Or by only putting one stick of memory in, or changing the slot you’re using.
I was assembling a computer and everything seemed to be correct, the fan would spin up, I’d get some lights, but there was no image on the screen, not even the BIOS. I saw someone else make this suggestion and didn’t think it was likely to work, but it did. First I just tried one stick, and it booted. Then I tried both sticks and it didn’t work, but I reseated and then it did.
(Also worth pointing out that your motherboard should have diagnostic lights which if you check the documentation may point out which component has an issue)
Thinking about Lemmy’s demographics many here may have heard of something like this, or have more helpful suggestions about troubleshooting which would be welcome. But thought I’d write out a little post about my experience to contribute to Lemmy SEO supremacy.
Many modern motherboards will also do memory training the first time you boot with new RAM sticks, and sometimes this is very slow. Your PC will boot to a black screen and behave exactly like it would with a dead CPU or RAM… there’s no visual feedback.
This once caught me off guard and I spent a good hour panicking trying to diagnose a non-existing issue. Sometimes, you just literally have to wait in a black screen for a while.
Removed
There’s probably a hundred reasons it might not post. One time, my CPU wasn’t seated properly. I have heard RAM is a common way. If you’re using only one stick, be sure it’s in the right slot. Edit: or even with two, make sure it’s the right slots, read that manual!
It’s almost always labeled on the mb which slots to use first. And for some reason it’s usually the #2 slots
If something is super fucky and defying all logic, try a different PSU. It’s the one thing apart from the motherboard that can effect every area of your PC.
I have a folder of photos on my PC, shared over the network. I could browse that folder fine locally. I could look in other shared folders over the network. If I looked in the photo folder over the network, the PC would power off instantly.
Swapped it out for a different one (I’d borrowed it from work while mine was being repaired), problem went away and never happened again.
There is zero logic I can see for this, and makes me want to throw computers down a well and live in a cave.
If your computer is acting haunted, its the PSU.
If its being temperamental like a fussy teenager, its typically ram.
If it’s acting more like an elderly Belgian woman, you may want to update your BIOS.
This is fun.
I need more context. What are elderly Belgian women known for?
Waffles?
Indeed. Every motherboard has a small speaker that will beep if a error is found. Usually you can find the beep error codes for a particular board online or in its manual. I think for mine its 4 fast beeps to let me know my ram is not seated properly.
Unless you haven’t attached the CPU power cables, only the motherboard ones. In which case it will boot, the fans will spin up, the SSD will activate, but it won’t boot and it won’t beep.
That was a fun one to diagnose :)
Memories… thats def a fun one
Every board does not have this feature, some newer ones do and for older ones you can buy a post beeper that inserts into a speaker slot. Your manual will tell you if you have one
I stand corrected… i wasn’t aware of that. Thanks for the info.
