desktop dead?

[ArmchairAthlete]

It's sad, but it seems like the first rig I ever build (with the help of AT!) is dying. Most of the hardware is about four years old.

First it was randomly freezing, and at first only in Warcraft III. Then I'd notice it was frozen in the morning after I woke up. No BSOD, no error, just whatever was on the screen stuck there and it's completely unresponsive. This started happening more frequently, like within minutes after booting. It'd happen in Ubuntu, XP, even the BIOS settings screen.

What I've tried:
I tried disconnected unneeded hardware, lowering clock rate/memory timings to even far below what the hardware should normally operate at, taking out the video card and putting in a simple old PCI radeon 7000 to stop the artifacting (an unrelated issue with the 9700 pro going bad, it's been artifacting for a long time but I could previously fix it with a reboot and reseating).

I was able to get it running a bit more, but the freezing came back. And now it won't even POST. The hardware is getting power, the cpu fan spins up, but no post BEEP and there's nothing on the lcd.

I've also reset the CMOS several times...

UPDATE:
Tried another Athlon XP (1700+), my old CPU that I knew was fine when I took it out to upgrade years ago. No dice, exact same behavior. Fan spins up, no POST. Power supply appears to have no trouble powering devices attached to it, unless just the motherboard power connector is bad (yet the fans are still fine...).

UPDATE2:
Tried a friend's PSU that he's using in his desktop. Exact same behavior, fans spin up but no POST. Gonna have to buy a new mobo.

UPDATE3 resolved:
It was the motherboard. Anandtech member The Cornballer sold me an A7N8X Deluxe at a reasonable price, unlike the crazy ebay prices. Thanks! And thanks for the help in here, I wished it was something easier like one of the earlier things I tried, but alas... the motherboard is the final thing to try and the biggest pain in the arse to replace.

I'm back up and running now.


Specs:
Powercolor Radeon 9700 Pro (Temporarily replaced with a Radeon 7000 PCI due to artifacting)

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ Barton

SLK-900A Heatsink

Asus A7N8X Deluxe Motherboard (nForce2 Chipset)

1GB Corsair XMS DDR400/pc3200 (2x 256mb sticks + 1 512MB) CL2


Windows XP Professional SP2, Ubuntu 6

Samsung SP1213C 7200RPG 120GB 8MB Cache HDD

Western Digital WD800BBRTL 7200RPM 80GB Hard Drive

NEC Black 16X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 16X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2M Cache IDE/ATAPI DVD Burner
Model: ND-3550A BK OEM

MSI CDRW 48X24X48 BLACK MS-8348BK CD Burner (removed)





What else can I try? I have an old athlon xp 1700+ I could try swapping in as a last resort, but that processor is an hour and a half drive away =(

 

[jkresh]

First, have you checked to make sure all the psu cables are in (its possible that in moving stuff around you disconnected the 4pin cable and the board is getting power just not enough to boot). Second try removing the cmos battery and unplugging the psu and leaving it like that for 15-20 minutes then reset the cmos and put the battery back, plug it in and try again.

 

[Cutthroat]

If everything is connected correctly, my first guess would be that motherboard is dead. Do a visual inspection for bulging or burst capacitors in particular, it's a very common problem with motherboards that age. If you have a spare PSU that will work try that too.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

I did unplug and reconnect the psu cable to the motherboard. I can double-check it I suppose.

Also tried moving sticks of RAM about and removing all but one, but no dice.

I'll look for burst capacitors too.

Don't have another PSU to try... though it seems to power all the components.

Thanks!

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

UPDATE: Tried another Athlon XP (1700+), my old CPU that I knew was fine when I took it out to upgrade years ago. No dice, exact same behavior. Fan spins up, no POST. Power supply appears to have no trouble powering devices attached to it, unless just the motherboard power connector is bad (yet the fans are still fine...). Also, as before the single big green LED on the mobo is lit when it has power.

I disconnected EVERYTHING. Between the dust and lack of light it's a bit hard to find any burst capacitors, but I think this mobo is dead.

I really wish I had another PSU to test it with. But I think the PSU is ok. It powers the fans, any drives I hook up, etc. The fan on the PSU is still going strong. It's an AUSTIN power supply that came with a pretty expensive case a few years ago on Newegg.


So, it looks like I'm in the market for an A7N8X Deluxe. Unfortunately it looks like they're 80 bucks on ebay! For four year old hardware? Whaaat? What's the A7N8X-X? Does it still have the nice onboard sound and such? Nevermind, google tells me it's a stripped down budget model.



In the mean time my External Hard drive Enclosure arrived from newegg today, and it works as advertised with both IDE and SATA drives that were in the desktop. So I can access my data on my laptop. It's a Thermaltake, seems nice so far.

EDIT: Also, A7N8X Deluxe doesn't need the 4 pin PSU connector. Just the big one. So that's not it.

 

[Slugbait]

Hmmm...a four-year-old Austin power supply.

Never heard of Austin.

Can't find a company website.

Can't find any reviews.

Found a couple of used 250-300W Austins on eBay.

I've seen many posts by people saying their fans power up, but the PSU is fubar anyway.

Just how expensive was the case? And what case was it? Just curious...

In other words, quit wishing you had another PSU, and get one. Your mobo is probably just fine.

 

[Locut0s]

Try replacing the memory next. The random nature of how it started sounds like it could me memory related.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

I already tried flipping around my three memory modules and only using one at a time, that's not it.


It's a 450W that came with a Chieftec AX-01BD U2F Case that was about $110. Maybe I can convince a roommate to let me put our cases side by side and then try hooking my mobo up to his PSU. Or see if the people at Fry's will let me test with a guaranteed good one.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

Tried a friend's PSU that he's using in his desktop. Exact same behavior, fans spin up but no POST. Gonna have to buy a new mobo.

And wow... they're going for $100+ on ebay easily.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Socket A is a hard thing to find parts for anymore. Your best bet would be to lurk around the FS section here and see if someone is selling one.

 

[flxnimprtmscl]

It's your board I'd be willing to bet. I had the exact same behavior with a P4 system a year or so ago. I actually just put the rig back together with a spare board I had laying around and it's now my HTPC Good luck finding a new board.

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

UPDATE3 resolved:
It was the motherboard. Anandtech member The Cornballer sold me an A7N8X Deluxe at a reasonable price, unlike the crazy ebay prices. Thanks! And thanks for the help in here, I wished it was something easier like one of the earlier things I tried, but alas... the motherboard is the final thing to try and the biggest pain in the arse to replace.

I'm back up and running now.