how can you tell whether my Asus mobo is dead?

[cdrwok]

hello, thank you in advance
i got an athlon xp 2600+ on an Asus A7N8X deluxe. The hard drive makes clicking noise and died. I switch to another hard drive but cant get into bios. So I reset the mobo many times and try to reboot, but still cant get into bios. The fan is running, the new hard drive is spinning but the comp wont boot. Is there a way to tell if my mobo is bad or get into bios?

 

[benrr]

did you clear your cmos ?

 

[cdrwok]

i think i did. I remove the blue cap underneath the mb battery, move it to the next pin, and then move it back to its original pin

 

[GuyAmI]

In addition to working the jumper, you can also try removing the battery itself. Take it out and leave it out for at least a minute (overnight even if you're about to go to bed).

Then when you're ready, insert the battery, start up the system and press the appropriate key to access the BIOS (usually something like Delete, F1 or F10).

 

[Evilonigiri]

I assume that you reseated you vidcard and checked that all the wires are correctly in place. Well try removing one of the ram stick, assuming you have 2 sticks, and try all the different combination for the ram slots using each ram stick. If that doesn't help, either the cpu is dead or the motherboard is dead.

 

[baddad]

I think you may have a PSU problem.

 

[roadrunner197069]

Maybe the MObo battery is dead?

 

[jsc]

The first sign that a motherboard battery is failing is the PC forgets date and time when it is off. The PC should still boot.

cdrwok: Pull or disconnect everything except the CPU/HSF from the motherboard. Powerup. You should get beeps indicating an unsuccessful POST. If you get silence, it is the motherboard, CPU, or PSU. The PSU is most likely.

Test by sustitution.

 

[cdrwok]

I move the memory to a different slot and was able to boot into bios.
Then I was able to format my hard drive
I was in the initial blue window when xp starts to install the os
then the comp restart.
Then it wont boot again.
I power off, wait about 5 min, then restart the comp
I was able to boot in, was in the blue initializing windows installing,
then the text giberrish appear at the bottom of the installing window.
I restart but it did not boot
I pull out the battery and put it back in but still not able to boot
I unhook all the components except the cpu/fan
did not hear the computer beeps
So far, the psu is working, its fan spinning, case fan spinning, dvd rom light flashing, but thats about it
i dont know what to do now.
thanks for quick replies you guys

 

[GuyAmI]

Do you know what the temperature is for your CPU? Maybe see if you can get into BIOS again, go to the section where you can see the CPU temp and let it run there for 5 minutes or so and see what temp the CPU climbs to.

 

[jsc]

Latest symptoms suggest that you could have a thermal problem.

But it could STILL be a power problem. When you turn a computer on, it takes a short time (generally milliseconds) for for the outputs to stabilize. After that happens, a PSU generates a control signal called something like "PowerOK". That enables the CPU to start booting. Losing the signal forces a CPU reset. If, for example, you are up and running and PowerOK drops out for an instant, the CPU will do a seemingly random reset and reboot. After you turn on your PC, you can have the outputs (case fans will work, HSF fan may work, drive LED's will illuminate, LED's on the motherboard will probably turn on), but the if PowerOK signal does not come up, the CPU will stay reset.

If you haven't yet done so, try swapping your PSU with a known good one.

 

[cdrwok]

let me try to use another psu
thermal heat may not be a problem as my house now is pretty cool
case tempt shows 20 celcius degree

 

[GuyAmI]

Your house may be cool and the 'case' temperature may be cool, but if the CPU itself is overheating that could explain why you were able to go a few minutes into the install before it crapped out. Had to wait 5 minutes before you could get back in for a few minutes and then have it crap out again. That's why you may want to check your CPU temp and see what it reads.

Although trying a different PSU certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

[cdrwok]

tried another psu, no go
got a thermaltake volcano on it with a copper heat sink base
used artic silver 5 as paste
i did not touch the cpu and the cooler at all
your reasons make sense though

 

[cdrwok]

the cpu tempt when i was able to get into bios was reading 21 celcius degree

 

[pogsnet]

The mobo is dead... Thats the common problem of ASUS mobo's no signs of death like bulging capacitors but just dead. Chipset usually caused it, coz I tried similar problems like that replacing capacitors but still dead.

Replace it with other boards, try other brands.

 

[cdrwok]

so if mobo is dead, can i save my chip? and salvage the rest of the components?

 

[GuyAmI]

so if mobo is dead, can i save my chip? and salvage the rest of the components?

Yes you can but this is dependant on getting another Socket A motherboard. And this is assuming that it is the board and not another component that's contributing to your problems.

Since you're using a Socket A CPU, your choices for a replacement MB that'll support Socket A and ALL of your components will be somewhat limited. Newegg.com has this full sized ATX PC Chips M848A board available for a not too expensive price.

Although getting this board assumes that you only want a computer that 'works'. If that's the case then yah, get this MB and you're off and running. You can reuse your video card, any add-on cards, your memory, your optical drive(s), your HDD(s), even your CPU. Although when moving the CPU over it wouldn't hurt to clean it and the heat sink off and re-apply some new thermal paste. And you will have to re-install windows but other than that, you're pretty much good to go.

So if you just need something that 'works', replacing the MB is your cheapest option. Although if you've got the funds available, a new system would really be a better choice but that decision is completely up to you. But good luck with whatever option you choose.

 

[cdrwok]

seem like thats what will save the rest of my components. thanks.