Computer powers down before it posts

[tuongo]

re-edit for easier read

Hi guys,

When I power up, all fans go on, and monitor "responds." Before I see the POST screen, or hear the POST beep, it powers itself down. Tried it 2x

Last time this happened, I figured out that I put the panel connector for power backwards (neg to pos). So I tried to switch it around, but no luck.

The panel wires on the Antec have a little black arrow on the back of each lead. Does that designate positive, or negative? I thought it was negative at first because there are 3 in there that are red and black, and the arrow on the back corresponds to the black.



ECS KT600-A & XP2500+
Microstar-8815 Pro card (1x? 2x? 4x? not 8x for sure)
2x256M (both functional when I checked last month)
CoolerMaster Silent 2M
Antec tower (1080 AMG? Or whatever model they sold 2 years ago that looks like that)

Hope someone can help. I didn't wanna fiddle any more with it because the last few times I tried "fixing" anything in my computer, I broke it.

I posted a vid card question earlier (http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=29&threadid=1334039&highlight_key=y)
Could the wrong vid card do this?

Thanks.

 

[tuongo]

bump for help? or maybe this belongs in another forum?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: tuongo
bump for help? or maybe this belongs in another forum?

Looks like a suitable post for this Forum to me Start by confirming that your heatsink is oriented in the correct direction. Here's a photo guide and the third and fourth photos show the correct and incorrect directions.

If the heatsink is oriented correctly, but the system still won't run, let me know. Your video card is a GeForce2 GTS and is definitely compatible with the motherboard, by the way.

 

[yelo333]

I would check that the front-panel connectors are properly wired. Try removing all but the necessity(power switch), and making sure it's connected correctly(if you get it wrong, just flip it around - it's a switch, so it shouldn't hurt anything)

Edit:After thinking about it for awile, it probably is heat realated...

On a side note, your processor is prob fine, as I believe it takes processor to produce teh beep in the first place(at least, on older mobo's - new ones might have some sort of extra chip to produce the beeps)

 

[hokahknow]

Sounds heat related to me. As mechBgon said check the heatsink. Make sure it is on correct. Make sure you do not have too much thermal paste on the heatsink. If there is too much it acts like an insulator and prevents the aluminum (or copper) from drawing heat away from the CPU. You end up with a hot CPU and a motherboard shutdown.

 

[tuongo]

thanks for the help guys. I tried it all out, and still nada.

The heatsink doesn't have a step, but I oriented it so that more of it covers the chip, not less.

I just noticed something though - the panel connector for the power has THREE slots. '+', 'empty', then '-'

Could this be the problem? Because on the mobo schematic, +/- is side by side, so basically, one of the ends on the mobo is getting an 'empty' plug. Does that makes sense? But that's weird 'cuz it wasn't an issue w/my ECS K7S5A board.

I remember way back when I got the case someone saying it was easy to reqwire it, but it appears the wire is clamped in. do I just yank it out? Maybe I should post this in the cases/cooling forum?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: tuongo
thanks for the help guys. I tried it all out, and still nada.

The heatsink doesn't have a step, but I oriented it so that more of it covers the chip, not less.

I just noticed something though - the panel connector for the power has THREE slots. '+', 'empty', then '-'

Could this be the problem? Because on the mobo schematic, +/- is side by side, so basically, one of the ends on the mobo is getting an 'empty' plug. Does that makes sense? But that's weird 'cuz it wasn't an issue w/my ECS K7S5A board.

I remember way back when I got the case someone saying it was easy to reqwire it, but it appears the wire is clamped in. do I just yank it out? Maybe I should post this in the cases/cooling forum?

All real SocketA heatsinks provide clearance over the solid part of the CPU socket where the lever swivels by some method, usually a step cut into the base (or into the fins in some rare instances). Can you post a photo of the underside of the heatsink for us? because it sounds like an incompatible heatsink.

