Bummer

Looks like after 20+ years of simming I may be done. Bought a new computer ( actually, had it custom built! ) about 4 years ago. This computer is used for flight sim only. A couple of years savings to support my hobby. Got everything I could afford at the time; including the liquid cooling. People told me it was "over-kill" since I only use FS4. I figured this would be my very last computer. I have so many addons and planes and "extras" both purchased and shareware, I can't begin to tell you! Anyway, last month I went out of town for a while, turned my computer off and to my surprise, when I returned, the computer no longer comes on. I hear the disks loading and working but nothing on the screen.....black. Tried loading my restore disk, nothing. Dead. Tried all the suggestions....loose connections, ect. Nothing. I've given up. The thought of reloading ( again ) all the system once more IF I could even afford to get it fixed, is just exhausting to think about. I think I have to give up my hobby this time. I'm a 70 year old man with limited funds and not much energy left when the thought of restoring everything all over comes to mind. Sorry folks, I'm just venting and and apologize. At least I have some nice aviation vids I can watch on my dvd player! Thanks for listening!

 

Jack

I'm happy to help you remotely, but off-line from this forum. I'll PM you my email address and we can talk that way. If you are happy to do that.

The computer may be fine. Maybe the monitor just crapped out. Is it an LCD Monitor? Perhaps the backlight went out.

Don't give up Jack. Age ain't nothin but a number, I'm 67. There is someone with more knowledge than me that can help. Great people here. Keep the faith and good luck

My first thought was the monitor as Nightowl above said, when you turn on does anything at all come on the monitor, like the Windows logo etc, does it make beeping noises if so how many?

It may just be one component that gone and a repair might not be out of the question, I too am on limited funds so I understand your frustration.

Another thing sprung to mind while you were away find out if there was a power cut in your area, if so a possible power surge could have blown something, ask neighbours.

Do you hear a beep from your tower when you turn it on? Do you hear Windows sounds after you turn it on? As others are suggesting, it shouldn't be too difficult to find the problem. Do you have another monitor you can plug it into? Can you possibly even plug it into your tv?

Right now, if I had to bet on what's wrong, I'd also suggest a new CMOS battery. Just be sure you buy the right one (look on the old battery for the part # or better yet, take it with you when you buy a new one).

 

If you paid for a custom build, whoever built it should be willing to fix it or at least trouble shoot it and figure out what went wrong. :)

 

Otherwise, one other thing I would check would be the liquid cooling. Is there any liquid left in it? I hate to make it sound like someone saying "I told you so" but liquid cooling and long life don't always go hand-in-hand. Liquid cooling loops are OK if you keep up with their maintenance, and there's a lot of maintenance compared to a traditional fan-only system.

When liquid cooling fails, boards and components usually get wet. :eek:

 

Good luck and hopefully its just the battery. :pilot:

Does it say beep?

Does it stay on, or does it shut down again automatically?

Anything from the monitor? Standby light changes colour perhaps. Or a message on screen 'input signal out of range' ?

Tell up exactly please.

Wow, thanks so much for help guys! Definitely some good people on this forum! I've ruled out the monitor.....I have a two system setup, also I used each of the monitors independently on another computer. The battery suggestion does sound promising. When the computer is turned on, there is no sound, no beeps, no anything. My thought also was the possibility of a bad video card (? ). Sorry to have sounded so negative on my post, seems every few years I go through some kind of re-install, so I was disappointed with this failure.Now Thanks to the help from you guys, I now have a couple more areas to check out. Much appreciated everyone!

Like Mowgli22 said, don't give up! I am 71 and I have faced a lot of issues with my ...schizophrenic computer from time to time. Trying to solve them, appears as a challenge

and I also take it as a brain exercise...

After pushing the power button a computer:

 

-reads the Bios settings, to see about some hardware settings,

-then it does a POST.

this is the Power On Self Test. The pc sends power to all devices. If al devices are ok, the POST is completed, and you hear a short single beep.

 

You don't get this signal, so te POST is not completed, and the computer is not booting at all.

The PC does not turn on, no change in the monitor status ligth. That confirmes POST is not passed.

 

One thing that could be wrong is a BIOS setting. But how to change those settings when the compuer won't boot?

Well, simple. On the mainboard, computers have a little "jumper". It connects two contacts. Normally it is "off". (not connecting).

This way some current is kept on the bios chip, from the battery, and the bios settings are remembered.

 

To reset the values:

If you use the little jumper to connect the two contacts, the BIOS is reset to default values. These should then allow your pc to boot.

 

Disconnecting the BIOS battery does the same thing.

First of course disconnect the power cord, and press the start button to drain any remaining current.

