Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

--
Adam

On Saturday 02 November 2013 15:38 ARW wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not
lighting up.


Hi Adam,

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.


I don't think so - lack of a beep indicates the system is not going through
the POST/BOOT process.

I have a computer (server) that randomly does that (6 years old).

Try power cycling a few (10) times.

Then try removing the video card, unless it's on the mainboard. You won;t
see anything with no video obviously, but it should beep.

The video BIOS hooks in as part of the POST/boot so sometimes a duff video
card can do this.

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

On 02/11/2013 15:38, ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

Dead PSU?
Something like foil in one of the USB ports

Had both of these at the school where I worked

Malcolm

In article ,
ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not
lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

No startup sequence? That's done by the BIOS so doesn't need the HD. I'd
check the power supply for 5 volts first.

--
*The severity of the itch is proportional to the reach *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Tim Watts wrote:
On Saturday 02 November 2013 15:38 ARW wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is
not lighting up.


Hi Adam,

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.


I don't think so - lack of a beep indicates the system is not going
through the POST/BOOT process.

I have a computer (server) that randomly does that (6 years old).

Try power cycling a few (10) times.

Then try removing the video card, unless it's on the mainboard. You
won;t see anything with no video obviously, but it should beep.

The video BIOS hooks in as part of the POST/boot so sometimes a duff
video card can do this.

Everthing is "on board" apart from a wireless card that I have remove to see
if that is the problem.

BTW its an acer Aspire M1100 if that helps.

--
Adam

On 02/11/2013 15:38, ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.


There is a semi-standard procedure to go through. Remove all expansion
cards and USB devices. Make sure that all the memory is firmly seated.
Get rid of some of the dust. Try rebooting it.

I agree with Tim that the one thing it does not sound like is a duff
hard disk. I would be very very tempted to remove the cables connecting
the hard disk. Most people do not back up their data properly, and if
the hard drive is still working the last thing you want is to fry it at
this stage, however unlikely that is to happen.

Do you have any more PCs? I ask because the standard way of diagnosing
faults is to swap parts until the machine works again. If you have a
known good PSU, you could swap that in.

On Saturday 02 November 2013 15:57 ARW wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Tim Watts wrote:
On Saturday 02 November 2013 15:38 ARW wrote in uk.d-i-y:

Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is
not lighting up.


Hi Adam,

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.


I don't think so - lack of a beep indicates the system is not going
through the POST/BOOT process.

I have a computer (server) that randomly does that (6 years old).

Try power cycling a few (10) times.

Then try removing the video card, unless it's on the mainboard. You
won;t see anything with no video obviously, but it should beep.

The video BIOS hooks in as part of the POST/boot so sometimes a duff
video card can do this.

Everthing is "on board" apart from a wireless card that I have remove to
see if that is the problem.

BTW its an acer Aspire M1100 if that helps.


Ah.

Oh yes, and check the PSU like someone else just said - should have 12V and
5V on one of the 4 pin Molex connectors after pressing the ON button.

However, those are switches off when the PSU is in standby mode.

The only power that is on all the time is the standby rail.

You could maybe stick a voltmeter on pins 9 and 24 of the motherboard power
connector:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX#Power_supply

Should be +5V.

Tim

--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is
not lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

No startup sequence? That's done by the BIOS so doesn't need the HD.
I'd check the power supply for 5 volts first.

Deffo got 5V.

--
Adam

GB wrote:
On 02/11/2013 15:38, ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is
not lighting up. I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.


There is a semi-standard procedure to go through. Remove all
expansion cards and USB devices. Make sure that all the memory is
firmly seated. Get rid of some of the dust. Try rebooting it.

I agree with Tim that the one thing it does not sound like is a duff
hard disk. I would be very very tempted to remove the cables
connecting the hard disk. Most people do not back up their data
properly, and if the hard drive is still working the last thing you
want is to fry it at this stage, however unlikely that is to happen.

Do you have any more PCs? I ask because the standard way of
diagnosing faults is to swap parts until the machine works again. If
you have a known good PSU, you could swap that in.

There is nothing worth losing on this PC. It's my second PC. I have a third
PC availale for parts but it is so old that most of it is probably not
compatible.

