Power is on, but no activity.

[Fourstyle]

Hey guys again, if you can help me, please help.

Recently I replaced my old burnt motherboard with a same model.

Before I unplugged everything from my old one, and plug them back to my new one. It came with some unexplainable description.
Turning on PC reveals that everything is seems running, but there is no "activity" shown. (My system has no beep speaker, monitor shows nothing, it actually says power save, no sounds of activity from the CPU as well.)

Note that the power supply is good enough to cover the system.
I have 4 guesses:
1. I may plugged something wrong, so it won't run properly. But I'm 85% sure everything is plugged in properly.
2. Graphics card failed. Oh noes.
3. broken CPU. Oh NOES.
4. PSU is broken.

Is there anyway so I can identify the problem without getting spare parts?
Is there a way to attach a beep speaker on my mobo?
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-MA790x-DS4

Thanks guys. Hugs?

 

[guy]

Get a $5 PSU tester to confirm #4.

On most motherboards, #2 GPU fail should yield a beep error code. Beep code also occurs with faulty memory.

No beep most likely means the CPU is broken. Without the CPU, the mobo cannot load the BIOS logic which would control the beep codes. You should still see basic power-only devices functioning (eg: fans connected directly to the mobo should still spin up).

#1 is still an option, so if in doubt unplug and re-plug everything just to be sure.

 

[Fourstyle]

Oh yes, everything plugged in normally. The result is the same. For more information, I can't turn off my PC my holding the power button. CPU problem?

 

[Ceewan]

Been awhile since I had to deal with that shit, I feel for you man.

If you are intent on learning how to diagnose the problem without going to the expense of taking it to the shop, you need the basics. You need a schematic of the mother board and probably of the interconnecting boards and powersupply. The powersupply is my pick for the real problem maker here by the way and for whatever the hell that is worth anyway. Don't know how to get a schematic? ask around and let your fingers do the walking, you should be able to pick up the copies for free. Then you need to do the grunt work and trace the problem, starting from the powersupply and working outwards following the flow of the electronic current that runs through your system. This means you actually have to work with a live system so disconnect your peripherals and be careful. For this you need some sort of logic probe, a voltmeter should be sufficient, and this well cost you a dollar or two but you should be able to pick one up for a fairly cheap price, used is fine. Hopefully you can find the problem by tracing the voltage through your system and seeing what is blown. If the problem was a bad short you would see it, you would have burnt parts such as resistors or fuses. Chances are your powersupply is putting to much or not enough voltage out and that is causing the whole thing to go haywire. Sound complicated.....well that is why people take their cars to mechanics. But solving the problem on your own can be rewarding, just a pain in the ass.

Sorry if I wasn't much help. But getting your powersupply checked out is a good option here and cheaper. If it is the power supply there is no telling what problems it might have caused though. The mother board well have a voltage regulator on it that should have taken care of too much voltage so my guess is not enough voltage coming out of your powersupply or it blew the regulator on your mother board. Of course I am an old foggie and haven't dealt with this stuff in forever. But I thought it might be fun to try to help. Good luck!

 

[Fourstyle]

Thanks ceewan. I never want to deal with this stuff because i have no clue on what is going on. I did some computer troubleshooting, but mostly I can't troubleshoot my own computer problem as fast as I did on the others. XD

I'll get my friend's power supply and test the parts one by one. Including the VGA card.
Thanks.

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