Computer won't start Please Help

[magicmoomin]

I have a Mesh Computer which is out of warranty and I haven't used it for a while. I have a average computer knowledge and was wondering if somebody could point me in the right direction.

I decided to link my computer up to my new TV but when I switched it on there was nothing. The lights were on but nobody was home. I tried it on another monitor and the same thing happened. I tried the cable on another computer and it works fine. I then opened the case up and all the fans are running and the power light is on in the motherboard? When it was not being used it has been unplugged and not on a power supply. When I turn the computer on the screen does not acknowledge that the computer is plugged in.

I was wondering where would be the best place to start replacing parts. Currently it has an ASUS motherboard and NVIDA Graphics card. Do you think it could be the graphics card broken or the back up battery flat? I haven't got a clue where to start and I don't really want to replace everything. Also it is a little dusty inside could that have caused any issues?

Thanks for your help

Tim

[Zak33]

Hi bud

This could be a long weekend for you, but you should start at the very beghinning....the simplest of simple things.

Power leads to PC and to monitor, yes?
Which outputs on your graphics card do you have? How many? Do you need to choose a different input option on your monitor or tv?

Maybe the PC is fine, but the signal from the PC to the screen isn't what the monitor expects?

[Mithrandir]

If it were me then I would just clear the BIOS (by taking out the button battery) from the Mobo and leave it out for a good few mins. It should hopefully reset the BIOS and work.

[peterb]

The CMOS battery (not BIOS - BIOS is in Flash EEPROM - there is no BIOS battery and you can't clear the BIOS) may have become discharged if it hasn't been used for a while, so I would start by replacing that. If that works, you will have to reconfigure the computer in set up. (The CMOS is a samll area of memory that stores BIOS configuaration information and also contains a real time clock to maintain computer time when it is switched off)

Otherwise, as Zak posted, take out all the components, and replace thm one by one - even the graphics card, as the contacts n he connector may be a bit iffy, and reseating it will cure that.

[Mithrandir]

The CMOS battery (not BIOS - BIOS is in Flash EEPROM - there is no BIOS battery and you can't clear the BIOS) may have become discharged if it hasn't been used for a while, so I would start by replacing that. If that works, you will have to reconfigure the computer in set up. (The CMOS is a samll area of memory that stores BIOS configuaration information and also contains a real time clock to maintain computer time when it is switched off)

Otherwise, as Zak posted, take out all the components, and replace thm one by one - even the graphics card, as the contacts n he connector may be a bit iffy, and reseating it will cure that.

Thanks for the correction peterb . I just quickly wrote it without thinking (at work)

[peterb]

Thanks for the correction peterb . I just quickly wrote it without thinking (at work)

On a Saturday - baaaaad! (Still, if the wx is like it is here...)

[magicmoomin]

Cheers for your help so far I will try replacing the battery. This probably sounds silly if it is the battery which is flat does the computer not run unless it is charged? Will repalcing it make the computer start up but just not in windows?

I have tried unplugging then re-plugging the components in but it didn't work. I forgot to mention that I have had it working before on the TV and Monitor and it was running through the VGA cable it was just while i was storing it for a while that it stopped working.

Cheers

Tim

[peterb]

Been thinking about this... the battery only holds configuration settings when the computer is completely disconnected from power, so even without, it should boot up into the BIOS set up screen where you can reset date and time etc. Even if that battery is flat, I would still expect it to boot to the set up pages.

Can you try it with original monitor? Are the settings on the TV's PC input connections correct?