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Mobo or psu failure?

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  • Power Supplies
  • Motherboards
  • Components
Last response: in Components
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May 12, 2014 8:27:44 AM

Since today i've always lurked to find a solution, but i could't find any for this particular problem
Spec:
P5QL-pro mobo
Q9400 core duo
Gtx 260
1TB caviar blue hdd
4gb ram ddr2 (2x2gb)
630 watt psu (it's a xeon, but i dunno e model, it's much likely a piece of crap)

I've built this rig about 5 years ago, always had win 7 64 in it: after some hdd warning messages the system started to freeze just after startup even though mouse and keyboard still work, it's like it gets extremely slow.
After forced restart it freezes at post.
It only loads if i wait a bit before switching it on.
Cpu and gpu temps are below 40 when it freezes.
Totally works fine when running utilities like parted magic from usb (EDIT: not true, it worked fine because when i tried it the pc had been off for hours; otherwise it has troubles loading; and if i don't totally switch it off i can't even get into bios settings)

Things i've tried:
REPLACED HDD: the hdd was my first though since it started to make strange noises like "tloc" and had some blue screens concerning the hdd;
I noticed the win installation was extremely slow, and then the problem persisted, with the addition that after some restart instead of freezing at post it gave me an option to restore BIOS default settings or entering bios.
SWITCHING RAM: tried on different slots, and using only one of the 2 modules; nothing changed (i doubt both modules failed at the same time

My guesses are mobo or psu: what do you think?
Thanks

More about : mobo psu failure

a c 120 ) Power supply
a c 120 V Motherboard
May 12, 2014 8:32:13 AM

Have you tried removing the graphics card and running video through the integrated graphics? This would take a bit of load off the power supply, and if you get any kind of improvement, it's most likely the power supply failing.
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May 12, 2014 8:32:43 AM

before going out to buy eighter of them, then borrow a psu from a friend and see if it crashes, if it still happens then go and try one of your friends mobo to see if it solves the issue, it it still happens i would try another videocard or see if everything is plugged in corectly
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May 12, 2014 8:53:18 AM

Unluckily the mobo doesn't have integrated graphics so i can't test it, and since i'm quite far from home (university) i can't have access to other psu to test it out, but i could buy it one from amazon, and if the problem is the mobo i can get full refund (exept shipping) and then buy some low end mobo/cpu... What do you think?
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Best solution

a c 120 ) Power supply
a c 120 V Motherboard
May 12, 2014 9:00:05 AM

With a 5+ year old power supply, a new one would probably be good no matter if it is the problem or not. The CX 430 should be fine for your build, and is generally very cheap too. I would start there and see what happens.

Have you tried resetting the motherboard? Remove everything from the motherboard (20 pin power, CPU power, sata, everything) and remove the CMOS battery for about 5-10 minutes. Then put it all back together and try again. Something could just be corrupted in the BIOS.
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May 12, 2014 9:14:20 AM

Ficabomber said:
Unluckily the mobo doesn't have integrated graphics so i can't test it, and since i'm quite far from home (university) i can't have access to other psu to test it out, but i could buy it one from amazon, and if the problem is the mobo i can get full refund (exept shipping) and then buy some low end mobo/cpu... What do you think?


hmm does your uni have desktops? if so then simply borrow one of those and test it that way, otherwise your amazon idea could work to even though it's a dickmove
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May 12, 2014 9:23:32 AM

Are you sure a 430 watt psu would be enough? Btw i've tried doing what u said but nothing changed.
About my university, there is absolutely no way they let me borrow any equipment; the dick move seems the only way to me.
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May 12, 2014 9:26:00 AM

ye 430watt should be enough for that rig
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a c 120 ) Power supply
a c 120 V Motherboard
May 12, 2014 9:27:19 AM

430w is plenty. You're looking at around 200-220w at full system load, so you have plenty of headroom and puts you right at the CX430's peak efficiency output.
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May 12, 2014 9:34:46 AM

Ok i trust you, i'll order the cx 430 and let u know, thanks a lot ;) 
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a c 120 ) Power supply
a c 120 V Motherboard
May 12, 2014 9:44:01 AM

No problem :)  Good luck!
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May 12, 2014 9:59:53 AM

Te cx 430 has only one pci-e connector while my grx 260 requires 2... Any other suggestion?
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May 12, 2014 11:28:00 PM

In the end it turned out to be a driver/setting issue.
After i've resetted the bios via CMOS battery i've tried a fresh win7 install and it looked like working; plus, i've installed a previous driver version of my usb wireless adapter (wna3100).
Dunno which one was the solution, but i don't think i'm going to test it further :p 
Thanks again for your help guys.
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a c 120 ) Power supply
a c 120 V Motherboard
May 13, 2014 7:39:01 AM

Well awesome, glad you got it figured out :) 
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!