motherboard gone crazy?

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drifter4o4

New Member
i recently aquired a compaq computer from a friend. it doesn't boot up for some reason. the power, HD, and CD-ROM lights just blink periodically when you push the power button and the monitor light stays orange as if it isn't getting a signal. i don't know exactly whats wrong with it so if someone could help because i'm planning to scrap it for parts for my new compy i'm building and i'm wondering which ones i can use.

the specs as far as i know:

2.5 ghz celeron
128 DDR SDRAM
win xp
40 GB
48x24x48 CD-RW

any help appreciated
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
Usually Compaqs have a hidden partition on the hard disk which contains the BIOS setup data and they can't boot without it. So I think the hdd is faulty.
 
Praetor

Praetor

Administrator
Staff member
That partition has recovery data (hence you dont get recov. cds) ... i never heard about BIOS ... and if you think about that it makes no sense .. the BIOS needs to be present to access the HDD ....
 
Lorand

Lorand

<b>VIP Member</b>
It may sound silly, but at the office we have a Compaq which won't boot with other hdd than it's own. It's an older desktop and there's no recovery data on the hdd, but at boot or at BIOS setup it reads some data from that hidden partition...
 
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drifter4o4

New Member
this HD does have a recovery partition in it. it doesnt help any though cuz all it does is flash its lights and nothing shows up
 
Lax

Lax

VIP Member
If it turns on, then off quickly, with fans spinning up for a split second then it could be the mobo or the PSU. The HDD is fine, just format it and re-install the OS, it will work fine without the recovery partition. If it's the mobo it may be shorting against the case, or on the mobo itself (screw on the board). If it's the PSU the fuse could have gone and it's slowly shorting itself out (or not starting) and could actually cause a fire if you're not careful.
 
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