 

[tuongo]

It's this one:
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/en/products/copper_silent2m/

Here's a better picture (of base - see bottom), though it's not the EXACT one (maybe a different fan?)

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1510&page=2

Like mine, the copper part is off center from fan, so I made sure that all the copper sits on the cpu, instead of the other orientation. I got it from SVC under the Socket A/462 and Socket 370 cooler section - that's right, right?

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: tuongo
It's this one:
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/en/products/copper_silent2m/

Here's a better picture (of base - see bottom), though it's not the EXACT one (maybe a different fan?)

http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1510&page=2

Like mine, the copper part is off center from fan, so I made sure that all the copper sits on the cpu, instead of the other orientation. I got it from SVC under the Socket A/462 and Socket 370 cooler section - that's right, right?

Yeah, you got it correct then You've got some kind of thermal-transfer material between the CPU core and the heatsink base, right? Thermal grease, for instance?

 

[tuongo]

yeah, artic alumina, or something. They included some paste, but I decided to go with mine instead.

man, I'm stumped. Last 2-3 times I touch my system I broke it. Within the last few years, I 've turn super n00b, and it sucks. Maybe I was a noob to start with

Thanks for your help though!

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: tuongo
yeah, artic alumina, or something. They included some paste, but I decided to go with mine instead.

man, I'm stumped. Last 2-3 times I touch my system I broke it. Within the last few years, I 've turn super n00b, and it sucks. Maybe I was a noob to start with

Thanks for your help though!

Don't give up just yet At least you bought a high-quality power supply (the one that comes with your Antec case). I'm going to scope out the board's manual and see if any ideas come to mind. Here's one to start with: confirm that the board's Clear CMOS jumper isn't in the Clear position right out of the box.

 

[mechBgon]

Ok, page 9 of the manual is Jumper Central, they show the locations of the Clear CMOS jumper, which you want in the "Normal" position, and the JP8 and JP9 jumpers that control the CPU speed.

Put jumper caps on pins 2 & 3 for both JP8 and JP9, since that is proper for an AthlonXP 2500+ (166MHz bus speed, aka DDR333).

One other question while we're at it: what speed is your memory rated for?

The other thing coming to mind is that your motherboard might be shutting itself down because your CPU fan runs so slowly that the motherboard thinks it's died. While the manual doesn't come right out and say that it's set up like that, it could be the case. If you have a higher-speed fan that has a three-wire RPM-sensing connector, try plugging that onto the CPU Fan header and fire up the system for about 15 seconds like that. As long as your heatsink's attached to the CPU, you can get away with a short period with the heatsink's fan unplugged, but don't let it go for more that 15 or 20 seconds to be on the safe side.

Keep at it, and remember that this might simply be an uncooperative or faulty motherboard, too.

 

[tuongo]

hey, MechBgon, I really you appreciate you taking the time out to help me with this.

checked CMOS jumper - "Normal"
JP8 and JP9 - I don't know how the math works (never have), but I moved both from 1/2 to 2 & 3 per your suggestion.

memory: pc2100 (I don't understand the question/terminology, so I hope this is the right answer).

still no go (same problem as before). Maybe tomorrow when I feel braver, I'll plug in my old heatsink/fan per your suggestion and see what happens.

Hope it's not a faulty mobo. Had my brother get it for me at Fry's over 2 weeks ago (so no exchanges), so I'd be boned.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: tuongo
hey, MechBgon, I really you appreciate you taking the time out to help me with this.

checked CMOS jumper - "Normal"
JP8 and JP9 - I don't know how the math works (never have), but I moved both from 1/2 to 2 & 3 per your suggestion.

memory: pc2100 (I don't understand the question/terminology, so I hope this is the right answer).

still no go (same problem as before). Maybe tomorrow when I feel braver, I'll plug in my old heatsink/fan per your suggestion and see what happens.

Hope it's not a faulty mobo. Had my brother get it for me at Fry's over 2 weeks ago (so no exchanges), so I'd be boned.

