PC won't boot: No video signal

Here is the situation:

I am dealing with a PC that is roughly three years old. It has been used for light tasks—browsing, email, basic office work—nothing intensive. Lately, I've run into an issue where it occasionally refuses to boot; specifically, it displays "no video input" and just stays on a black screen. If I leave the machine powered off for several hours, it boots up perfectly fine. However, once it successfully boots, if I perform a quick reset, the exact same error occurs, and there is zero chance of getting it to boot. I have already tried connecting a different monitor, which changed nothing. I swapped out the graphics card, also zero results. Swapping the RAM sticks or trying them one at a time yields the same outcome. The only thing that seems to work is pulling the CMOS battery to reset things, which allows it to boot. But as soon as I shut it down and try again immediately, we are back to square one. What could be causing this?

To give you an idea: I come home today and turn it on for the first time since yesterday, and it boots on the second or third attempt without any issues. It doesn't crash or reset itself; it runs just as reliably as it did when I first bought it.
I shut it down because I have to head out, then return five minutes later, turn it on, and get "no video input."

Second example: I turn it on for the first time after being off since the previous day, and it boots within two or three tries. I shut it down, go out for two or three hours, come back, and it boots on the very first try! 😲😲😲 It is almost as if the machine requires a two or three-hour cooldown period. 🙂🙂🙂

The only logical solution would be to never turn it off while it is working, which is ridiculous, or to constantly pull the battery to reset the CMOS, which is incredibly irritating.

If anyone has any practical advice, I am all ears, because I truly have no clue what the issue is. Is it possible the motherboard is reaching the end of its life?

Also, one more oddity: when I press the power button, the fans spin up, the CPU fan works, the lights come on, and I can hear the hard drive spinning, but there is absolutely no POST beep or anything else. That feels strange...

Specs:
Motherboard - Elitegroup H61H2-M2
CPU - Intel Celeron G1610 (IVB) 2.6 GHz
Graphics - Intel hd RAM
RAM - Dual DDR3, approximately 4GB (I believe it is 2x 2GB)

What kind of power supply are we looking at here? And maybe you could try swapping out the CMOS battery?

Tried swapping out the battery, but I'm getting the exact same result.
It actually boots up on the first attempt if I set the load to optimal settings or something similar, and then it just kicks back on.
But once I hit reset, it’s right back to square one.

I don't have the power supply specs memorized, so let me check that and get back to you.

Do you think that could actually be the culprit?

Yeah, could be. Electrolytic capacitors in the power supply can degrade over time, and once they lose their capacity, you get all kinds of weird voltage fluctuations that make the whole thing act up...

I’m talking about this power supply unit:

http://www.lc-power.com/en/product/n...lc420h-12-v13/

So, I just attempted a boot without any RAM installed. I can hear three rapid beeps, but there's absolutely no video signal or anything else on the screen.

The thing is, when the RAM is actually seated in the slot, the system doesn't make any beep sounds at all during startup.

Since it’s using a Shrotex power supply, there's a decent chance it just gave out.

Harold Ward4 said:I'm using this power supply:

http://www.lc-power.com/en/product/n...lc420h-12-v13/

I just tried booting it without any RAM installed. I get three rapid beeps, but there's no video or anything on the screen.

When the RAM is actually in the slot, I don't hear any beeping at all when I turn it on.

Maybe try borrowing some RAM to test it out first.

crimsonstag84 said:Since it’s running on a generic power supply, there's a high probability it just fried.

One thing I’ve noticed—and maybe I'm imagining things—is that the fan is significantly louder during startup than it used to be. Does that also point toward a failing power supply?

It might not be the case, but it could mean the PSU fan is on its last legs.

Maybe try borrowing a power supply from someone to see if that fixes the behavior. Or, you could just crack the thing open—if you're lucky, you might spot a blown capacitor.

fadedorca66 said:It isn't a certainty, but it could mean the power supply fan is on its last legs.

Try borrowing a PSU from someone to see if the behavior changes. Alternatively, you could crack this thing open; if luck is on your side, you might spot a bulging capacitor.

I swapped in a different power supply. Same result.
That noise isn't coming from the PSU at all; it's the CPU heatsink fan screaming during the initial boot sequence.

Unfortunately, I don't have any other RAM to test with since I specifically need DDR3.
All I have lying around is some old DDR2.

Now I'm even more confused than when I started..🙂🙂😲

Well, if that doesn't work, maybe try the RAM or—if it's not that—it’s probably the motherboard. Might be worth checking your warranty, though; those ECS boards usually come with a 3-year limit, so you might still be covered...

Likely
I appreciate all the feedback and suggestions provided here.

But there it is. I'm finally firing it up now—I haven't had the energy to touch it since Friday. It just decided to reboot itself out of nowhere, and then it boots up perfectly fine on the second attempt. It happens every single time.

It makes zero sense to me. It runs flawlessly after sitting for 24 hours, yet if I try it after just a few minutes, it’s a complete non-starter.
I suspect the motherboard is failing, but who knows.

Quick update: swapped in a new motherboard and the issue is officially resolved. I migrated everything from the old setup over to the new one, and it's all running smoothly now.

Best,