COmputer won't boot, even to the Bios screen

I had a old Asus P4PE motherboard laying around with a P4 processor that was taken out of a working PC. A friend of mine needed a cheap PC so I told him he could have my old parts. He went out and bought a new case and power supply and I put the MB in with his Cd Rom and new 300gb IDE hard drive. When I boot the PC up the HDD light comes on and stays on and the PC does nothing. I also noticed on this board that when you plug in the power cord there is a green light on the MB that comes on and when you turn the power switch on that light is supposed to get brighter but it never changes. Is it possible that the power supply is bad even though it turns on and powers everything up? I have put together quite a few PC' and never had one that wouldn't even boot to the Bios screen.

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Is it possible that the power supply is bad even though it turns on and powers everything up?

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Yes. If the voltages/amperages are not correct, it won't POST.

Did you setup the motherboard/cpu on a nonconductive surface before installing it into the case? You may have an extra standoff under the board which is grounding it out.

I took the MB right out of my old tower and into the new one. I checked under the MB and there are no extra stand off's. I think I will try a new PS and see if that is indeed the problem. Is there anything else that can cause the PC not to post on startup?

O kI tried a new Power Supply and I am getting the same thing. It did post one time but after that it wouldn't again. What is happening is the CD rom drive keeps blinking like it is being accessed and the door won't even open correctly (it opens part way and then closes). If I was to disconnect both the IDE cables from the CR rom and the hard drive will the computer normally still post to the Bios screen?

Reset the BIOS with the jumper on the Motherboard or by removing the battery for a few minutes then replacing. If still no joy try a new battery.

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Originally Posted by Raydee

If I was to disconnect both the IDE cables from the CR rom and the hard drive will the computer normally still post to the Bios screen?

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Yes it will, and I recommend you try that as a process of elimination.

I wll try resetting the Bios with the jumper and I will also replace the battery to see if that is the problem. I did try taking the IDE cable's off the motherboard one at a time and even both with the same results.

Did you check for bad caps on the motherboard?

I wonder if you have the following installed:
RAM memory module(s).
A video adapter card or integrated motherboard video.
You can try reseating memory modules if you know how to do it and the video adapter card if installed.
Be sure the hard drive cable is oriented the correct way with the motherboard and the drive.

Yes the Ram and vid card came right out of my other tower and into the new one. Neither were even removed from the MB but I did take the Vid card off and checked it over before putting it back on the MB. I will check the ram though just to make sure its seated correctly.

Do you have Both Power Connectors from the PSU hooked up to the Motherboard, 4 pin and 20 pin? The 4 pin power connector is locted between the CPU and the Video Card Slot and the 20 pin connector is located on the outer edge of the motherboard near the IDE connections. Not having the 4 pin connected can cause these symptoms.

Yes both power connectors are hooked up to the MB. I also replaced the battery on the MB with no difference. I am really starting to think the MB went bad on me.

Just to humor me, first, try unplugging then plugging the power connections back in! Make sure you here them click into place.

Another thing I would try is to remove everything. Then start putting it back together one piece at a time. Motherboard, RAM, CPU, Thermal Paste, Heatsink, Video Card, plug in System Panel connections (power button, reset switch etc... make sure they're plugged in to the right connections) and then plug in Power connections 4 pin and 20 pin from the PSU to the motherboard. Don't hook up CD\DVD, Hard Drives, Floppy, media reader etc... Once these are all in see if the board will post.

What all do you have installed:
CD\DVD ( Brand name SATA or IDE)
Hard Drive Brand name & speed)
RAM (Speed & Type)
Video Card (brand name, type & model)
Power Supply (brand name & wattage)
PCI Cards (what are they)
CPU\heatsink (thermal paste)(what heatsink)
Sound Card (type)
Floppy Drive (type)
Media Card Reader (type)

A quick test you could try is to pull the RAM sticks and then boot the computer - it should start beeping like crazy. If it doesn't, then that's often a sign of a bad mobo or CPU.

Well its not the MB. I pulled the mb from the tower and set everything up on a table and it posts without a problem. I did only have one of the ram modules installed though, maybe the other one is the problem. I am going to remove the power supply from the tower and plug that one in to make sure that isn't the problem, then I will swap the Ram sticks to see if one of them is the problem. I am hoping its not that the MB is shorting out in the case somehow but I highly doubt it is.

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Originally Posted by Raydee

I am hoping its not that the MB is shorting out in the case somehow but I highly doubt it is.

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Did you setup the motherboard/cpu on a nonconductive surface before installing it into the case? You may have an extra standoff under the board which is grounding it out.

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It is very possible that it is grounding out.

Well lots of swapping parts and I started to get the PC to post but on ever 5th post or so the PC will lock up and need to be rebooted. After the reboot it will post and I get a meassage saying that the CPU speed is wrong. I have no idea if its the MB, ram or CPU that is the problem but I think I will just get rid of it all and start over. I also noticed that will the new Power supply I can't get the computer to post ever so I think that PS must be bad.

It showing the wrong speed processor should be just a matter of going into the BIOS and setting the Multiplier to the correct range for that processor. Shouldn't be a big deal.

Any other computers that you cold test the so called bad PSU on? If you have a spare computer hook up the PSU and see what happens.

THe problem is it is showing it is set on the correct speed for the processor. Maybe I will drop it way down and see if it boots normally?

If you haven't done so already, try a new motherboard battery. If that doesn't help then I'd say it was definitely exhibiting symptoms of a bad mobo.

I suggested he try another battery in post # 5 and he said he tried a new one in post # 12, however, as we know, it's not impossible to get a bad "new" battery so it might be worth trying another new one or a known good one.

I def have a brand new and good battery, I tested it with my Fluke meter at 3.35volts.

In that case, it's a bad mobo, in my opinion :( :(

Yeah that is my guess too. Its ok that MB has server me very well for years. I was just hoping to pass it on to a friend that was in need of a PC but I guess he will have to buy a new MB.

Enter the BIOS one more time and perform a save and exit without any changes.
You can try another video card before assuming it is the motherboard.
Be sure the video card is in an appropriate slot, some motherboards accept video cards in a PCI slot or AGP slot...not sure of your system