willow Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 So I go to turn my computer on this morning only to discover that it's already on. now I kind of ignored this because my computer just does this sometimes (my laptop does this sometimes too) if it's in sleep mode. now usually when this happens I just move the mouse or press a button and it comes back on however, the monitor doesn't respond this time. I turn off the computer thinking maybe it's frozen but when I turn it on, nothing happens still. not even my mouse and keyboard turn on. I unplug the monitor and plug it back in. Nothing. But I know it's working because I can turn it on while it's unplugged from the computer so I'm assuming it's something wrong with the tower itself. I don't remember exact specs but it's an Asus since I really don't have the technical knowledge to open up the computer and check, I'm probably taking it in to Best Buy and hoping it's not the motherboard of all things because I honestly don't have the money to replace it right now. but I'm also pretty pissed because this computer is only two years old but in the mean time suggestions would be nice and maybe I can avoid a trip and spending money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zop Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) A few quick questions: Are you using a video card? Or just your motherboard's on-board graphics? How old is your monitor? Has your monitor been moved at all? I am going to guess it's either your graphics or your monitor. Although it could still be your motherboard - just perhaps not as likely. If you have any warranties on either the video card or monitor, you could ask for a replacement. If you have a dedicated video card, you can try switching to your onboard graphics. If your computer suddenly works, then it is your video card. If not, then more likely it is your monitor. If you have a spare monitor, or a monitor from a friend, you can also try switching monitors. If your computer suddenly works with the new monitor, then you know your monitor died. Edited December 27, 2015 by Zop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 3 minutes ago, Zop said: A few quick questions: Are you using a video card? Or just your motherboard's on-board graphics? How old is your monitor? Has your monitor been moved at all? I am going to guess it's either your graphics or your monitor. Although it could still be your motherboard - just perhaps not as likely. If you have any warranties on either the video card or monitor, you could ask for a replacement. If you have a dedicated video card, you can try switching to your onboard graphics. If your computer suddenly works, then it is your video card. If not, then more likely it is your monitor. If you have a spare monitor, or a monitor from a friend, you can also try switching monitors. If your computer suddenly works with the new monitor, then you know your monitor died. I'm using the on board graphics and the monitor is also about two years old Do you think hooking the computer up to a TV would work? Because my TV has a PC input Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onnes Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) If it's a boot issue then the first thing to check would be whether it boots with nothing but the monitor connected. Inexplicable, random boot problems due to USB and SATA devices isn't that uncommon. Edited December 27, 2015 by Onnes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zop Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 43 minutes ago, willow said: not even my mouse and keyboard turn on. After reading what Onnes said and seeing this particular statement, it might be something else. Perhaps motherboard related. Sorry I didn't catch this the first time. I would try Onnes' suggestion before the TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) 1 hour ago, Onnes said: If it's a boot issue then the first thing to check would be whether it boots with nothing but the monitor connected. Inexplicable, random boot problems due to USB and SATA devices isn't that uncommon. still nothing my friend suggested it may even be the fan but if that's the case I'll just take it in instead of risking breaking it further update: I hooked it up to the TV and it still wouldn't work so I'm pretty sure it's the computer Edited December 27, 2015 by willow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Not to sound pessimistic but failed electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard often cause such issues. I would suspect those around the RAM or CPU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 16 minutes ago, Jerry said: Not to sound pessimistic but failed electrolytic capacitors on the motherboard often cause such issues. I would suspect those around the RAM or CPU. tbh when it wouldn't start up after the third or fourth time I was pretty much already thinking something was wrong internally though it may still be under warranty. I don't remember if it's 1 year or two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 (edited) 5 hours ago, 6tails said: First order of business - unplug your computer, open the case, unplug the watch battery on the motherboard. Then, with your power still unplugged, try to turn your computer on. This will force all power to clear out of the capacitors. Plug your battery back in place, plug in power, turn computer on. If if this does not resolve your problem, then while the case is still open, look for damaged components. Usually this comes in the form of bulged capacitors or burned voltage regulator modules on mobo or GPU. as I mentioned before, I'd rather not open it up and try to troubleshoot it just in case I can't put it back together. and then I'd really be screwed. anyway I took it to Best Buy earlier and they said that it more than likely has something to do with the system itself. at first they thought it might be the video card but since nothing hooked up to it powers on it's more than likely the motherboard itself. so I'm probably going to just get a new computer altogether rather than trying to fix this one because for what probably needs to be done it's useless Edited December 28, 2015 by willow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyAshes Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Does anyone else miss the days when all PC's shipped with the necessary speaker so that you could just hear the beep code yourself to understand if it POSTed or not? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 15 minutes ago, 6tails said: Literally TWO SCREWS and a battery that slides in and out of its holder. And you just wasted money when you could've had power-locked RAM due to a bad hibernate/sleep. I didn't pay anything....unless I actually have them do work on it, I don't pay to have them look at it. and even if I did hand it over to them, they would have sent it to ASUS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 7 minutes ago, 6tails said: Good. Don't rely upon them any longer. This stuff is literally 5 minutes to pick up and understand. You can do it. I taught 55+ year old biddies how to diagnose, tear down, and reassemble laptops within 2 weeks. They couldn't program a VCR clock to save their lives. Just follow these directions to the letter. Facing the back of the case, unplug the computer from wall power and look at where your motherboard ports are located. If they're on the left, unscrew the screws holding in the right case panel. If they're on the right, undo the left panel screws. Panel slides off by pulling it backwards towards you. You might have a fan attached to that side panel, just unplug it, it's usually on a 4-pin wide molex connector/splitter from the power supply rail, and not connected to the motherboard directly. Look at the big motherboard, ignoring all the small and large cards that might be rising up from it. You should see a quarter-size and shape battery in a round black holder lying flat against the board, or maybe it's standing vertically. It pops out or slides out with minimal force. Either grab it or use a toothpick to pry it out of the holder. Turn on the computer WHILE IT IS UNPLUGGED to discharge all of the capacitors in every component, and clear out the RAM in its entirety across the system. Re-insert the coin cell battery, same orientation as how you pulled it out. Plug your power in. Attempt to turn your system on. If it did not turn on, it's time to just take a cursory look around the board. You already state you use onboard GPU so there shouldn't be a GPU on your large PCI-E slot, thus you should have a pretty clear view of the motherboard itself, almost in its entirety. Look at the can-shaped metal objects that stick up from the board. Those are capacitors. Are any of them bulging/split at the top seams, or leaking from the bottom all over the board? If so, new motherboard, or at your choice, new computer. Look at the VRMs (voltage regulator modules,) they are square-shaped things near the big heatsink and fan assembly over your primary CPU, usually at the upper-middle of your motherboard. They will usually have their own set of capacitors directly next to them. Do they look burned/do the caps look burst, or has the area around them turned black? (some motherboards have a black layer on them so you wouldn't be able to tell with a visual inspection.) Smell the board near that area, does it smell like seriously burned plastic/electrical fire? These are all signs that your motherboard has component damage and needs to be replaced, or again, new computer. If the computer turns on and works as normal, pop the case panel back on (make sure to plug the fan back in if it had one) and proceed with life, free of having to spend money to fix something that ain't broken. Incidentally, this also gives you more qualification than 99% of the Geek Squad. This should take you no longer than 10 minutes tops, even as a bare beginner. One philips head screwdriver for the panel screws, and a toothpick to pop the battery out if it's not one you can just grab and pull/slide out, that should be all you need. BEREAVE IN YERSERF!!! I'll take a look at it in the morning because it's pretty late and I'm gonna get ready for bed shortly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 so uhmm, I never did wind up opening the computer but just to give it one last shot I hooked everything back up and now it's working again....and nothing had shut down so I'm really not sure what the problem was I might wind up looking at it again later because yeah. weird Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted December 30, 2015 Author Share Posted December 30, 2015 Just now, 6tails said: Your RAM finally cleared/unlocked. Any hibernation/suspend issue like that is almost always a RAM lockup. You left it off long enough for the RAM to discharge. Ohh okay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Käpt'n Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 (edited) On 28.12.2015 at 3:26 AM, AshleyAshes said: Does anyone else miss the days when all PC's shipped with the necessary speaker so that you could just hear the beep code yourself to understand if it POSTed or not? I just thought that, too! My old PC had a speaker but I unplugged it from the board because I hate it when my electronics are beeping when I don't want them to But they really were useful for issues like this. Anyway, if you are not willing to open it up to check what's wrong your only option is probably to call the manufacturer. They will tell you if your PC is still under warranty and will help you to get it fixed. If it was a PC that I didn't put together myself and that was still under warranty I probably wouldn't open it myself as well if I didn't know what the problem was. A friend of mine recently ordered a new PC and the RAM was fucked. The blue screen gave a clear indication of that. In a case like that I might have fixed it myself because ordering new RAM on Amazon takes a day while sending in the PC took them like 4 weeks Edited December 31, 2015 by Käpt'n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted January 1, 2016 Author Share Posted January 1, 2016 (edited) it's not under warranty and to have it sent in would be at least $200. so sending it in would have been the literal last thing I'd try to do. I'd send it to one of my friends before I sent it to ASUS tbh. anyway. it locked up again though only this time it was on when it stopped working. the screen glitched and just simply froze. so I went ahead and followed 6tails' instructions and tried to discharge everything. even did it twice just to make sure I did it right. but nothing happened. and nothing appeared to be burnt or broken so I have this suspicion that part of the problem is at least the graphics. it just doesn't explain why even my mouse and keyboard don't turn on Edited January 1, 2016 by willow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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