A computer components & hardware forum. HardwareBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » HardwareBanter forum » General Hardware & Peripherals » General
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

basic power problem



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old July 23rd 04, 03:40 PM
BrianBloodaxe
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default basic power problem

How do you get a motherboard and an atx power supply to come to life?

I hope this is not too obvious a question. But basically I've never built a
pc before so I don't have any experience. I've fitted extra memory, drives
and cards but I've never built one from scratch.
Anyway here is the background info. Recently I acquired a pc that had died.
It wouldn't power up. There were no beeps or fan activity from the power
supply unit.
The computer uses a standard atx power supply and motherboard. It was taken
to a pc repair shop and they tried it with a new power supply, which didn't
work, so they concluded there was a deeper problem.
Anyway I bought a new power supply and tested it with the new one, but
nothing happened. I had the same problem. However the fan on the power
supply came on very briefly (1 sec) then all activity would stop.
To make sure the switch on the pc wasn't faulty I shorted the power jumper
and nothing happened. So I thought the motherboard must be faulty.

I bought a cheap similar motherboard off eBay and I cant get this one to
work wither.

My question is If you have got say just a motherboard and an atx power
supply and nothing else, no hard drive, memory cpu etc. When you connect the
power supply to the atx power socket on the motherboard should the power
supply come to life with the fan spinning if the power connector jumper is
connected to a switch on the front of a pc case?

The motherboard I bought is a 'Gigabyte' GA-6WMM series Intel 810 AGPset. If
that means anything. I placed it on a table (with nothing connected to it)
and connected the power supply to it. Nothing happened (as would be
expected) however I looked through the manual and found the PW(Soft Power
Connector) jumper. Am I right in thinking this should connect to the pc
switch?
I shorted this with a screwdriver to simulate a switch action. But nothing
happened. (I was very disappointed).
I then attached various things (cpu memory, pci cards) and placed the
motherboard in the old computer case and connected the switch connector to
the PW jumper. But again nothing.
Have I missed something. If you were building a pc from scratch and had just
bought a motherboard (as i had) how would you tell if the motherboard was ok
before assembling the entire thing?
Thanks


  #2  
Old July 23rd 04, 04:12 PM
Chris Stolworthy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"BrianBloodaxe" wrote in message
...
How do you get a motherboard and an atx power supply to come to life?

I hope this is not too obvious a question. But basically I've never built

a
pc before so I don't have any experience. I've fitted extra memory, drives
and cards but I've never built one from scratch.
Anyway here is the background info. Recently I acquired a pc that had

died.
It wouldn't power up. There were no beeps or fan activity from the power
supply unit.
The computer uses a standard atx power supply and motherboard. It was

taken
to a pc repair shop and they tried it with a new power supply, which

didn't
work, so they concluded there was a deeper problem.
Anyway I bought a new power supply and tested it with the new one, but
nothing happened. I had the same problem. However the fan on the power
supply came on very briefly (1 sec) then all activity would stop.
To make sure the switch on the pc wasn't faulty I shorted the power jumper
and nothing happened. So I thought the motherboard must be faulty.

I bought a cheap similar motherboard off eBay and I cant get this one to
work wither.

My question is If you have got say just a motherboard and an atx power
supply and nothing else, no hard drive, memory cpu etc. When you connect

the
power supply to the atx power socket on the motherboard should the power
supply come to life with the fan spinning if the power connector jumper is
connected to a switch on the front of a pc case?

The motherboard I bought is a 'Gigabyte' GA-6WMM series Intel 810 AGPset.

