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Budget build running into problems.

VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Building a computer for a client, on an extreme budget.

Had a Xion Solaris case w/450W PSU BNIB laying around. Decided to use it.

Mobo is a H61 Biostar board, purchased new surplus from geeks.com, before they closed.

Got everything built, G550 1155 CPU, 4GB GSkill Ares DDR3 RAM, 30GB OCZ Agility SSD, SATA DVD-RW drive.

Upon initial boot, BIOS detected the OCZ SSD, and the DVD-RW.

Shut down, plugged in a Realtek-chipset N300 USB Wifi adaptor that was compatible with Linux, put in a Linux Mint 17 disc into the DVD-RW, then booted Linux.

Went to do the install onto the SSD, and the installer gave me an error about disk space and connection to the internet, wouldn't let me continue.

Weird, since I did log in to the wifi in Linux, and it said it was OK.

I brought up the Disk Utility, and it only showed the CDROM device, and the initRAMFS. No SSD.

So I rebooted into the BIOS, and the SSD was no longer detected.

So I shut down, and plugged the SATA cable connected to the SSD into the other ports, still not detected.

Somewhere along this time, the computer started turning back on, after being turned off.

I also discovered the CPU heatsink was really hot, and a floppy power lead was stuck in the fan.

The included PSU didn't have any SATA power leads, so I was using single molex-to-SATA adapters.

So, why was the computer turning on by itself, and why did the SSD go awol?

Was it because the CPU overheated due to no fan?

Or was it due to a bad motherboard?

Or bad power interactions, either the molex-to-SATA adapter (I've had issues with them not working properly before, but they never fried anything), or the included-with-case PSU?

Or just due to bad mobo? I know for a fact that it doesn't have the newest BIOS.

I personally suspect a dodgy PSU, and pray that it didn't fry both the mobo and the SSD.

The wierd thing is, why would it all work for the initial boot?

Edit: Got some more PSUs and mobos on order.
 
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I tested the dead SSD in another rig (identical mobo). Still dead.

So I pulled another one off the shelf and plugged it into the other rig with the same mobo, but a better PSU, and it detected and installed Linux Mint 17 just fine.

So it looks like I lost an SSD. Oh well.

Now I'm concerned about the mobo. I ordered some Rosewill PSUs and some ECS H61 mATX mobos in case this one was fried.
 
VirtualLarry said:
Now I'm concerned about the mobo. I ordered some Rosewill PSUs and some ECS H61 mATX mobos in case this one was fried.
Click to expand...
I doubt for the mobo.got a bad psu once.and everything fried at the same time.if the caps are not discolor.pretty sure your ok.But better be safe.
 
I pulled out another PSU and installed it. The first one, was totally DOA (my fault for not remembering), but the second, a ThermalTake 430 (used), worked OK.

However, the computer keeps powering back on after shutoff.

Generally, this is the result of something in the CMOS power-on register getting blown, probably by a flaky +5v / +5vSB line on the PSU.

So I guess I need a new mobo too, or I can tell the person I'm giving the PC to, to turn off the PC in the back.

As a last-ditch effort, I'm going to see if there is a BIOS update. I might maybe change the CMOS battery too, if I feel like spending $5 on it.

This is the board, and apparently, I do already have the newest BIOS:
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=525
 
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