PC either won't boot or delayed boot after Windows 8 factory restore

How did you perform a clean boot if the system won't boot?. Has to be set up in MSCONFIG.
Try the Hard drive in another sata port and try disconnecting all peripherals except keyboard and mouse.
What are you getting on the screen when trying to boot? eg Black screen blinking cursor.

 

Okay, I'm mistaken for the terms. I thought a clean boot meant to unplug as much as possible and see if it boots. I'm experienced in computers, but I don't know ALL of the terms. So please bear with me.

And I get nothing on screen. It's just in standby mode.

 

Now I am thinking your Computer may be stuck in sleep/standby mode.
Fans spin, motherboard lights up?

 

Fans spin. Motherboard doesn't have a light bulb, it's an Acer IPIMB-AR rev 1.02. If it did have one, that would've potentially saved me so much effort in the past four days.

You mention sleep mode. I am ashamed to admit I did this but: When Windows 10 had the error with reading the disc, I, for some INANE reason, put it in sleep mode. When I woke it back up, everything was black. That's when I turned it off. And Windows 10 was corrupted.

I have also come to terms with the fact that if I get this up and running again and try to upgrade back to Windows 10, I have to pay for that upgrade. But that's my own fault for not making a repair disc when I had a chance.

 

After trying LOADS of suggestions and tips and solutions and all this over the last FIVE days, almost nonstop, I'm officially pinning this on a dead motherboard. I did everything I could, but in the end "He's Dead, Jim".

Upon reseating the CPU, I saw that it actually looked good. No signs of any burning or anything. I get paid next week, so I can order the new mobo then. My current motherboard is an Acer IPIMB-AR, but I may replace it with a different motherboard. Yes, I realize I'm going to have to reinstall a new license of Windows, but I should have enough left over cash to do it, I wanted buy a retail copy of Windows 8 for a very long time anyway. Yes, this is my music production PC, but it was a damn good one.

Hopefully the i7 looking good was a good sign, and it works on the new ATX motherboard. If anyone has any suggestions for the kind I should buy, feel free to suggest. No more than $225-$250. In the meantime, I can get that and install Windows 7 (my retail copy, if I can't get Win8 right away). Something that would work with an i7 and have 16 to 32 GB ram capabilities (16 did me fine on this one, I don't think I ever went past 10 but sample libraries these days are getting bigger), possibly on-board video (since I don't do any gaming or anything I don't see why I need a super l33t gfx c@rd), ethernet, USB ports (maybe, I can probably get that separate).

I would like to thank all of you for your help, guidance, education, knowledge and patience with me. I actually learned a lot from all this.

*"Taps" playing the background*

 

One more thing:


The reason why I'm scared of it being the CPU is because I THINK my PC was overclocked, straight from the factory though. It was supposed to be a 3.40 running at 3.50. This is what I remember reading about the computer before I bought it, but I can't find anything on it now. I could hear the fan running when making music (but never really hard). The times it did run hard was when Windows 8 and 8.1 had it's background updating processes going (while the PC was idle) and it was driving the CPU usage up to about 50-60%, even on my i7. But that usually last about 15 to 30 minutes, 2-3 days a weel. That was actually a very common complaint about Windows 8, just from me Googling the issue a while ago. Usually, I never went past 20-30% on CPU usage when making music or doing anything else (which used less about 10 or so percent)

 

Hi Vern. A lot of things you just posted are not quite right. I am very busy at the moment and will come back with my reply later.
Most modern boards auto overclock so that's normal.I think it is still stuck in Sleep mode which is not a big deal to fix.
Hope others will chime in while I am away.

 

Acer does not overclock PC's not do any other well known OEM's other than the gaming oriented OEM's. In other words your I7 3770 is not a "K" variant and was not overclocked. The motherboard it uses is also incapable of overclocking and in most cases Acer-Dell-HP use "B" series or "H" series boards that cannot overlcock at all. It would have had Turbo Boost though which is somewhat like a small overclock that would have given you a boost speed at times of around 3.6-6.7 ghz. It's nothing that is going to heat up the processor Acer/Intel isn't going to send out a unit like yours without a heatskink that works fine with the processor.

