# IDE Channel (None) and not booting.



## kylos (Apr 19, 2006)

Hello there.

My windows XP desktop has been playing up lately. It decided to shut down for no reason last night, then it wouldn't turn back on. 

At first I felt it was the fuse in the plug. So I switched the fuse (A 5 amp for a 13 amp) and it worked fine again. Today it decided to switch itself off once again, so I figured it might be the power supply that is dusty or something. I had not cleaned the insides for a couple of months, so I decided to clean it with a brush, and put it back again.

It had been on fine over night with no issues, until I decided to work on it after coming home. Now I have gone into my BIOs and noticed something disturbing.

IDE Channel 0 Master [None]
IDE Channel 0 Slave [None]
IDE Channel 2 Master [None]
IDE Channel 2 Slave [None]
IDE Channel 3 Master [None]
IDE Channel 3 Slave [None]

My desktop was custom built about nine years ago. It is using Award BIOs.
Could I have unconnected something by accident when cleaning it? Or has something died?


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Brand & Model of Mobo-CPU-RAM-Graphics-PSU.
Any components that old, especially a PSU, are good candidates for failure.


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## kylos (Apr 19, 2006)

My Motherboard is Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L
Graphics is NVIDIA Geforce 9400
2GB DDR RAM

Not sure how to get any other info on it. Not very good with hardware.


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## kylos (Apr 19, 2006)

My PSU is CiC, cant see anything else.


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## kylos (Apr 19, 2006)

After taking out the Hard Drive, I have found it is a Western Digital WD1200. It had some dust underneath it.


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## Fjandr (Sep 26, 2012)

Just a note, but replacing fuses with higher-rated fuses is a safety hazard. The fuse is designed to limit current in the event of a short circuit. Increasing the current limit introduces the risk of catastrophic failure and/or fire in the event of an electrical short.


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## kylos (Apr 19, 2006)

I looked this up, and it was stated that a 13 amp fuse is fine, and at the worst it would cause damage to the cable. The computer was already shutting itself down with the 5 amp fuse. My father was concerned that the amp might be too much as well. The computer and the PSU does have a system voltage control set to automatic so it doesn't overload.

The computer just beeps at me when it's turned on now. I fear that something critical has happened to it. I am waiting to see if a friend can come round and look at it. It has had a long innings of 8-9 years with a ton of usage.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

The PSU is poor quality and a prime suspect.
I would suggest a bench test precisely as listed below.

Remove EVERYTHING from the case.
Set the motherboard on a non conductive surface. The motherboard box is perfect for this. DO NOT PLACE THE MOTHERBOARD ON THE STATIC BAG! It can actually conduct electricity! 
Install the CPU and heat sink. 
Install 1 stick of RAM.
Install the video card and attach the power supply connection(s) to the card if your card needs it.
Connect the monitor to the video card.
Connect the power supply to the motherboard with both the 24pin main ATX Power connection and the separate 4 pin (Dual Core CPU) or 8 pin (Quad Core CPU) power connection.
Connect power to the power supply.
Do NOT connect ANYTHING else. Make sure you have the power connector on the CPU fan connected.
Use a small screwdriver to momentarily short the power switch connector on the motherboard. Consult your motherboard manual to find which two pins connect to your case's power switch. Then touch both pins with a screwdriver to complete the circuit and boot the system.

If all is well, it should power up and you should get a display. Then assemble the parts into the case and try again. If the system now fails to boot, you have a short in the case and need to recheck your motherboard standoffs.

If the system does not boot after this process, then you most likely have a faulty component. You'll need to swap parts, start with the power supply, until you determine what is defective.


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## Fjandr (Sep 26, 2012)

If you have the manual still, it may have a listing of the beep error codes. Beeping and no booting indicates a hardware problem for anything other than one single, short beep.

As for the empty IDE ports, master and slave channel 1 are missing from the list of empty ports, so as long as you only have two drives attached (such as a single HDD and single optical drive) it's not an indication that's the problem.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

The Gigabyte GA-G31M-S2L Mobo has one IDE connection and that will support two IDE devices.
Do you have or can you borrow a known working PSU to try?
I would still recommend the bench test.


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## kylos (Apr 19, 2006)

Ok well the computer actually turns on again now, I have not done a thing to it, just left it alone for a few days. Now the Acer LCD cannot find the signal to the PC. I tried the video cable in my HD LCD (The one I generally use for TV) and it was unable to find a signal as well. The cable seems to be fine and is being recognized.

The computer itself "sounds" healthier. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact problem when it acts this randomly. Also I have never taken the computer completely apart before. I have been inside it, dusted it and such, but I have never actually taken it apart myself.
Some of those things you said in the list I could do, whereas others I am not so sure. It doesn't seem like I am getting anyone to come and look at this anytime soon.

It would probably be in my best interest to learn how to take it apart myself, so I am not having to rely on others. I will think about taking it apart sometime tonight.


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## kylos (Apr 19, 2006)

Ok I took both of the RAM out, used some tissue to wipe, and put them back in again. That fixed the monitor situation. It is now back the original problem, not detecting anything in the IDE.

I can say that for a couple of years, I would have trouble logging on due to disk errors. It was usually a bit of dust that would stop it from turning on. Wish I had another hard drive that I could try in it, to see if that is the issue.

Also the fuse thing was a complete mistake by me, I had actually taken the fuse out of the wrong plug altogether :facepalm: The fuse has nothing to do with the sudden shutdowns it was having.


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