--
Adam

In article ,
ARW wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is
not lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

No startup sequence? That's done by the BIOS so doesn't need the HD.
I'd check the power supply for 5 volts first.

Deffo got 5V.

I'd then remove all the cards like video etc and disconnect all drives.
Leaving just the minimum on the motherboard. And see if it does the start
up sequence. If not, try re-seating both the processor and memory. If
still nothing, probably a dead motherboard.

--
*I'm really easy to get along with once people learn to worship me

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.

My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same failure.
Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not believe, that a weak
cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are acceptable.

On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:
Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.

My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same failure.
Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not believe, that a weak
cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are acceptable.

That is what I was going to point at.

If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not
plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.

Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep without
either. However it is always possible that the beep itself is broken.

--
Rod

On Sat, 02 Nov 2013 16:20:15 -0000, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
ARW wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is
not lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

No startup sequence? That's done by the BIOS so doesn't need the HD.
I'd check the power supply for 5 volts first.

Deffo got 5V.

I'd then remove all the cards like video etc and disconnect all drives.
Leaving just the minimum on the motherboard. And see if it does the start
up sequence. If not, try re-seating both the processor and memory. If
still nothing, probably a dead motherboard.

If all that fails, reset the CMOS by shorting the two pins on the motherboard.

Or you could (if you think it's worth it) buy a tester card. I've got one (I think it was 20 quid). It plugs into PCI or ISA socket, and reads out numbers as the machine attempts to boot. Tells you what stage it's getting stuck at.

--
Barber: "Your hair is getting grey."
Customer: "Try cutting a little faster."

"ARW" wrote in message
...
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not
lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

Can you not get safe mode? F8 on boot up.

Have you tried anothe psu?

How old is this machine?

Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"ARW" wrote in message
...
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not
lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

--
Adam

I have an old one with a similar issue. It died one night while I was in the
bath, so could not go and see what went wrong. came back to a dead psu, and
a blown poer fuse. Replaced both and now the machine will act just as you
describe most times when you turn it on, but if you leave the psu plugged in
on standby for about a quarter of an hour before you press the on button, it
bleeps and boots up.
My feeling is that the original fault was a capacitor on the motherboard or
a card going leaky, and now its sort of semi leaky so upsets the boot up.
Leaving it on the capacitor gets less leaky and eventually there is enough
voltage available to allow it to boot.
Hard to trace such a fault though as swapping everything but the
motherboard seems to make no difference, and the Moherboard has a forest of
capacitors on it!

On another board, we have a noisy capacitor that puts clicks on the supply,
I suspect its nearly time for it to to pop its clogs. Both machines are amd
chipped motherboards, One is an Acer, the other some cheapo one from 2004.

Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"ARW" wrote in message
...
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is
not lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

No startup sequence? That's done by the BIOS so doesn't need the HD.
I'd check the power supply for 5 volts first.

Deffo got 5V.

--
Adam

On Saturday, November 2, 2013 3:38:27 PM UTC, wrote:
Any ideas?
It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.
I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

Wot people said. I've also had several do this due to bad caps on the mobo. They're replaceable if you can do basic electronics. ESR meter def recommended, £12 online.



NT

In article ,
ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

I had the same on my Sons acer - if there is nothing (in terms of beeps)
or BIOS output on the screen then I'd suggest PSU (if you are lucky it'll
be standard and cheap) or the motherboard.

In my case it was the motherboard and the PSU was some nonstandard low
profile thing grrrrr

Darren

On 02/11/2013 16:07, ARW wrote:
GB wrote:
On 02/11/2013 15:38, ARW wrote:
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is
not lighting up. I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.


There is a semi-standard procedure to go through. Remove all
expansion cards and USB devices. Make sure that all the memory is
firmly seated. Get rid of some of the dust. Try rebooting it.

I agree with Tim that the one thing it does not sound like is a duff
hard disk. I would be very very tempted to remove the cables
connecting the hard disk. Most people do not back up their data
properly, and if the hard drive is still working the last thing you
want is to fry it at this stage, however unlikely that is to happen.

Do you have any more PCs? I ask because the standard way of
diagnosing faults is to swap parts until the machine works again. If
you have a known good PSU, you could swap that in.

