computer died

[BarryG]

My desktop has been having problems with returning from hibernation/sleep. It has also been having random crashes and freezes. Windows solutions has mentioned a RAM problem.

The other day it would not resume Windows 7. I power cycled it and that didn't help. Heck, I even unplugged it. The first time I put the plug back in it tried to work. Still didn't. The second time it fried the PSU (my favorite with it's clear blue case, Aspire (?) 500 watt that has been solid for years). It then ate my spare, quality name-brand PSU at the first hit of energy from the a/c cord.

IIRC the board is a Gigabyte ga-ma78gm-ds2h and I had it equipped with nice 4 GB DDR2 RAM and an AMD Phenom 720 BE.

What conditions can exist to cause the immediate expiration of a PSU?

Barry

 

[BoomerD]

Perspire...I mean Aspire PSU's are crap right out of the box. They're referred to as "perspire" because you sweat every time you turn one on...will it die and take out my system today or not?
What was the "quality name-brand" PSU that also crapped out?

 

[BarryG]

Thanks for responding so quickly.
The Aspire was several years old and has lived through at least three motherboards. This *was* their signature model with the clear case and uv-reactive cable sheathing. Oh well.
The replacement was a Thermaltake TR2 430NL1NH. An identical model, ordered at the same time, is performing admirably (as was this one) in another tower. Had to open the case because the old grey matter couldn't remember when I made the first post.

BTW, the RAM is AData, ordered new from NewEgg (I think). The three hard drives are all 1TB models from various manufacturers.

The mainboard and processor were purchased from an Anandtech member. I believe those items are not to blame. Call it a hunch.

I'm hesitant to throw my Antech PSU in there. Don't want to kill it! It came out of an Antech Fusion HTPC case and is about 400 watts or slightly more.

If I don't fix it I'm going to upgrade after I save up some money.

Barry

 

[BoomerD]

Thanks for responding so quickly.
The Aspire was several years old and has lived through at least three motherboards. This *was* their signature model with the clear case and uv-reactive cable sheathing. Oh well.
The replacement was a Thermaltake TR2 430NL1NH. An identical model, ordered at the same time, is performing admirably (as was this one) in another tower. Had to open the case because the old grey matter couldn't remember when I made the first post.

BTW, the RAM is AData, ordered new from NewEgg (I think). The three hard drives are all 1TB models from various manufacturers.

The mainboard and processor were purchased from an Anandtech member. I believe those items are not to blame. Call it a hunch.

I'm hesitant to throw my Antech PSU in there. Don't want to kill it! It came out of an Antech Fusion HTPC case and is about 400 watts or slightly more.

If I don't fix it I'm going to upgrade after I save up some money.

Barry

I have one of Aspire's "premium" PSU's...it was crap the day it was new...and only got worse with age. Poor voltage regulation was only one of the issues...but it got me by for a while. As soon as I could, I replaced it with a Corsair. When I dug it out for temporary service powering my old build when I stole the Corsair for a new build...the Aspire burped enough to power the case fans for a second...and died. I haven't replace that PSU yet, so I still don't know if it took anything with it when it went...but it's very possible.

Your Thermaltake is HEC built. It's OK, but only OK. Definitely not a top-tier unit. Your Antec SHOULD be much better build quality.

Unfortunately, there's no way to troubleshoot your system over the internet...so I can only make some suggestions for you to try.

First...use a paperclip to test the Thermaltake PSU. You want to jumper between the green wire on the 20/24 pin connector and any black wire in that connector. Most likely, the fan in the PSU won't start if it's thermostatically controlled, so hook up one fan to a molex connector. That way, you can tell if the 12v portion of the PSU is working. (it's not an infallable test, but should be a good indicator to the PSU's status.)

IF it works, then, IMO, the best way to troubleshoot the system is to take it apart and rebuild everything on a piece of cardboard sitting on a desk.
Start with ONLY the CPU, CPU fan and heatsink, ONE stick of RAM and your video card. IF the system boots to the BIOS, shut down, add your boot drive and try again.
IF your drive is recognized in the BIOS, Swap sticks of RAM.
Try again.
IF that works, add one more stick of RAM in the slot for dual channel.
Try again.
If you can boot to Windows, shut down and add your optical drive.

