HELP gigabyte motherboard no power to fans or psu

[tomb56]

Just purchase a Gigabyte ga-ma785gm-us2h mother board and it won't fire. My HP computer running an Athlon X2 5200+ started giving me blue screens in XP Pro with memory dump error messages. Talk to my computer guy he felt it was bad memory so I replaced ram, it continued. My computer guy then said its probably a memory controller on the mobo. Purchased new mobo above, no fans, lights etc. Purchased new power supply because of note in mobo manual saying have a 500 watt power supply as anything lower may not fire the board....purchased 600w power supply....still nothing. Tried a new mother board....still nothing?

Also I have pulled the mother board and all components from the case and have mobo on cardboard...swapped memory to another computer, works fine.

Any thoughts?

 

[bilbat]

To start with, I'd be suspicious of your 'computer guy' - there is no memory controller 'on the board' - the AMDs, like the Intel iCores, have the memory controller integrated into the CPU.

Reminds me of an old saw:

Q - "Know how to tell a computer salesman from a car salesman?"
A - "The car salesman knows when he's lying to you!"

Do not be insulted by the list - just have learned to 'check the obvious' - be surprised at what pops up here...

1 - ATX_12V_2X4, or 2X2 plugged in?
2 - tried a CMOS reset?
3 - you say "no fans, lights" - are there LEDs on this thing? I must be missing them in the manual (or, they're not documented) - please detail...
4 - do you have a case speaker hooked up? Getting any sounds from it at all?
5 - have anything plugged into USB? Other than kbd & rodent, any odd thing can possibly spell trouble...

I would suspect that something in the case had 'taken out' the original PSU, and done likewise to the new one - BUT - it's pretty damned difficult to damage a modern PSU; the rails typically have 'fold-back' circuitry that works kind of like a fuse - try to pull too much current, rail simply shuts itself down - so now that you have it out of the case (a process which I heartily endorse for troubleshooting!), and connected to very little, she should start up regardless...

If you are stripped down to the minimum, have checked everything, and do not have a case speaker - I think it's time to acquire one - at this point, it's pretty much the only thing available in the way of diagnostic info!

 

[tomb56]

Bilbat thanks for the response...
Speaker is hooked up but no sound, not a peep, no leds on MOBO, nothing lights up.

NEW Coolmax ATX V600, 3.3V rail rated at 24A, the 5V rated at 24A, and the three 12V rails rated at 18A, 18A, and 15A individually.
2x12 connector, 2x2 conector, and PCi e 2x3 connector....I'm using the 2x2 and the 2x12 connectors. Since I have the mother board on cardboard...all components are out of the case. So now it's a process of elimination.

I'm starting to think the PSU is bad. It was the last one at frys and may have been an open box. I think I'll head down and do an exchange tomorrow. I have the original power supply from the HP box but that is only 250 watts but the Gigabite manual says 500w minimum.

I'm going to try a different PSU and try a CMOS reset...odd though the Gigabite people did not suggest I do a CMOS reset.

 

[bilbat]

Sounds like a plan! I've said it before - I'm green with envy! All the time here, people talk about deals they got at Fry's, about excellent support they got from Fry's (apparently, when they sell a 'bundle', they take the time to know it works, or will take it back if it doesn't!) - and there isn't one within a hundred miles of me

Just by chance, this came up yesterday; might want to read the last couple posts...

Don't be too dimayed by support - it appears, pretty much like everyone's, to be 'tiered'; when you 'start a case', the first person you talk to can likely, kind of, make their way through the troubleshooting flow chart at the back of the manual, and not much else. If you persist, remain calm, and demonstrate that you 'have a clue', you will get passed up to people who are actually pretty sharp! Gotta realize though - that 'first tier' is designed to deal with the hundred thousand people a year who never take the manual out of the box!

 

[jaquith]

OP MOBO has a ATX_12V_2X4 and the main ATX_2X12 ; I read the following:

The power connectors are compatible with power supplies with 2x2 12V and 2x10 power connectors. When using a power supply providing a 2x4 12V and a 2x12 power connector, remove the protective covers from the 12V power connector and the main power connector on the motherboard. Do not insert the power supply cables into pins under the protective covers when using a power supply providing a 2x2 12V and a 2x10 power connector.

 

[John_VanKirk]

Hi Tomb56,

With no power or 5VSB light on the MB, it sounds like there is a problem with the PSU.

There are several inexpensive PSU checkers available, $10-$25 that you plug the main power connector into, the 12VATX connecter or 2x2 12 connector, a std molex plug or a PCI-E cable and it switches the PSU on and reads out the voltages on each rail.

Purchased one online several years for the tool box and it has been handy several times. If you don't have one, maybe a friend would have one that could answer the PSU question to better pin down your problem.

 

[tomb56]

Thanks all....here's the latest. returned the PS...DOA. Got new 500w cooler master PS works great. The computer now has power, posts but still getting BSOD. Purchased new CPU thinking memory controller problem, still right as I boot BSOD. I've swapped a newer hard drive with XP Pro SP2 that works in a dell 5150, it worked with this computer., but when I put the original drive I had with XP Pro SP3...BSOD. Have no idea why this drive will not boot.

