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Athlon XP system won't turn on



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 17th 04, 02:57 AM
Jeremy Todd
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Athlon XP system won't turn on

Okay, I'm desperate for some help before I declare my new motherboard
DOA and call Asus. Here's the deal:

1. A few days ago, we had a horrible storm. I unplugged my old MB,
but apparently too late: the system wouldn't boot. No CPU fan, no
power supply fan, no nothing. I swapped the MB/CPU/RAM with another
box, and it booted fine, so the power supply appears to still be good.
When I put my old MB back in, the CPU fan came on for a few seconds
as soon as the power supply was switched on (without hitting the case
power switch), then went off. The standby light on the MB was lit,
but nothing happened when I hit the case power switch. Same as
before, no fans or anything.

2. Planning on upgrading soon anyway, I went ahead and ordered a new
MB/CPU/RAM (Asus A7N8X-X with Athlon XP 3200+ and 1 GB of RAM). Lo
and behold, I installed it in my old case, and got the exact same
problem: CPU fan spinning up when the power supply is first turned on
(which I assume is a self-test), but nothing when I hit the case
switch. To rule out a problem with the case or PS, I stuck in another
old MB, and it booted fine.

3. Since then, I've tried everything I can think of: I've tried
reseating the CPU, RAM, and heat sink. I've reapplied the thermal
paste. I've made sure the CPU fan is plugged in the right place.
I've checked the CPU for bent pins. I've checked and double-checked
the orientation of the ATX power switch connector to the MB's control
panel. I've made sure the power supply connector is seated firmly.
I've cleared the CMOS. I've tried it with RAM, without RAM, with
video card, without video card, with HD's connected, etc. I tried it
with a different CPU and a different heatsink/fan. I even tried it
with a different power supply, new out of the box. I tried reseating
the MB to make sure there wasn't a short somewhere, and even hooked it
up sitting on an anti-static bag to make extra sure. Still no
activity at all when I hit the case power switch. The standby light
on the MB is always lit when it should be, but nothing happens at all.

Am I missing anything obvious? Any other suggestions before I box the
thing up and send it back?

Thanks,
Jeremy
  #2  
Old July 17th 04, 06:19 AM
kony
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On 16 Jul 2004 18:57:18 -0700, (Jeremy Todd)
wrote:

Okay, I'm desperate for some help before I declare my new motherboard
DOA and call Asus. Here's the deal:

1. A few days ago, we had a horrible storm. I unplugged my old MB,
but apparently too late: the system wouldn't boot. No CPU fan, no
power supply fan, no nothing.


At this point, it would've been good to have a brief description
of the system. Further, it is the point at which the power
supply should be removed and tested, not hooked up to other parts
therefore jeopardizing them.


I swapped the MB/CPU/RAM with another
box, and it booted fine, so the power supply appears to still be good.


Again, more detail might've been helpful, to the extent that
these (presumably older parts) aren't expected to need as much
power, and where already confirmed (or likely to be?) set up
correctly in an operational state, no so much of a potential for
settings or jumper problems as a new build (board) would be.

When I put my old MB back in, the CPU fan came on for a few seconds
as soon as the power supply was switched on (without hitting the case
power switch), then went off. The standby light on the MB was lit,
but nothing happened when I hit the case power switch. Same as
before, no fans or anything.


Which old board? The first one that's suspected to be dead from
the storm?

At this point it'd be useful to have voltage reading of 5VSB from
power supply, and have resistance reading between 3V-Gnd, 5V-Gnd,
and 12V-Gnd. It should measure more than a few ohms per voltage
rail. Since the old board (or some part) is suspect it might be
more time-effective to focus only on the new board, and not using
any of the components from the old system in the new build.

2. Planning on upgrading soon anyway, I went ahead and ordered a new
MB/CPU/RAM (Asus A7N8X-X with Athlon XP 3200+ and 1 GB of RAM). Lo
and behold, I installed it in my old case, and got the exact same
problem: CPU fan spinning up when the power supply is first turned on
(which I assume is a self-test), but nothing when I hit the case
switch. To rule out a problem with the case or PS, I stuck in another
old MB, and it booted fine.


What make/model of power supply?
You could have two problems now which seem similar but are
different- a damaged motherboard (or component attached) AND a
power supply with insufficient capacity for the newer parts.