Continue until you either have a failure to boot or you get everything connected.

Then, IF everything works, reassemble it all in the case.

Yes, it's a terrible PITA to go through all this, BUT, in my experience, it's the best way to troubleshoot hardware problems.

 

[BarryG]

I have a PSU tester and it came up bad. Same with the ThermalTake.

Guess its time to put the simplest components, as you suggest, with the Antec. Hopefully it'll all work. On some level I'm hoping to upgrade to something with DDR3 at least, though I can put that off because a previous goal was to build the wife a really nice unit.

 

[BarryG]

Okay, tested outside the case all PSUs are in working condition.

The rest of the computer is still in the case.

Will have to continue testing tomorrow or the weekend. Heck, I may just swap everything into another case just for *fun* (insert immense sarcasm here).

Barry

 

[BarryG]

Argh, with everything out of the case and only the Antec PSU, monitor, keyboard, CPU fan and one of either stick of RAM attached it refuses to fire. I barely get a bump out of the CPU fan. Looks like it's motherboard or CPU purchase time! Sucks cause there isn't any visible damage.

 

[BoomerD]

Do you know anyone who will let you try your parts in their computer?

That's about the best way at this point to isolate which part is gone.

 

[BarryG]

No, not really. I have another AMD board (Asus M3A78-EMH HDMI ) but it's socket AM2/AM2+, not AM3.

Do you know anyone who will let you try your parts in their computer?

That's about the best way at this point to isolate which part is gone.

Waitaminute, the Asus board should support it, I think.

 

[BarryG]

Argh, apparently not officially: http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...1&model=M3A78-EMH+HDMI&page=1&SLanguage=en-us
Will an AM3 processor physically fit an AM2/2+ slot?
B

 

[mlc]

Yes.. I believe the AM2+ is designed to accommodate AM3 processors. I think there is a 1 pin difference between the 2 ...

So , while it should fit physically, the question is, would a specific AM3 processor work in your board? You'd have to check with the manufacturer to see which AM3 processor types they support, and with which BIOS versions...

try this ==> http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/...?type=1&name=M3A78-EM&SLanguage=en-us&cache=1

 

[BarryG]

I believe I can take the good processor from the Asus AM2+ board and insert it into the Gigabyte board. That will tell me if it's the board or the processor. I'm pretty sure the Gigabyte board will accommodate the 5600+ am2 from the Asus.
Okay, just checked and it is in the Gigabyte list of supported CPUs.

 

[BarryG]

Hmmm, not sure what this means: I put the 5600+ am2 in the Gigabyte board and, again, nothing powered up.

Then I put the Phenom II 720 BE in the Asus and while all drives could be heard to begin spinning nothing shown on the screen.

No video output leads me to believe the Asus can't handle the AM3 processor and that the Gigabyte board is dead.

Whaddya think?

Thanks, Barry

PS: A me-orb is a pain to remove and replace.

 

[BarryG]

Put the Athlon 64 X2 5600 back in the Asus and it fired right up. Gigabyte still dead.

Guys?

 

[BarryG]

Well, I've purchased another board and RAM combo and will be rebuilding using these. Can't wait for them to arrive. Significant upgrade!
Now to save money for a build for the wife.
Somehow have to save information from old C: drive now. A few documents and my Outlook .pst files.

 

[BarryG]

... and there is no joy in Mudville.

I've installed everything, routed every wire, plugged it up and the results are that the lights are on but no one's home. All fans work, I hear hard drives spinning up and see the HDD LED work for a bit and then nothing. The on-board video is not putting out. (sounds like a marriage)
Oh, also, there is no 'beep'.
From other thread:

I'm getting an Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3 and 8 gigs of Mushkin DDR3 RAM to use with my Phenom II 720 BE. For the time being I'll be using on board video. There are three 1TB drives and an IDE optical drive or two. The exhaust fan is 120mm and intake is 3x80mm. The heat sink fahttp://forums.anandtech.com/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=31341786n is also 120mm.

