After sleep mode, CPU seems..dead?

Preacher1985

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Jan 21, 2011
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First off, I'm not certain I know exactly where to put this thread, I hope I chose well. Now on to the dilemma.

I am no novice to computer repair, and troubleshooting hardware or software. I repair computers for my friends and family often, I build systems, have my A+ and all that yak. I have never come across this particular problem and honestly have no idea where to go from this point.

This is the second system in the past week that has been brought to me for this exact situation.

1. The user shut off their monitor and walked away from the PC leaving it for a few hours.
2. Upon returning the power led was blinking on the power switch. They moved the mouse, hit keys no response, pushed the power button, held it down hit the reset button to no avail.
3. The user then pulled the power plug on their PC.
4. The computer wont power on. So they brought it to me.

Now heres the bizzare part, the first pc was a pre-built compaq. Using a core2duo, ddr2 ram, onboard video, cheap mobo, and Vista Home edition. The second computer is a build I put together, with a AMD PhenomIIx4, MSI mobo, DDR3, 6870, and Win 7 Ultimate.

The troubleshooting I've done.

I first assumed it was the power supply in both cases, I plugged in a separate power supply and the same issue happened, I hit the power button and the system starts for about....1 second and auto shuts off. The fans spin lights blink, and then stops immediately. So I pulled everything off the board except 1 piece of memory, hit the button, same problem. So swapped the memory to the opposite stick, same problem. I pulled used the CMOS jumpers to clear CMOS....same problem, I hard reset the CMOS by removing the battery and unplugging the system for a few hours. Same problem.

I finally can get the system to power on and stay running, IF...I unplug the power cord to the CPU. As long as the CPU power cable (4pin or 8pin) is not connected the system runs. But obviously wont do anything because theres no power to the CPU. I pulled the CPU out of the phenom II system and popped it in a personal PC I have and it powers on and stays on, it just wont boot or POST.

I am seeking answers, if anyone has any insight to this issue or a way to get around it please, let me know. I know I can assist the custom build user to ship his Phenom off for replacement as he used stock everything, but Im honestly not convinced its the cpu...unless when the power was cut and it was in a low power state the cpu became trapped in sleep or something...