Booting Issue

[Yana3ear]

Hi all,

Hopefully someone can help with a issue I've got.

Firstly, computer specs:

Motherboard - ASUS A8R-MVP
Processor - AMD 3800+ Dual core
RAM - 2gb (unsure of brand)
GFX - ATI X800 256mb
HDD's - WD Raptor 32gb / Seagate 250gb
Sound card - Xfi XtremeGamer

Secondly, the issue.

The last time the PC was used was on Saturday just gone, everything was working fine with no problems. Come Sunday morning, it won't respond at all. There was nothing out of the ordinary during shutdown, nor during it's last time of use (no locks, no freezes, wasn't sluggish etc). All that happens now is the tower powers up with all fans working fully (i.e. cooling fans, CPU fan, GFX card fan etc), but there is no boot or post from the motherboard. Nothing else happens after this, it's just a constant feed of power.

I've tried the following:

Resetting CMOS.
Removing the RAM and trying each stick in each slot.
Removing GFX.
Removing HDD's.
Removing processor.
Trying to boot 'outside the box'.
Give each component a good clean, along with the case.

Each resulted in the same thing as before, no boot with no bios beeps etc.

Anyone got any ideas? Or is it time to get the wallet out?

Cheers,

Steve.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Sounds like you've narrowed down the possible faulty hardware to either the PSU or motherboard.

 

[Yana3ear]

If it's the motherboard, I'll be upgrading rather soon!

How could the PSU cause the problem? Just out of interest..?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

A dead/dying PSU may put out enough power to run fans and lights, but not the core components (CPU, GPU, etc...).

 

[Kill@dor]

I would try resetting the CMOS first...just to see if anything happens. It could be the hard drive faliure too, but then again it would let you know something is wrong with your hard drive with an error code ^_^ (You already tried it, never mind)

Make sure everything is plugged in correctly...inside and outside the case. Sometimes, things do get unplugged unknowingly.

If none of these work...i would have to agree its the PSU.

 

[Proximon]

Excellent request for help. Really clear and well laid out.

An old AMD chipset 939 board eh? Inspect all the caps for leaks or bulges. If you spot any of those, you have the problem.

If not, swapping the PSU into another system or putting a different PSU in would be my next choice. Power to the board does not mean adequate power to boot. The power has to fall within certain parameters to actually power the system, and it's possible it's no longer doing that.

It's about the time for the board to fail, if it's seen heavy use.

 

[Yana3ear]

Thanks Proximon.

I'll see if I can hold of another PSU from somewhere and try that.

I'm not really sure what path to go down if it is the PSU causing the problem - if it's worth just going for the upgrade anyway or replacing the PSU with a cheap one for the time being?

 

[shortstuff_mt]

It's never a good idea to put a cheap PSU in your computer. When they blow up, they often take other hardware with them. If you determine the PSU is causing these problems, it would be a very wise idea to get a quality replacement PSU.

 

[Yana3ear]

The PSU that is in there now is a Hiper 630w (what I believe to be a very reliable, quiet and stable PSU, though do tell me otherwise if that's not the case) which I purchased for somewhere between £65-80. It's not particularly old, 12 to 18 months tops. I will be quite disappointed if that is the cause of the problem to be honest, that's alot of money to blow on a well branded PSU for a generous 18 months worth of use =(

 

[Proximon]

Hiper is a newer company with mixed reviews. I don't recall seeing a review on that unit right off. It's likely not a bad one though... tier 3 at worst. I was even recommending one for a bit last year, but that was a larger one.

It's definitely a keeper unless it went bad. Any PSU can do that, and some brands are notorious for being real good on the bench and failing after 12-18 months... Enermax for instance.

Too much talk about PSUs though. It's probably the board. It's just easier to rule out the PSU first.

 

[Yana3ear]

I think I should have a spare PSU somewhere (hopefully).. will see what happens on that front.

If it is the board, time for a rebuild! Anyone got any recommendations on parts? I'll salvage both the HDD's, XFI and all the cooling.. everything else will be new. Best way to describe it is a mid-range gaming rig really, I don't need super super speeds and the hole in the wallet to go with it.. waste of time for what I use it for!

Currently looking at:

Processor: Q6600 (EE Edition)/Q6700/Q8200
Motherboard: open to suggestions?
RAM: 4gb - again, open to suggestions?
GFX: GTX260 - seems to have a good money to performance ratio and be reasonably future proof for the games I'll eventually be playing, but others could be ATI 4850/4870 or 9800GTX+ as a cheaper option?