If
that means anything. I placed it on a table (with nothing connected to it)
and connected the power supply to it. Nothing happened (as would be
expected) however I looked through the manual and found the PW(Soft Power
Connector) jumper. Am I right in thinking this should connect to the pc
switch?
I shorted this with a screwdriver to simulate a switch action. But nothing
happened. (I was very disappointed).
I then attached various things (cpu memory, pci cards) and placed the
motherboard in the old computer case and connected the switch connector to
the PW jumper. But again nothing.
Have I missed something. If you were building a pc from scratch and had

just
bought a motherboard (as i had) how would you tell if the motherboard was

ok
before assembling the entire thing?
Thanks

my first inclination would be to shunt the PSU to make sure it works
properly...cqan't rememre off hand which pins it is you need to shunt tho...
Then if PSU works I would try mobo with CPU and 1 stick of good ram ONLY!
Make sure the heatsink is installed the proper direction, (alot of people
install it backwards which can cause POST issues) try cleaning thermal
grease from CPU, and reapplying a thin layer. See if that breathes any life
into your sys...


  #3  
Old July 23rd 04, 05:36 PM
Pen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Did you jump pins 14 and 15, which is power on
with just a known good drive as load?

"Chris Stolworthy" wrote in message
...

"BrianBloodaxe" wrote in message
...
How do you get a motherboard and an atx power supply to come to

life?

I hope this is not too obvious a question. But basically I've never

built
a
pc before so I don't have any experience. I've fitted extra memory,

drives
and cards but I've never built one from scratch.
Anyway here is the background info. Recently I acquired a pc that

had
died.
It wouldn't power up. There were no beeps or fan activity from the

power
supply unit.
The computer uses a standard atx power supply and motherboard. It

was
taken
to a pc repair shop and they tried it with a new power supply, which

didn't
work, so they concluded there was a deeper problem.
Anyway I bought a new power supply and tested it with the new one,

but
nothing happened. I had the same problem. However the fan on the

power
supply came on very briefly (1 sec) then all activity would stop.
To make sure the switch on the pc wasn't faulty I shorted the power

jumper
and nothing happened. So I thought the motherboard must be faulty.

I bought a cheap similar motherboard off eBay and I cant get this

one to
work wither.

My question is If you have got say just a motherboard and an atx

power
supply and nothing else, no hard drive, memory cpu etc. When you

connect
the
power supply to the atx power socket on the motherboard should the

power
supply come to life with the fan spinning if the power connector

jumper is
connected to a switch on the front of a pc case?

The motherboard I bought is a 'Gigabyte' GA-6WMM series Intel 810

AGPset.
If
that means anything. I placed it on a table (with nothing connected

to it)
and connected the power supply to it. Nothing happened (as would be
expected) however I looked through the manual and found the PW(Soft

Power
Connector) jumper. Am I right in thinking this should connect to the

pc
switch?
I shorted this with a screwdriver to simulate a switch action. But

nothing
happened. (I was very disappointed).
I then attached various things (cpu memory, pci cards) and placed

the
motherboard in the old computer case and connected the switch

connector to
the PW jumper. But again nothing.
Have I missed something. If you were building a pc from scratch and

had
just
bought a motherboard (as i had) how would you tell if the

motherboard was
ok
before assembling the entire thing?
Thanks

my first inclination would be to shunt the PSU to make sure it works
properly...cqan't rememre off hand which pins it is you need to shunt

tho...
Then if PSU works I would try mobo with CPU and 1 stick of good ram

ONLY!
Make sure the heatsink is installed the proper direction, (alot of

people
install it backwards which can cause POST issues) try cleaning thermal
grease from CPU, and reapplying a thin layer. See if that breathes

any life
into your sys...



  #4  
Old July 23rd 04, 05:37 PM
Mike Walsh
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


Probably not. There is a wire that goes to the power supply that must be grounded to keep the power supply running. I don't believe that will be active without a CPU. With a CPU installed the power should stay on an you should get a beep code for no memory.

BrianBloodaxe wrote:

My question is If you have got say just a motherboard and an atx power
supply and nothing else, no hard drive, memory cpu etc. When you connect the
power supply to the atx power socket on the motherboard should the power
supply come to life with the fan spinning if the power connector jumper is
connected to a switch on the front of a pc case?

--

When replying by Email include NewSGrouP (case sensitive) in Subject

Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.
  #5  
Old July 23rd 04, 05:59 PM
BrianBloodaxe
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Mike Walsh" wrote in message
...

