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Is this a MB or PSU problem??

M

Mezri

Junior Member
Just got a whole new computer from newegg. P4 3.0 socket 775, ECS 915P-A MB, 160 gig WD HD, BFG 6800, Rosewill case with 400w PSU, 1 gig Corsair ram. Simple yet effective.

Get it all together and am installing Win XP. During the first forced restart (I let it do it on its own) the comp wont reboot. Nothing on the screen, HDD led is solid red. Wait about 90 seconds and hit the reset button. Nothing. Hit the power button. Nothing. Turned off via switch in back, then back on. Hit power button and the fans and case led's come on for a split second, and then everything goes silent. MB beeper goes into a constant beeeeeeeep. This is what it did when I first powered it up. But now none of the buttons on the front do anything at all.

Switch it off in back and try again and now all it will do is flicker for a tenth of a second and then nothing.

Gonna try a PSU from my old comp and see if thats it, but just wanted some advice or ideas on what it might be.

Thanks in advance.

Jeff
 
Check your motherboard manual to see what the long beep means, but I wouldn't use that generic 400W PSU with a system like that (especially not a power-hungry Socket 775 processor).
 
Well I just put my old PSU in and its still not coming up, but that PS is a 300 watt unit. So im not sure if that means nothing or something.

One weird thing it did do is that with the old PSU I could hold the button down and it would come on, but nothing shows on the screen. The fans light up and start spinning, which is more than I could get it to do with the 400w unit, but the HD wont boot. I even put my other 200 gig drive in (with Win XP already loaded) to make sure it wasnt the HD that was holding it back.

As far as the manual, thanks but this ECS manual doesnt have a trouble shooting section, so nothing about beeps in there. Im checking the website now for more info.

So which is a better choice to run down to the store and buy? PSU or MB??? or both???
 
OH!....is it possible that all this is caused by the fact that the PSU is a 20-pin connector, and the MB is 24-pin?? Would a converter solve my problems???
 
Manual has no troubleshooting section? I take it next time around you're going to get a better board with better documentation. 😉

You can try an adapter, but those are really only recommended if your PSU has enough power anyway (a generic of any kind, like the one in that case, is horribly insufficient; a 350W unit from a good manufacturer would be leagues ahead of a 600W generic). The only 24-pin board I know of ATM that can run with just a 20-pin connector (though the extra 4 pins are all redundant wires) is the A8N-SLI.
 
I read in that other thread that the extra 4 pins are solely for to power the PCI-Exp slot. Since I dont have a PCI-E card in there (6800 is an AGP card) that shouldnt matter should it??

OK so you would suggest a better PSU, then if that doesnt work get a new MB?

I just wish I understood what a PSU has to do with the damn thing coming on or not coming on 😛
 
Did you check if you have any extra standoffs in the case that may be in contact with your mobo? If there is, it could be causing your mobo to short out, and possibly cause damage.

The problems you described sound just like mine when I got my Neo2, I had 1 too many standoffs in the case, in the end, my mobo was toast, and I had to get it replaced. I also thought it was the power supply, but it wasn't.
 
Standoffs meaning power connections that are just hanging loose and not connected to anything?

Ill check but im pretty sure that thats not the case.

Not sure if it will get answered in this thread but would I notice much of a difference going from a 915 chipset, to a 865? Just noticed that Asus makes a 865 chipset board, within 5 bucks of what I paid for the ECS board, and has everything I need. Would this slow me down, or is it not noticable for normal everyday stuff like MMO gaming and surfing?
 
Originally posted by: Mezri
I read in that other thread that the extra 4 pins are solely for to power the PCI-Exp slot. Since I dont have a PCI-E card in there (6800 is an AGP card) that shouldnt matter should it??

OK so you would suggest a better PSU, then if that doesnt work get a new MB?

I just wish I understood what a PSU has to do with the damn thing coming on or not coming on 😛
Click to expand...


According to that "other" thread, a guy shifted the 20 pin molex in the wrong direction (4 open pins on left or right side) and fried his mobo. Are you able to insert the 20 pin molex to only one side - is it notched?
 
ruh roh....ok yea i do have a couple of those under the mb.....thought they would be good for support.

