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Gone through 3 processors and 2 mobos...HELP!!!!

B

Beej514

Junior Member
Ok guys, I'm posting this for a friend. Just to add to what he wrote me via email, I believe he's using the 300W PS that came with his Enlight case...like the 7237 or whatever it is called. Let me know if you have any ideas or need more information... I have no idea after talking to him.

Thanks in advance,

-Beej

--------------------------------------------------------- Message from friend -------------------------------------------------------------------

Beej, how are you doing. Dammit kid, i buy all these brand new parts and my processor has to go and be stupid and not work...or it could be my motherboard. Here is a description of what happens and what ive done about it.

I started out with EVERYTHING put together in my computer--hard drive, cd drives, processor, memory, video card, etc. When i first turned it on, it stayed on for 5-10 seconds, then powered down for no apparent reason. After playing with the power switch a whole bunch, i was able to cause the processor to make a "popping" noise, and then after that the computer would stay on, though without any POST or input to the monitor. Now my motherboard has a feature where it talks to you and tells you what is missing in it. It said nothing until the POP--then it said it couldn't detect the processor, meaning it was probably broken, so i sent it in for a new one. When the new one came in, i had already spoken to ASUS tech support and they told me to put my motherboard on a piece of wood, to eliminate any grounding problems, and then just put my processor apparatus on (heat sink, fan, processor). When i did this, it did the same thing. Stayed on for 5-10 seconds, then powered down. Again i played with the power switch, and i got it to POP and broke it again. I sent in for another new one, but i also sent in for a new motherboard--a RETAIL version this time, to eliminate any possibility for defects.
Unfortunately, nothing was defective and the problem still remains. The possibility stands that my processor isnt getting cool enough, because my motherboard would power down in that situation, but AMD tells me there's no way a processor can get THAT hot THAT fast. We've also played around with jumpers, etc. Now, the processors i've been using have always been OEM, so i got a refund on it and am now ordering a RETAIL processor, to eliminate any cooling problems. If this doesn't work, i think im just going to flash the bios (Thats what ASUS suggested). or eat my processor. depends on how hungry i am. Here are the parts im using:


ASUS A7V333 motherboard
Socket-A AMD XP 1900 processor
Thermalright SK-6 heat sink (with thermal pad)
Sunon 60x60x25mm fan
300 watt power supply

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
When i first turned it on, it stayed on for 5-10 seconds, then powered down for no apparent reason....i was able to cause the processor to make a "popping" noise...
Click to expand...

It sounds like we might have a heatsink installation problem.
 
Seriously...

I once had a problem with a Enlight 300W PS and a Asus P3V4X motherboard. The power supply did not have enough stand by voltage to get the MoBo to boot up. I would turn on the PS, and the fans would start, even the light on the motherboard would light up, but no boot.. no bios screen.. nothing. I tried everything and finally saw the small note in the manual about stand by voltage or whatever and I bought a new higher quality PS and it fixed the issue...

This problem is not exactly the same, but you might find it useful.
 
Your friend mentions the heatsink with thermal pad. Those pads are good for only -1- use, once they get hot they change from the soft texture to hard (hence phase change thermal material) and won't match up if you take the sink off and reinstall it.

That said, even with a bad pad 5-10 seconds seems pretty darn short, but entirely possible, especially with with higher mhz chips. With no sink an athlon will pop in between 1 to 5 seconds, 5 being something in the 650mhz range while a bare 1ghz will blow faster. The problem could be that simple.

Only difference between and OEM and retail processor is the retail comes with a heatsink and fan. Same problem with only installing it ONCE though. If your friend buys a retail kit, installs it as described and leaves it in place it should work.

Same case I have, same power supply as well and my Athlon XP 1600+ does just fine.

P4 is more foolproof, though if you install the heatsink on an Athlon the way the instructions say it's hard to screw them up too. Still, lot of people have managed to crush their cores or blow up their chips in amazingly varied ways.

--Mc
 
Put everything back in the boxes they came in and send them back! Then buy a Dell because 3 strikes and you're out 😉 Building isn't for everyone and this is exhibit A 😛
 
I think JimmyGates has it figured out. Seen many install the HS 180 Degrees in other words backwards and it did not make proper contact with the core and BANG. Had a friend do that with a PIII but he pressed real hard it on while installing it backwards and cracked the core! Dang! It's so obvious how it goes on if one just looks at it. This friend also broke off the tab right off the CPU Socket on his new Dual ABit board trying to get that HS on backwards. He must have really been pressing hard!! I just looked at it and shook my head and almost cried to see someone torcher good hardware like that. I told him what he did and he had me take his system home and install 2 new PIII 1Ghz CPU's with large HS/Fans the right way and all was happy but I have to get a HS/FAN with a large clip to clip on the remaining tab on the CPU socket that he DID NOT break off! Thank god for that other tab!!

I would be willing to BET he put it on backwards each and every time. There is no way just the thermal pad being messed up after taking it off and on would blow even an Athlon in 10 seconds as long as the core was in contact with the HS.

I would say either GET a DELL or be CAREFULL!



 
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