There is nothing worth losing on this PC. It's my second PC. I have a third
PC availale for parts but it is so old that most of it is probably not
compatible.

I'd certainly try a PSU swap. For a quick test, you can probably just
put the two PCs side by side and swap the main power plug and CPU power
plug over, with everything else disconnected on the faulty machine.

SteveW

On Saturday, November 2, 2013 8:29:20 PM UTC, D.M.Chapman wrote:
In my case it was the motherboard and the PSU was some nonstandard low
profile thing grrrrr

The voltages and connector is usually standard.

Gaffer tape the new PSU to the back of the PC. I did.

Owain

wrote:

D.M.Chapman wrote:

In my case it was the motherboard and the PSU was some nonstandard low
profile thing grrrrr

The voltages and connector is usually standard.

The voltages are, the connectors unfortunately have minor variations
(You should get away with a difference between 20 and 24pin main
connector, provided it will physically fit) but if you don't have the
extra 4pin 12V connector, the proessor will likely not be powered.

ARW wrote:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.

Any joy with the everything removed as suggested? I'd even remove the
memory in an attempt to provoke it into beeping which proves there's
some hope ...

Andy Burns wrote:
ARW wrote:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no
screen.

Any joy with the everything removed as suggested? I'd even remove the
memory in an attempt to provoke it into beeping which proves there's
some hope ...

I did the memory before I posted. There are 4 sticks (2 I added last year).
I removed them in pairs. No joy.

--
Adam

polygonum wrote:
On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:
Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps -
no screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working
is not lighting up.
My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same
failure. Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not
believe, that a weak cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are
acceptable.
That is what I was going to point at.

If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not
plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.

Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep without
either. However it is always possible that the beep itself is broken.

OK. So the battery is dead. It read less than 1V when removed. Replaced it
with a new battery and no difference. However the new battery shoe 1.1V when
in the computer!

--
Adam

On 03/11/2013 09:53, ARW wrote:
polygonum wrote:
On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:
Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps -
no screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working
is not lighting up.
My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same
failure. Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not
believe, that a weak cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are
acceptable.
That is what I was going to point at.

If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not
plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.

Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep without
either. However it is always possible that the beep itself is broken.

OK. So the battery is dead. It read less than 1V when removed. Replaced it
with a new battery and no difference. However the new battery shoe 1.1V when
in the computer!

Is that with the PSU powered up?

--
Rod

On Sunday, 3 November 2013 09:58:29 UTC, polygonum wrote:
On 03/11/2013 09:53, ARW wrote:

polygonum wrote:

On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:

Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:



It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps -

no screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working

is not lighting up.

My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same

failure. Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not

believe, that a weak cell can lead to such a behavior.

So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are

acceptable.

That is what I was going to point at.



If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not

plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.



Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep without

either. However it is always possible that the beep itself is broken.



OK. So the battery is dead. It read less than 1V when removed. Replaced it

with a new battery and no difference. However the new battery shoe 1.1V when

in the computer!



Is that with the PSU powered up?



Something else which might be worth checking,ensure the cable is connected properly, both at the back of the computer and monitor.

On 03/11/2013 10:08, wrote:
Something else which might be worth checking,ensure the cable is connected properly, both at the back of the computer and monitor.

Should POST even with no monitor.

--
Rod

polygonum wrote:
On 03/11/2013 09:53, ARW wrote:
polygonum wrote:
On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:
Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps -
no screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working
is not lighting up.
My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same
failure. Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not
believe, that a weak cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are
acceptable.
That is what I was going to point at.

If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not
plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.

Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep
without either. However it is always possible that the beep itself
is broken.

OK. So the battery is dead. It read less than 1V when removed.
Replaced it with a new battery and no difference. However the new
battery shoe 1.1V when in the computer!

Is that with the PSU powered up?

No.

--
Adam

Am 03.11.2013 10:53, schrieb ARW:
polygonum wrote:
On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:
Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps -
no screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working
is not lighting up.
My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same
failure. Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not
believe, that a weak cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are
acceptable.
That is what I was going to point at.

If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not
plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.

Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep without
either. However it is always possible that the beep itself is broken.

