Trouble with recently built system

[GTX]

I built a computer for a friend of mine a few months ago and he says it's been working great.... till recently. About a week or so ago, it suddenly stopped working. First, I'll give you all the specs and parts, then detail exactly what's going on:

Asus M3A
AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 6400+
2GB Corsair DDR2 800
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Western Digital Raptor 74Gb

I'm digging for more details as I remember when I built the system, it worked great, and I got both a DXDiag log and a 3DMark System Log that detailed all the system's info... I just gotta find it.

My friend told me that he noticed a problem shortly after a bad storm passed through the area. Right away I'm assuming power surge, but I want to rule out other possibilities before I work on a replacement.

Alrighty.... what its doing is when it goes to start up, everything seems to turn on just fine... Power supply, hard drive, video card, all the fans, and the few LEDs that are in it. But nothing shows up on the monitor, and there are no beep codes at all. I suspected that something came loose or just wasn't in snug, so I checked all the connections and re-seeded a few. Tried it again, and still nothing.

Next, I pulled out or unplugged everything I could, minus the processor and the processor's heatsink and fan. I tried turning it on then, and still nothing. The fans would come on, but nothing else would happen. So, I yanked the processor as well. Normally, on this board, I'd get some kind of beep code for the processor missing..... still nothing.

I took each part and plugged it all in one by one and tried the computer each time... processor, memory, video card, in that order. Nothing each time.

I also checked all the screwed and made sure there was a gap between the motherboard and the case (to make sure no metal was touching metal to cause a short or anything). All good, still nothing.

Does anyone have an idea as to what else I may be able to check?

 

[jsc]

You could have a PSU problem. Just because the fans spin up and motherboard LED's light does not mean the PSU is good.

If possible, test by substituting a known good PSU. If not follow the instructions below.

The following is extracted from an article I wrote:
http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Troubleshooting+a+New+Build

Quick and dirty PSU checkout if you have a digital multimeter:

2. Bad or inadequate PSU. A working PSU will send a control signal called "PSGood" or something similar to the motherboard. eVGA calls it "PWROK". You can find this signal on pin 8 (gray wire) of the 24 pin power connector. It should rise to around 3.5 to 5 volts in less than 1 second after pressing the power switch. The motherboard needs this signal before the CPU can start the boot process. A problem with any output should kill the PSGood signal. Losing the PSGood signal forces a CPU reset.

This is one of the causes of random resets because of PSU problems. Even with all of the power outputs present, if “PSGood” is missing during initial powerup, the CPU will stay reset. PC's with modern components NEED a good stable PSU. The +12 volt outputs are particularly critical. The forums here contain guides on how to select (by brand and capacity) a good PSU. And even a reputable PSU may be DOA or have other internal problems.

"Quick and dirty" under load PSU voltage checks (carefully, carefully) of the main outputs with DMM black lead grounded and red lead inserted into the back of the various PSU connector pins plugged into the motherboard:
yellow, yellow/black, and yellow/blue wires: +12 v
red: +5 volt
orange: +3.3 volts
blue: -12 volts
purple: +5 volt aux or standby - should be present if PSU plugged in and main power switch on
All readings should be +- 5%.

The 5 volt Standby or AUX output is completely separate from the main outputs. So seeing the red or green LED on the motherboard does not mean that the PSU is good.

While we are talking about PSU's, if you have a suspected bad PSU, also check the grey wire on pin 8. It provides a control signal called "PwrOK" that the CPU needs to start booting. With the PC off, it should be at 0 volts. It should go to around 5 volts (anything over 3.6 volts will be OK) within .5 seconds after pressing the power switch. You can have all the power outputs present. But if you don't have this, your PSU is broke and your PC won't boot.

If this does not help, try using the whole guide for troubleshooting.

 

[GTX]

Oh, sweetness. Forgot about re-checking that. Most likely, if it was a power surge, the power supply would get damaged. I do have another power supply I can use to test it with. It doesn't quite have enough power to run everything, but I don't need everything plugged in to find out if that's the case.

I'll also read up on that guide too. Thanks for that! I'll let you know how it all goes

 

[Paperdoc]

Great reply, jsc! I don't have OP's problems, but I think I'll file this one for future reference. Thanks.

 

[jsc]

GTX,
"I do have another power supply I can use to test it with. It doesn't quite have enough power to run everything, but I don't need everything plugged in to find out if that's the case. "

No, you don't. Pull the video card. It should POST with a failure pattern of one long and thee short beeps.

Paperdoc,
Welcome. Always glad to help. If you see something that's unclear or ambiguous or something you think I should add, contact me by private messge. I noticed I have to reedit - again. There's some redundancy in the PSU section.

 

[GTX]

So far, nothing. Swapped out with a good powersupply, one that was running in one of my other computers, and still nothing. Even when I yanked the video card, I still got no beep codes either. It seems like we can rule out power supply...

I read some more of that article and such, and basically, what I'm going to do now is take practically the entire computer apart. I'm going to make sure all the risers are where they need to be and make sure nothing metal is stuck under the motherboard or anything like that. I did a visual inspection of this already, and moved the case around to hear if anything was loose, and it seemed good, but now I'm just going to pull everything apart, check it, and put it all back together.

EDIT

Alrighty, I dug through just about everything, and checked what I could that your guide stated.

I pulled out the motherboard and just about everything along with it... I checked all the risers to make sure they were tight, and those are good. There's no random metal objects bouncing around in the case either.

I pulled the processor out and checked for bent pins, dirt, or any burn marks (hey, I've had a processor catch fire before... but that was because I OC'ed a P-133 to 300 Mhz <.< )

Since I swapped out the PSU with a good one that is (now) back in my server, I know that the power supply should be fine.

I pulled out the memory and tried starting with no memory, then putting in only one stick (trying each one seperately). I got no beep codes or anything, other than everything seeming like it's turning on. I tried this with both the video card connected and not connected.

So far, this is leading me to believe that either something is wrong with the processor or the motherboard.

This may sound like a noobish question, as I know I should know it, but will there be any beeps present if I remove the processor and try to start like that?

 

[jsc]

A working PSU, motherboard, and CPU & HSF with nothing else installed should fail the POST giving a series of long single beeps. If it is not the PSU, it's probably the motherboard. or worse - a failed MB could have taken the CPU with it. Can you test the CPU elsewhere?

It's stupid, but have you connected the 12 volt CPU power plug?

The beeps are software generated by subroutines in the BIOS. Therefore, they need the CPU present.

One last possibility - if the HSF is not properly installed, the CPU could be thermally shutting down.

 

[GTX]

Your question about the 12 Volt power plug isn't stupid. I've had times where I've been completely stumped and realized the entire time I didn't have that plugged in... lol... but yes, it's plugged in

But I think I've found the problem:

....The video card!

I took out the 8800 that was in there and put in my ATi 1900 XTX. Hooked everything back up, started it up, and VOLIA! It started without a hitch. I checked everything in the BIOS and such, and it all looks good.

I went into the OS and ran some tests too. Check Disk, Memory Checker, etc... just to make sure everything else was good, and it all checked out.

I took the ATi card out and put the NVidia one back in.... nothing at all.

So, yeah. I guess a $350 video card just got fried. Looks like I got to see where my warrenty info is <.<

Thanks for your help. Your guide and such I'll keep saved as it'll help out for other computer things I'll do in the future.