Computer is dead! [Hardware]

clsCorwin

Decided to post this again here in addition to H/A.

So yea, computer is dead. It started out with persistent random reboots. Eventually, it wouldn't even boot up, dying right after it displayed my hard drives during POST.

specs:
500w power supply
ASUS A7N8X-E deluxe mobo
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (Barton core, socket A)
2GB GSkill PC3200 DDR
256mb Radeon 9600XT
2 IDE hard drives, 1 SATA drive.

I've tried powering up with nothing but CPU and vid card, I've tried a different CPU, I've tried a different power supply, and I've tried 2 different mobos.

What the fuck. HELP!

travathian

clsCorwin wrote: »

Eventually, it wouldn't even boot up, dying right after it displayed my hard drives during POST.

Dying? As in the computer totally shuts off? Or it reboots? Or it hangs?

What happens without the hard drives installed? Disconnect those and only have your cd/dvd drive installed and see if you can boot to a live CD like UBCD, Knoppix, or Ubuntu via the live option. See if it will run off the disc. If so, you've either got a hard drive issue or something on the hdd is causing the issue.

ronya

Yeah, you need to tell us what "dying" involved, precisely.

Also good if you specify what happened in the four cases you described ("nothing but CPU and vid card, I've tried a different CPU, I've tried a different power supply, and I've tried 2 different mobos").

clsCorwin

Ok, so I have 3 mobos, called 1, 2, and 3. 1 is my original.

Mobo 1 cases:
no CPU, with video card: power will stay on, but I get no video output.
Athlon XP 3200, with video card: power comes on and immediately shuts off.
Athlon XP 1700, with video card: same as with the 3200.

Mobo 2 cases:
No CPU, with video card: power comes on and immediately shuts off.
Athlon XP 3200, with video card: power comes on and immediately shuts off.
Athlon XP 1700, with video card: power comes on and immediately shuts off.

Mobo 3 cases:
no CPU, with video card: power will stay on, but I get no video output.
Athlon XP 3200, with video card: power comes on and immediately shuts off.
Athlon XP 1700, with video card: same as with the 3200.

clsCorwin

Dying is the computer powering off immediately after being turned on.

And if I was unclear, there are no hard drives even connected at this point. I couldn't bot off a CD even if I wanted to.

ronya

Put a stick of ram in and see if it POSTs. Many motherboards require at least one stick.

You only mentioned one stick; consieder swapping for another stick as a test.

clsCorwin

Ok, so I tried, across all 3 boards using each stick separately both with and without CPU. Result the same as before.

ronya

Well, you've changed every damn component at least once, so unless you were so unlucky as to have multiple damaged mobos/whatever...

From the sound of it you have enough hardware to throw two computers together at once, so try that and see if both fail.

And try another wall A/C socket? :rotate: maybe it's your surge protector

clsCorwin

Blah! Mobo 3 supposedly came from a stable working system. This annoys me to no end.

I do have enough, now, so I might as well try that tomorrow. Damn damn damn

And I have tried different outlets lol

ronya

Maybe all your CPUs are fried, then. Or all your ram sticks got hit by a stealthy bolt of lightning. Just now. While you weren't looking.

... yeah, I'm out of ideas, why do you ask :P

Do tell us how it goes tomorrow.

clsCorwin

This would go a lot smoother if I didn't have to rely on ebay for parts.

Well, at least if mobo 3 is officially dead, I can get my cash back since they garaunteed its in working condition.

travathian

Oh, and I hope that is DDR memory you are using, not DDR2 jammed into those memory slots. The A7N8X is an old board and uses DDR memory.

Secondly, have you tried resetting CMOS via the method it shows in the users guide for each mobo? Some of them may require a jumper change and have very specific instructions on how to do it if the system wont boot.

So with all this swapping around, you are using proper ESD protection and technique correct?

