matter of what.
I'm leaning toward the motherboard. I don't think the Volcano actually
stopped spinning- I think the motherboard quit sensing it.

I would replace things one at a time, but I live in Alaska. Shipping prices
are high, so I want to get what I need in one shot instead of paying
multiple shipping charges.

Any thoughts on best bets? I was thinking of just upgrading the processor to
a Sempron 2400 (Newegg $60.00) and replacing the motherboard with the same
model (also sixty bucks). I can upgrade to Crucial PC2700 memory and she
would have a new machine. Originally, this processor had come from one of my
old machines, as did the memory and DVD. The motherboard was only a year
old. I have three Biostar boards running, and this is the first to give me a
problem.

Thanks,

Fitz

The Biostar M7NCG-400 is my favourite mobo too. I've used dozens of
them and have never had a problem yet. You're obviously no newbie -
Have you tried interchanging CPU and RAM with your other machines ?
Checked the battery ? Many mobos boot fine with a good CMOS battery or
none, but refuse to do so with a weak one.

Have you checked all connectors ? In many cases I've encountered, a
firm push on various connectors and reseating the memory has revived
many a system with the same symptoms as yours, i.e., starting with
random reboots and finally refusing to boot at all while obviously
receiving power. In some cases, the connectors felt a little loose,
but in others they felt firmly plugged in but nevertheless needed that
push.

If you're getting new parts, I suggest getting PC3200 instead of
PC2700. The M7NCG-400 can run them at 400 MHz if you decide to put in
a separate gfx card later on. And 2x256 instead of a single 512MB
stick so you can run them in dual-channel mode. This is one of the
reasons why I prefer the Biostar mobo to the similar Asus A7N8X-VM.
The Asus board can't run memory in dual mode unless a separate gfx
card is installed. Your daughter may not really need a killer machine,
but if you can provide that bit of a boost at little extra expense....

 

[Fitz]

I ordered the Sempron 2600+, a new motherboard and 2X256MB PC 2700. The
battery hadn't occurred to me, and I will give that a try. After only one
year, I wouldn't think it would have gone bad, but it's certainly a
possibility. It was interesting that while it would give me the BIOS setup
screen, it would not complete the boot to windows- there was no HD activity
at all.

I ordered the PC2700 as I don't have any intention of O/C'ing her system,
and I'm not in favor of running memory speed and FSB asynchronously. The one
really advantageous thing about this motherboard has been it's stability.
This hardware failure not withstanding, I have been very impressed with the
performance of the 3 Biostar boards I have been running. One is used by a 5
year old, and he certainly test the reliability of the system!

That's for the suggestions,

Fitz

 

[Bob M]

I ordered the Sempron 2600+, a new motherboard and 2X256MB PC 2700. The
battery hadn't occurred to me, and I will give that a try. After only one
year, I wouldn't think it would have gone bad, but it's certainly a
possibility. It was interesting that while it would give me the BIOS setup
screen, it would not complete the boot to windows- there was no HD activity
at all.

I ordered the PC2700 as I don't have any intention of O/C'ing her system,
and I'm not in favor of running memory speed and FSB asynchronously. The one
really advantageous thing about this motherboard has been it's stability.
This hardware failure not withstanding, I have been very impressed with the
performance of the 3 Biostar boards I have been running. One is used by a 5
year old, and he certainly test the reliability of the system!

That's for the suggestions,

Fitz

Check for bulging caps on the motherboard. There was a batch of bad
caps used a while back and this will also cause the problem you have.

Bob

 

[Fitz]

Thanks- that was one of the first things I looked at. No bulged or
discolored caps, no obvious breaks in the traces.

Fitz