Compaq Presario desktop - No Video Output after going to sleep

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PandaMarketer

Member
A friend brought me their Compaq Presario SR2173wm running Vista Home Premium 32 bit. (reason: It was too slow for them, I should clean it up / update anti virus and stuff)

I have a workstation set up with confirmed working peripherals and monitor. I plugged in VGA cord, PS2 keyboard, USB mouse and Power cable.

At first, it turned on and I was met with the log on screen. The odd thing is that since the mother board doesn't have a working speaker, it doesn't have beeps. (not even the 1 good beep)

I put the supplied password and it was running really slow. This was late at night, and I decided to work on it in the morning. I let it go to sleep and didn't worry about it. The power light was blinking amber. I went to bed.

Next day, it was completely off! (My other computer was on, and was woken up with a shake of the mouse) This Compaq did not.

I power cycled the computer, even removed the power cord for several minutes.

It turned on, the lights come on, the fans turn, the hard drive spins up, the keyboard's LEDs flashed, but no signal is reaching the monitor. I let it stay like this for over 5 minutes to see if it would finally come on. (since it's a slow PC) Nothing.

Things I have tried to no avail:
  • confirming VGA cable & montior still work on other systems - they do
  • power cycle the machine
  • re-plug in all the peripheral cords, then turn on
  • opened the case to try other things:
  • reseated the RAM
  • replugged the PSU cables to the Mobo
  • reseated the only expansion card it has - a modem
  • shorted the BIOS battery
  • replugged all cables (devices, USB cables, Power/reset/HDD/1394..etc)
  • removed modem
  • added video card - AGP with DVI output, using VGA adapter
  • swapped PSU with another 250W I had laying around
  • then tried it with the onboard video, then the video card
  • then tried it without the modem
  • switched the RAM sticks around (2 sticks, 4 slots)
I am at a loss. :confused:

Please tell me what's the next step?

Newer things i've tried to no avail:

Using the jumpers to clear the CMOS : shorted pins 1 & 2 for 30 seconds then returned to 2 & 3.
 
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bios flash? there should be a jumper connecting the bois circuitry, just take that out of its existing position and move it along 1 pin, it should look like this at the moment/howtoflashbios05.JPG
now you need to move that jumper down 1 pin and turn the computer on (it wont do anything when you switch on) turn it off again, move the pin back to how it was and turn back on, the bios should now be flashed and hopefully that should bring back the signal.

Dave
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 @ 2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    Evga NF78-CK-132-A 3-Way SLI
    Memory
    8Gb DDR2 Corsair Dominator @ 1066Mhz 5-5-5-15
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 560 GTX SC FTW 1GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC888 7.1 Audio, Logitech G35 7.1 Surround Headset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2409W 16:9, HDMi, DVI & VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 7200rpm 250Gb SATA, Samsung 7200rpm 750Gb SATA, WD 7200rpm 1TB SCSI SATA.
    PSU
    Xigmatek 750W Quad sli quad core 80% eff
    Case
    Antec 900 Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT NVIDIA Tritium, Dominator RAM cooler
    Mouse
    Razor Lachesis Banshee V2 Blue, 4000DPI
    Keyboard
    Logitech generic keyboard
    Internet Speed
    16Mb Sky bb
    Other Info
    Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows, Wireless Xbox 360 Pad, Wireless Xbox 360 Les Paul Guitar
PandaMarketer said:
I put in another hard drive (used) and the machine boots now. Now to see if I can recover his data off the old hard drive. I think its still in sleep mode. :confused:
Click to expand...
that's rather strange, ive never heard of a machine not booting because of a hard drive before, it should at least get to the post screen, well, as long as its not the machine at fault.

Dave
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 @ 2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    Evga NF78-CK-132-A 3-Way SLI
    Memory
    8Gb DDR2 Corsair Dominator @ 1066Mhz 5-5-5-15
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 560 GTX SC FTW 1GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC888 7.1 Audio, Logitech G35 7.1 Surround Headset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2409W 16:9, HDMi, DVI & VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 7200rpm 250Gb SATA, Samsung 7200rpm 750Gb SATA, WD 7200rpm 1TB SCSI SATA.
    PSU
    Xigmatek 750W Quad sli quad core 80% eff
    Case
    Antec 900 Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT NVIDIA Tritium, Dominator RAM cooler
    Mouse
    Razor Lachesis Banshee V2 Blue, 4000DPI
    Keyboard
    Logitech generic keyboard
    Internet Speed
    16Mb Sky bb
    Other Info
    Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows, Wireless Xbox 360 Pad, Wireless Xbox 360 Les Paul Guitar
I know. Well, that HDD already had an OS on it (XP) and it booted nicely. Now I put a fresh one and it won't even POST. I can't enter BIOS. At worst I have to install the new hard drive on another system, install Vista, then transfer to this machine and see what happens.

Very strange.

EDIT: it appears no power is reaching the usb ports, and thus, the video port too? Yet the PS2 are fine, as well as the Lan.
 
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Well, I was able to reach the BIOS by putting in an XP hard drive, and I set the time, and boot sequence. Then saved and exit. The PC didn't reboot automatically, which is weird.

I hard booted and now it won't POST with the XP hard drive in it. I get no response from the ps2 keyboard.

There's got to be a simple explanation to this phenomena, but what?
 

My Computer

System One

New PSU maybe? sounds like there's something wrong with the hardware to me, i'd consider looking at the RAM as well, we will get to the bottom of this :D

Dave
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 @ 2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    Evga NF78-CK-132-A 3-Way SLI
    Memory
    8Gb DDR2 Corsair Dominator @ 1066Mhz 5-5-5-15
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 560 GTX SC FTW 1GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC888 7.1 Audio, Logitech G35 7.1 Surround Headset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2409W 16:9, HDMi, DVI & VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 7200rpm 250Gb SATA, Samsung 7200rpm 750Gb SATA, WD 7200rpm 1TB SCSI SATA.
    PSU
    Xigmatek 750W Quad sli quad core 80% eff
    Case
    Antec 900 Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT NVIDIA Tritium, Dominator RAM cooler
    Mouse
    Razor Lachesis Banshee V2 Blue, 4000DPI
    Keyboard
    Logitech generic keyboard
    Internet Speed
    16Mb Sky bb
    Other Info
    Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows, Wireless Xbox 360 Pad, Wireless Xbox 360 Les Paul Guitar
I don't have a new PSU laying around (that fits the case). Same thing goes for RAM. I can't even rum memtest86 from a CD cuz it won't get that far.

I was thinking of disassembling everything, and reassembling. I think I have a compatible processor that can fit the socket. Might use that.
 

My Computer

System One

For no money,try taking the Ram out and cleaning it where it plugs in.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo Thinkpad T400
    CPU
    Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo P8700 @ 2.53GHz
    Motherboard
    LENOVO 64734VM
    Memory
    2.00GB Single-Channel DDR3 @ 531MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Mobile Intel 4 Series Express Chipset Family
    Sound Card
    Conexant 20561 SmartAudio HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15 inch
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    1x 180GB Intel 530 series SSD 1 x 120GB Hitachi 5400rmp 1 x 650GB Western Digital Elements 5400rpm 1x 1Tb Western Digital Elements 5400rpm
    Internet Speed
    Medium for New Zealand
    Other Info
    Weakest part of my computer is the graphics chipset. Only ever used a laptop. Also use USB Freeview TV Card Lenovo Docking Station External Speakers Other bits a pieces as needed
After doing this, and clearing the CMOS again, I got a beep code that indicated bad RAM. So I put in good RAM and it still beeped bad ram. (1 short 1 long)

I put the ram in the next two banks, and it booted (with original HDD installed) and it said "Resuming Windows..."

Mouse wasn't working so I hit restart from windows menu. (we all know Vista wasn't made to shutdown, rather goto sleep, so it took a while to reboot) Now I got a different beep code indicating "Unable to initialize video or video card required but not installed."

So I pushed power btn for 10 sec until it turned off. Then waited a few seconds and turned it on. Nothing happened but fans turning. Shut it off and restarted, and it POSTs nicely, and CHKDSK is crying that it needs to run, so I let it run.

That's what's it's doing currently as I type.
 

My Computer

System One

Jolly good, seems to be getting better as you go along, hope it gets sorted, just seems to be one issue after another with this system, fingers crossed.

Dave
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 @ 2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    Evga NF78-CK-132-A 3-Way SLI
    Memory
    8Gb DDR2 Corsair Dominator @ 1066Mhz 5-5-5-15
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 560 GTX SC FTW 1GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC888 7.1 Audio, Logitech G35 7.1 Surround Headset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2409W 16:9, HDMi, DVI & VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 7200rpm 250Gb SATA, Samsung 7200rpm 750Gb SATA, WD 7200rpm 1TB SCSI SATA.
    PSU
    Xigmatek 750W Quad sli quad core 80% eff
    Case
    Antec 900 Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT NVIDIA Tritium, Dominator RAM cooler
    Mouse
    Razor Lachesis Banshee V2 Blue, 4000DPI
    Keyboard
    Logitech generic keyboard
    Internet Speed
    16Mb Sky bb
    Other Info
    Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows, Wireless Xbox 360 Pad, Wireless Xbox 360 Les Paul Guitar
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

The good thing is that it takes 3 to 10 trials to get it to boot, but when it does boot, there's no problems.

The bad thing is that it cannot reboot. If you select restart, when it shuts down, the CMOS can't rePOST so it beeps the "bad video" or "cannot initialize video" codes. A manual power cycle is required.

The ugly thing is I ended up breaking off the plastic molding to the hard drive's SATA data port. The flat pins are still in tact, but the plastic L piece is gone. I have the long part of that piece,but the short piece is missing.

I'm going to have to transfer everything to the new HDD eventually once I lick this POST problem.


EDIT: Even though it doesn't fit in the housing, I temporarlily connected a 400W power supply to see if that would cure it of the sometimes-not-sometimes-yes POST. But that did not fix the problem.
 

My Computer

System One

well, recap... We've checked RAM, PSU, GPU, HDD(still suspect), Bios Flash, there is one more thing you could try, have you removed everything apart from the bare essentials to get the system to boot properly?
By basic i mean: motherboard, PSU, CPU and RAM(1 stick in port 1), remove any non essential cards from the system and see if we get a post screen after power cycling it a few times, maybe we will crack the issue yet!

Dave
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 @ 2.8GHz
    Motherboard
    Evga NF78-CK-132-A 3-Way SLI
    Memory
    8Gb DDR2 Corsair Dominator @ 1066Mhz 5-5-5-15
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 560 GTX SC FTW 1GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC888 7.1 Audio, Logitech G35 7.1 Surround Headset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell S2409W 16:9, HDMi, DVI & VGA
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 7200rpm 250Gb SATA, Samsung 7200rpm 750Gb SATA, WD 7200rpm 1TB SCSI SATA.
    PSU
    Xigmatek 750W Quad sli quad core 80% eff
    Case
    Antec 900 Gaming Case
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9700-NT NVIDIA Tritium, Dominator RAM cooler
    Mouse
    Razor Lachesis Banshee V2 Blue, 4000DPI
    Keyboard
    Logitech generic keyboard
    Internet Speed
    16Mb Sky bb
    Other Info
    Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows, Wireless Xbox 360 Pad, Wireless Xbox 360 Les Paul Guitar
Dave, I tried the 1 stick of ram and it just beeps bad ram, and all this time I didn't put back the PCI modem.

FUNNY THING: I super glued the plastic L to the inside of a SATA cable while I connected it to the drive. I let it sit like that overnight (only cause I went to bed) and it's a little loose since it wiggles, but firm enough not to fall off with gravity.

The damn thing boots EVERY time now! (Okay, it still doesn't "Reboot" just cold boot)

I also notice that the bios heat sink gets pretty hot, faster than the processor's sink.

I'm gonna transfer/image the disk, and call it fixed with that one caveat. I'll tell the customer/friend that it can't reboot, just cold boot.
 

My Computer

System One

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