Budget is around £400-500, don't really want to go above that unless it's really worth it. Don't mind going less.. obviously!

Also open to suggestions on a new PSU (if needed) and new case. I haven't included these in the above budget but I wouldn't mind spending out (nothing crazy mind) on a decent case.

 

[Proximon]

The new AMD Phenom IIs are a better buy in that price range.

To answer your question though, I found this board over at Ebuyer:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/145368

Its an x48 board for less than a good P45... I knew the day would come, but I never thought it would happen over there before it happened here in the sates. It will be a solid board. Maybe it has some features you will never use, but at the price and build quality, it seems good to me.

I was going to suggest this board, but as you can see it's more:
http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyte-s775-intel-p45-atx-a-l-ultrad3-5CZ6.html?refs=405070000-422710000-4294951481-50509

 

[Yana3ear]

I'm not too clued up on the new Phenom II's. I take it they have a similar performance to the Intel quads?

I don't suppose you could recommend a build for both an Intel or AMD rig (CPU, GFX, Mobo and RAM)? Motherboards and memory are just minefields in my eyes, so many to look at!

 

[Proximon]

An AMD Phenom II 940 will outperform any of the quads you listed. Let's see what you can get:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Gigabyte-GA-MA790X-DS4-AMD-790X-SAM2plus-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR2-1066-667-800-SATA-II-SATA-RAID-ATX

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-940-Black-Edition-Deneb-S-AM2plus-30GHz-8MB-Total-Cache-HT-2000MHz-125W-Retail

OCZ 4GB 1066
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/148036

You would probably want to add an ATI card to that crossfire build:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164557

Two of the best budget cases are:
Antec 300 -best to add a couple fans
Cooler Master 690 - good as-is, but a bit more.

Corsair is always a good PSU choice. 550VX is enough for that build, 750TX for that build with a second card for crossfire.

 

[Yana3ear]

Looking good!

Out of interest, would a Nvidia card work on that MB (in a singular setup that is, I'm not particularly interested in dual-gfx right now.. isn't really a need for me). On the review's I've seen, the GTX260 walks all over the 4870 for pretty much the same price.. some retailers are even doing it cheaper at the moment I think?

I can see what you mean about the AMD 940, excellent performance.

Regarding MB, what would you say to this for a singular gfx card setup:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-M4A78PRO-AMD-780G-Sok-AM2plus-PCI-E-20-(x16)-DDR2-667-800-1066-SATA-300-SATA-RAID-ATX-VGA

 

[Proximon]

The 1GB version of the 4870 and the GTX 260 core 216 are about as even as possible, trading places for the lead depending on the game. The GTX 260 is generally a bit less, and it's totally fine to run one on that board.

Just make sure you are actually getting the right version. 216 stream processors, and not 192.

On your board choice, I see a note on newegg where someone complains about an incompatibility with Windows 7.

I don't understand how the board could determine virtualization functionality... I have to grab some sleep now, but later I intend to investigate that.

 

[jsc]

I don't understand how the board could determine virtualization functionality...

Agree. I'd think that is strictly CPU dependent.

 

[marsay001]

go to advancetec.co.uk and then advance systems, they come with everything except a monitor and cpu, a decent rig for around 300 quid, they are self build kits, then jsut wap you hdd and video card in.

 

[marsay001]

sorry, they do come with a cpu

 

[Yana3ear]

Update:

Stuck another PSU in, worked first time! However, when I started playing with the BIOS in order to get the drives in the right boot order etc, everything started to go to pot.

I managed to get it to boot into Windows once with my storage drive not connected. Once I connected it up and setup the BIOS, the same thing happened as before.. power but no boot. Thinking it could be the HDD at fault, I removed it and tried again.. no luck. I then did everything that I stated in the original post.. same thing.

Odds on that the MB and PSU are dead.. or dying? =)

*gets the wallet out*

 

[Proximon]

Yes I think so. Voltage regulation happens both in the PSU and MB, so I can see how improving the PSU might get you part-way without resolving it.

 

[Yana3ear]

Indeed. Well, moving forward..

I've ordered all new gear and left the gfx out for now, I'll purchase that closer to the time it's required, the x800 will do for the next 6 months or so.

The build will be:

AMD PII 940 BE
Corsair 4gb 1066
Gigabyte board (as per your recommendation)
Corsair 550VX PSU
..same HDD's
Xfi XtremeGamer
X800, but will be replaced shortly
Coolermaster 590/690, will be purchased with gfx

 

[Proximon]

Great I think you'll be happy.