I have the Deluxe version of an A7N8X and have seen it act
completely dead except for the green 5VSB LED being on, when I
attached a power supply that was definitely working but also
known to be of insufficient capacity. I'd expected fans to spin
but even that didn't happen. This was with a board that had
previously worked (and still does) 100% fine, I was just too lazy
to go get the original PSU and had only a low wattage unit on a
bench within arm's reach at that moment.

3. Since then, I've tried everything I can think of: I've tried
reseating the CPU, RAM, and heat sink. I've reapplied the thermal
paste. I've made sure the CPU fan is plugged in the right place.
I've checked the CPU for bent pins. I've checked and double-checked
the orientation of the ATX power switch connector to the MB's control
panel.


Polarity of the switch doesn't matter, though you might unplug
all the front panel header wires and try powering on with only a
scewdriver tip between those two power pins. Till you get it
working you might as well leave it outside of the case, though
not on an anti-static bag.


I've made sure the power supply connector is seated firmly.
I've cleared the CMOS. I've tried it with RAM, without RAM, with
video card, without video card, with HD's connected, etc. I tried it
with a different CPU and a different heatsink/fan. I even tried it
with a different power supply, new out of the box.


This new power supply, was it a name-brand of ample capacity?
A7N8X boards are among the most demanding possible (particularly
with a good video card installed) due to the high amount of
current needed on the 5V rail. Further, the board's power plane
is worse than in previous boards so 5V drops even further on the
board. Many nForce2 boards use 12V for CPU power but not the
A7N8X... that doesn't make it a bad board, on the contrary, but
it does mean a higher-end build with it will require a similarly
beefy power supply. I'd suggest one with minimum of 220W
combined 3V+5V rating, but generics may not have trustworthy
labels.

I tried reseating
the MB to make sure there wasn't a short somewhere, and even hooked it
up sitting on an anti-static bag to make extra sure.


Do NOT set it on an anti-static bag. Anti-static bags, by
design, conduct electricity on the outside. If they didn't, they
wouldn't be anti-static. That alone can (and has been observed
to) prevent a board from working or even potentially cause
damage.

Still no
activity at all when I hit the case power switch. The standby light
on the MB is always lit when it should be, but nothing happens at all.

Am I missing anything obvious? Any other suggestions before I box the
thing up and send it back?


If it has a 100/133MHz FSB jumper to the left of the northbridge,
inbetween the two rows of mosfets, set that jumper to 100MHz...
even though CPU doesn't use 100MHz, set it anyway and then work
from there with the bios if CPU isn't still automatically set to
correct speed.
  #3  
Old July 18th 04, 08:13 PM
Charles
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Why didnt you replace the power supply first?

Okay, I'm desperate for some help before I declare my new motherboard
DOA and call Asus. Here's the deal:

1. A few days ago, we had a horrible storm. I unplugged my old MB,
but apparently too late: the system wouldn't boot. No CPU fan, no
power supply fan, no nothing. I swapped the MB/CPU/RAM with another
box, and it booted fine, so the power supply appears to still be good.
When I put my old MB back in, the CPU fan came on for a few seconds
as soon as the power supply was switched on (without hitting the case
power switch), then went off. The standby light on the MB was lit,
but nothing happened when I hit the case power switch. Same as
before, no fans or anything.

2. Planning on upgrading soon anyway, I went ahead and ordered a new
MB/CPU/RAM (Asus A7N8X-X with Athlon XP 3200+ and 1 GB of RAM). Lo
and behold, I installed it in my old case, and got the exact same
problem: CPU fan spinning up when the power supply is first turned on
(which I assume is a self-test), but nothing when I hit the case
switch. To rule out a problem with the case or PS, I stuck in another
old MB, and it booted fine.

3. Since then, I've tried everything I can think of: I've tried
reseating the CPU, RAM, and heat sink. I've reapplied the thermal
paste. I've made sure the CPU fan is plugged in the right place.
I've checked the CPU for bent pins. I've checked and double-checked
the orientation of the ATX power switch connector to the MB's control
panel. I've made sure the power supply connector is seated firmly.
I've cleared the CMOS. I've tried it with RAM, without RAM, with
video card, without video card, with HD's connected, etc. I tried it
with a different CPU and a different heatsink/fan. I even tried it
with a different power supply, new out of the box. I tried reseating
the MB to make sure there wasn't a short somewhere, and even hooked it
up sitting on an anti-static bag to make extra sure. Still no
activity at all when I hit the case power switch. The standby light
on the MB is always lit when it should be, but nothing happens at all.

Am I missing anything obvious? Any other suggestions before I box the
thing up and send it back?

Thanks,
Jeremy


 




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