Mayday! Mayday!

**minuteman10** · October 14th, 2008, 12:57

~S~ All....My engine is sputtering....oil all over the canopy...and dropping fast!....Friday night, I shut down my PC. Saturday morning I tried to boot it up...NO JOY!
Gateway GM 5088...AMD 64 x 2 4600....2 gb PC3200 RAM...OCZ 600watt PSU... ATI x1800 GTO...XP Media

Fans all start...Video Card lights up...I get NO video...no apparent HD access.....no posting....no BIOS screen!
I've tried to reset the CMOS using the jumper pins...got a distorted Gateway Logo screen but nothing further. I then pulled the Video card and switched the cable to the on-board graphics output...NOTHING! I pulled the power from the HD and attempted a bootup...no error screen....
I'm pretty certain that it is now the MB...which grounds me indefinitely after losing my millions in last week's Stock Market fiasco!
I'm open to any and all last ditch efforts /suggestions

winslow33 · October 14th, 2008, 13:10

Do you have a bootup disk kicking around? Try popping it in then starting the computer.
If you can see a Gateway screen, it's trying to do something...:isadizzy:

**Skyferret** · October 14th, 2008, 13:57

One suggestion I've heard of is, pull the BIOS battery out for a while then put it back in. Also, check the MB for any bloated capacitors that could be cooked. Did you try reseating "all" hardware? From what I recall about Gateway comps, they come with a blue and a red CD for recovery purpose. I recently had something nasty that put up wall to my HD and nothing could get in. I had to write 0's. As for those CD's (that's if you do have them), the blue one can do a GW scan. Gateway's OEM might have changed in a while since I last recall. I did a short stint for Gateway tech support a while ago but realized I wasn't genetically compatable with call centers.:costumes:

**minuteman10** · October 14th, 2008, 15:15

~S~...Negative on the recovery discs...came only with the XP OS disc. A start up disc...great idea...should have made one of those....:isadizzy:....I'll try the Battery trick....but the clear CMOS jumper should accomplish the same thing I think.....I was really hoping that would work!

**smilo** · October 14th, 2008, 15:27

any chance for safe mode or can you even get that far?

**minuteman10** · October 14th, 2008, 15:31

~S~...Neg on Safe Mode....really don't have any access...that's what is so frustrating!

***hey_moe*** · October 14th, 2008, 15:32

Have you tried a different monitor? Before you do anything, remove all memory and install only one that you know is good.Also have you tried to remove and reset the video card.Remove all USB including the mouse and key board.Reboot. If still no display and you know for sure the monitor is good, remove the MB out of the case and put it on a piece of wood. Only have the PS,video card, and one memory stick. If you have a spare HD use that. you don't need a OS to get into the BIOS. If still no go reseat the processor. I know this is a lot of trouble but ya gonna do that anyway. I have seen in the past that a bad HD,mouse,keyboard,USB device can also cause this. Also if the MB is grounding out in the case same thing.

winslow33 · October 14th, 2008, 15:42

What OS are you using? XP?

***hey_moe*** · October 14th, 2008, 15:46

I t doesn't matter what OS he is using....he has gotta first get it to boot into his BIOS or at least a burp pee on his monitor.

Originally Posted by winslow33

What OS are you using? XP?

winslow33 · October 14th, 2008, 15:50

I'm only wondering because if that's the same OS as the computer you are using to post on the forums with, you can make a bootup disk on it. If you have administrator rights, that is:isadizzy:.

True story: Once I used my old Windows 98 bootup CD to boot DOS on my XP machine. If you have any computer kicking around that still works you can make a bootup disk that *might* work in a pinch...:isadizzy:

I feel for you, 'cause I just finished getting over a complete HD failure myself last week and am still suffering minor problems.

winslow33 · October 14th, 2008, 15:59

I kind of feel foolish asking this, but:

Wait a second- You say you can see a gateway screen? On my computer when I see my Compaq screen I can hit F10 (or F8 on my 98) to get the bios screen. What happens when you hit that key? Still just the gateway screen?:isadizzy:

**hubbabubba** · October 14th, 2008, 16:00

I do sympathise with you MM. That's about all I can do. I'm useless when it comes to hardware probs.

As for the Stock Market plunge, the big advantage of not having money to invest is that you are spared loosing it...

***hey_moe*** · October 14th, 2008, 16:00

LOL dat can drive ya nut. Here ya go, talk about going nuts. I was unable to boot at all. I narrow it down to the HD. I replaced the SATA cable, same problem, had a spare HD, replaced it, still same problem, replaced the Sata cable with a new one same problem....by now I really started to scratch my head....here is the pisser, the Sata cable was bad...but the two new ones were also bad...musta been a bad batch. And these were high end Sata cables that are also shield. After getting in contact with WD tech...we spent almost 2 hours on this night mare...he was flabber gassed too:costumes:

**minuteman10** · October 14th, 2008, 17:46

~S~ Moe...I think that's where I'm at next...teardown time! USB Hubs are definitely not activating. Winslow....unfortunately my mouse and keyboard are wireless...PC doesn't boot far enough to activate them. My hands are basically tied behind my back! I'm using a PC at work to keep in touch...if I could just get in....