Then, take out the BIOS battery.

No more current, BIOS values not retained, therefore reset.

Re-connect the battery. Then the power cord. Then boot the PC.

 

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Other info. A computer does not need a monitor to boot. You could boot it without one as well. (though shutting windows down properly without a monitor is not always easy. After all, you can't see "start-shutdown". Many computers are set up so that by briefly pressing the power button they shut down safely. (soft-shutdown.)

You can even boot a computer without a harddisk connected. You would then see: No system disk or disk error" on the screen. (Correct of course, no system disk is connected).

 

By the way, never connect a monitor while the computer is already running. It will damage your monitor, and possibly the pc as well.

 

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I think the ida of getting a fresh mainboard battery is a good one. After about 2 to 3 years those are drained. They cost around 5 bucks and are available in every computr store. Some mainstream types are available in every supermarket.

CR2032 is available in supermarket,

CR2025 is probably not, but computer stores have them.

 

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Here's a link to how to replace the CMOS battery. (which is what I usually (wrongly) call the BIOS battery)

https://www.howtogeek.com/131623/how-to-clear-your-computers-cmos-to-reset-bios-settings/

 

There are many more such guides on the net.

Google: how to buid computer CMOS battery

 

The following guide explains how to reset CMOS using the Jumper.

http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Your-BIOS

 

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If I were you, I would try a CMOS reset with the Jumper first. Very easy procedure.

 

Also a useful test. With the side of the computer off, look into it, and then try to start it. Do the fams still spin up?

It is a hopeful sign if at least the fans move a little, even if the computer doesn't boot.

 

 

Remember, when you go messing around inside, disconnect the power cord first for safety, and then push the start button to discaharge any remaining current.

If you get the POST beep and hear HD activity your basic system is functional. Are there any other beeps after POST? Those would indicate the problem. If no other beeps you possibly have a hardware problem not detected by the system, most likely in the vid card.

Just an update; removed the battery, tested with my meter, it shows 2.93 v, so it appears to be ok. To get to the battery I had to remove the video card, which was a little cumbersome, and now when I power up the computer, it runs for about one full minute, then automatically shuts down and restarts: a new problem. I rechecked the card and connections to be sure it was installed firmly and connected. Both monitors are on, but again, nothing from the computer at all. I suppose Ill have to drop it off at some point and get it analyzed.

I bought the computer, custom made to my specs from a place called IBUYPOWER in Calif. , about five years ago, so no chance of returning it.

 

BTW here are my specs:

 

Intel Core i5-4670 ( 4x3.40GHz/6MB L3 Cache)

Liquid CPU Cooling (Intel)- ARC Dual Silent High Perf fan upgrade

8GB ( 4x2 ) DDR3-1600 Corsair

NVIDIA GTX 660-2GB

ASRock z87 Pro3

500 Watt-Corsair CX500 v2

2 TB Hard Drive SATA 6.0Gb

500 GB WD VelociRaptor 64 Cache, 100000 RPM, 6GB/

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE

Window 7 Home Premium 64bit

 

If anyone has had any similar experiences I would appreciate hearing. Thanks very much for all the help.

 

Jack

Wow, good info! I did remove the battery and tested it, showing almost three volts. Yes, everything inside comes on when powered up....fans, lights, ect. and I believe Im hearing the hd working. Both monitors work when used on another computer. My guess is either a failed video card or some electrical short. Thanks again for the info.

so right about the brain exercise, nms! I spent my life working on small engines, but nothing as challenging as this!

So now you can get the PC to fire up and it runs but only for a short period is that correct?

 

If so then it could be the power pack, if you leave it for a short time will it fire up again then cut out, again if so possible power pack fault.

Do you have another PC or can you borrow one to try, I've had this happen and had to replace the power supply they are not that expensive.

I am 76 1/2 yrs old. Look at my specs. I build it myself 5 yrs ago (bought the parts and put it together). I upgrades my OS Dec 2016 (XP to Win 7 Pro 64 bit). I then upgraded my video card. I only have air cooling as I don't overclock (3.4 Ghz/3.8 Turbo Boost). It runs 24/7. 'They' were right - liquid cooling IS overkill if you don't overclock. If the pump is 'binding' or stuck due to wear or corrosion and it's drawing a lot of current trying to run it will cause an overload and PC will shut down (thermal monitor part of BIOS).

 

Myself, if it was my rig, I would go out and buy a decent power supply and replace that. You don't loose anything and gain years of additional PC use as the PSU units DO quit - and usually at the worst time.

