Shutdowns after 1-2 min on brand new motherboar

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mhokett

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I'm putting together a new build and my machine is shutting down after about 1-2 min of the windows install and sometimes while in bios as well. I've run memtest86+ and it successfully ran though 3 passes with no errors, also it ran for about an hour and a half and did not shut down during this test, so at least my memory should be OK. I'm thinking i may have a bad MB, but I was hoping for some suggestions before RMAing it, especially since it's currently out of stock on newegg. I've reset the bios to default as well.

new components
ASRock M3a770de http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157176

Athlon II x3 455 Rana http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103911

Kingston hyperX Blu 4GB (2x2Gb) ddr3 1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104203

Power color AX 6770 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131434

reused:
Thermaltkae TR2-430W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023

Maxtor Diamondmax Plus 9 80BG SATA http://www.e-techsiliconvalley.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=40293&zenid=24df0e9675081ffd6b34b9efaec76f11
 
Solution
In general I don't recommend lapping a HSF or CPU (either can be damaged), but if your HSF is so concave or convex that it doesn't make good contact, you should "lap" it so it will make better contact with the CPU. It sounds like yours might be concave. Filling in a big gap with thermal past will NOT help; an extremely thin layer fills in microscopic gaps, but a thick one can insulate. Lapping basically involves sanding it down using progressively finer emery cloth until the surface is flat. Put the emery cloth face up on a perfectly flat surface like a piece of glass and rub the HSF on it to sand it down. Be sure to wipe away any filings; a coffee filter dipped in 91% alcohol is good, since it won't leave a residue. If it is...

mhokett

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I forgot to add, I have reseated the memory, tried it in the other two slots, tried just one stick, then the other. I have tried a very old video card (x300), just in case i was overtaxing my PSU, I have reseated all connections, power, 12V, sata etc. but the problem persist. I am installing win xp instead of 7, but a can't imagine that being related to this problem.
 

mhokett

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yes I'm doing a fresh install, that's where the problem is occuring most often, during the install, but sometimes before it, like when I'm in bios.

as for the PSU,could it really be the problem after running an hour and half on memtest 86+ ?
 
That PSU is fecal. The little voltage switch gives it away. Memtest won't stress it, but just about anything else might. Shutdowns (like the plug got pulled) rather than BSODs are often power problems.
Do you have balanced fans in your case? If you have multiple exhaust fans and no intake fan, the PSU may not be able to pull any air through itself for cooling. If that's the case, balance your airflow and see if it helps any. You'd still be stressing the PSU (and it should be replaced ASAP), but at least it may not immediately overheat and shut down. If you loaded Windows and cranked up a game, the load on the GPU would probably shut it down then, even with better cooling.
 

mhokett

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ok, Il stop by fry's and pick up another psu, might as well get a 500W to be safe. that should be plenty for this small build and at least I can return it if that's not it. btw the current psu is less than a year old and i thought that 430W would have been plenty for this build. any recommendations?
 
A quality modern PSU has full range active PFC (no little voltage switch) and some level of 80+ certification for efficiency. Seasonic, Antec, Corsair, XFX, and Enermax/LEPA are among the better brands. Apevia, Logisys, Diablotek, and anything else with "max" in its name are not. Coolermaster is only a step or two above those. Dynex and most Huntkey (available at Best Buy) tend to burn when loaded. A 380W Antec Earthwatts or 400W Corsair Builder would be enough for your build; a larger version would give you more room for future upgrades.
 

mhokett

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I ended up splurging and getting an Antec high curent 750. it was on sale and only a few dollars more than the corsair 600W as they didn't have any good ones in the 500W range in stock. unfortunately that didn't solve my problem. I kept getting shut downs in bios. I looked in the H/W monitor and noticed the cpu temp rising. the MB is out of the case so I know air flow isn't a real issue. temps went up to 84c and then powered off. this happened repeatedly, so I thought maybe the cooler wasn't seated properly. I uninstalled the cooler and CPU, but noticed that there was hardly any thermal compound on the cpu, just a small amount around the outside. I've rotated the cooler 180deg and reinstalled. so far it's idling between 75-77c. I enabled cool n quiet and the temp started rising again. disabled and it went back down. The only thing I can figure is that there wasn't enough thermal compound on the HSF when it came from AMD. I'm going to clean it all off and put on some arctic silver 5. hopefully that will solve the temp issue and I can finally complete this build.
 
In general I don't recommend lapping a HSF or CPU (either can be damaged), but if your HSF is so concave or convex that it doesn't make good contact, you should "lap" it so it will make better contact with the CPU. It sounds like yours might be concave. Filling in a big gap with thermal past will NOT help; an extremely thin layer fills in microscopic gaps, but a thick one can insulate. Lapping basically involves sanding it down using progressively finer emery cloth until the surface is flat. Put the emery cloth face up on a perfectly flat surface like a piece of glass and rub the HSF on it to sand it down. Be sure to wipe away any filings; a coffee filter dipped in 91% alcohol is good, since it won't leave a residue. If it is obviously not flat, you may simply wish to get another one.

Edit: Nice choice on the PSU; overkill for your rig, but good quality and it will support any upgrade you're likely to want.
 
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mhokett

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I'm still running win updates, but using the arctic silver appears to have done the trick. I'm getting 35C on ASRock's OC tuner and 26C per core on AMD overdrive. so far everything is stable. I didn't lap anything. I just used the dot method on the arctic silver. the factory installed compound must have been extremely thin to have made that much of a difference. This is the first time I've ever heard of this problem with a stock HSF. I just wish I had used AS5 in the first place. IT would have saved me a weeks worth of headaches.

BTW I tried the old PSU too and it worked just fine. So at least it's enough to handle my build. Now I'm trying to decide if i should keep the antec or take it back and use it towards my upgrade to win 7 or even a new case, since I'm currently using XP and an old chieftec dragon. I'll take a couple of days to be safe and try throwing some games at it as well with the older PSU just to be safe.

Thanks for all your help and ideas. I really appreciate it.
 
I wouldn't use the old PSU, even though that wasn't the problem, although running flat out (i.e. benchmarking w/Prime95+Furmark), your PC probably doesn't pull over 275W. You might exchange the new one for something cheaper (you can get it online, because you're in no hurry), but I still think that's a good idea.
Odd about the paste. I've put aftermarket coolers on recent builds, but have not ever had a problem like you describe with a stock cooler.
 

mhokett

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I agree, about the paste being odd. i've been building off and on for 15 yrs and never even heard of such a problem with either a stock or after market HSF. Just bad luck on my part I guess.

Wow indeed. that is a great PSU for the price. 80+, 120 mm fan, sleeved cables. Especially with my needs.
 
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