Is my PC Dead? No BIOS Screen

[Baldo]

I have been having some issues with my PC but it was sort of working ok. It shows that I had only 8GB of RAM whereas I was sure I had 24GB. I took out the additional RAM that I had installed leaving only two sticks in there and yep it still showed only 8GB installed.

I tried to start up the PC with only one stick installed but it would not start.

I then put two sticks in and now it does not start at all. I do not even get a BIOS screen coming up.

I did notice a slight electrical burning smell. I wonder if there was a short somewhere.

Is my PC completely dead now? AS I said there is not even a bios screen.

[Folderol]

Sounds like you put the memory stick back in wrongly - not promising with the smell of burning.
What happens if you take it out again?

[merlyn]

A burning smell sounds bad. When you do anything inside the computer make sure the power is off at the switch on the PSU, or if there isn't a switch pull out the mains lead.

Dealing with the possibility that your PC is still rescueable what has worked for me is to take all the RAM out and boot like that. You will get a beep code telling you there is no RAM. Hold in the power button for more than four seconds to shut down. Turn the power off, add one stick and try booting.

My explanation for this working is that the BIOS has to re-detect the RAM. Turn the power off, add further sticks and try again. On some occasions I have had to go back to zero sticks more than once.

[Baldo]

OK, thankfully the PC is not Dead.

It seems that it was the RAM not installed correctly. I re seated the 8GB and removed the additional 16GB.

On one of the 8GB RAM sticks I see that one of the gold connectors had turned black. I tried to clean it but now it just has a black mark there. The other three are fine.

I ran a memory test on the 8GB of RAM and that did not show any errors.

I'm now running a memory test with 16GB of Installed .

I assume that the RAM has to be installed in pairs? Am I correct?

[merlyn]

No, but RAM usually is installed in pairs if the memory is dual channel. Your motherboard manual will tell you in which order to use the slots.

What is the motherboard?

[Baldo]

My Mobo is a Gigabyte X58A-UD3R

I have installed two of the addition RAM sticks but my system just does not see them. Is it the memory that is faulty or is it the memory slots on the mobo.

I suppose the only way to find out is to find another PC and put my memory in there and test it there.

Is there any otherway to test these memory sticks without another PC?

[Folderol]

My Mobo is a Gigabyte X58A-UD3R

I have installed two of the addition RAM sticks but my system just does not see them. Is it the memory that is faulty or is it the memory slots on the mobo.

I suppose the only way to find out is to find another PC and put my memory in there and test it there.

Is there any otherway to test these memory sticks without another PC?

If you burned a contact on the memory, it's likely you also burned the matching contact on the MBO, so that socket is now unusable.
I don't advise trying the memory on another computer - that might just result in having two flaky computers.

[OneWorld]

I cannot remember which exactly, but I seem to remember back in the day, there were 2 types of memory that were physically the same size and you could slot in a stick of RAM that was incorrect for the motherboard. Each of the 2 sticks of RAM had a different number of pins but at a casual glance, they looked the same

I would consult the motherboard manual and look carefully at the label on the RAM and identify exactly what type of memory it is.

A PC should be able to at least begin the POST sequence even if no memory is present - that's what the POST is, Power On Self Test, it tests what components are present - CPU, Graphics, RAM, Disks etc and if not present then the beep code interjects and indicates what is missing/faulty

If you can't even get as far as POST it looks like it's a gonner

Seeing as you are getting no display at all, are you sure the graphics card is inserted correctly, or are you using on-board graphics, and in either case, is the graphics cable OK?

Or the issue could even be the power supply. Is the power supply ok and are all the connectors seated properly. It is possible to power up a PC and hear the fans running, but no other signs of life so to speak. That is because the 12v rail is working but the other voltages not working - hence fans working but other components not. Consult the manual and make sure all connections are present and functioning.

When building a system I always take a scan of the pic of the motherboard which the list of connections, how the SATA, RAM slots are numbered, any jumpers that need configuring and labelling the PCI slots etc

[merlyn]

Having a look at your motherboard :

it has three channel memory and six slots. The manual is here :
https://download1.gigabyte.com/Files/Ma ... d2348edcc7
Going from the top down the slots are 2,1,4,3,6,5. For one stick use slot 1. Once you've determined that works you can use slot 1 to test all the sticks.

[Baldo]

Thanks for that.

I also see from CPU-Z that slot 3 is f**ed. If I put any thing in there it struggles to start up.

At the moment I am running with slots 1,2,4,& 6. That gives me 16GB.

I assume that I can't use the additonal 4GB that I have in slot 5 since they have be used in pairs.

On another note, it seems that it is the mobo that is now faulty. It could explain the sudden shutdown that I have been getting.

If I upgrade, can I continue to use my sound card, (ESI Julia), and my two graphics cards, or will I have have to replace those as well.

I assume that with newer mobos, the RAM is now DDR4 while I have DDR3.

Thanks again for your help on this.

[Baldo]

I've jsut seen that memory is now DDR5!!!.

