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**parsec** · 03-27-2015, 02:39 AM

Re: Potentially Different - No video On Startup Issue

Originally posted by nathan6294np View Post

Hey people,

please hear me out as i am not a computer guru and i will try and explain everything to the best of my ability

i can see on google that there have been several issues like this covered and of course i have logically followed steps people have suggested but have had no luck

my nephew has built a gaming PC, it was running fine and then for some reason he decided to reinstall windows, he done this successfully and then when it came to installing his MOBO drivers he noticed the disk was severely scratched, he then downloaded the drivers off the net and upon rebooting the PC now gets no video. Which is why this issue 'MAY' be different to others. There is also no power from the USB ports!

so....the spec of the PC is as follows (again im not a computer nerd)

- Asrock 970 extreme 3 mobo
- geforce GTX 760 graphic card
- avexir 2x 4GB DDR3 ram sticks (slots 1 & 3)
- 650W PC-650AUBA-M power supply
- corsair heatsink - water cooled??
- kingston 120GB SSD (for OS)
- 2TB 3.5" sata HD (not connected was used for storing games)
- i dont know the CPU as i didnt note it down (AMD though)

So its not hard to see that by google searching '970 extreme 3 no video' there are lots of issues like this plagued over the net but again im thinking this one may be different.

The things ive done are:

- ensured the 8 pin 12v connector is attached to the mobo
- removed the mobo and madesure the stand offs are all lined up correctly
- removed the CPU and checked for bent pins
- reinstalled the CPU ensuring correct orientation
- reinstalled the heatsink on the CPU with fresh compound using the 'pea method'
- obviously ive disconnected everything and reinstalled it all (plug wise so no loose plugs)
- reset the cmos by using the jumper and removing the battery for 5 mins
- tried booting using 1 ram stick (and swopped them around too)
- tried connecting it via DVI as opposed to the HDMI

i dont have a speaker so i cant check for beep codes that ive seen some people suggest

i might try reversing the reset switch when i get home as ive just read that this may cause an issue? although these plugs have an arrow pointing to the negative wire iirc to help with orientation?

i havent tried putting the ram sticks in different slots (they are in 1 and 3)

from my previous messing's with PCs (we're talking 5 years ago) id like to remove the HD and format it so that its basically like a new install but i havent tried this yet

any suggestions would be awesome and ive taken some pics and a quick vid also if theyre any help

...

It seems that in trying to fix this PC's problem, you became so caught up in the fixes you found on the Internet, that the probable real source of the problem was overlooked.

To review the situation:

The nephew's PC was "running fine", but after he installed Windows again and installed drivers he downloaded from the Internet, he lost the video.

My first question is, if the only thing that was changed was the Windows installation, why was the focus on verifying the hardware was working correctly? The only variable was the change in the Windows installation and apparently driver versions, but that is unknown. So the potential hardware problem happened coincidentally with the new Windows installation? If the PC worked normally in the past, why check the polarity of the connections of switches, etc?

This caught my attention, "... for some reason he decided to reinstall windows...". This makes me think you aren't getting the complete story or true series of events leading up to the problem, sorry to say. Personally, I would talk to the nephew again and see if he remembers anything that might be helpful.

If the new Windows installation was the cause of the problem, removing the Windows drive and then attempting to start the PC should have at least had the POST display and pre-OS boot ASRock screens displayed. But I doubt that would happen.

Here is what I think is happening. That PC is not really starting at all, and is not even starting the POST process. The main culprit to test, the power supply. Not test it specifically, but replace it with another PSU as a test.

I looked that Powercool PSU up on the Internet, very little found about it. To borrow a term from the British, it seems rather "dodgy" to me. Whom would name a PSU "Pentium P4", which is a decade+ old processor, except an otherwise no name Chinese company trying to put an attractive name on their product, but failing miserably due to ignorance. I could go on about the specs, but one of them sums them up, a one year warranty. IMO this PSU either partially or fully failed, and possibly took some of the other hardware with it. I hope not...

So get a different PSU in that PC, and see what happens. Also, a very cheap beep speaker would be a great diagnostic tool that may save you great amounts of time and effort.

**nathan6294np** · 03-27-2015, 02:57 AM

Re: Potentially Different - No video On Startup Issue

correct i wasn't getting the full picture so it seems, my reason for testing everything hardware installation wise is because he apparently took it apart and put it back together just after this happened, i wanted to eliminate any mistake that could've therefore been made in the haste / panic of a simple no video software issue, thus ensuring i was personally starting from the same point at which this issue first occured

im a aerospace developement engineer, logical processes is what i follow.

button speaker on its way as he has one

i dont have a spare PSU if there's a way to test them i can possibly do that

**parsec** · 03-27-2015, 12:07 PM

Re: Potentially Different - No video On Startup Issue

Well that makes perfect sense then, verifying his rebuild, which I don't think you mentioned in your first post.

Testing a PSU can be difficult, it's one thing to measure no load voltages but that may not reveal a problem in actual use. If you have a voltmeter, you can at least check if you get 12V on the CPU power cable, starting the PSU with the paperclip jumper method. The PSU seems to start, its fan runs?

If you check voltages with a voltmeter, if any 12V pins do not show close to 12V, then the PSU is bad or at least suspect. That PSU is multi-rail on the 12V CPU and video power sources, 20 Amps on each rail maximum. The load on those rails must be balanced correctly or the over current protection will shut off that rail.

Definitely try the beep speaker, but if you get no beeps at all (some BIOS versions have an option to turn the beep on and off, defaulting to off, which is brilliant) that would seem to indicate the board/CPU is not starting at all. So either a dead PSU or damaged CPU or board. Another PSU would answer many questions, but easier said than done.

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