Hmm. Your memory's under-spec'ed. PC2100 memory uses a 133MHz or DDR266 bus speed, and is suitable for slower AthlonXP's that have a DDR266MHz bus themselves. For your 2500+, you'd be best off using PC2700 memory. But even if the memory simply couldn't handle the speed, that would usually not cause the system to turn itself off, it would simply not succeed in POST'ing and maybe give off some beep codes. But it would stay running.

So I don't know what to think, but I'm making a mental note to avoid Fry's deals if they ever open a store here If you need a Plan B, a Shuttle AN35N Ultra motherboard and an AthlonXP 2400+ would be solid picks that would jive with your PC2100 memory modules. The Shuttle is a good budget board, I had one myself and now I've set my little sister up with it.

 

[deadseasquirrel]

i know this might sound silly, but you would be amazed at how we can miss the easiest thing sometimes...

on the back of your power supply is an on-off switch, represented by a vertical line "|" and a "O". make sure that the "|" is the one pushed down into the on position.

if that is not the problem, let's try some other things. are you trying this with the case side panel removed? it's easier that way. see if all the fans spin up when it attempts to boot. mainly look at your cpu fan and make sure it at least starts to spin before the thing shuts you down again.

the other thing to do is to hook up on the necessary components. remove all drives, pci cards, etc. keep on 1 stick of memory and the video card. try that stick of ram in all slots if each one fails. then, try the other stick of ram in all 3 (provided you have more than 1 stick of ram).

the idea is to try to narrow down the problem. if you can test any or all of those components one-by-one in another machine, even better.

and definitely check each cable real good, such as the ATX power connector (the large 20-pin connector). i'd recommend leaving the firewire and USB power connectors disconnected for now to test out, as well as any LED connections. if wired incorrectly, it *could* cause a problem. so, let's find out if its a component first, then we can triple-check wiring.

 

[tuongo]

thanks for all the support guys.

It's still not fixed yet (though I have tried all your solutions), but I think I've confirmed (or at least part) of the solution (as mentioned by MechBgon). I sent a quick email to ECS, and here's what I got:

>If you are using PC2100 you can't use Athlon 2500+ CPU.

for Athlon 2500+ CPU you need to have PC2700 memory.
for fan speed you need to have at least 4500RPM.

4500!! So now I'm thinking I'll try either a Cooler Master FCPGA-S370, or Thermaltake TR2-M2 w/ TMD Fan
I'd like to try the TT, but I'm a little wary since it's variable manual speed, and I've already had bad luck with one (Artic Cooling - wasn't fast enuff).

I'll try to catch one of the 2700 deals I've seen on the forums. Thanks again, guys!

-tuongo

 

[Mem]

I just noticed something though - the panel connector for the power has THREE slots. '+', 'empty', then '-'

Could this be the problem? Because on the mobo schematic, +/- is side by side, so basically, one of the ends on the mobo is getting an 'empty' plug. Does that makes sense?

I know what you are saying,on the ECS board there`s two pins(+ and - ) for the power led connection and on some cases there`s three pin type power connection lead,you just ignore the empty part of the 3 pin part as long as the - and + are connected correctly you`re fine.

Example below

How do I connect the Power LED?

If you're reading this question, is because you realized that your case has a 3 pin LED connector and the K7S5A has a 2 pin header. This is a common occurrence, since case manufacturers around the world, use different connectors. There's two easy ways of getting around this problem. One is to use some scissors and cut the LED connector in half, since only the end sides have cables connected to them. Just connect each part to one of the board pins. The other thing you can do is use a needle and push out one of the cables from inside the plastic hole. You'll see that the fine cable ends in a metal pin, just stick the metal pin into the middle hole of the connector. After that you can hook it up to the board, leaving a little bit of plastic sticking to the side.

I should point out that the PC will still boot even without the power LED lead connected,I know it did on my old PC.