POST Card

[Jayson]

Would anyone on here recommend a POST card for finding out what's wrong with a computer? I have reseated everything and even attempted a new power supply as I thought that might be the issue. I am now at a loss and looking for the next line of troubleshooting for the PC.

I have a computer that doesn't start up. It powers on and there is movement in fans, HD and everything else, just doesn't display anything or beep. I pulled the HD and it still works properly so I know it wasn't a HD crash.

Thanks computer savvy forum members!

Jayson

[ChadS]

If it's not beeping it's usually the RAM. Can you pull the sticks and replace one?

[Jayson]

Good plan, will try that...

Nope not RAM.

[rlriii13]

+1 on Chad's recommendation.

Would you mind posting the specs of the system? And just to clarify, you cannot see the POST on screen, or you see the POST and nothing after it? I dealt with an issue where the OS and the graphics driver didn't play nice together and I had to jump through a million hoops.

Also, it's a long shot, and you may already have checked, but plug the monitor into something else to make sure it works. If you're only indications of problems are no beep during POST and no display, you might as well rule out the possibility that the monitor is a problem since it's easy to check if you have something else you can plug it into.

[Jayson]

My computer is basically this http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/inspiron-546s/pd

Needed something cheap for me and the kids and this was it. Works for everything I need, or it did until this issue.

Monitor isn't the issue. I have two of them for display and both work with my laptop. I took out all of the ram and tested each one in the 4 different slots and still blank.

As for displaying anything. I cannot see anything on screen. There is no POST at all. I installed windows 7 on it about a month ago after having Vista 64 and didn't have an issue. I thought it might have been something with the USB ports since my kid keeps plugging in a USB microphone, but after unplugging that it didn't remedy the situation. I have since unplugged everything and tested it, but nothing is working.

Thanks.

[ChadS]

If the motherboard doesn't beep then it's either faulty RAM (or DIMM slot), badly-seated or damaged CPU, or the graphics pathway is garbled. Those are the only 3 things checked at POST. After that BIOS takes over and it handles disks, NICs, etc. If you're certain it's not bad RAM it may be a shot motherboard. That happens more than I'd like to think about.

[rlriii13]

If the motherboard doesn't beep then it's either faulty RAM (or DIMM slot), badly-seated or damaged CPU, or the graphics pathway is garbled. Those are the only 3 things checked at POST. After that BIOS takes over and it handles disks, NICs, etc.

But would the disks still spin up if it wasn't actually getting past the POST?



Monitor isn't the issue. I have two of them for display and both work with my laptop.

So, you have two monitors plugged in? One is HDMI and the other is VGA? While doing your diagnostics, did you have both monitors plugged in? I would recommend only plugging in the VGA monitor when testing. Mixing an analog and digital signal can cause some confusion.



It powers on and there is movement in fans, HD and everything else

If you power it on and just let it run for a few minutes, do the fans and the HD continue running?

Are there LED lights inside the case that light up and remain lit? How about the LED lights on the outside of the tower? I don't know about that model, but certain Dell models are infamous for problems with this or that. Many times the behavior of the main power button's LED light can help you find out if there's a hardware issue. You could also try calling Dell.

[Jayson]

Its funny because the same thing happened to my old computer before I bought this one and I never bothered to figure out what happened. Just bought a new one. I had a feeling it might be a little more serious and not an easy fix. Thanks guys for your input.

[rlriii13]

No problem Jayson. Everything I'm writing is just that - input. I'm no computer technician. But computer problems are the worst and I hate to go through them, so I know your pain. When problems arise, it makes you realize how much we rely on our electronics.

A quick Google search led me here:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f210/help-dell-inspiron-wont-turn-on-298889.html

and here:
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19348141/19756400.aspx#19756400

[ChadS]

Disks and fans can spin up simply because they have power. Depending on the Mobo some will regulate the fan speeds even before POST based simply on some analog control circuitry. Once the advanced thermal management takes over (BIOS) then it's under fine control.

The beep is really, really important...

[Jayson]

But would the disks still spin up if it wasn't actually getting past the POST?




So, you have two monitors plugged in? One is HDMI and the other is VGA? While doing your diagnostics, did you have both monitors plugged in? I would recommend only plugging in the VGA monitor when testing. Mixing an analog and digital signal can cause some confusion.




If you power it on and just let it run for a few minutes, do the fans and the HD continue running?

Are there LED lights inside the case that light up and remain lit? How about the LED lights on the outside of the tower? I don't know about that model, but certain Dell models are infamous for problems with this or that. Many times the behavior of the main power button's LED light can help you find out if there's a hardware issue. You could also try calling Dell.

Question #1, I was wondering about the HD spinning question too, but figured since there wasn't a beep it wasn't getting past post.

#2, I unplugged the HDMI first try and have tried plugging and unplugging as I tested originally. Both work on other computers and when plugged into the down computer, they display like it would be off or in sleep mode.

#3, Yes, the fans and HD continue running. You can tell it isn't processing anything by the sounds it makes, just running. The LED light inside the case beside the batter is orange and stays orange when the computer is turned on and plugged in. The LED light on the front of the computer which usually displays white when the computer is on, is displaying orange also (just like it would when in sleep mode or hibernate). The little light on the front that flashes when it is initially turned on(wife calls this the thinking light) :D doesn't do anything at all. I thought initially that I might have had a bent USB pin from the plugging in of the microphone, but they appear to be fine, and I think that would have been solved by unplugging that from the motherboard.

[rlriii13]

Is it under warranty?

[Jayson]

Is it under warranty?

Sadly no. I bought it refurbished over a year ago and I believe I only had a 90 day warranty. Get what you pay for sometime right...

[NFLD Stephen]

Sounds like the motherboard to me. My mobo fried last month and had the same symptoms. REplaced that (and the processor too, while I was at it) and everything else works fine.

Problem is, you can generally only tell if your mobo is toast by ruleing out everything else....

Stephen

[ChadS]

Problem is, you can generally only tell if your mobo is toast by ruleing out everything else....

That depends strongly on how many computers you have lying around... At any one moment I have about 10 in various operational, server, or graveyard positions. I guess people outnumber computers in most houses? (not including smart phones and tablets)

[jrw]

Had a similar situation with my son's computer. For Christmas he received a new graphics card and power supply. The first time there was a problem all it took was unplugging the PSU connector to the motherboard. Worked fine, for a couple of days. Second time around, I popped out the pins from the connector and cleaned them with rubbing alcohol, as well as the pins on the MoBo. There was some resin flux residue left inside the female pins. Haven't had a problem since.

Worth a try anyways.

[ChadS]

@JRW good point. If the voltage regulators don't get up to proper voltage the mobo won't beep. It's worth putting a Fluke on the pins if you've got one. Replacement power supplies are cheaper than a new computer.

[M_Six]

Have you tried a different video card? Does it have a video card or is it on-board video?

We bought a bunch of those small form factor Dells about 4 years ago and they're all beginning to drop like flies. Those small cases just don't allow enough airflow to cool adequately. We've gone back to mini-towers.

[Jayson]

Have you tried a different video card? Does it have a video card or is it on-board video?

We bought a bunch of those small form factor Dells about 4 years ago and they're all beginning to drop like flies. Those small cases just don't allow enough airflow to cool adequately. We've gone back to mini-towers.

Regarding the power supply, I did try to check and clean the pins. Then I purchased another power supply for the thing and that didn't work either.

I believe the video card is on board on this one. I don't see any place where there is a detachable card unless I am missing something. I didn't think of the airflow problem until I actually had it in hand and was thinking the same thing. Seemed to get hot very quickly when using it to most of it's potential.

[M_Six]

If the vid card is on-board (on the motherboard), you might want to check with a local computer shop and see if they can lend you a cheapo PCI vid card. It'll have to be a low profile one for that machine, but it's one way to check if your I/O board (the section of the motherboard with the external connections) is shot. They do tend to die in those machines. They're not too pricey to replace, either. Do you know of any local computer stores you can trust?