Probably not. There is a wire that goes to the power supply that must be

grounded to keep the power supply running. I don't believe that will be
active without a CPU. With a CPU installed the power should stay on an you
should get a beep code for no memory.

BrianBloodaxe wrote:

My question is If you have got say just a motherboard and an atx power
supply and nothing else, no hard drive, memory cpu etc. When you connect

the
power supply to the atx power socket on the motherboard should the power
supply come to life with the fan spinning if the power connector jumper

is
connected to a switch on the front of a pc case?

--

When replying by Email include NewSGrouP (case sensitive) in Subject

Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.




I shorted sockets 14 and 15 on the power supply unit and it comes to life.
So that seems to be okay.

"Make Walsh" wrote 'I don't believe that will be active without a CPU. With
a CPU installed the power should stay on an you should get a beep code for
no memory.
'

Is this true. Does the processor have to be attached to the motherboard for
the power supply to be switched on. I thought that it didn't. I thought you
could connect a good empty motherboard to an atx power supply, then short
the power switch connectors on the board, and the fan would start up on the
power supply.
Anyway I attached a processor and tried it again but nothing happened.
Does it look as if this new motherboard is faulty? I got it off ebay so I
suppose I have to write it off to experience.



  #6  
Old July 23rd 04, 06:09 PM
Pen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

The mobo has circuitry to keep the on line low, but that is
dependant on the power good line, so the only reliable
test is with a cpu or by shorting out the on pins at the
connector.

"BrianBloodaxe" wrote in message
...

"Mike Walsh" wrote in message
...

Probably not. There is a wire that goes to the power supply that

must be
grounded to keep the power supply running. I don't believe that will

be
active without a CPU. With a CPU installed the power should stay on an

you
should get a beep code for no memory.

BrianBloodaxe wrote:

My question is If you have got say just a motherboard and an atx

power
supply and nothing else, no hard drive, memory cpu etc. When you

connect
the
power supply to the atx power socket on the motherboard should the

power
supply come to life with the fan spinning if the power connector

jumper
is
connected to a switch on the front of a pc case?

--

When replying by Email include NewSGrouP (case sensitive) in

Subject

Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.




I shorted sockets 14 and 15 on the power supply unit and it comes to

life.
So that seems to be okay.

"Make Walsh" wrote 'I don't believe that will be active without a CPU.

With
a CPU installed the power should stay on an you should get a beep code

for
no memory.
'

Is this true. Does the processor have to be attached to the

motherboard for
the power supply to be switched on. I thought that it didn't. I

thought you
could connect a good empty motherboard to an atx power supply, then

short
the power switch connectors on the board, and the fan would start up

on the
power supply.
Anyway I attached a processor and tried it again but nothing happened.
Does it look as if this new motherboard is faulty? I got it off ebay

so I
suppose I have to write it off to experience.




  #7  
Old July 23rd 04, 06:09 PM
BrianBloodaxe
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"BrianBloodaxe" wrote in message
...

"Mike Walsh" wrote in message
...

Probably not. There is a wire that goes to the power supply that must be

grounded to keep the power supply running. I don't believe that will be
active without a CPU. With a CPU installed the power should stay on an you
should get a beep code for no memory.

BrianBloodaxe wrote:

My question is If you have got say just a motherboard and an atx power
supply and nothing else, no hard drive, memory cpu etc. When you

connect
the
power supply to the atx power socket on the motherboard should the

power
supply come to life with the fan spinning if the power connector

jumper
is
connected to a switch on the front of a pc case?

--

When replying by Email include NewSGrouP (case sensitive) in Subject

Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.




I shorted sockets 14 and 15 on the power supply unit and it comes to life.
So that seems to be okay.

"Make Walsh" wrote 'I don't believe that will be active without a CPU.

With
a CPU installed the power should stay on an you should get a beep code for
no memory.
'

Is this true. Does the processor have to be attached to the motherboard

for
the power supply to be switched on. I thought that it didn't. I thought

you
could connect a good empty motherboard to an atx power supply, then short
the power switch connectors on the board, and the fan would start up on

the
power supply.
Anyway I attached a processor and tried it again but nothing happened.
Does it look as if this new motherboard is faulty? I got it off ebay so I
suppose I have to write it off to experience.

