Desktop will not power up

I replaced a video card fan in a Compaq desk system.

Now it will not boot.

Power is getting to the power supply.

And I changed out the switch on the front cover, but still nothing.

What else can I check ?

Thanks,
Andy

Andy wrote:
I replaced a video card fan in a Compaq desk system.

Now it will not boot.

Power is getting to the power supply.

And I changed out the switch on the front cover, but still nothing.

What else can I check ?

Thanks,
Andy

Switch off and unplug system.

Then, verify the video card is fully seated.
You don't have to carry out a test at this point,
as the intention is merely to verify that the
card is as low in the slot as it can go. It a card
is sitting high in the slot, it could be shorting
all sorts of stuff. And things could get damaged if
that was the case. Generally, what I do is verify
I can't see the reflection of gold pins, when the
card is inserted. As a means of proving it is
pretty low in the slot.

*******

One of the questions to ask at this point, is whether
the fans spin when you click the front button on the PC.
I assume the switch is on at the back of the PC.

Your video card is low powered, and doesn't have an AUX
power connector. So that's not it.

*******

Actually, if you want to know my very next test,
it would be.

1) Unplug system.
2) Pull video card and place in antistatic bag for protection.
3) Plug in system.
4) Turn on, at the back, then push the front button.
5) Listen for repeating three-beep error pattern.
In other words, that is the BIOS noticing there is
no video card installed.

Such a test proves...

1) System has power
2) Chipset is working.
3) CPU reads BIOS code.
4) CPU writes to the beeper.
5) A lot of motherboard circuits are verified.

It's a quick way to prove you didn't ruin the
computer. It might point at a damaged video card.

So answering the question, do the fans spin,
is pretty important at this point. You can check
the video card is seated properly. And you can
do a beep test, as a means of backtracking and
proving the computer isn't toast.

If you have access to a photo hosting site, you
could post a picture of your brand new fan
installation. I hope the new fan red and black
wires, are going into the same positions as
the old video card fan red and black wires.

Paul

Andy wrote:
I replaced a video card fan in a Compaq desk system.

Now it will not boot.

Power is getting to the power supply.

And I changed out the switch on the front cover, but still nothing.

What else can I check ?


Plug the extra power cable back into the video card.

On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 4:45:24 PM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
Andy wrote:
I replaced a video card fan in a Compaq desk system.

Now it will not boot.

Power is getting to the power supply.

And I changed out the switch on the front cover, but still nothing.

What else can I check ?

Thanks,
Andy

Switch off and unplug system.

Then, verify the video card is fully seated.
You don't have to carry out a test at this point,
as the intention is merely to verify that the
card is as low in the slot as it can go. It a card
is sitting high in the slot, it could be shorting
all sorts of stuff. And things could get damaged if
that was the case. Generally, what I do is verify
I can't see the reflection of gold pins, when the
card is inserted. As a means of proving it is
pretty low in the slot.

*******

One of the questions to ask at this point, is whether
the fans spin when you click the front button on the PC.
I assume the switch is on at the back of the PC.

Your video card is low powered, and doesn't have an AUX
power connector. So that's not it.

*******

Actually, if you want to know my very next test,
it would be.

1) Unplug system.
2) Pull video card and place in antistatic bag for protection.
3) Plug in system.
4) Turn on, at the back, then push the front button.
5) Listen for repeating three-beep error pattern.
In other words, that is the BIOS noticing there is
no video card installed.

Such a test proves...

1) System has power
2) Chipset is working.
3) CPU reads BIOS code.
4) CPU writes to the beeper.
5) A lot of motherboard circuits are verified.

It's a quick way to prove you didn't ruin the
computer. It might point at a damaged video card.

So answering the question, do the fans spin,
is pretty important at this point. You can check
the video card is seated properly. And you can
do a beep test, as a means of backtracking and
proving the computer isn't toast.

