PC Problem

[N Gauge Bob]

Hi Technology folk

2 PCs. Both have ceased to function. We have cleaned the hard drives and put them back in. Both computers will switch on, the dvd drives work, Keyboard flashes numbers lock light, but that's it. They won't even light up the monitor or, using del button, go into bios.

We have also tried firing them up with a disc in the dvd drive.

Would I be right in thinking the motherboards are now for the dust bin. One computer is 2 years old, the other was patented by Noahs Arc Computers.

Any thoughts appreciated.

[MalcolmInN]

thinking the motherboards are now for the dust bin.

Any thoughts appreciated.

It doesnt sound good for something, but dont know if it be the motherboards!

I dont like coincidences, why 2, both at the same time with the same symptoms, what were you doing to them at the time of failure ? Were they networked together ?

What kind of disc in the DVDs ?
The fact that you cant get in to the bios certainly does not bode well, but still may be worth a try not to fit the hard drives and see what happens, see if either will boot from a 'live' disc.

may think of something else in a while , , ,

[Steve Brassett]

First thoughts are - did they stop working at the same time?  Did you have a thunderstorm or a power outage?  These can damage motherboards without knocking out the whole system.

[FeelixTC]

Any beeps?
Could be power or the motherboard. Here's a useful checklist:

http://visihow.com/Determine_if_Your_Motherboard_Is_Dead

[MikeDunn]

Yeah, what boot codes are you hearing outa the beasties ?

[N Gauge Bob]

thinking the motherboards are now for the dust bin.

Any thoughts appreciated.

It doesnt sound good for something, but dont know if it be the motherboards!

I dont like coincidences, why 2, both at the same time with the same symptoms, what were you doing to them at the time of failure ? Were they networked together ?

What kind of disc in the DVDs ?
The fact that you cant get in to the bios certainly does not bode well, but still may be worth a try not to fit the hard drives and see what happens, see if either will boot from a 'live' disc.

may think of something else in a while , , ,

Sorry, should have mentioned. One computer has just died, the other was some time back. I am trying to scrabble together a computer for my model railway stock and layout construction, so we looked at all the computers together.
All our computers run on Windows 10, but these 2 are XP and Vista so we are trying to boot with a W7 disc

[N Gauge Bob]

Any beeps?
Could be power or the motherboard. Here's a useful checklist:

http://visihow.com/Determine_if_Your_Motherboard_Is_Dead

Thanks FeelixTC. What a great site. As I type My next door computer genius neighbour is reading and going to implement.

[N Gauge Bob]

Yeah, what boot codes are you hearing outa the beasties ?

I assume you are referring to 'beeps'? If so then none.

[Graham Walters]

I thought it was F9 to get into BIOS ?

If they are that old could it be your BIOS is set to boot from a 3.5" floppy !

[Malc]

If the monitor is not showing the bios start up logo, probably the graphics card has gone walkabout. Although, depending on the bios, you usually get a sequence of beeps as mentioned previously. Worth reseating it.

[MikeDunn]

So - power is on, but no beeps at all ... not even when the RAM has been removed ?

Ask your techie to visually inspect the electrolytic capacitors, see if any of them have raised bumps on the lids ... as it's sounding like a mobo failure, and the caps are a common source. 

If that's the case ... it's generally not worthwhile trying to replace with another identical one (the newer one may be able to be sourced), but you can get reasonable low-cost systems from PC World (say £3-400) and they sometimes sell base-units inly (ie no screen etc) which helps lower the cost.  Or ... places like Novatech will sell you a reasonable base system from £160 http://www.novatech.co.uk/pc/home/; you could always go for the mobo or bare-bones options (look under Components).