OK. So the battery is dead. It read less than 1V when removed. Replaced it
with a new battery and no difference. However the new battery shoe 1.1V when
in the computer!

Maybe the 'new one' wasn't that new or was DOA.
Try an other 'known good' one. Check battery-voltage _before_ insertion
under load. i.e- with a resistor (value between 1 amd 10 Kiloohms)
parallel to the battery. Voltage should not drop below 3V.

Other possible causes for the voltage-drop:
-CLR_CMOS-jumper in the wrong position
-Short-circuit on the board. Any signs of corrosion/leaked electrolyte
at/near the battery-holder?

In article ,
ARW wrote:
polygonum wrote:
On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:
Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps -
no screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working
is not lighting up.
My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same
failure. Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not
believe, that a weak cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are
acceptable.
That is what I was going to point at.

If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not
plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.

Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep without
either. However it is always possible that the beep itself is broken.

OK. So the battery is dead. It read less than 1V when removed. Replaced
it with a new battery and no difference. However the new battery shoe
1.1V when in the computer!

Not actually tried it, but I'm not convinced a dead battery would stop the
BIOS running. It would stop it saving any changes, though.

--
*Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 03/11/2013 11:32, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Not actually tried it, but I'm not convinced a dead battery would stop the
BIOS running. It would stop it saving any changes, though.

Certain parameters are saved, and they can get scrambled if the battery
is NBG. That can be enough to stop it booting (I've been told, but
hasn't happened to me).

The OP needs to reset the BIOS - RTFM for how to - as well as putting in
a new battery.

I've never quite understood the difference between a CR2016, a CR2032
(the most common ones), or a CR2025? They look almost identical, but
possibly if you have the wrong one it will not make a good contact or
short out.

On 03/11/2013 12:29, GB wrote:

I've never quite understood the difference between a CR2016, a CR2032
(the most common ones), or a CR2025? They look almost identical, but
possibly if you have the wrong one it will not make a good contact or
short out.


Yes, I know, GIYF.

Here's a question we hear often: What is the difference between a CR2025
and a CR2032, or between a CR2016 and a CR2025, or between a CR2016 and
a CR1620? Here's another one: How do I select the right coin cell for my
application?

A battery with a part number consisting of BR or CR followed by four
digits is a single Lithium cell in a small, disk-shaped package. Its
terminals are the metallic surfaces on either side. It is called a coin
cell because it somewhat resembles a coin in size and shape, although
its engravings are completely devoid of artistic merit and its date
marking may seem highly improbable. Also, it is rumored that coin cells
tend to jam vending machines.

Actually, no one seems inclined to interpret the numbers as dates, which
is just as well, because their correct interpretation is as follows:
First two digits: Diameter in millimeters
Last two digits: Thickness in tenths of a millimeter

Examples: a CR2032 is 20 mm in diameter and 3.2 mm thick, while a CR2016
is the same diameter (20 mm) but only half as thick (1.6 mm). A CR1620,
on the other hand, is 16 mm in diameter and 2.0 mm thick. Note that
these numbers should be considered nominal dimensions, as there may be
very slight variations between brands in the same part number. However,
in our experience, these differences are not discernible without the aid
of a micrometer or a precision caliper. Every cell that we ship for a
given part number will fit any standard socket or holder designed for a
cell with that part number.

In article , polygonum
scribeth thus
On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:
Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.

My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same failure.
Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not believe, that a weak
cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are acceptable.

That is what I was going to point at.

If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not
plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.

Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep without
either. However it is always possible that the beep itself is broken.


It should still start up even if the battery is missing let alone dead.
Course it won't remember its settings but it should at least start..
--
Tony Sayer

In article , ARW
writes
Any ideas?

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.

I suspect a duff HD but ideas are welcome.

Check the reset button is not stuck in or the switch shorted. The wires
from the front panel will go to a header on the motherboard, the 2 pin
conn on that one should be marked Reset SW, just pull em off for a quick
test.

The low voltage battery bit does sound a bit dodge though.
--
fred
it's a ba-na-na . . . .

On 03/11/2013 12:29, GB wrote:
On 03/11/2013 11:32, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Not actually tried it, but I'm not convinced a dead battery would stop
the
BIOS running. It would stop it saving any changes, though.