 

Then I would rip that liquid cooling system out. Replace with $29 CPU cooler (heat sink and fans only). There are 100's of How-To videos on You Tube that you can watch to gain confidence. Not hard to do. Same as working on engines. You work on one area, then go to next until you are done. Good luck. Maybe have a savy Senior (ask at local computer store if they know anyone - you might get lucky) to take a look. If it's any consolation: your files are all ok. What I would do is disconnect the large 10K one, for trouble shooting purposes, and boot only from the one Windows is on. You can re-connect later. Oh, if you put the rescue disk in Optical Drive and shut down, wait 15 minutes, then power up by using pwr switch, MAY work. Keep on trucking - don't give up yet. Take a deep breath and relax. Not worth getting sick over it. It can be fixed. Good luck.

Chuck B

Napamule

Just noticed you said: "each of the two monitors"

so you are using two?

How are they connected.

 

The computer not sounding the beep and booting could be because of a short circuit from a damaged monitor cable.

Disconnect one of the cables from the graphics card. Try to boot then.

 

If not, try the other.

On another note..

At the beginning of January, I switched on my laptop to be greeted with 2 beeps and a black screen.

 

I bought the laptop because everything inside cord be upgraded, including the graphics card.

 

After taking it back to the supplier, I was told by the service controller that, as it is 6 years old, (it is an i5 laptop, working VERY well with my 3x versions of FS2004), no spares are available.

He also said that I could either get a new laptop, or...

Take off the back, and use a hairdryer to blow hot air on the graphics card!

 

So, not every time on switch on, there I am, tilting the laptop, reaching for my trusty hairdryer & giving the thing a 10 second blow. Once it gets started, it keeps on going, no problems once it boots up.

 

You can just imagine the looks I get at work!

so right about the brain exercise, nms! I spent my life working on small engines, but nothing as challenging as this!

 

When you're trouble shooting, don't put the cart in front of the horse. :pilot:

 

Earlier, you said you tested the battery. Did you replace it with a new one anyway?

A new CPU battery is cheap insurance. I've seen many instances where an old battery causes some really funky problems. You said you tested it, I'm guessing you used a volt meter. Yes, the voltage is there. Volt meters don't need a lot of power from the test subject, something on the order of micro amps. That doesn't mean your battery has the "Oomph" it once had.

I'm an old school tech, I replace my battery once a year as normal upkeep and maint. Think of it like replacing the spark plug in a small engine or dropping a new 9V battery in your smoke detector. :)

 

Did you over-clock your machine? Over-clocking is one of those subjects where there's a lot of mis-information that's accepted as facts. :rolleyes:

At the end of the day, the ONE sure thing over-clocking adds to a system is heat. That heat is concentrated in the chips themselves. You could cool your system with liquid nitrogen and it still wouldn't effect the higher heat in the chips. The one thing the O/C gurus never mention is that over-clocked machines will NOT have the longevity of a stock build. ;)

 

Think of it this way- if you had a race between a top fuel dragster and a 1974 Pinto, who would win?

 

It depends. Are we talking about 1/4 of a mile or 300 miles? The engine in the dragster would begin to melt well before it got to 10 miles.

I build and repair computers for a living as well as being an avid FS9 user. Is the computer a laptop or a desktop? Either way download a copy of Memtest 86+. Burn to a CD and run it. This will test your memory. From the sounds of it you might have a bad memory module. It's also possible that your power supply has gone bad. The reboot is usually the sign of a bad power supply. Try checking the memory first with Memtest 86+. Rule out a memory failure first. If you were in the DFW area I would fix it for you for free :) If the memory and power supply are good it might be a bad motherboard.

How am I going to run memory test when the computer does not boot??? jeeez! As for the specs on this computer, at the time of purchase the liquid cool was the"way to go" and paid extra, plus the cooling fans and the high speed hd's, the vid card i chose, and processor were considered "over kill" for what I was using it for. Also, the power supply was considered, at the time, to be MORE than adequate for my needs, so I don't have any regrets on the choices I made. In all my years of computing both for my business, personal and fun, I have never, ever had a battery go bad, not to say it can't happen but nearly three volts tells me this is not the area of concern. As stated a few different times, both monitors have been tested on other computers and have no issue, so lets rule that out. Yes, I do use twin monitors on FS and have them correctly installed, and have been in use since the beginning. I think I covered it all. Thanks again for help! oh, btw this is a desktop.

Jack

no it is not overclocked.

Jack, with the power pack issue the PC will/may start up when cold, it may run for a short time then all of a sudden stop, if it is left to cool down it will do the same again, does yours do this?

Only for a very short time.....seconds, then a restart. Everything comes on, lights, fans, I can even hear the hd drive working, but still, nothing to be seen or heard ( no beeps )