PC Fans turn on but the PC itself doesn't

[TDRR]

So i tried to install an IDE 250GB Hard Disk and ever since that attempt my PC won't boot anymore, the fans turn on and that's it, doesn't go any further, here are some specs if they are of any help:

ASRock G41m-vs3 Motherboard
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5700 3GHz
Intel Express Chipset G41 (I assume this is sound and video)
2GB DDR3 RAM
Windows 7 Ultimate

Even if i unplug the IDE HDD it still won't boot, any ideas?

[drfrag]

That was way more common than you may think, it has happened to me countless times. The ide cable or something else has probably touched a ram module or due to some hit to the case a module has moved slightly. You need to take the offending module out and insert it again pressing firmly near both ends. You need to apply some force but not too much. May be there's some dust in the slot and then you'd need to clean it a bit and the module gold connector too.
Be careful with ESD, touch some metal first.

[phantombeta]

If it has a buzzer/speaker connected to the mobo and it doesn't beep, it could be the CPU or mobo.
If it doesn't, you should try finding or buying one - those are useful for finding out what a boot problem is.

[drfrag]

Sometimes you get continuous beeps for a memory problem sometimes you won't.

[hitmanx]

I don't know if this is any use but I had a weird problem that lasted for a little while before fixing itself, my computer also wouldn't boot,

In my case it was solved by unplugging the power completely and letting it completely drain and then plug it back in and try again,

Just a quick 10 second thing you can try, it helped me

[Kappes Buur]

Even if i unplug the IDE HDD it still won't boot, any ideas?

Thusly, I assume that this is a second drive.

Did you set the 2-pin jumpers to assign the IDE drive as Master or Slave.
http://www.alyon.org/InfosTechniques/in ... mpers.html
So, the first IDE drive would be jumpered as Master and the second IDE drive would be jumpered as Slave.
If not set correctly it may result in what you are experiencing.

From what I remember, the two drives also need to be assigned correctly in the BIOS as Master or Slave according to which port (A or B) they are connected.

If that does not help, then tell us the make and model of the new drive.

[wildweasel]

How powerful is your power supply unit?

[TDRR]

After a bit of analyzing, i figured out it was a RAM problem, which really sucks as they are very expensive around these parts.

[drfrag]

It's unlikely the module has failed just when you've connected the hdd. You need to press firmly on both sides of the module at the same time or else the side you inserted first will come out. Also the PSU must be turned off to be safe.

[TDRR]

It's unlikely the module has failed just when you've connected the hdd. You need to press firmly on both sides of the module at the same time or else the side you inserted first will come out. Also the PSU must be turned off to be safe.

You never know, it had been a couple weeks since i last booted it up before connecting the HDD, and with the absurd amount of power failures (And then the following few moments comes a spooky over-voltage) might have damaged it.

I'm going to try again, but the module itself is already plugged in as firm as possible.

[TDRR]

Brought a new RAM module and now it works great, not even the eraser trick saved the faulty module

I plugged the old RAM module in Slot 1 and 2 and neither gave results.

[R4L]

I'm curious. How did you figure out it was a RAM problem? I'm wondering if you used MemTest or not. A client machine here at work had the same symptoms, MemTest reported no errors. Ended up having to run Window's System File Checker utility to fix corrupted files.

[TDRR]

I'm curious. How did you figure out it was a RAM problem? I'm wondering if you used MemTest or not. A client machine here at work had the same symptoms, MemTest reported no errors. Ended up having to run Window's System File Checker utility to fix corrupted files.

Of course i didn't use MemTest, because the PC didn't turn on in the first place

I figured it out because since the fans turned on, and the power LED did too, that meant it wasn't the motherboard nor the power supply and the only remaining culprits were the CPU and RAM.

I removed the fan from the CPU, tried to power on the PC and the CPU heated up, which meant it still worked. So from there it was obvious that it was a RAM problem.

[drfrag]

That's very wrong, that led only means the motherboard works partially. Removing the heatsink could kill old cpus and even the motherboard, now they throttle and even turn off. On the other hand if there's a speaker or buzzer you'll get beeps when there's no ram installed.

[TDRR]

That's very wrong, that led only means the motherboard works partially. Removing the heatsink could kill old cpus and even the motherboard, now they throttle and even turn off. On the other hand if there's a speaker or buzzer you'll get beeps when there's no ram installed.

Forgot to reply to this one. The speaker didn't beep so that wasn't helping, and the heatsink killing old CPUs is okay if you are fast enough (if the CPU heats up, quickly unplug your CPU/ turn off your PSU and that's it)