Certain parameters are saved, and they can get scrambled if the battery
is NBG. That can be enough to stop it booting (I've been told, but
hasn't happened to me).

The OP needs to reset the BIOS - RTFM for how to - as well as putting in
a new battery.

I've never quite understood the difference between a CR2016, a CR2032
(the most common ones), or a CR2025? They look almost identical, but
possibly if you have the wrong one it will not make a good contact or
short out.

Thickness.

Diameter 20. Thickness 1.6, 3.2 or 2.5 mm.

--
Rod

Am 03.11.2013 14:43, schrieb tony sayer:
In article , polygonum
scribeth thus
On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:
Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps - no screen.
The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working is not lighting up.

My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same failure.
Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not believe, that a weak
cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are acceptable.

That is what I was going to point at.

If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not
plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.

Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep without
either. However it is always possible that the beep itself is broken.


It should still start up even if the battery is missing let alone dead.
Course it won't remember its settings but it should at least start..

Yes. It should. But this Acer i was struggling with, didn't know that.
New battery and all was fine.

On 03/11/2013 14:00, polygonum wrote:
On 03/11/2013 12:29, GB wrote:
On 03/11/2013 11:32, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Not actually tried it, but I'm not convinced a dead battery would stop
the
BIOS running. It would stop it saving any changes, though.

Certain parameters are saved, and they can get scrambled if the battery
is NBG. That can be enough to stop it booting (I've been told, but
hasn't happened to me).

The OP needs to reset the BIOS - RTFM for how to - as well as putting in
a new battery.

I've never quite understood the difference between a CR2016, a CR2032
(the most common ones), or a CR2025? They look almost identical, but
possibly if you have the wrong one it will not make a good contact or
short out.

Thickness.

Diameter 20. Thickness 1.6, 3.2 or 2.5 mm.

Yes, and the capacity is different. See my reply-to-myself post. Will
the thinner ones work in a holder meant for CR2032? I guess that's going
to depend on the holder, and there may be intermittent contact.

On Sunday, November 3, 2013 11:32:09 AM UTC, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

Not actually tried it, but I'm not convinced a dead battery would stop the
BIOS running. It would stop it saving any changes, though.

Some machines work with a dead bios battery, some just play dead


NT

All snipped so don't bother looking.

When it was running how long did it take to boot up?

Because these days even Windows machines boot up in seconds. They have oodles of RAM and the chips seem to know what to do with them. You might like to investigate the future of desktop computers before they stop making them.

Or are you waiting for the last generation to become available at car boot sales, you cheap ferer?

ARW wrote:
polygonum wrote:
On 02/11/2013 16:35, Matthias Czech wrote:
Am 02.11.2013 16:38, schrieb ARW:

It turns on and the fan runs. There is nothing else - no bleeps -
no screen. The led that shold flash when the hard drive is working
is not lighting up.
My mother's Acer (containig a similar mainbord) showed the same
failure. Reason was a dead CMOS-Battery. (CR2032). Could not
believe, that a weak cell can lead to such a behavior.
So check the voltage of this battery. More than 3Volts are
acceptable.
That is what I was going to point at.

If machine has been lying around, mostly unused, and especially, not
plugged in for long periods, the CMOS is a good bet.

Almost 100% not memory or hard drive as you should get a beep without
either. However it is always possible that the beep itself is broken.

OK. So the battery is dead. It read less than 1V when removed. Replaced it
with a new battery and no difference. However the new battery shoe 1.1V when
in the computer!

If a new CR2032 shows 1.1V, then there's a relatively large current
being drawn. The open circuit voltage, which is slightly more than what
you should be seeing, is 3.1 volts or so when fresh, dropping to 2.5
when flat. A load that will drop that to 1.1V will flatten the cell in
minutes.

There's possibly a problem with tracks partially shorting on the
motherboard due, more than likely, to liquid damage such as can be
caused by a leaking electrolytic capacitor. Either that or the RTC/ CMOS
RAM chip has a fault.

Good luck. If you're charging for your time, it's cheaper to just
replace the motherboard, if it's just a hobby project, then there will
be great satisfaction in finding and fixing the fault.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.