Strange problem with my computer

F

flace9

Geek Trainee
I am having a strange problem with my computer since the last few days, which is that it seems to start when I power but I dont see anything on the monitor and keyboard/mouse lights are not ON, and that is making me mad :mad:

For some history, I was facing a lesser strange problem since a couple of months - when I turn on my computer the computer seems to start, the CPU/HDD start spinning, but I dont see anything on the monitor, the monitor light only keeps blinking. But if I turn if off and back on again a few times, the computer starts fine. I also used to see some HDD error from BIOS at startup, and for that I just used to go into the BIOS settings, and 'autodetect' my harddrive, and then that error used to go away when I reboot. Suspecting the battery for this BIOS problem I even replaced the battery.

Currently, the problem is as I described in the first paragraph - when I start my computer, I can see the CPU/fan spinning, HDD making sound, and a LED glowing on the motherboard, but I dont get the initial LED lights on the keyboard, and I dont get anything on the monitor.

Any ideas for troubleshooting are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
--f:confused:
 
You should clear the CMOS by taking the battery out for 5 seconds. If that doesn't solve it then you may have a simple case of chip-creek. You should re-seat all of your hardware, especially the graphics card, and clean away any excessive dust.
 
megamaced said:
You should clear the CMOS by taking the battery out for 5 seconds. If that doesn't solve it then you may have a simple case of chip-creek. You should re-seat all of your hardware, especially the graphics card, and clean away any excessive dust.
Click to expand...


I cleared all the dust. There are cards(PCI/ISA I mean), except memory module, that I can see on the motherboard, all are onboard. Let me try the battery thing. Thanks.
 
Generally, taking out the Button Battery is not recommended unless the BIOS reset jumpers don't work. Try resetting the BIOS once more, but this time using the reset jumpers and for 10 seconds, not 5.
Also, i'd reseat the video card and the RAM.
 
pelvis_3 said:
Generally, taking out the Button Battery is not recommended unless the BIOS reset jumpers don't work. Try resetting the BIOS once more, but this time using the reset jumpers and for 10 seconds, not 5.
Also, i'd reseat the video card and the RAM.
Click to expand...


I will try re-seating RAM. What does it mean to reset jumbers for resetting BIOS? Which jumpers, how do I identify them? Thanks.
 
flace9 said:
I will try re-seating RAM. What does it mean to reset jumbers for resetting BIOS? Which jumpers, how do I identify them? Thanks.
Click to expand...


Re-seating RAM did not help. I dont have the manual handy now, the motherboard is gigabyte 7vKMP, not sure where the BIOS is jumper is.

I want to know if this surely is a problem only with the motherboard and its BIOS, or it could be any other problem too?
 
I would guess its your psu. If you have another one handy, try using that. Also, another person in another thread said that sometimes the battery on the motherboard goes bad. They are like 1 or 2 dollars, so that's a cheap way to check, but I would try the power supply first.
 
Can i confirm you had two problems, but you've solved one of them? You mentioned that your hard drive was playing up, but you have corrected it using the auto-detect setting in the BIOS?

If I am understanding this correctly, this new fault that has developed has something to do with either the graphics card or the monitor. Can you confirm you monitor is working, and plugged in correctly? If it is then your problem is most likely the graphics card. Is your computer beeping at all during startup?
 
megamaced said:
Can i confirm you had two problems, but you've solved one of them? You mentioned that your hard drive was playing up, but you have corrected it using the auto-detect setting in the BIOS?
Click to expand...

Yes, that harddrive problem was there for a couple of months. looks like the BIOS was flaky, I had to adjust the BIOS settings every other time I start my computer.

megamaced said:
If I am understanding this correctly, this new fault that has developed has something to do with either the graphics card or the monitor. Can you confirm you monitor is working, and plugged in correctly? If it is then your problem is most likely the graphics card. Is your computer beeping at all during startup?
Click to expand...

As I said earlier, I dont see any peripheral cards other memory on the motherboard. everything seems to be built in. I have a laptop from which I am typing this message, so I can try connecting the monitor to the laptop and see if it works. But then, the desktop's keyboard and mouse too dont light up, so I suspect if it is a monitor/keyboard/mouse problem. Btw, the computer does not give *any* beep at startup. I think it is supposed to give one beep right?

Can you tell me more about resetting BIOS through the jumper on the motherboard? Another thing, I had already replaced the battery recently, but the problems persist - I see that the battery is somewhat loose, that is it moves easily if I cuddle it with my finger, is that supposed to be very tight?

Thanks for any response.
 
The CMOS reset jumper will usually be located near or around the area of the battery.
It will look something like This.
Look for markings saying JP1, CMOS, BIOS, RESET etc....
Simply take the jumper cap off pins 1&2 and place it on pins 2&3 for 10-15 seconds and replace the cap back onto pins 1&2.
The battery should not be loose at all, it should fit snug without falling out.
 
flace9 said:
I am having a strange problem with my computer since the last few days, which is that it seems to start when I power but I dont see anything on the monitor and keyboard/mouse lights are not ON, and that is making me mad :mad:

For some history, I was facing a lesser strange problem since a couple of months - when I turn on my computer the computer seems to start, the CPU/HDD start spinning, but I dont see anything on the monitor, the monitor light only keeps blinking. But if I turn if off and back on again a few times, the computer starts fine. I also used to see some HDD error from BIOS at startup, and for that I just used to go into the BIOS settings, and 'autodetect' my harddrive, and then that error used to go away when I reboot. Suspecting the battery for this BIOS problem I even replaced the battery.

Currently, the problem is as I described in the first paragraph - when I start my computer, I can see the CPU/fan spinning, HDD making sound, and a LED glowing on the motherboard, but I dont get the initial LED lights on the keyboard, and I dont get anything on the monitor.

Any ideas for troubleshooting are greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
--f:confused:
Click to expand...

your motherboard bios seems to be faulty u need it to be re-written or the power capacitors needs to be replaced.
 
flace9 said:
Yes, that harddrive problem was there for a couple of months. looks like the BIOS was flaky, I had to adjust the BIOS settings every other time I start my computer.
As I said earlier, I dont see any peripheral cards other memory on the motherboard. everything seems to be built in. I have a laptop from which I am typing this message, so I can try connecting the monitor to the laptop and see if it works. But then, the desktop's keyboard and mouse too dont light up, so I suspect if it is a monitor/keyboard/mouse problem. Btw, the computer does not give *any* beep at startup. I think it is supposed to give one beep right?
Can you tell me more about resetting BIOS through the jumper on the motherboard? Another thing, I had already replaced the battery recently, but the problems persist - I see that the battery is somewhat loose, that is it moves easily if I cuddle it with my finger, is that supposed to be very tight?

Thanks for any response.
Click to expand...

The battery should not be loose! It must make contact with the connectors in order for the BIOS to function correctly! What battery did you replace it with? Theres a chance you could have used the wrong battery, and this is what's causing the problem. A standard CMOS battery is a CR2032 3 VOLT battery. Can you confirm what is in your computer?

It would seem that your hard drive error would be related to this recent error.
 
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