A31p Motherboard/CPU troubleshooting

[Ron Hoof]

Can't find something like this in the forum, thought I'd try. I have an A31p with a CPU FRU 26P8327 that will not start up, power light only, no beeps. Went over both sides of the motherboard with a magnifying glass, can't find anything wrong. Removed everything, tried the power button 10X and hold for 30 sec, pressed on the CPU and/or the video chip while starting up, all to no avail. Tried swapping the CPU with an A30 CPU FRU 26P8122 (best I can find, they're compatible both ways). This makes both computers do the same thing. Swapped back and the A30 works fine. Both motherboard and CPU are bad? I've read that isn't normally the case.

The computer was working fine until a crash while reading email - fan works, hard drive is fine. ctrl-alt-del'd to restart and it wouldn't come up past the power light. Same symptoms 14 mos ago, new system bd and replaced the LCD since it had some dim spots.

Any ideas?

Thanks much,
Ron H

[ajkula66]

Welcome to the forum.

Remove all the RAM and turn the machine (with the original CPU) on. Does it beep?

BTW, CPUs between A31p and A30 are not interchangeable...the former is P4M Northwood while the latter is P3M Tualatin...

Good luck.

[Ron Hoof]

Thanks George - no beeps. CPU not interchangeable explains why that didn't work. I'm good with a voltmeter & soldering iron - is there a spot to check on the system board to see if the CPU is getting power? The graphics card heats up almost immediately, but the CPU stays room temp.

Ron

[ajkula66]

I'm sorry to say that a board that doesn't beep with no RAM installed is likely beyond repair.

You may want to start looking for a replacement...

Good luck.

[Ron Hoof]

I thought so - I was hoping to do some component level fixing, but there's no sign of overheat or a broken solder. Is it correct that the CPU is less suspect than the board itself?
Thanks!
Ron

[ajkula66]

Yes, you are correct.

[bloovis]

I'm sorry I don't have any advice on how to fix this, but I just wanted to say that I had the same problem with an A30p. The machine died after about a year, and wouldn't power up at all unless I left it unplugged for a month. I tried replacing the system board and that worked for a while, but then it died again in exactly the same way. At this point I gave the machine away and bought an R50p, which has the same beautiful 1600x1200 FlexView display, but has been rock-solid (knock on wood).