blown motherboard?

T

TheTyger

Geek Trainee
My brother put ram backwards into my computer!!!:confused:
After I finished freaking out, i tried to fix the problem, but i'm stuck. My computer is not posting, and i have replaced the ram with another card. Even after the change, i cant get the computer to do ANYTHING, even post. It powers on fine, but there is nothing sent to the moniter. Is this likely to be my motherboard blown, or something else?
 
Yes, unfortunately it does sound like your motherboard is blown. Just to be sure though, have you tried resetting the CMOS?
 
i gave it a shot, but my last hope is going to be taking the board out of the case, and using pieces of 2 computers to get as much information as possible. Anyone know if it's likely to blow the video card as well?
 
Typically when the RAM is inserted improperly the damage is limited to the RAM and the motherboard. It is always possible that other components were damaged as well, but atypical.
 
thanks, thats everything that i need to know for now... ive got to do some testing, but i think i should be in pretty good shape with what youve told me.
 
The surest way to tell if a motherboard is dead is the beep codes. If your motherboard produces no beep codes, that means it's dead.

Just as a reference for you:

Constant long beeps: Bad RAM or RAM not seated properly

1 Long beep, 2 short beeps: Bad video card, or video card not seated properly

1 Long beep, 3 short beeps: Same as above, but could also mean bad AGP slot
 
unfortunately, i do not have a speaker in my motherboard... im not sure what happenned to it, but its just not there. (its also possible that the board is just dead, considering that did a part by part cleanout of the system. but i think i lost the speaker) Also, since im looking at motherboards now, does either socket set for teh athlon 64 work, or do i need to get the same as the old board?
 
What was the motherboard make?
A64's mainly come in Socket 754 (Old) and Socket 939 (New)
You'd need to make sure you got the correct one. You could get a different motherboard but you'd need to make sure your parts are compatible.
 
i got the new board... but nothing is different! My computer is still not booting at all. I turn it on, and nothing happens. I don't get to POST, I don't get anything on the screen at all. I only hooked up the board, the cpu, the ram, and the videocard. I tried the videocard elsewhere, and it worked fine. Any ideas at this point?
 
Bad CPU I'd say, although if you're using the same RAM that was put in backwards into the old board then that will probably be damaged as well.
 
the cpu is the same one from the old system, the motherboard and ram are new, and ive tested the videocard and got it working. also, someone told me that they think it could be the power supply. anything on that?
 
Even if the CPU was dead, you would still get some sort of error message. Remember, the CPU doesn't control your computer the moment you press the power, it is the BIOS that 'drags the computer up from it's heels'!

If nothing is working whatsoever, no fan, beep or picture on screen, your PSU is most likely the culprit. Even a bad motherboard can find a way of alerting you via beeps etc. I would really recommend you find a speaker!!

Before you go out and buy anything, i would recommend you check and double check all of your connections.
 
i hooked up the front panel speaker from my case, and there are no beeps. i am going to try the power supply and hopefully ill get something, but just to note, the heatsink does start spinning.
 
jonbenge said:
The surest way to tell if a motherboard is dead is the beep codes. If your motherboard produces no beep codes, that means it's dead.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately this is not the case. Just because you aren't getting beep codes doesn't mean your motherboard is dead. My motherboard was NOT dead, no beep codes when I replaced it still had the same problem.

In the end it was the PSU, so I'd definately have that checked out.
 
ok, i have tested teh ram, the power supply, the video card. I still need to find a way to test the cpu and the motherboards. everything that i have tested has come out fine, so i dont yet have any solution to my problem. Any ideas for testing the last two? I do not have another system that has the same socket.
 
If your fan is spinning, that would signal your PSU is alive.

Can you give me a summary as to what hardware you have tried and works, and what you haven't tried?
 
Actually, I've got an update... I got the motherboard replaced by the company that i bought it from, and now im getting somewhere!... except i cant lead into windows with the new board on. What step am i forgetting in making the system load with the new board in the system?
 
you have to reinstall windows when you replace a motherboard.

you may try doing a repair to recover files you need, but you will need to reformat to maintain the normal stability windows has.
 
You don't have to reinstall Windows. If you can log in under safe mode, go into device manager. Once there, click on system devices and uninstall the 'PCI Bus' and any other hardware related to your old motherboard like an integrated sound card.

When Windows restarts, it is forced to detect and install software and drivers for your new motherboard.
 
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