I've just read that this problem may be caused by a fault with the power
supply connector that attaches to the motherboard. I've noticed that there
is no Pin 18 http://www.jeae.dk/Computere/atx_-_psu.htm It is empty on my
power supply. Might this be the cause?


  #8  
Old July 23rd 04, 06:13 PM
Pen
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Pin 18 is the -5V line, and most recent boards don't use it.
Unlikely it would affect any board from turning on as it's
not part of the power good signal anyway.

"BrianBloodaxe" wrote in message
...

"BrianBloodaxe" wrote in message
...

"Mike Walsh" wrote in message
...

Probably not. There is a wire that goes to the power supply that

must be
grounded to keep the power supply running. I don't believe that will

be
active without a CPU. With a CPU installed the power should stay on

an you
should get a beep code for no memory.

BrianBloodaxe wrote:

My question is If you have got say just a motherboard and an atx

power
supply and nothing else, no hard drive, memory cpu etc. When you

connect
the
power supply to the atx power socket on the motherboard should

the
power
supply come to life with the fan spinning if the power connector

jumper
is
connected to a switch on the front of a pc case?

--

When replying by Email include NewSGrouP (case sensitive) in

Subject

Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.




I shorted sockets 14 and 15 on the power supply unit and it comes to

life.
So that seems to be okay.

"Make Walsh" wrote 'I don't believe that will be active without a

CPU.
With
a CPU installed the power should stay on an you should get a beep

code for
no memory.
'

Is this true. Does the processor have to be attached to the

motherboard
for
the power supply to be switched on. I thought that it didn't. I

thought
you
could connect a good empty motherboard to an atx power supply, then

short
the power switch connectors on the board, and the fan would start up

on
the
power supply.
Anyway I attached a processor and tried it again but nothing

happened.
Does it look as if this new motherboard is faulty? I got it off ebay

so I
suppose I have to write it off to experience.

I've just read that this problem may be caused by a fault with the

power
supply connector that attaches to the motherboard. I've noticed that

there
is no Pin 18 http://www.jeae.dk/Computere/atx_-_psu.htm It is empty on

my
power supply. Might this be the cause?



  #9  
Old July 24th 04, 02:59 AM
~misfit~
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Pen wrote:
Pin 18 is the -5V line, and most recent boards don't use it.
Unlikely it would affect any board from turning on as it's
not part of the power good signal anyway.


The GA-6WMM is not a 'recent' board. It's about five years old.
--
~misfit~


  #10  
Old July 24th 04, 05:53 AM
kony
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Fri, 23 Jul 2004 17:59:20 +0100, "BrianBloodaxe"
wrote:

snip

Is this true. Does the processor have to be attached to the motherboard for
the power supply to be switched on. I thought that it didn't. I thought you
could connect a good empty motherboard to an atx power supply, then short
the power switch connectors on the board, and the fan would start up on the
power supply.
Anyway I attached a processor and tried it again but nothing happened.
Does it look as if this new motherboard is faulty? I got it off ebay so I
suppose I have to write it off to experience.


The average motherboard from that era did not need a CPU
installed to turn on the power supply, but some did... I do
recall Compaq i810 chipset motherboards that did require CPU
installed.

However, eBay certainly is another variable, the board bought
there may indeed be dead. I'm assuming the parts you're trying
were all original, or at least did once work together. In other
words, you're not trying to use a Coppermine Celeron on a board
only capable of supporting older Celerons, or high-density memory
since 810 chipset doesn't support it.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
help, please, with Compaq Presario power supply problem Jacques Clouseau General 6 June 9th 04 06:44 PM
This problem has baffled everyone... Nick G General 46 May 22nd 04 04:01 AM
PSU Fans Muttly General 16 February 13th 04 11:42 PM
Computer doesnt start at all Robin General 6 January 11th 04 06:00 PM
How can I make motherboard to restart after power loss automatically? Amiran General 1 September 24th 03 11:35 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:46 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 HardwareBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.