If you have access to a photo hosting site, you
could post a picture of your brand new fan
installation. I hope the new fan red and black
wires, are going into the same positions as
the old video card fan red and black wires.

Paul

It powers up if the video card is not installed.

Does that mean the card went bad ?

Andy

In article ,
, Andy says...

I replaced a video card fan in a Compaq desk system.

Now it will not boot.

Power is getting to the power supply.

And I changed out the switch on the front cover, but still nothing.

What else can I check ?

Thanks,
Andy

Process of elimination. Ideally, you want to put a suspect part into a
known good system and find it fails.

If that's not possible...
* remove the video card, does it try and boot?
* put the video card back in, not booting? ...
* take some load off the PSU by disconnecting other things (HDD's, DVD's
etc). Does it try and boot? If so, the PSU can't hack the load.
Problem solved.

* If not, you really need to check that vid card out in another known
good PC.

--
Duncan.

Andy wrote:


It powers up if the video card is not installed.

Does that mean the card went bad ?

Andy

So now you have to take a closer look
at what you've done to the video card.

Even if the fan connector went on backwards,
it should have started.

Maybe it wasn't seated properly in the slot.

Paul

Bob F wrote:
Andy wrote:
I replaced a video card fan in a Compaq desk system.

Now it will not boot.

Power is getting to the power supply.

And I changed out the switch on the front cover, but still nothing.

What else can I check ?


Plug the extra power cable back into the video card.

I think it's a 7300GS, and those run off slot power.

(Typical example)

http://image.aving.net/img/2006/02/09/7300GS_1.jpg

The slot power is to the left of the keying slot. It's
the short section below the three terminal regulator
in that picture, not the "big toe" just below the
ribbon cable.

The bigger section on the right hand part of the connector,
has the PCI Express lanes.

And the heel on the right hand side, has to slide past
the heel lock, for the card to be fully in place. There are
two styles of heel locks. A button style, where the button
fits in the curved gap. And a slider, which slides along the
same axis as the card slot. The button style is the devil
to work with, because you can't see what you're doing, or
how it works.

Paul

On Mon, 22 Jun 2015 17:45:20 -0400, Paul wrote:


Switch off and unplug system.

Then, verify the video card is fully seated.
You don't have to carry out a test at this point,
as the intention is merely to verify that the
card is as low in the slot as it can go. It a card
is sitting high in the slot, it could be shorting
all sorts of stuff. And things could get damaged if
that was the case. Generally, what I do is verify
I can't see the reflection of gold pins, when the

I use my girlfriend for this step. She can see the reflection of gold
far better than I can.

card is inserted. As a means of proving it is
pretty low in the slot.

On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 10:16:58 PM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
Andy wrote:


It powers up if the video card is not installed.

Does that mean the card went bad ?

Andy

So now you have to take a closer look
at what you've done to the video card.

Even if the fan connector went on backwards,
it should have started.

Maybe it wasn't seated properly in the slot.

Paul

When I took the fan off, the computer turned on.

I have requested a refund for the fan.

I will look for another PCI Express card.

Andy

Andy wrote:
On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 10:16:58 PM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
Andy wrote:


It powers up if the video card is not installed.

Does that mean the card went bad ?

Andy

So now you have to take a closer look
at what you've done to the video card.

Even if the fan connector went on backwards,
it should have started.

Maybe it wasn't seated properly in the slot.

Paul

When I took the fan off, the computer turned on.

I have requested a refund for the fan.

I will look for another PCI Express card.

Andy

What voltage does your new fan require?
If it's a 12v fan then test by plugging into a 12v fan header on the mainboard
or get a 12v fan splitter cable that runs off a 4 pin Molex.
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...ower_cable.gif

On Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 6:23:14 PM UTC-5, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Andy wrote:
On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 10:16:58 PM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
Andy wrote:


It powers up if the video card is not installed.

Does that mean the card went bad ?

Andy

So now you have to take a closer look
at what you've done to the video card.

Even if the fan connector went on backwards,
it should have started.

Maybe it wasn't seated properly in the slot.

Paul

When I took the fan off, the computer turned on.

I have requested a refund for the fan.

I will look for another PCI Express card.

Andy

What voltage does your new fan require?
If it's a 12v fan then test by plugging into a 12v fan header on the mainboard
or get a 12v fan splitter cable that runs off a 4 pin Molex.
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...ower_cable.gif

I found the problem.

I put too much thermal paste on the GPU chip and some went between two pins on the board.

Once I cleaned it off, the computer booted up and the GPU fan ran as well.

Andy

On Thu, 25 Jun 2015 05:02:08 -0700 (PDT), Andy
wrote:

On Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 6:23:14 PM UTC-5, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Andy wrote:
On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 10:16:58 PM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
Andy wrote:


It powers up if the video card is not installed.

Does that mean the card went bad ?

Andy

So now you have to take a closer look
at what you've done to the video card.

Even if the fan connector went on backwards,
it should have started.

Maybe it wasn't seated properly in the slot.

Paul

When I took the fan off, the computer turned on.

I have requested a refund for the fan.

I will look for another PCI Express card.

Andy

What voltage does your new fan require?
If it's a 12v fan then test by plugging into a 12v fan header on the mainboard
or get a 12v fan splitter cable that runs off a 4 pin Molex.
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...ower_cable.gif

I found the problem.

I put too much thermal paste on the GPU chip and some went between two pins on the board.

Once I cleaned it off, the computer booted up and the GPU fan ran as well.

Andy

That damn paste!

Andy wrote:
On Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 6:23:14 PM UTC-5, Paul in Houston TX wrote:
Andy wrote:
On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 10:16:58 PM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
Andy wrote:


It powers up if the video card is not installed.

Does that mean the card went bad ?

Andy

So now you have to take a closer look
at what you've done to the video card.

Even if the fan connector went on backwards,
it should have started.

Maybe it wasn't seated properly in the slot.

Paul

When I took the fan off, the computer turned on.

I have requested a refund for the fan.

I will look for another PCI Express card.

Andy

What voltage does your new fan require?
If it's a 12v fan then test by plugging into a 12v fan header on the mainboard
or get a 12v fan splitter cable that runs off a 4 pin Molex.
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...ower_cable.gif

I found the problem.

I put too much thermal paste on the GPU chip and some went between two pins on the board.

Once I cleaned it off, the computer booted up and the GPU fan ran as well.

Andy

Excellent!

Andy wrote:
On Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at 6:23:14 PM UTC-5, Paul in Houston TX
wrote:
Andy wrote:
On Monday, June 22, 2015 at 10:16:58 PM UTC-5, Paul wrote:
Andy wrote:


It powers up if the video card is not installed.

Does that mean the card went bad ?

Andy

So now you have to take a closer look
at what you've done to the video card.

Even if the fan connector went on backwards,
it should have started.

Maybe it wasn't seated properly in the slot.

Paul

When I took the fan off, the computer turned on.

I have requested a refund for the fan.

I will look for another PCI Express card.

Andy

What voltage does your new fan require?
If it's a 12v fan then test by plugging into a 12v fan header on the
mainboard or get a 12v fan splitter cable that runs off a 4 pin
Molex.
http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/...ower_cable.gif

I found the problem.

I put too much thermal paste on the GPU chip and some went between
two pins on the board.

Once I cleaned it off, the computer booted up and the GPU fan ran as
well.

That was my next guess.

NOT!

On Thu, 25 Jun 2015 05:02:08 -0700 (PDT), Andy
wrote:


I found the problem.

I put too much thermal paste on the GPU chip and some went between two pins on the board.

Once I cleaned it off, the computer booted up and the GPU fan ran as well.

Andy

Why would that have any effect? Is that paste electrically conductive?
Otherwise it should not have any effect.