I'm going to use either an Antec SU-430 for the PSU.

 

[BoomerD]

Do you have a motherboard speaker installed? You won't get a beep w/o one...

Otherwise, if new hardware still isn't working, then I'd suspect the PSU.

 

[BarryG]

BTW, I am able to turn off the power with the case power switch, meaning the board is responsive in that way. I do not have to "pull the plug." As far as I can observe there just isn't any video output. The way the HDD LED comes on initially and stops after a few seconds suggest to me that if there were video I would see the system is waiting on me for instructions.

Just a hunch.

 

[BarryG]

Yes, have tried two as a matter of fact; one included in case and other add-on type.
Also tried two PSUs.

Do you have a motherboard speaker installed? You won't get a beep w/o one...

Otherwise, if new hardware still isn't working, then I'd suspect the PSU.

 

[BoomerD]

You've had a helluva time with this...

First, unplug the box from the wall.

Next, clear CMOS. On your board, you have both a battery and a jumper. I prefer to use BOTH to make sure it's properly cleared.
In the manual:

http://download.gigabyte.ru/manual/mothrboard_manual_ga-ma78gm_2.0_e.pdf

The jumper is item 19, and located just above the bottom PCI slot. Move that jumper from its stock position to the other...leave it there while you remove the battery...wait a minute or two with the battery out...then replace the battery and put the jumper back into its original position.

Then, try rebooting again. (it may make no difference, but it's a standard part of troubleshooting as it resets the BIOS to its default settings.

Of course, I have to ask...do you have the ATX 12V 4 pin connector in place? Lots of folks seem to miss that one for some reason. (top left on the board)

 

[BarryG]

Oops! Please note from previous post that new board is in: Asus M4A89GTD PRO/USB3.
On this board the jumper is located along the bottom between the USB ports and SATA ports. Kinda awkward; I've been using tweezers to move and remove it.
Yes, ATX 12v 4 pin on Antec is plugged into board. On Thermaltake it had a 4/8 pin plug so I tried that too. Board has receptacle for both. Heh, I've read where people have missed that simple thing.

Funny thing about that plug is that it is about double the height of other board's plugs.

Just tried something else. I popped in a Galaxy PCIe card from my entertainment center PC. Same results. No beep, no video.

Have also tried using only one stick of RAM.

Yes, I have had a helluva time with this thing.

UNTIE!!

I would pop in the Athlon X2 but I don't know if it would work, it isn't on the supported CPU list. It's AM2+ and this board is AM3.

After re-reading post 13 I wonder if I didn't kill both Gigabyte board and CPU.

 

[BoomerD]

I agree...I don't see the Athlon on the supported CPU list either...so I don't know if it would work or not.
The PII 720 SHOULD work.

Do you get any of the board LED's to light? Do any of them STAY lit? There should be 4 LED's:
Power (green)
DRAM
Turbo
Core Unlocker

Make sure both Turbo and Core Unlocker switches are set to their default positions.

 

[BarryG]

All LEDs work. The Turbo and unlocker are lit only when those switches are on. I've tried it with all combinations of those switches on and off. Currently they're off.
Have also tried it with the switch card in and out of the 1st PCIe slot.

As an aside, the CPU does get warm. I can touch the heat sink and feel it. Don't know what this means.

 

[BarryG]

The MemOk button, when pressed for a few seconds, will boot the computer and set memory timings. While this is going on the LED flashes. Only thing is, it never seems to quit and post.
Also, the four pin equipped fan never seems to run. Oh, the board tries to bump it every few seconds but never run. I've swapped another fan onto the header and it works.

I just dunno.

 

[BoomerD]

Have you tried the new components assembled outside the case?

Use a single stick of RAM in the A-1 slot. (default for single stick)
Do NOT connect HDD, or ODD's.

IME, the symptoms you're constantly fighting are usually caused by:
1) ATX12v 4/8 pin not connected, or not connected right
2) Bad CPU
3) Bad PSU
4) Motherboard grounded to case issues