PS...nice system specs by the way!!!!

winslow33 · October 15th, 2008, 04:08

I see... I'm using a hard wired keyboard on my laptpo, so I have instant keyboard use. I thought you did too:isadizzy:

***Dangerousdave26*** · October 15th, 2008, 09:54

We had Dell computers (and a lot of them) that would do that at the Medical Center. Look closely at the motherboard we found one Capacitor that would explode. Not violently but its guts were leaking out of it.

The symtoms of this were after a normal shut down it would never restart. The CPU fan would start to spin up and keep getting faster and faster until you thought it was going to take off.

One of the employees here had the same problem on her PC at home it was not a Dell but blew a similar capacitor on the MB.

humbles · October 15th, 2008, 13:02

Sorry to hear your news Tom. May I ask ,is there an error code .Another words when you boot up the machine ,does it give out a series of Bleeps, long and short. Imagine morse code .If you do hear these bleeps ,write down the sequence. Also if you can hear these , they will tell you your fault.I dont suppose it could be the back up battery on the mother board,If this goes then there goes your Bios settings,as you might know the bios tells your computer how to run . You had me worried when I read your post, Oil spluttering , My thoughts. Oh no your liquid cooling has sprung a leak .You know my email if you need any help

**minuteman10** · October 15th, 2008, 17:44

~S~ All.....I played some this morning....I gave the MB a close inspection and do NOT detect any bulging capacitors or cracks. I then pulled the Video card and connected up to the on-board graphics. I pulled all but 1 stick of memory. I disconnected all USB inputs. I then jumped the clear CMOS pins and tried a restart. I actually got to a clear Gateway screen with the F2(Bios) or F10(Bootup) choices....I tried a second time with my wireless mouse and keyboard receiver plugged in. It lit and responded with flashes to keyboard strokes...however no advancement from the Gateway screen...couldn't get in to the BIOS. The HD LED comes on steadily initially...then goes out. I do not detect any HD movement.
~S~ Humbles...how have you been Sir?...No beeps at all...except my own expletives! It is the original battery...that is a thought....I'm going back and forth between the HD...the MB...or a lost or corrupted BIOS. It really is disheartening...I can see in the window, but can't get in the door! The more I look about the internet, the more instances I am finding with the exact same symptoms after a normal shutdown.....Hmmmmmmmm!
Thanks to all for your help and suggestions...i owe you all one :ernae:
~S~

winslow33 · October 15th, 2008, 18:02

Well, at least you're getting closer...:isadizzy:

Totaly unrelated, but how many batteries are there in a computer? Just for an experiment one time, I popped out a battery to see what happened to the clock. I popped the battery in the next day and fired up the computer only to see that it kept perfect time.

BTW, what does the switch beside the battery do?

**minuteman10** · October 15th, 2008, 19:08

~S~ Winslow...just the one that I'm aware of. It keeps the CMOS intact...removal of it will reset the CMOS...

***Dangerousdave26*** · October 16th, 2008, 04:26

Yep should be just one battery and it keeps the CMOS memory alive. Remove it and you should loose the clock timing. Most PC's will recognizes this as a problem and prompt you to set the clock when you boot up. I never saw one that would keep time when the battery was removed.

Minuteman10

I forgot this go to a computer supply store and purchase a power supply tester. They can be picked up for $10 or less most times. Follow the instructions and test the power supply. Most likely not the problems but worth a shot.

Do as you already did but remove everything by that I mean all memory, PCI cards, Keyboard monitor and mouse. (leave the CPU in) then power up to see if you get error beep codes if you don't scrape it.

Sadly it sounds like time for a complete over haul or install used hardware unless you can find that motherboard new.

My advise is if you get a new pc put that hard drive in as a slave. It does not sound like you should have lost any data. It should still make good storage media.

humbles · October 16th, 2008, 08:51

~S~ when you finally , find the fault let us know the answer.I am keeping well and flying high back to work and school . Still holidays soon my favorite pastime.

winslow33 · October 16th, 2008, 12:37

That's kind of odd. I popped out the battery overnight. The computer was even unplugged! Perhaps it has a backup charge in a supercapacitor. About a 1 Farad capacitor would do the trick for a little while...

PS. It's a Compaq Presario. It's kind of bugging me now. I'll look on the internet and see if I can find out how it's keeping time just to satisfy my curiosity.

winslow33 · October 16th, 2008, 12:40

I was going to look for another battery or even a capacitor with a big charge rating, but I didn't feel like tearing the entire computer apart.:isadizzy: