HELP...Computer Gurus (1 Viewer)

[SaintShane]

Okay, here's the deal. My employee was running her end of the night reports. As she started to print the first report, the screen went blank(well, we have a white background and all the icons disappeared and the mouse cursor and the screen was just plain white).

I could not ctrl alt del or anything so I just turned the power off to the cpu by holding down the power button. When I turn it back on, the cpu itself comes on....light on, fans running....but I have no signal to my monitor, no signal to my mouse(optical mouse with light not lit up) and no signal to my keyboard.

Any freakin idea what this is??? Did the motherboard go out, or what....HELP.

 

[buzd]

Could be a lot of things. MB short, power surge, bad power supply.

Sometimes though static (and other) charge just builds up. I've mostly seen it with monitors, but I suppose it could happen with other connectors too. Unplug everything from the back of the computer and make sure all power cords are plugged in. Wait like 10 minutes, then put it back together and try turning it on.

 

[SaintShane]

I have tried disconnecting the mouse and keyboard and plugging them back in and still no signal. I have the computer off right now, I'm hoping letting it "rest" for an hour or so that somehow it will miraculously come back on......can't blame a guy for hoping.

 

[jrdbrn]

Is the graphics card integrated or is there a physical card?

I would say its a power supply issue if the graphics card is integrated. You would be amazed what a power supply could cause.

Do you know anyone personally that could look at it? I don't suggest bringing it in anywhere if you know someone who could look at it. I use to work at a repair store and the prices are outrageous for the amount of work that is needed to fix a computer.

 

[robsmith32]

question is, what bios does it have, award, ami or phoenix.. then how many beeps does it make when you power it on. and notice if short/long beeps.

by the sound of it, i'd venture to say power supply as mentioned.

this sounds like @ work.. you don't have IT dept? this is why they get paid bucks

jrdbrn, i guess you let your buddy do your heart surgery, since it's absurd what heart dr's cost.

granted, tis diff thing.. but what are those reports.. does it keep your business from making money if they aren't done.. cheaper to pay to get it fixed and proper fast that depend on a buddy and hope its done.
it's not cheap to be in business.

 

[SaintShane]

Thanks for the ideas guys.

It is a work computer. I own a small biz(tanning salon) and our computer basically runs the entire store. It has our piece of work, with integrated CC processing, runs our timers which control all 15 beds, etc.

We can manually control all of our beds, but our piece of work let's us know our clients data, etc, + most of our sales are CC which is run thru the computer.

I'm going to call my computer tech in the am and pray that he can get out early to me.

as far as bios, I'm not sure what that is.

I can tell you that when I turn the power on, the cpu itself comes on..fans run, lights on the cpu intself, and if you open the cpu up, there is a green light on one of the boards inside that comes on. However, the mouse, keyboard, and monitor have no signal going to them.

At least one thing I know is that I know the value of backing up our data daily. Our piece of work which saves all client history and sales history is backed up daily. So if I do have to get a new cpu, we will have a good back up of our piece of work data as of last night. We will only lose today's data.

 

[Saint77]

Id say either it got over heated and blew something, or have the power supply checked out.

I know some Dells and HPs wont boot at all if the fan doesnt work, or if the heatsink brackets break and the heatsink is loose. I ran into a Dell not long ago that got so hot it melted the heatsink retaining brackes, and the sink came loose, and it did what you are discribing.

Consider opening the case and looking around inside.

 

[Saint77]

I can tell you that when I turn the power on, the cpu itself comes on..fans run, lights on the cpu intself, and if you open the cpu up, there is a green light on one of the boards inside that comes on. However, the mouse, keyboard, and monitor have no signal going to them.

At least one thing I know is that I know the value of backing up our data daily. Our piece of work which saves all client history and sales history is backed up daily. So if I do have to get a new cpu, we will have a good back up of our piece of work data as of last night. We will only lose today's data.

In that case, it could very well be a motherboard.

If its a name brand PC, you may be able to et away with just replacing the motherboard with the exact same model, and not have to rebuild the system or buy a new one.

Good deal on backing up, your already way ahead of most small business owners and managers I run into.

 

[SaintShane]

It is a gateway computer if that helps any. I did open up the case earlier and had a look around. The fan is running fine and also when you shut the cpu off, you can hear that "winding down" sound(not the fan, but something else) that you hear on most computers. Sounded like that noise came from a decent sized "box" inside the computer at the top in the rear of the cpu....sorry for the laymens terms, but I'm no computer person.

 

[SaintShane]

Oh, and if there are any good techs in the Houma area, I'd be interested in your services.

 

[SeminoleMarine]

Sounded like that noise came from a decent sized "box" inside the computer at the top in the rear of the cpu....sorry for the laymens terms, but I'm no computer person.

Well lucky for you I slept at Holiday Inn Express last night. That "decent sized box" is your power supply. If you have a tech coming in today, he should be able to pin point your problem. If it is the power supply, they are not that expensive and are quite easy to replace. Good luck to you.

 

[SaintShane]

Thanks everyone. I dropped the computer off this morning, and they had it back to me by 10:30. Ended up being the video card.

Thanks again for all your quick responses.

 

[jrdbrn]

jrdbrn, i guess you let your buddy do your heart surgery, since it's absurd what heart dr's cost.

granted, tis diff thing.. but what are those reports.. does it keep your business from making money if they aren't done.. cheaper to pay to get it fixed and proper fast that depend on a buddy and hope its done.
it's not cheap to be in business.

I forgot it was a company computer

 

[robsmith32]

that's why was wanting the beeps.. as it would spell out if video card or memory, or whatever.
glad to hear back up and running.