A few days ago I tried to upgrade my mobo and my RAM. When I hooked everything up and hit the switch on the PSU, the fans and HDD spun up for a few seconds before dieing. The green power light on the MB stayed lit up, but pressing the power button, or holding it, did absolutely nothing.
From that point, I opened up the computer again and tried a few different things, from switching back to my old ram, trying every stick of ram in every slot individually, making sure everything was firmly plugged in and plugged into the correct spot, clearing the CMOS, and everything else that I found suggested on various forums.
With still no success, I finally breadboarded it and plugged everything in outside the case, and voila, it POSTed with the old ram, and gave me a screen telling me what ram and CPU I had, and telling me that my keyboard was unplugged, which it was. Out of curiosity I tried the new ram, which also worked. Plugged in the keyboard and moved into the new MOBO bios, but then shut it off so that I could put everything back in the computer, figuring that I must have just made a mistake before. Tried starting it all again and had the same problem with the fans and HD spinning up before going dead with no image on my screen.
I went through the entire process again, now quite certain that the mobo and the ram are not the culprits. I've gone through each and every cable, connection, and component piece by piece to see what stops it, and come to find out that right now it will only stay on if the 8pin CPU power cable is NOT plugged in, but of course I get nothing on my screen. When I try with the 8pin or a 4pin plugged in, it does the same thing as before.
This leads me to believe that it is my PSU, or maybe the connection on the mobo. So I tried switching back to my old MOBO, but it does the exact same thing, so now I'm pretty sure it is not the MB.
Today I went to the computer store and picked up a new PSU, rated at 750, instead of my old PSU's 650. Plugged everything in, being careful every step of the way, and yet it does the same thing all over again. Tried the new PSU with the old mobo and still the same thing. So no matter what combination of MB and PSU, I have the same issue. The only other thing i can think of is that maybe I screwed up my CPU somehow in the process. I see no bent pins, and was very careful going from one mobo to the other.
I'm wondering if I might have discharged some static into it and messed it up, or if maybe something else could have affected it, because I highly doubt that both my mobos or both the PSUs are faulty. I was literally using the computer the day that I tried to upgrade, and it was running just fine. I will note that I had to transplant my old cpu cooler bracket to the new mobo, and I had a hard time actually getting the cooler connected to the bracket, and had to apply a bit of pressure because I was connected it wrong like a dumbass. So it's possible I pushed too hard down on the CPU.
The more I think about it, the more it seems as if the CPU is to blame, but if so, would it have POSTed at all while out out the case?
I've already dropped $100 on the new PSU that I hadn't planned on buying, and I'd rather not run out and buy a new CPU without being at least reasonably sure. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Here's the specs on my system, before and after:
Before:
MB: M4A785TD-M EVO
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2gb(4gb) 1333mhz
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 925 2.8ghz
PSU: Antec 650watt, not modular
Case: Antec 200
After:
MB: Asus Sabertooth AM3+
RAM: G.Skill Sniper 2x4gb (8gb) 1866mhz
PSU: Thermaltake SMART Series 750 Watt ATX Modular
I'd love to find out if there's just a way to make this work with what I have instead of having to buy yet another part. I'm also a little reluctant to buy a CPU and use my old PSU, in case it might have been part of the problem, but it would be nice to be able to return the new PSU and be able to get back that $100.
Again, any and all help is appreciated.
From that point, I opened up the computer again and tried a few different things, from switching back to my old ram, trying every stick of ram in every slot individually, making sure everything was firmly plugged in and plugged into the correct spot, clearing the CMOS, and everything else that I found suggested on various forums.
With still no success, I finally breadboarded it and plugged everything in outside the case, and voila, it POSTed with the old ram, and gave me a screen telling me what ram and CPU I had, and telling me that my keyboard was unplugged, which it was. Out of curiosity I tried the new ram, which also worked. Plugged in the keyboard and moved into the new MOBO bios, but then shut it off so that I could put everything back in the computer, figuring that I must have just made a mistake before. Tried starting it all again and had the same problem with the fans and HD spinning up before going dead with no image on my screen.
I went through the entire process again, now quite certain that the mobo and the ram are not the culprits. I've gone through each and every cable, connection, and component piece by piece to see what stops it, and come to find out that right now it will only stay on if the 8pin CPU power cable is NOT plugged in, but of course I get nothing on my screen. When I try with the 8pin or a 4pin plugged in, it does the same thing as before.
This leads me to believe that it is my PSU, or maybe the connection on the mobo. So I tried switching back to my old MOBO, but it does the exact same thing, so now I'm pretty sure it is not the MB.
Today I went to the computer store and picked up a new PSU, rated at 750, instead of my old PSU's 650. Plugged everything in, being careful every step of the way, and yet it does the same thing all over again. Tried the new PSU with the old mobo and still the same thing. So no matter what combination of MB and PSU, I have the same issue. The only other thing i can think of is that maybe I screwed up my CPU somehow in the process. I see no bent pins, and was very careful going from one mobo to the other.
I'm wondering if I might have discharged some static into it and messed it up, or if maybe something else could have affected it, because I highly doubt that both my mobos or both the PSUs are faulty. I was literally using the computer the day that I tried to upgrade, and it was running just fine. I will note that I had to transplant my old cpu cooler bracket to the new mobo, and I had a hard time actually getting the cooler connected to the bracket, and had to apply a bit of pressure because I was connected it wrong like a dumbass. So it's possible I pushed too hard down on the CPU.
The more I think about it, the more it seems as if the CPU is to blame, but if so, would it have POSTed at all while out out the case?
I've already dropped $100 on the new PSU that I hadn't planned on buying, and I'd rather not run out and buy a new CPU without being at least reasonably sure. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Here's the specs on my system, before and after:
Before:
MB: M4A785TD-M EVO
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws 2x2gb(4gb) 1333mhz
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 925 2.8ghz
PSU: Antec 650watt, not modular
Case: Antec 200
After:
MB: Asus Sabertooth AM3+
RAM: G.Skill Sniper 2x4gb (8gb) 1866mhz
PSU: Thermaltake SMART Series 750 Watt ATX Modular
I'd love to find out if there's just a way to make this work with what I have instead of having to buy yet another part. I'm also a little reluctant to buy a CPU and use my old PSU, in case it might have been part of the problem, but it would be nice to be able to return the new PSU and be able to get back that $100.
Again, any and all help is appreciated.
. Guess it's time to get that 8150 a little earlier than I thought, lol. I wonder of Micro Center will take back the power supply, seeing as both PSUs behave the same, I'm guessing my original still works. This time I'm also gonna get one of those grounding bracelets, like I should have done in the first place. 
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