If you can use the same model board you will be able to keep the license that the board was tied to, and in some cases, if the replacement board is close enough to the original all you may have to do (like Rich mentioned) is talk to MS on the phone to get it re-activated with that key. Here is your board it's a B75 chipset.

http://geb.ebay.com/ImportHubViewIt...teway-DX4870-B75-LGA-1155-DDR3-HDMI-Rev-1-02A

No way for any overlocking so your possible dead CPU theory is void. CPU's rarely fail especially Intel CPU's because of the extremely efficient heat/power handling.

Did you try a new CMOS battery? In shop I would have first popped in a new CMOS battery and done what I call a HARD CMOS clear not just jumper clearing. However it kind of does sound like your motherboard might be going out, but you need to try a new CMOS battery and do a proper full CMOS clearing as well. That means battery out, jumper totally off pins, memory removed and any GPU removed. ATX power connected removed. Let sit for a few minutes and then put battery back in, jumper back on pins, add your memory and GPU (if any) back, and lastly reconnect the ATX power connector from the power supply to the motherboard.

If you don't mind would you kindly post the full model name of your acer PC and what you have inside of it?

PC model name:
Memory added *if any* type and amount:
Motherboard: Acer IPIMB-AR V 2.0 (we have that one)
Video card: (we don't know if the PC model had one added or you may have added one)
Operating System: (I believe you said Windows 8 correct?)

Any other information about your PC model and what you may have added etc. will help us with diagnosing the issue. If nothing else the new motherboard is if you decide to buy one is really going to shed some light on your issue if that was the problem, but you still didn't clear CMOS the way I have brought back so many supposedly dead boards, and then there is the CMOS battery. Also when and if you decide to replace the motherboard you won't be needing a Z77 enthusiast board or any $200.00 motherboard as you had mentioned. You just need a good quality made B75 or H77 that would fit well in your case. In fact as you had mentioned if you don't want or need a video card you can get away with a cheaper H61 or B75 board like a nice Micro, especially if you won't be populating any PCIe slots.

.... let us know how it goes and what you decide to do

 

Thanks Chronogeek. I meant Turbo Boost.(Auto Overclocking)

In post 24 Vern said he put the OS in sleep mode and when he tried to wake it he had a black screen.
This has happened to me.By holding the power button down till the PC turns off and then remove the power cable from the wall and then plug it back in the wall again. Then boot the machine everything was fine again. Sometimes it has taken twice to fix. If I remember I took the CMOS battery out waited and put it back in again.

 

Yeah that power-discharge I have done many times too. I noticed also that sleep mode seems to be hard enabled on the OP's PC as well. Both the hard CMOS clear and/or the power-discharge you mentioned would work in most cases. That is if the motherboard itself isn't bad. One thing about a replacement mainboard for that system that makes it's very easy, would be the micro atx type I mentioned. Reason being is that the OP likely has the Acer OEM case and sometimes the mobo line up holes are slightly off on larger replacement boards (full atx) in the OEM case. If you are not using any PCie-PCI cards in the system any standard mATX board will fit nicely, and also allow for better routing of cables than was previously had.

 

Just popped back in to say that hopefully at some time soon you will be replacing the PSU.
Rich M has posted about a real bargain for a well known and good make of PSU, although a little higher in power output than you need perhaps, it will give a good overhead if requiring a good graphics card at some time in the future. Have a look here :-

http://computerhelpforums.com/threads/xfx-750-watt-psu-34-99-with-mir.45542/

Nev.

 

Actually there is such a thing as power supply output efficiency usage. OP stated not even wanting to use any add-in graphics solution so not only would the 750W XFX be way overkill it would likely not last as long as it should because of the over-watt vs. input of the components. That said, an already efficient I7 3770 in a system using CPU I-GPU (video onboard the CPU) -- in that scenario you want to use something in the order of a quality 500-550w power supply maximum for long life. Unless the OP is thinking of adding a powerful GPU soon. That PSU deal is good Nev, and it's not a bad idea, but as a builder I would hesitate to recommend that particular unit unless I knew the OP was going to add a heavy GPU something like an R9 280x-R9 290x or GTX 780Ti class card to help balance the draw on the power input/output power echelon. something like a Seasonic 520W or Antec HCG 520W would save some money and also have a better power to usage ratio for longer life.