So if I do upgrade, which I supose is only a matter of time, I will have to get a new Mobo, new CPU AND new RAM.

I assume that the SSDs and HDDs that I have will stil work since they are SATA.

[merlyn]

I'm not clear on what sticks you have. In your original post you said you have 24GB.

Three channel memory is unusual. This motherboard can work in three or dual channel mode. The way to add memory to this motherboard (if all the slots were working) would be to use slots 1,3,5 -- in other words the white slots. The white slots are the primary slots for each channel. Then 2,4,6 depending on how many sticks you have. The blue slots are the secondary slots for each channel.

When using multiple channel memory it is recommended that the sticks are matched. Most RAM kits are either 2 or 4 sticks, so you would put a 4 stick kit in as 1,3,5,2 and this would give three channels of memory.

Things are now more complicated as slot 3 is not working. If the whole computer is a bit flaky it could be time to upgrade.

Upgrading to a current motherboard would involve a new CPU and RAM. DDR5 is pretty new and it will be a while before DDR5 is the standard. The ESI Julia card requires a PCI (not PCIe) slot? Legacy PCI slots are getting rarer but there still are some motherboards with legacy PCI slots. There is also the possibility of using a PCIe to PCI adapter or riser but this can be difficult to mechanically fit into the case depending on the height of the card.

[Baldo]

Thanks Merlyn,

Just o clarify, I have a total of 24GB as 6 x 4GB sticks. One of the sticks AND one of slots on the mobo are faulty, slot 3.

I have put in 5 of the sticks into slots 1,2,4,5 & 6. So now the system can see 20GB. I have issues starting the machine up. It seems to stuggle a few times at the POST screen and halts at the RAM section. maybe that will resolve itself once it knows the system is now stable.

I am wondering whether to just buy a replacement Mobo, same model and model and just replace that. All the other compoents are working fine. This would certainly be the cheapest option. I really am happy with the machine as it is. As long as it starts up I really dont need a super fast system, for now.

If I do upgrade then that could cost a bit because I would have to get new; Mobo, Ram, CPU & Soundcard.

[OneWorld]

Thanks Merlyn,

Just o clarify, I have a total of 24GB as 6 x 4GB sticks. One of the sticks AND one of slots on the mobo are faulty, slot 3.

I have put in 5 of the sticks into slots 1,2,4,5 & 6. So now the system can see 20GB. I have issues starting the machine up. It seems to stuggle a few times at the POST screen and halts at the RAM section. maybe that will resolve itself once it knows the system is now stable.

I am wondering whether to just buy a replacement Mobo, same model and model and just replace that. All the other compoents are working fine. This would certainly be the cheapest option. I really am happy with the machine as it is. As long as it starts up I really dont need a super fast system, for now.

If I do upgrade then that could cost a bit because I would have to get new; Mobo, Ram, CPU & Soundcard.

And you could probably offset the cost a little by publishing a booklet - How to Bust a Motherboard

Seriously, make sure you are fully aware of the issues when building a system - a motherboard/CPU/RAM etc can be rendered useless in a matter of seconds once you start adding the various components - clear the bench/table, have all the components laid out before you, before you connect the power, check and double check everything. I have seen one brand new motherboard ruined when it was switched on, on seeing the board not booting the user pressed down on the motherboard to ascertain that everything was plugged in properly, on pressing down on the motherboard at where a connection was made, the 'give' in the motherboard meant that the connections on the underside shorted out when they made contact with the bare metal of the case - zap!!!! 1 motherboard friend

When adding components, try adding them one by one where it is practical (except the memory is in pairs as you know by now) don't bother adding soundcards, graphics cards, extra HDDs/SSDs at first, confirm the board is working as it should do in the first instance, and don't bother overclocking, get it working and settled down first

[merlyn]

I am wondering whether to just buy a replacement Mobo, same model and model and just replace that. All the other compoents are working fine. This would certainly be the cheapest option. I really am happy with the machine as it is. As long as it starts up I really dont need a super fast system, for now.

Sure, that's an idea. You could pick up the same Gigabyte motherboard on ebay. It will be a bit of work to swap them over, if you feel confident with that.

If you do this it would be an idea to apply new thermal transfer compound. It's a paste that goes between the CPU and cooler. Clean the old stuff off and apply new stuff.

[Baldo]

Thanks again Merly for the heada up.

"the user pressed down on the motherboard to ascertain that everything was plugged in properly, on pressing down on the motherboard at where a connection was made, the 'give' in the motherboard meant that the connections on the underside shorted out when they made contact with the bare metal of the case - zap!!!! 1 motherboard friend"

Been there and done it!!! Now I just place some kind of thin insulation material on the underside to avoid this kind of thing happening.

It seems that my best bet is to get a modo off ebay and just sway them over. I assume that I will not have to reinstall the OS. All I will be doing is taking out my current mobo and putting all the compoents onto the new one.

I have built systems before so I am confident I should be able to get it done ok. You are right. one needs a nice clean space and methodical way of working.