Device not starting. Screen off. No auditory signals.
Device not starting. Screen off. No auditory signals.
Hello everyone, I'm facing some issues getting this old gaming PC up and running. It was originally built for gaming but has been converted into a NAS. After shutting it down to remove the GPU for a headless setup, it failed to boot. The fans spin, but nothing appears on the screen. I've used both DVI and HDMI ports, but can't access the BIOS. There are no beeps during startup, which is unusual. I've tried clearing CMOS, reseating RAM and components, checking the CPU and GPU connections, using a different PSU, and even booting without RAM, which triggered the correct beep codes. The system specs are listed above.
Based on what I understand, most Athlon chips with AM4 sockets lack built-in graphics. You can't connect a monitor directly to the motherboard without the graphics card if it's removed. If the machine makes a beep when no RAM is detected but doesn’t respond after installation, it likely points to an issue with the RAM or its slots. I recommend checking each RAM stick in a working system first to identify any faulty ones. It’s possible that removing the graphics card caused another component to fail. This situation is uncommon but can occur. The key is isolating the problematic part by testing one at a time. Good luck!
Thanks for the feedback. I didn’t check the RAM beforehand. I don’t own another PC with DDR4 but I did have some 4GB DIMM units that were swapped out when this machine was upgraded. Unfortunately, that didn’t help. I think something might be wrong with the board, so I went ahead and replaced the motherboard and upgraded the CPU. It used to be my sister’s gaming rig for years—she never kept it in good shape before I started using it as a NAS and Jellyfin Server, so it’s clear it had a long life.
Well, old cases with new components make awesome sleeper PCs after all Have fun with your new build !