Odd system lock up

[DazzlerCee]

My new system suddenly locked today and then would not boot, wouldn't even post. I assumed the worst...fried/faulty CPU.

Basic specs are:

XP 2700+ (not o/c)
2 x Kingmax DDR333 256MB
Leadtek K7NCR18D Pro Nforce2 motherboard
GeForce 4 Ti4600
TT Volcano 7+ Heatsink/Fan

The system idles at about 42'C and has never risen above 49'C even under load, so I assumed the CPU hadn't fried. It must be a CPU prob though due to non post/video.

When I reseated the CPU and heatsink everything was fine, but when I put the case the right way up it crashed again with exactly the same symptoms.

The only thing I can think of is that the weight of the heatsink/fan is disturbing the CPU seating when the case is not flat, i.e. the heatsink is sliding when vertical and disturbing the CPU.

Is this possible?

I've made a wedge to stop the heatsink from moving, and so far everything is OK.

Are there any light weight heatsinks suitable for a XP2700?

Thanks in advance.

 

[DazzlerCee]

With regard to my original post above, it's done it again.
Works fine for a while and then when shut down/restarted it locks either mid-boot or during windows. The system will not boot after it has crashed. No floppy seek, just power and hdd light on permanently. Does not even begin to POST.

The only thing that has changed since the system was stable is that I have updated the bios. Could this be the problem? Could a bug in the bios cause a problem that can only be solved by reseating the CPU / heatsink?

I will go back to the original bios and find out I guess!

Any help, suggestions appreciated.

Daz

 

[Crashman]

It sounds like your motherboard is getting grounded. You could have a spare mounting post under the board that only makes a "good" contact at certain times (which would be bad when it does) and shorts the board, resetting the system (and possibly tripping the power supply protection).

<font color=blue>You're posting in a forum with class. It may be third class, but it's still class!</font color=blue>

 

[MeTaLrOcKeR]

You shouldnt worry about the CPU being fried/burnt etc......as that Board has ASUS C.O.P. Protection and your CPU Supports that feature with its On-Die thermal diode......what COULD be happening is your retention clips are NOT giving enough pressure on the cpu so the C.O.P. protection is cutting power out to the CPU......i recomend bending the retention clips a little bit to the point where u know its putting more pressure onto the CPU...but dont put to much u dont want to like make the clips come flying off at you some how...LoL

Anyways hope that helps...

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?id=13597" target="_new">-MeTaL RoCkEr</A>