CPU dead?

[Muscus]

Hi everyone,

I've got this problem with my computer. For awhile now, I've been afraid of turning the computer off because it would be extremely hard to turn it back on. What I mean is that when I press the power button to power it on, the fans would spin for a very short period (this time varies) and then would turn off. The CPU fan would NOT spin. The only way I got it to work was to leave the PSU on but not the computer on for several hours. If I unplugged the 4-square plug on the mobo everything would spin(including the cpu fan) but nothing would happen and computer would not POST. So the last time this happened, I could not for the life of me get the computer back on so I finally bit the bullet and bought a new mobo cause it seems that was the most probable site of damage.
Now with the new mobo I have a new problem. Reattached everything, turn on the power, the LED on the mobo is green and everything is getting power I think. All the fans spin (including the cpu fan) but again, the computer does not POST. I've reseated RAMs and used someone else's with no success. I'm thinking now that it is either the CPU or the PSU, but since I just threw away money at the mobo I want to get some more opinions before I use more cash.
The only thing that confuses me is that with the original mobo, the computer would turn off after a few seconds and the CPU fan would only spin max speed when the computer was finally turning on. Now with this new mobo, the computer would stay on and the CPU fan would spin perfectly like everything was okay but it doesn't POST. It's similar to the situation where I unplug the 4-plug connector with the original mobo. So my worst fear is that in replacing the mobo, I've inadvertently damaged some other component or even created a conflict somewhere.
Any advice would be helpful!

Thanks!

 

[papalarge123]

Try borrowing a friends GPU too see if this is the problem, if this does not rectify the problem then I believe The problem does lay in the CPU,

the shuttin down of the system on the old board could have been a motherboard fault also.

this could have happened in three ways 1: Mobo was faulty and damaged the cpu over period of time 2: Mobo was faulty and damage the cpu on the last boot failure 3: the CPU was failin and blew the Mobo on the last boot.

If one of these situation has happened to ur system, then there may also be a fault with the Memory and GPU.

It is basicly trial and error at this point, replace individual components with borrowed components untill u rectify the issue.

good luck

 

[mtyermom]

Try with a different CPU if possible, also *might* be the PSU.

 

[WR]

Most anomalies with starting up a computer are caused by a degrading PSU. Motherboards are more consistent - they either boot up or don't turn on at all. Letting us know exactly which CPU, mobos, and PSU you used would help us rule out glaring incompatibilities.

Things you can try before getting a PSU are:

1) Remove all but one RAM stick at a time and see if it POSTs more easily.
2) Disconnect all drives and see if that gets you into BIOS, where you can check voltages (e.g., 3.3V, 5V, 12V lines) and temperatures.

 

[4745454b]

Most power up problems are PSU. Swap it out for a QUALITY unit, and you should be fine.

 

[jsc]

My first guess would be the PSU. The green LED on the motherboard simply indicates that the small standby power supply in the PSU is working.

Check my http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Troubleshooting+a+New+Build
for ideas on checking the PSU.

 

[Muscus]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm at work so I can't remember the actual parts of the PC but my CPU is the E6850. It seems most people think it is a power supply problem but everything seems to powerup fine. I have the Ante truepower trio 650W which is supposed to be a very good power supply.

I've tried to disconenct everything but still can't get to POST. I don't know anyone who has a compatable system for me to swap out stuff.

One thing I did notice when I moved to my new mobo is that there was not alot of thermo fluid thing left on the back of the CPU, in fact, I could without unscrewing the fan move it (it's a third party fan). I thought maybe my CPU would overheat, but I'm not able to even get to the POST so unless the cpu overheats in like 1/2 a second I dont think that's it. Furthermore, with the new mobo, the computer can stay on indefinately without actually starting.

So I guess I'm asking would the truepower trio 650W really fail after only not even 1 year?

Thanks guys

 

[blackpanther26]

most motherboards sut the computer off when the CPU's max temp is reached. it's like a safe switch. My guse too would be the Power supply sence some times it would turn off right away. Buy a power supply tester from newegg for about $9 to test it out. Or try to take out the system battery forcing the motherboard to do a compleat CMOS clear.

power supplies can fail any time. I say if it winds up to be that PSU I would send it back to them becuase it should be under warrenty.

let me ask you have you overclocked your CPU?

 

[ainarssems]

Sounds like a PSU or M/B problem to me. But since You changed M/B I have to say it is PSU. Capacitators are probably dried out in PSU and it cannot provide enough power for startup as on startup it requires quite a bit more power than when working so voltages on startup go too low and prevent some of the components to start correctly. Even good parts sometimes fail. If it still has warranty send it for replacement.

 

[ainarssems]

PSU tester will not help. It will show that PSU is working if it starts sometimes. Thing is when You switch it on there is a power surge which requires a lot of energy. Normally it is covered by energy stored in capacitors.But as PSU age capacitors drie out and loose capacity and cannot provide enough power for startup but it is running fine if You manage to start up. I have had several PSU's with this problem and I have been changing capacitors or adding extra capacitors in them to solve the problem. But that was in the days when I was just a poor kid and PSU'cost a fortune to me. Now I just replace a PSU.
Don't bother bying PSU tester because cheap ones will only show if it works or if it is totally dead and proper tester where You can set load will cost much more than new PSU

 

[bobbknight]

Do you get any post code beeps?
As I understand your current symptoms, you turn on your system and everything seems to power on. CPU Fan and system fan.
Can you tell if the PSU fan is on?
A PSU can fail at any time, I highly doubt that your PSU capacitors have dried out in a years time.

Somethings to listen and look for when you power on your system.

1 fans powering on you have 12v
2 listen to the optical drive, if the stepper motor moves and the optical drive front panel led flashes you have 5v and 12v
Without a voltmeter or a PSU tester it is difficult to see if you have 3.3v.

I too like many here want to blame the PSU, but you can have other problems.

 

[ainarssems]

Do you get any post code beeps?
As I understand your current symptoms, you turn on your system and everything seems to power on. CPU Fan and system fan.
Can you tell if the PSU fan is on?
A PSU can fail at any time, I highly doubt that your PSU capacitors have dried out in a years time.

Somethings to listen and look for when you power on your system.

1 fans powering on you have 12v
2 listen to the optical drive, if the stepper motor moves and the optical drive front panel led flashes you have 5v and 12v
Without a voltmeter or a PSU tester it is difficult to see if you have 3.3v.

I too like many here want to blame the PSU, but you can have other problems.

PSU capacitors can easily drie out in one year if it is used in high temperatures, dusty enviroment, locations where smoking or just if it has poor quality capacitors. I have had a friend capacitors failing in Thermaltake 550W PSU just after 6 months. He was not the cleanest person living in a small room playing online games and always smoking in the room. The PSU was covered with sticky dust and tar. I cleaned it and replaced capacitors with higher capacitance for him and it is still going strong after another 1.5+ years use

 

[mtyermom]

It's not a matter of your Antec power supply being low quality or anything like that. Even high quality PSUs can die prematurely.

 

[Muscus]

So I plugged in a new power supply and everything was the same unfortunately... So.. that leaves the CPU, ram or the graphics card. So now again I'm leaning towards CPU?

 

[4745454b]

Check for extra motherboard stand offs? Perhaps its grounding some place it shouldn't.

 

[Muscus]

Alright... so its not the CPU either.. plugged a new one in and made 0 difference... I'm thoroughly confused now and am almost ready to just go buy a new system all together.. what else could it be? HD? graphics card? RAM? Can any of these components cause my computer to completely stop booting up and not even reaching POST???