Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (
More info?)
On 22 Jun 2005 11:39:20 -0700, "Michael 23"
<zionblue@gmail.com> wrote:
>Not going so well.
>
>I ordered the replacement board from arsenal pc, changed everything
>over from the old mobo to the new, all jumpers the same, same cpu &
>ram... and now I have nothing.
Is this board the same revision #? Not sure where the
revison number might be on that particular board, it might
be right new to the model #.
Is it possible you had mis-diagnosted the problem? On your
initial post you'd mentioned the board was on the way out,
but what led you to this conclusion?
To put it another way, I'm wondering if there might be some
other problem or perhaps the PSU was a contributory cause of
the board failing, if not the sole problem (initally).
When a (new) board sits unused for a long time, it's battery
will drain even faster than a board that had been in use due
to ATX powering the RTC via 5VSB. Check your battery
voltage, or perhaps swap the other battery into that board.
There were a few boards (I don't recall what brand or
models at the moment) that had a plastic insulator installed
between the battery and the battery holder contact, to
prevent the battery from draining as fast. At least remove
the battery long enough to be sure yours doesn't have such
an insulator that needs removed.
>
>The power works - it comes on instantly with a press of the switch (an
>improvement already), but that is all I get. No video, just a flash of
>power to the monitor when the psu flips on, and then all is dark, The
>cpu fan is spinning, the 'hd activity' led comes on for a bit, as if
>something is happening, but then I have nothing at all, just a dark,
>idling pc.
Carefully re-examine the cables and cards, etc. If
necessary (as a last resort) after you remove the board from
the case then retry it on a desk with only minimal parts-
CPU, heatsin/fan, 1 memory module and video card. You might
also strip it down to this minimal config prior to removing
it from the case, but certainly try it out of the case like
that too. This includes disconnecting all drives, keyboard,
mouse, and the case wiring. The board can be tried by using
(anything electrically conductive like a screwdriver) to
short the two power-on pins together.
If you have a multimeter, take power supply voltage
readings.
>
>No bios screen, no errors - just nothing.
>
>ANy suggestions what to do from here?
>I called tech support at arsenal - the only realy suggestion was that I
>pay an additional $7.50 to ship the mobo back to them for
>replacement... which I hate to do before trying everything on this end.
>
>I already tried removing the RAM one stick at a time, and I have
>flashed the CMOS as per the troubleshooting guide.
To confirm- you did unplug the AC cord from the power supply
when you did this? I would retry it by removing the battery
for 10 minutes, still leaving the AC cord unplugged.
>
>Is there anything (besides a defective mobo) that would cause this
>situation?
Sure, even a static discharge that damaged the CPU during
handling could cause it, though if you don't feel that's
likely it probably didn't... as with most things there are
numerous potential problems but most are unlikely assuming
the assembly and handling was correct.
What CPU are you using on that board? It "might" be
possible that an earlier revision of the board has problems
running newer CPUs, like Athlon XP or Duron (past a certain
frequency, I forget exactly what it was, when they went from
the ceramic carrier to the organic one, around 1GHz or maybe
it was 1.3GHz). Also if there is a sticker on the bios chip
denoting the bios version, is this new boards' bios as
recent as your old one?
One thing you could try is swapping the bios chips from old
board to new. BIOS chips (EEPROMS) are very ESD sensitive
though, you would need be sure you are grounded properly and
that the system is too, before attempting this if you would,
as well as being sure it's put in the socket with correct
orientation as it is not keyed to only fit one way.
Also, if the board has jumpers to select 5V or 5VSB power
for the USB and/or PS2 (keyboard or mouse), confirm that the
jumpers are set to 5V rather than 5VSB.
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