So I am building some machines for my dads company and I was trying to make his new server and after it's put together I tried to turn it on.. The machine hums to life and you can hear random idle computer noises, but it never beeps at all and it never goes to bios or does much of anything other then hum.. At first we figured maybe the MB was fried so we exchanged that and we throw the new one in and get the exact same thing, odds say that it's not the MB at this point.. We checked the PS by hookin up one from a machine we know works fine and same thing nothing happens, so it's not the PS.. We tried pulling the RAM and starting it and it gave it's normal beep codes that said there was a RAM problem, we also did the same with the Video card and it also gave it's beep codes.. So anyone have any idea of why a computer would just not ever go to the bios, or not give any beep codes at all?
I was thinkin maybe the CPU got fried by a shock or something but even then it 'should' give you a beep code for that.. I think our next step if nothing else is figured out is to just exchange the MB and Processor then see what happens..

I don't fully remember whats in this thing but heres the basics:
PS: 400w POS that came with the POS case
MB: Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
RAM: 1GB corsair (x2)
CPU: AMD 4800+
Vid Card: We have been throwing in all the ones we have but I believe it needs to end up with a PNY something or other

You're probably done with this by now, but I had something similar happen once. As best I can tell, the PS fried the motherboard and the video card. Made it very frustrating doing isolation tests since 3 items failed simultaneously.

Clear cmos with battery. Disconnect anything not essential for posting.
Try another PS, and go from there.
PS failures are common, even if voltages seem ok.
Make sure you have the right ram sticks in the right slots, test in another machine if possible.
Inspect all slots connections and reset vid card.
Make sure mobo mount screws aren't grounding or shorting anything.

ALWAYs wear a earth grounded ES strap, use a mat if you got it, and observe ESD protocols when assembling! no joke.

Actually I did figure this one out eventually... We swapped pretty much everything down to case and PS.. but apparently we never swapped the RAM.. One of the sticks was fried but wasn't giving an error code.. In the end I couldn't believe neither of us actually swapped ram although we had talked about it, I think we both figured the other had done it..

Posted by Pravus Actually I did figure this one out eventually... We swapped pretty much everything down to case and PS.. but apparently we never swapped the RAM.. One of the sticks was fried but wasn't giving an error code.. In the end I couldn't believe neither of us actually swapped ram although we had talked about it, I think we both figured the other had done it..

What brand? Never had a ram stick fail. I've mem tested soooo many cycles...

I've had three bad PS in the last three years, and now will only use Antec's.
MMandy's nightmare is always in the back of my mind, but when PS's fail they are normally just a bitch to weed out. Many don't fail completely, so they seem to be working normally , but one or more of the rails drop out under load. Almost impossible to detect sometimes even with a DVM.

Posted by blackhawk What brand? Never had a ram stick fail. I've mem tested soooo many cycles... I've had three bad PS in the last three years, and now will only use Antec's. MMandy's nightmare is always in the back of my mind, but when PS's fail they are normally just a bitch to weed out. Many don't fail completely, so they seem to be working normally , but one or more of the rails drop out under load. Almost impossible to detect sometimes even with a DVM.

Corsair, bad stick from the factory.. whats odd is I used one of the memory diagnostic utilities and it said the ram was fine..

Posted by Pravus Corsair, bad stick from the factory.. whats odd is I used one of the memory diagnostic utilities and it said the ram was fine..

You sure it was seated correctly? Check for debris in the socket.
Were they matched sticks?
Timings and v+ were correct?
Many times you most set these as the default settings are wrong.

With mem test you should run at least a couple dozen cycles, but as we have all learned tests are well... just tests.
Always good to have a known good copy

Whenever a machine I've been tinkering with doesn't fire up the first thing I do is swap the RAM. I've seen far too many RAM sticks go bad, mostly from ESD. Infact, unless RAM comes straight out of the ESD box/bag it came in from the factory I'm fairly hesitant to use it in a machine. You've got to handle that stuff more carefully than your inlaws.

Posted by ExKa|iBuR Whenever a machine I've been tinkering with doesn't fire up the first thing I do is swap the RAM. I've seen far too many RAM sticks go bad, mostly from ESD. Infact, unless RAM comes straight out of the ESD box/bag it came in from the factory I'm fairly hesitant to use it in a machine. You've got to handle that stuff more carefully than your inlaws.

I have 4 sets I've worked with some Muskin, and the Corsair, but never had a failure. ESD is very real, and it kills.
Not turning the machine's PS off can have similar bad results.
I also avoid touching the contact surfaces.

Ha-ha, your right, best to treat ram sticks like bitter inlaws!

Posted by blackhawk What brand? Never had a ram stick fail. I've mem tested soooo many cycles...

what are you using to test if you dont mind my asking? i typically install Memtest x86+ on all my linux systems (and servers) for memory testing. let it run for a couple of days.

Memtest, it's great.

Actually I did use Mem test to test the RAM at one point, it said the ram was fine, so I didn't bother thinking about the ram until we swapped it.. If I remember correctly it was Corsair.. We went and exchanged it and never had another problem with it again..

Wow. I keep all of my computers in a carpeted room, never use any anti ESD stuff, have carried pci cards in my backpack for days and installed them, all that stuff. All of my computers work for the most part. Even the one I've been tinkering with since 2001. I guess older parts are more resistant to that, like PC133 SDRAM heh... I've carried that in my pants pockets before.

Posted by Atomsk813 Wow. I keep all of my computers in a carpeted room, never use any anti ESD stuff, have carried pci cards in my backpack for days and installed them, all that stuff. All of my computers work for the most part. Even the one I've been tinkering with since 2001. I guess older parts are more resistant to that, like PC133 SDRAM heh... I've carried that in my pants pockets before.

You have and will cause damage. Thinking happy thoughts don't change the laws of physics or properties of materials.

Then people go screaming how XXXX RAM is no good and fail after XX days, hours, months, etc.
Hey I've played chicken and "kiss the bumper" with semi's and I'm still here... so feelin' lucky?

Posted by Boyington's bastard You have and will cause damage. Thinking happy thoughts don't change the laws of physics or properties of materials.

yep. pretty much.

if you dont have and anti-static stuff, the best you can do is ground out before working on a rig. just touch the metal part of any case you have around that is plugged in. the other option is to leave the pc plugged in but the PSU in the OFF state (bevel switch on the back). this is what i often do at home, b/c i have no other option. at least you are gounded out this way.

Posted by neX_ yep. pretty much. if you dont have and anti-static stuff, the best you can do is ground out before working on a rig. just touch the metal part of any case you have around that is plugged in. the other option is to leave the pc plugged in but the PSU in the OFF state (bevel switch on the back). this is what i often do at home, b/c i have no other option. at least you are gounded out this way.

Exactly, many times if i need to go inside that's what I do too. When working with a mobo installing the CPU, it's best to have a wrist ground strap on. They're not that much, some are under $10. As you mentioned, it must be sinked to a true earth ground.

Wear cotton, work on a bare wood surface if no ESD mat is availible. Raise to humidity level in the room if the air is dry; humidity plays a big role in static build up. Even with a strap on much sure the room's relative humidity is above 35%.
Never use a vacuum cleaner inside the case, the mobo, RAM, etc under any circumstances!!!
Use compressed air to clean dust off, or wipe it down.

Observing ESD safe handling procedures is much easier to do than trying to track down a fried CPU, RAM stick, Vid card, etc latter. I've installed 10 RAM sticks, and over a dozen SATA HDs, 3 CPUs and mobos, and 4 Vid cards in the last 4 years and have never had one failure after the install or during the life of the units. It makes a difference!