No post, please help

[calla00]

Hello, recently i bought some new parts for my gaming rig but I'm having problems getting the machine to boot so I was hoping to get some help from the friendly folks on this forum. As per the sticky, I have gone through the check list:

1. check
2. check: mobo has 8pin, psu has 4 and 8 pin, i tried both combinations
3. check: i did but when the machine wouldn't boot, I took the parts out and I am "breadboarding" atm.
4. check
5. check
6. check
7. check
8. check
9. check
10. check
11. check
12. check
13. using a zalman cpu cooler so 13 doesn't apply
14. check
15. check
16. not yet
17. check
18 through 22: check (not using integrated video)

these are my specs:

GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K

ZALMAN CNPS9700 LED 110mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model F3-8500CL7S-4GBRL

OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ700MXSP 700W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply compatible with core i7

SAPPHIRE 100282XTREME Radeon HD 5850 Xtreme 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

(graphics card and psu are from my previous machine.)



so when i turn the power switch on, the mobo led lights and cpu fan turn on. after a few seconds, they both shut down and the whole thing resets.

i know you guys advise people to install the speaker, but i haven't had a chance yet b/c the radioshack near my house surprisingly didn't have any in stock and i had to order a set online.

at this point i guess i'm trying to figure out whether its the motherboard or the cpu that i need to RMA. Is there anything specific i need to look out for to be able to distinguish between the two? will the system speaker tell me which one is not working?

also i'll try to upload some pics of the mobo + cpu when i get home so that folks can ascertain whether or not i installed the cpu correctly

 

[T_T]

I don't think this is a CPU or heat related problem. CPUs will shut the system down when they overheat, but will not cause a restart. In fact, the only time I've known a system to restart is during a Windows boot failure. If your system is restarting, try disconnecting the reset and power button cable from the mobo. Then use a screwdriver, or similar tool, to jump the PWR_SW pins.

 

[calla00]

not sure how helpful these pics will be, but the first two are pictures of my cpu with the thermal grease applied. 1 does not have the slot cover over the cpu, 2 does. 3 is a pic of the bottom of the heatsink to give an idea of how much grease i used. ( i took off the zalman b/c it was so bulky)

thanks for the reply T_T. so do you think its an issue with the motherboard?

whats the purpose of jumping the pwr_sw pins?

 

[T_T]

Sorry, the pics don't really show me anything conclusive. The point of jumping the pins was to see if the front panel switch is causing a short. One of the theories I wanted to you to check on was to see if there is a circuit problem with the reset switch or power switch. Removing the connectors from the mobo would ensure that there is no power going to said switches. In order to test the theory, you would need to apply power to the mobo; this would be accomplished by jumping the pins.

If the problem persists, then you've ruled out the front panel buttons. However, your assessment of the checklist is somewhat vague. I am not clear on what you meant by "3. check: i did but when the machine wouldn't boot, I took the parts out and I am "breadboarding" atm. "

If by the above quoted text you mean that you've successfully booted into Windows while breadboarding, then the problem is a case short. If indeed the problem is a case short, double check to see that no standoffs are touching the bottom of your mobo. Also ensure that your CPU cooler backplate isn't touching the mobo tray.

 

[calla00]

Sorry, the pics don't really show me anything conclusive. The point of jumping the pins was to see if the front panel switch is causing a short. One of the theories I wanted to you to check on was to see if there is a circuit problem with the reset switch or power switch. Removing the connectors from the mobo would ensure that there is no power going to said switches. In order to test the theory, you would need to apply power to the mobo; this would be accomplished by jumping the pins.

ah ok. would you mind explaining how to jump the pins using a screwdriver? do i just get a metal screw driver with a plastic handle and put it over the two power switch pins to power it up?

If the problem persists, then you've ruled out the front panel buttons. However, your assessment of the checklist is somewhat vague. I am not clear on what you meant by "3. check: i did but when the machine wouldn't boot, I took the parts out and I am "breadboarding" atm. "

ok, i installed the standoffs at the corners of the mobo when i was putting all the parts into the case. when i was having problems booting the pc, I took all the parts out and basically did what jsc here

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-262730_13_0.html

i haven't been able to boot into windows.

 

[T_T]

ah ok. would you mind explaining how to jump the pins using a screwdriver? do i just get a metal screw driver with a plastic handle and put it over the two power switch pins to power it up?

Yep. It's that simple. You don't have to hold the screwdriver on the pins, just touch the two at the same time. Do the same thing to turn the system off, as well.

ok, i installed the standoffs at the corners of the mobo when i was putting all the parts into the case. when i was having problems booting the pc, I took all the parts out and basically did what jsc here

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/page-262730_13_0.html

i haven't been able to boot into windows.

Good. So now we know that there wasn't anything touching the inside of the case's bare metal to cause a short. If the above instructions on jumping the PWR_SW pins doesn't help, then I suggest testing the PSU voltages.

 

[calla00]

Good. So now we know that there wasn't anything touching the inside of the case's bare metal to cause a short. If the above instructions on jumping the PWR_SW pins doesn't help, then I suggest testing the PSU voltages.

this is so very frustrating i jumped the pwr_sw pins as you suggested and its still restarting.

three things about testing the psu voltage:
1. i don't have a voltage meter atm so i guess i'll have to go and buy one =/

2. following your logic, the psu seems to be causing a problem if its not the cpu, but the psu i am using now is a recondition replacement unit i had just received from OCZ a few days before i started working on the i7 stuff

3. in order to test out the psu and graphics card, i used the psu to power up my old rig which was a core 2 duo e8400. that one, i had no issues booting up to windows 7.

thanks for the quick replies T_T!

 

[T_T]

Nice. I have one last test for shorting for you to try. Remove the GPU, and then power on the system again. Does the restarts continue?

Testing the PSU in another system is nice, but knowing the exact voltages and if they're where they should be is better. Until we know what the voltages are, the PSU will remain a possibility, reconditioned or not; even brand-spankin new PSUs can have problems.
But, because you successfully booted into Win7 using this PSU, we can try other things until you can test the PSU.

Do you have means of testing your RAM in another system? If so, I suggest using MemTest86+ 4.2 .

 

[calla00]

ok so i just tried powering the mobo without the cpu and its still resetting. i guess that means i'll be sending it back for a rma barring any issues with the psu

unfortunately i can't test out the ram b/c my older mobo only uses ddr2 while this new one requires ddr3.

 

[calla00]

Best answer selected by calla00.