 

All in all, I've learned a lot from this and I thank all of you. But unfortunately, I am at the point where I think I should give up on this Gateway before I drive myself up the wall.

I did put the PSU from the non-functioning Gateway into the Dell, and the Dell still booted fine. Managed to borrow a higher wattage Thermaltake PSU and that yielded no results. So I think that would rule out the PSU. It's looking more and more like the mobo or (hopefully not) the CPU.

I did have an accident with my casing late last night and the bottom/back portion wound up getting bent. All the fans and such still work and the mobo is untouched it looks like. The bending is on the opposite from from the mobo. Though, I don't think the mobo is functioning anyway.

So it looks like I'm for in at least a mobo and a case. This would get very tricky, I reckon. I would try a new mobo and case (and just my retail copy of W7 for a month until I buy W8) but if it turns out that the CPU is the problem, I'm not sure I'd be able to return the new mobo.

I've got a nice chunk of hours coming at work (it's a busy time of year) and for a long time, I've been thinking about doing my own build centered around an AMD FX 8350 if I don't get a prebuilt machine. This is as good of time than any other to do it. I know that the performance with the AMD isn't AS GOOD as the i7, but it should be adequate enough for my purposes. But my line of thinking is that if I'm going to pay for another high performance Intel (like an i7), then I might as well just build on an AMD or buy a new Intel machine.

 

When you decide to build be sure to post in the building section here they can work up a cool parts list for you.

 

Better duct tape your tower to the table,Vern. Electronic components don't take too kindly to drops.

 

hehe, i know i know

So, guys....question. Is it really SO rare that CPUs die? I've been told that several times throughout this ordeal but upon reading situations similar to mine, that's the first suggested culprit.

I'm trying to decide on which way to go:

A.) I would like to see if this i7 3770 is still working. That would save me a lot of money if it were. (which is very important as you'll read why at the end of this post) I want to order some replacement parts to try it. But I really don't want it to wind up being the CPU that's the problem. I want to check out NewEgg's return policies via a phone call if it doesn't work out. I read their return policy on their website. I'm aware of a restocking fee, but there's other information I need to check out that would be better via an actual human. Literally no one around me has a socket that would work with my i7.

B.) Part of me just wants to bypass the potential frustration of option A and just save up to get a custom rig built at the end of the month. I have few rig lists built around AMD FX 8350 on PCPartPicker. But I've gone stark raving mad without having my music to make....especially considering that I just bought Spectrasonics Trilian the day that this started. Those two facts in combination have driven me up the wall.

The things that really frustrate me even more is that 1. TigerDirect closed all four of their Chicagoland locations. Because of this, there are no computer shops around this area I'm in. (Chicago's south suburbs) B. Hours are being cut at work (I found out this past weekend) This could potentially delay me getting a new rig.

Yeah, not a good time to be me. lol

 

Hi Vern, your post about Newegg is not really clear to me, but I can tell you with confidence that CPUs are not returnable, period. Don't ask how I know please. Amazon on the other hand, I believe, will accept returns, but I haven't had to try one.

 

Well, I'm only going to order a new case, a PSU and a motherboard. Possibly a new CPU fan and case fan. Everything else in my drive (currently) I believe is functioning. Do you know if those are returnable? I'm going to call and ask them this before I order.

 

So today, I FINALLY found a shop (across the state line) that was close enough to drive to and they tested my i7. They called me back later to tell me that it tested fine! So, it looks like the processor is good after all. So now, I will move forward with ordering new parts this weekend. I'm just going to order the parts that I know I need. I know the hard drives are good, RAM is wish washy but I'll order a stick just in case, and for my optical drive I might order a new one. I'm definitely ordering a new case, new mobo, new PSU, among other things.

Here is a build I've started on PCPartPicker.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/9LgWhM

A few questions:

1. Through looking at different cases, it seems like they come with case fans included. Is this true for most of them or should I order my own case fan regardless?

2. I have a new CPU cooler listed on the parts list. I know the one I have now is fine, but should I replace it anyway?

3. Should I apply new thermal paste if I order a new CPU fan?