Have you checked the voltages on the PSU? Have you tried booting the motherboards outside of the case/chassis? Did either processor ever work for you? If so, what happened between now and then?

clsCorwin

Right now I have mobo #2 inside the case, #1 & #3 outside on static bags on top of foam. I've had 2 outside of the chasis too, no change in results. Power supply is on 115v, and I have been handling them correctly in the swap arounds.

And yes, its DDR, not DDR2.

I have not tried resetting CMOS yet.

clsCorwin

Tried resetting CMOS, no luck. Tried barely connecting power switch and pulling it right after I power on in case power and reset are both fucked, and still dies. I get about 5 seconds of the power supply fan moving before it loses power and starts winding down.

logic7

clsCorwin wrote: »

Decided to post this again here in addition to H/A.

So yea, computer is dead. It started out with persistent random reboots. Eventually, it wouldn't even boot up, dying right after it displayed my hard drives during POST.

specs:
500w power supply
ASUS A7N8X-E deluxe mobo
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (Barton core, socket A)
2GB GSkill PC3200 DDR
256mb Radeon 9600XT
2 IDE hard drives, 1 SATA drive.

I've tried powering up with nothing but CPU and vid card, I've tried a different CPU, I've tried a different power supply, and I've tried 2 different mobos.

What the fuck. HELP!

holy shit...


This is scary as fuck...


I was just about to post in the PC build thread about my pc:

400W P/S
Gigabyte 7VT600P-RZ Socket A KT600 mobo
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ (Barton core)
2GB RAM (PNY)
256MB Geforce 6200 (PNY)
3 IDE hard drives, 1 IDE DVD bruner
M-Audio Audiophile 192 audio card

I'm having exactly the same problem as you are. My machine stops responding either right after POST, or during the XP splash screen. On occasion, I'll get no video immediately after the video bios displays (right before POST). I've swapped out RAM, processor (put the old XP 2500+ barton back in), power supplies, disconnected every hard drive except the boot drive, disconnected every drive and tried to boot to Linux Live CD (linux kernel won't even boot), swapped the video card (tried both AGP and PCI cards), all to no avail; it's still doing the same thing no matter what I swap out.

However, last night I noticed something:

see those three caps I circled in red? Last night, I noticed the tops of those caps bulging out. The old-school elecronics tinkerer in me recognized this as failed caps, meaning that the board is pretty much shot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague <--- read more about it there.

On your board, there's a row of electrolytic caps directly south of the processor socket and a few more just south of those. Check them out and I'm pretty sure one or more is bad. Look for a bulging top and/or fluid leaking from 'em. If you see it, that's where the problem is.

clsCorwin

Mobo 1 does has some bulging ones, but no fluid leaking yet. Mobos 2 & 3, however, does not, and suffers the same problem.

logic7

check to see if any of them are not upright. The failure may have come from the bottom as the rubber plug has been pushed out.

mobo 1 definitely has the same problem.

Also, look for leakage in the area of the caps like this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Badcaps-choyo.jpg

clsCorwin

No, just seeing the bulging in mobo 1, no leaking or bulging from 2 or 3.

logic7

from the wiki about this issue:

As the capacitor ages, its capacitance decreases while its equivalent series resistance (ESR) increases. When this happens, the capacitors no longer adequately serve their purpose of filtering the direct current voltages on the motherboard, and system instability results. Some common symptoms are:

Not turning on all the time; having to hit reset or try turning the computer on again
Instabilities (hangs, BSODs, kernel panics, etc.), especially when symptoms get progressively more frequent over time
CPU core voltage or other system voltages fluctuating or going out of range, possibly with an increase in CPU temperature as the core voltage rises
Memory errors, especially ones that get more frequent with time
Spontaneous reboots
In case of on-board video cards, unstable image in some video modes
Failing to complete the POST, or rebooting before it is completed
Never starting the POST; fans spin but the system appears dead

clsCorwin

Seems to be the issue, but in 3 separate mobos?

logic7

there's millions of bad caps out there right now. Look at the wikipedia page I posted earlier, it tells how it happened.

Stormwatcher

holy shit that stuffed cap thing is horrifying.