computer won't boot.. cpu problem?

[vanik]

I came back to my computer the other day to see my monitor display jarbled and my computer off. I couldn't get any output to the monitor after trying to restart but after trying a different monitor I realized it was the computer. I took apart all the extra stuff (down to the cpu, ram, video card, hd) and tried to boot again to no avail.. The motherboard doesnt seem to be damaged (I unplugged all the connections, looked at it and the cpu, and replugged them in), but I realized I wouldn't know what an overheated motherboard or cpu looked like unless it was obvious. The hard drive doesn't turn on (I used a few different ones by the way) but everything else seems to. The power supply fan and all the other fans for that matter turn on and all the LEDs light up as well.

Anyway, here are the stats:

cpu: athlon xp 1900 (with 5 fans)

video card: geforce 4 ti 4600

mobo: asus a7v333

hd: seagate 80gig (at least on the last test)

If you need any more information let me know, I couldn't think of what else might be helpful. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated!

Look around the CPU to see if any of the capacitors are swolen or look like they have brown stuff leaking out of the top.

The caps look like little towers with silver tops usually.

[shawshank62]

if you have an extra cpu lying around try swaping them, and see if it turns on.

[vanik]

Took off the heatsink and the CPU looks fine.. no brown goo or swelling..

I don't have an extra CPU around though.

[vanik]

Could it be a video card problem?

[shawshank62]

yeah thats possible. a month ago my video card got damaged and my comupter wouldnt start, and the few times it did start i got goobly jargon the screen. do you have an extra vc lying around? trying plugging on of them in.

[djlar]

yeah could be a video card problem..does your mobo have one on it if so try that instead....you can tell if your cpu is burned by sniffing it to see if it smells burnt....ioh make sure you pull out the other video card so it wont remember it and try to use it.....im a newbie here but i have had the same problem and thats how i fixed it

Originally posted by vanik
Took off the heatsink and the CPU looks fine.. no brown goo or swelling..

I guess I didn't explain very well. The "brown goo" or "swelling" are not going to be on the CPU. They will be on the capacitors around the CPU socket. This is actually quite common. I'm gonna have a Google to show you exactly what to look for.

BRB . . .

EDIT - This looks like exactly what I'm talking about.

[Micro Bean]

Hhehehheh One more thing Ive noticed is that alot people dont specify there power supply just remember the power supply also plays a big role in destroying things. not enough watts can destroy the PSU and make other things in your board to go outta wack. and also how much is your memory?

[vanik]

I ended up getting to boot (it was the video card, i swapped it with an older one while I look for the warranty) but thanks for all the suggestions.. I never mentioned the power supply because everything was powering up though.