BleepingComputer.com: PC not booting or showing image

AustrAlien, on 06 September 2011 - 01:29 AM, said:

Nothing changed.

The PSU was recently changed (less than a year ago, I believe; I did it myself) and I don't have a spare motherboard. If that is a problem, my parents probably won't want to deal with it and they will probably end up getting a new PC.

Hello I am going to see if I can help you discover and fix the problem you are currently having with your desktop computer.

First I am providing a link to Hewlett Packard's website for your computer.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3856272&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us

Please if you could click this link below and look at the image of the motherboard in that page, is that your motherboard?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01635734&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3856272&tmp_track_link=ot_search


I need to know that answer to assist you better.

Thanks in advance.

Bruce.


Note to myself: this link is for future reference to this topic. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/searchResults?tmp_product=HP+Pavilion+a6720y+Desktop+PC&product=3856272&tmp_qt=motherboard+map&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en

Bruce

Thanks for taking a look.

AustrAlien, on 06 September 2011 - 07:40 PM, said:

Not a problem, just hoping to make things easier for everyone.

Bruce.

MrBruce1959, on 06 September 2011 - 07:27 PM, said:

Yes, that is my motherboard.

Thank you for your reply.

There are several things I want you to do, but I will cover them one at a time, this way there is no confusion, which can happen if too much ground is covered in one session.

We are going to clear your BIOS, this can correct any misconfigured settings that may have been set by installed programs or windows updates.

I want you to go to this link below for a visual instruction of what jumper I need you to move, to reset the BIOS chip's configuration. (See further instructions from me below that link)

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01635734&cc=us&dlc=en&lc=en&product=3856272&tmp_track_link=ot_search

At that link above, you will see the image of your motherboard, scroll down until you see Clearing the CMOS settings Click on the + to expand it, it should show you images of where the Clear CMOS jumper is located and which one it is. Follow those instructions and when done, make sure you return the jumper back to where it was before you moved it.

Try starting your computer up, if it does start, press the key mentioned on the screen to enter SETUP, press that key as soon as you can.

Correct the time and date in your BIOS screen, then choose system defaults, save and exit.

I may have gone too far with these instructions, if for example your system still does not display anything on the screen, but in case it does, I at least want you to know what to do next.

Please post back the results.

Bruce.

This post has been edited by MrBruce1959: 07 September 2011 - 10:35 PM

MrBruce1959, on 07 September 2011 - 10:33 PM, said:

Bruce,

Thanks for the help. The computer started but, unfortunately, nothing appeared on the display. Any other ideas?

Sadly, the only thing I can suggest is trying an add in video card in your PCI-Express slot.

Your system currently has the following integrated graphics chip:

Video
Integrated graphics using nVidia GeForce 9100
*Integrated video is not available if a graphics card is installed.
Integrated graphics using nVidia GeForce 9100.
Supports concurrent use of dual displays connected to onboard DVI and VGA connectors.
Also supports PCI Express x16 graphics cards as independent graphics adapters.*

What the bold part above means is that as soon as your motherboard detects an add-on video card in the PCI-E slot, it will switch off the one built into the motherboard.

Your on-board VGA connector may have a faulty connection to your motherboard, such as a loose or faulty solder joint, this can be hard to spot, but light flexing the VGA connector may reveal a faulty solder joint.

If you get a display on the screen with an add in video card, then you should be able to stick with this arrangement, if it fails to work, this means a major component on the motherboard has failed, it could very well be your BIOS chip, north or south bridge chip or your processor that has failed.

Your motherboard could also be victim to leaking electrolytic capacitors, a visual inspection of those may reveal one or two bad ones, usually in and around the location of the CPU. I can provide more information on that issue if you need me to.

To be honest with you, I have seen some brand new power supplies go bad within a month of purchase, so it is possible one of the rails went bad inside your power supply.
This would mean one of the required voltages is missing or below spec for the computer to start properly, so do not rule out the power supply as a possible culprit.

That about sums it up, there is not much more other than this that can be suggested, without the use of some electronics test equipment handy and a good service manual.

Bruce.

This post has been edited by MrBruce1959: 08 September 2011 - 03:07 PM