[CheshireCody]

I built this computer about five years ago, but have upgraded a lot of it over the years. The only original parts left are the mobo (Abit IS-7) and the processor (3 GhZ bought in 2004).

A few weeks ago it started freezing and restarting randomly. Sometimes, on restarting, I would get the "Serious error" pop-up, which I always sent, and always got different results. Sometimes it would say it was an unknown driver error, sometimes an anti-virus error, once a RAM error. I had just upgraded the RAM when this started, so I ran the M$ testing tool several times, no errors. I also removed the new RAM, which didn't solve the problem, and put it back in.

Last night, the screen went black and the music I was listening to stopped dead. I waited a minute, then cold restarted. Now the PC won't even boot. It starts to load the BIOS, then black screen and nothing. A few times I've gotten the safe mode prompt, but only for a second or two (not long enough to make a decision), then black screen. All of the fans and internal lights are still on. There is no change when the screen goes black, other than the screen going black.

What I've tried:
-Windows recovery. First time I put the XP disc in, did the "press any key", got the black screen for about a minute, then the blue screen with the install/repair/exit options. I selected "repair" and was told Windows couldn't find my HDD. Okay, I had an HDD go bad years back after a similar bout of restarting, so sure, maybe that's it. I restarted, went to the BIOS, and noted that there was no HDD listed, just the CD and DVD drives. Okay, that was easy.

Heh. Not so much. I haven't replaced the HDD yet (was waiting for the stores to open), and now I can't even keep the PC from going to the black screen of death. If I DEL to get to the BIOS, I can bring up the menu, select an option, and boom - black screen after a second or so. Sometimes I can't even get that far.

I've tried removing RAM, no change. I tried unplugging the HDD both from the SATA cable and the power supply. No change. Right now I am waiting to replace the CMOS battery (took it out about twenty minutes ago), but I am not optimistic about that working, based on other threads here and elsewhere.

So, What needs to be replaced? At this point I figure it's either the mobo or the PCU, and either will really suck. The power supply I got about a year ago, video card as well, HDD maybe two years, I really don't think it's either of those. I can almost definitely do the repair myself, I just don't know what to replace, and can barely afford to replace one component, much less multiple ones, so I can't really frak around without being sure.

Thanks to all......

[CheshireCody]

A quick addendum: the light on my monitor is solid, indicating it is getting a signal, as opposed to blinking, as if the PC were powered off.

Also, the CMOS did nothing. Not surprised.

[CheshireCody]

Not to bump my own thread, but nobody has any ideas to help me?

[rbalaji]

I think your HDD has gone bad and needs to be replaced. See if you can download the HDD diagnostics tools from your HDD manufacturer and run them on this HDD to be sure.

[CheshireCody]

Originally Posted by rbalaji

I think your HDD has gone bad and needs to be replaced. See if you can download the HDD diagnostics tools from your HDD manufacturer and run them on this HDD to be sure.

Thanks for the suggestion. That was my first thought. The reason I don't think that's the problem, though, is that even when the HDD was disconnected, the problem remained the same. I should get a "hard drive error" or "hard drive not found" error, but the POST isn't even getting that far any more.

[rbalaji]

You said the BIOS does not even detect the HDD anymore, that is why I suggested replacing it.

[Rich-M]

The different errors you started with sure sound like ram...I would feel better if you had done 4 full tests each of which has 8 passes with memtest86 rather than Ms test.
www.memtest.org

If it passes with no errors then it has to be the motherboard though a week psu is the other possibility. You could test for psu by swapping out or simply unplugging everything except for hdd, and board then boot up.

Have you also tried re seating all pci cards, cables and plugs as it is easy to dislodge something while changing the ram?

[CheshireCody]

Turns out, we were all wrong. The monitor developed a fault, which I discovered when I plugged it in while the PC was powered up. It showed the desktop for a second, then went black. It does the same when it't not connected to any PC. I verified by plugging the monitor into another working PC, and another monitor into my PC. The upside: the monitor is under warranty, so hoorah!

Thank you to everybody for your considered replies. next time I have a problem I can't resolve myself, I will be back.

[Rich-M]

Good catch...right we were all fooled!