Computer failed.

[kutsyy]

My computer failed and I the only think I can think about is motherboard, but it doesn't sound right (to me). Computer is homebuilt (last major upgrade about 3 years ago).

A few days ago my computer shut it self down without notice. It started without problem and there was nothing in the error long. It shut itself down again in 40 minutes, then in 10, 5, and eventually it would not start at all.

I sought it was a power supply. Antec exchanged my PSU (3 years old, but under warranty). New PSU didn't change anything.

Now if I turn on, all of the fans start, DVD drives start, lights are on, but all of the harddrives are down, and there is nothing on the monitor. (harddrives are SATA, DVDs are ATA)

Any clue? Given no power on HD and no video, I think it is motherboard, but if it is motherboard, why DVD, fans and lights are on.

Thanks for recommendations.

Vadim

 

[hunter315]

Full system specs please.

 

[kutsyy]

Here are basics:

CASE ANTEC | P150 SIL 430W RT
Antec TruePower TP-550 (new)

Intel BOXD945GNTLR 945G
Intel® Pentium® D Processor 920 2.80GHz
CPU FANHEATSINK SCYTHE|SCNJ-1000P R
Memory: 4x1GB
VGA GIGABYTE GV-NX71G512P8-RH R

Harddrives: 4SATA (no RAID)
DVD burner (ATA)
CD burner (ATA)
3.5" drive
wireless card

Note: there is no video on the card nor on the MB

THanks,

 

[shortstuff_mt]

This could be related to a RAM failure since you're running 4 sticks of RAM. I would remove all but one stick of RAM and see if the system boots. If not, try each stick of RAM by itself in the first RAM slot.

 

[kutsyy]

This could be related to a RAM failure since you're running 4 sticks of RAM.

Good point, I'll try.

Any other ideas?

 

[Paperdoc]

MAYBE the "bulgy cap" problem. A few years ago there was a rash of problems traced to use of certain electrolytic capacitors in the Power Supply (PSU unit) AND the voltage regulator section of the mobo. You've already changed the PSU with no improvement, so the ones on the mobo need inspection. There usually is a group of them - maybe 6 to 12, of varying sizes - near the CPU. They look like metal cylinders standing on end, but may have plastic sleeves on them with number codes. Typical sizes are from ¼" to 1" diameter, ½" to 1½" high.

The problem that emerged at that time was that, although they worked fine in their early life, they developed a defect internally that caused excessive current leakage and hence heat generation. This, in turn, caused the stuff inside to expand, resulting in pushing the can's top up into a bulge, instead of being flat as they are supposed to be. So look for cans with rounded-up tops. If you have any, they may be the cause of failed voltage regulation on your mobo. The cure is either to replace all those components, or to get a new mobo. I have a board that did this after 18 months of 24/7 operation. The system got unstable, then refused to boot at all, within the space of 24 hours. 6 out of about 12 capacitors have bulged tops. I replaced the mobo, but kept the old one and am deciding whether it is worth the time and money to replace the caps and have a spare mobo on the shelf.

 

[freezed1]

Hi, thats a dead motherboard, i have seen 2 many pc's do that and mostly its the motherboard. =], change the motherboard and i am 75% sure your pc will start working, (25% chance it is the ram problem, that happened to me last week) also this is a common problem with gigabyte motherboards. i had 2 gigabyte motherboards and 2 laptop motherboards die on me like that, all the symptoms you mention are exactly same as mine, this can also be caused by high voltages, and heat.



hmmm i didn't notice it before but you do have gigabyte motherboard. The caps on their motherboards are junk (they brag abt them) each one of my gigabyte mb failed within 3-6 months, i switched to DFI, EVGA, ASUS they all ran flawlessly.


also even if your motherboard is dead power will still go to all the components, that is the way many electronics work. you might have fans spinning at a higher rpm then usual, cd/dvd rom lights blinking a lot, everything powering up but no visual or beeps.

 

[kutsyy]

Well, it was RAM, but in the weird way.

I had 2x2Gb sticks in channel A and 2x512Mb in B (why would I have 5G on the MB which support 4Gb, and 32 bit system, is separate discussion).

So I tried a few combinations:

A: 2x2Gb
B: 2x512Mb
Video Card in
Result: will not start.

A: 2x2Gb
B: 2x512Mb
Video Card Out
Result: MB beeps 3 times (no memory)

A: 2x2Gb
B: 1x512Mb
Video Card Out
Result: MB beeps 3 times (no memory)

A: 2x512Mb
B: 2x2Gb
Vide Card In/Out
Result: Starts

A: 2x2Gb
B: empty
Video Card In/Out
Result: Starts

A: 2x215Mb
B: empty
Video Card In/Out
Result: Starts

I had a few extra 512Mb sticks, doesn't make any difference.

So currently I am running with 2x2Gb sticks, still don't know what was wrong (it is not Memmory sticks)

 

[hunter315]

How much ram does it report you have when you have the 2x2 kit in B? It may be ignoring that ram in B and just running on 1GB, and if changing the ram and bringing it down to the max support memory fixes the issue you found the issue.

 

[kutsyy]

I didn't pay attention on how much ram it reports, but strange part that it will not detect any ram with 2x512Mb in B