Thought about going into the xp recovery console and to repair windows...used the recovery on a different computer and it didn't help.

 

[bilbat]

The reair install will sometimes work, but not always. The trick here is win installs for the hardware it finds during the install, dumping in dozens of drivers, and tweaking the hardware layer to the machine. A win boot disk installed on another system will almost never work, unless the newer machine uses the same make and model motherboard, ideally, or at least a motherboard with the same chipset, CODEC, LPCIO, etc... You will need to do the repair install on your new system, or, much better, just do a fresh install - that way, everything will wind up tailored for your system!

 

[jaquith]

If the recovery procedure fails, but clearly you can get XP to "work" then you're pretty much left with reinstalling XP SP2/3. In addition, you can make an install OS CD with all of the drivers. Use nLite and either create an ISO or D/L a copy from MS (XPSP2) then add the otherwise "use floppy" to +add to the new install OS CD. It's pretty easy and interesting to do.

Good Luck!

 

[tomb56]

I have to say IT SCARES THE HELLLLLLLLO OUT OF ME TO BE REINSTALLING XP PRO...I've never had success with it and I don't want to lose any data. And yes this has happened to me a few other times on other computers and you betcha I ended up doing a complete format and reinstall...it seems like that is always the best when this starts to happen. Funny and stupid at the same time, I put the drive that I want to work....into another computer this morning to get some files off it and it fired right up...not sure why it has issues with these two mother boards (the original in the HP desk top and the brand new mobo from Gigabyte?). I guess the Dell Dimension 5150 is just more compatible and less finicky.

 

[jaquith]

I hear you! If you checkout nLite it makes it a heck of a lot easier w/the Painful drivers - http://www.nliteos.com/nlite.html Every so often something breaks and its more work trying to "find the magic fix" than bitting the bullet. Clearly, back-up all your data ~ the best result is to run a Full Format if the machine has a couple of years on it.

Think of it as a Fun New Thing??!!

XP SP3 ISO - Official copy
http://www.microsoft.com/DownLoads/details.aspx?familyid=2FCDE6CE-B5FB-4488-8C50-FE22559D164E&displaylang=en

 

[bilbat]

Here's the permanent fix for your conundrum - at minimum, always partion your drive into two partitions; install the OS and apps on one, keep your data on the other... Preferable is using two drives, one for OS and one for data. That way, your files are kept segregated from your OS and application stuff - so if you have to do a reinstall, you never have to worry about data loss - you're just out a couple hours of installing!

I run nine OSs off fifteen partitions, and for every single one, the D: drive is "Data". All my systems are set up to see the same IE favorites, the same Outlook PST file, the same My Documents, the same cookies - 'cause they're all on that single data drive!

The situation you are in is pretty much the same as all my 'new build' clients have - they have an old drive, with the OS and data mixed, and some of the data inevitably lost somewhere in folders they've forgotten creating. In most cases, what I do is put 'em in a 1Tb drive, partition it with about 100G of 'system' partition, which is more than they'll ever need; make another partition that's the size of their existing drive, and whatever is left gets used as 'data'. (I won't go into the system backup partion for GB's eXpress Recovery feature, but it's in there too...) I install the system, and whatever programs I know about, then I hook up their old drive, and transfer all the data I can find to the data partition, which typically amounts to copying 'My Documents' folder and all its contents... Then, I image their old drive to the extra, 'drive-sized' partion, so that if there's any files I missed, they aren't gone, they're just wandering around somewhere in the mess!

I'd do the same in your situation - get yourself a nice big shiny new drive (they're getting absurdly cheap - I thing I paid under $70 for the last 1Tb I ordered - and ½Tb's are down under $55!), and do the same. Do your new OS install to one partion, copy your data to the other. Assuming you know where all your data is and your existing drive is over 6Gb, once you've moved it all, format the old drive (using the default 4K blocks...), and move your swap file to it - you'll get a little bump in overall system response when it gets crowded and starts swapping...

I tell people to do this all the time - seven has improved things, but you know how windoze is - it's gonna go to hell, somehow, some time!! It's just, well - windoze... That way, when it does, it's not an issue to fret about, or worry that you'll lose the family photos of Aunt Gladys, who died last year - it's just another reinstall!! Another thing it makes ridiculously simple is backing up - you just select the root of the data drive, and let 'er rip!

 

[jaquith]

I Ghost a copy {OS + Apps} on systems I know are going to be "volatile" ~ however, if that's not my intent then its a waste of space and useless 1-2 years down the road ~ apps + OS get outdated quickly. So using an old image can be a step forward and two steps backward.

 

[tomb56]

Bilbat....that is great information. I will do just that. Now it seems like it doesn't make as much difference to run a raid setup...but does add some insurance. Thoughts?

Yes you are right...actually found new 1/2 Tbyte drives on sale at Newegg for $37! Not sure if I want to go with Seagate or WD.

Since I bought all this new hardware I'm going to build myself pretty much a new computer...got an AMD X3 440 for only $65 (I can also turn on the 4th core) so I'm going to start with new drives and hardware. I will also see if I can rebuild the old computer with the AMD Athlon X2 and see if formatting the old drive fixes the problem? For some reason I think that is going to work.