Not good?

edit: and yes the 20-pin is notched and only goes in one way, so thats not it. thanks
 
Originally posted by: Mezri
ruh roh....ok yea i do have a couple of those under the mb.....thought they would be good for support.

Not good?
Click to expand...

You should have the same number of standoffs in your case to match the number of screws your going to use to secure the motherboard.

If one or more standoffs in there are not being used, and are touching the motherboard, your gonna have problems.
 
why did u get a p4? if u dont mind me asking u said u just built this did u not know than the amd 64bit is a better choice? just wondering
 
have you even tried using the jbat jumper to reset the bios then go into the bios and actually setup the bios properly.
it sure as hell sounds like you got the bios all out of whack.

the long beep is indicating a bad setting somewhere in the bios. reset everything to defaults then reload windows again.

and get a bigger PSU for your hardware including that power hungry video card dont use anything less than a GOOD 450 watt or higher PSU you NEEEEEDDDD to have no LESS than 22-25amps on the 12v+ rail

the 300 watt and the poopy psu that came with it are probably gunna be good enough.

and since no one else seems to be thinking with their heads.. yank out every piece of hardware you have on the motherboard except the video card and 1 stick of ram and see what happens. then try the other piece of ram.
then move the ram to another slot.
yank the cpu out and push it back in FIRMLY and fold down the locking arm on the cpu then mount the Heatsink and make damn sure you put the heatsink on alternating one screw then the other 1 turn at a time until its TIGHT! not snug screw it down TIGHT now dont go cranking on it hard but make sure you tighted the screws now firmly.

start messing around trying different bios settings and for heavens sake PLEASE go read about your hardware, and find out what the proper bios settings are for your system.
Load setup defualts should give you the settings you need to boot properly but probably wont be what you need to boot from SATA or what ever hd you have.

Have you even checked to see if you cpu is properly supported by your motherboard ?
have you even checked to see if there are issues with the bios ? and certain cpu's or video cards or ram ?
check your voltages check your fsb setting check EVERYTHING cuz that long beeeeeep is telling you either the thing is shorting out or the bios setting is wrong.

if your overclocking,,, dont.

try a different mouse try a different keybaord try none at all just to see if the system turns on
 
He said his computer worked fine yesterday, poopypants. I don't think it's the RAM or anything else. Although he should reset the CMOS.
 
Originally posted by: PoopyPants
have you even tried using the jbat jumper to reset the bios then go into the bios and actually setup the bios properly.
it sure as hell sounds like you got the bios all out of whack.

the long beep is indicating a bad setting somewhere in the bios. reset everything to defaults then reload windows again.
Click to expand...

OK trying that now.

and get a bigger PSU for your hardware including that power hungry video card dont use anything less than a GOOD 450 watt or higher PSU you NEEEEEDDDD to have no LESS than 22-25amps on the 12v+ rail

the 300 watt and the poopy psu that came with it are probably gunna be good enough.
Click to expand...

Did you mean not good enough?

and since no one else seems to be thinking with their heads.. yank out every piece of hardware you have on the motherboard except the video card and 1 stick of ram and see what happens. then try the other piece of ram.
then move the ram to another slot.
yank the cpu out and push it back in FIRMLY and fold down the locking arm on the cpu then mount the Heatsink and make damn sure you put the heatsink on alternating one screw then the other 1 turn at a time until its TIGHT! not snug screw it down TIGHT now dont go cranking on it hard but make sure you tighted the screws now firmly.

start messing around trying different bios settings and for heavens sake PLEASE go read about your hardware, and find out what the proper bios settings are for your system.
Load setup defualts should give you the settings you need to boot properly but probably wont be what you need to boot from SATA or what ever hd you have.
Click to expand...

Hard drive is IDE. CPU Heatsink is Intel retail. Held down with those goofy push pins. Ive checked and they seem to be holding it down snug. Temps while it was running were in the mid 50's C

Have you even checked to see if you cpu is properly supported by your motherboard ?
have you even checked to see if there are issues with the bios ? and certain cpu's or video cards or ram ?
check your voltages check your fsb setting check EVERYTHING cuz that long beeeeeep is telling you either the thing is shorting out or the bios setting is wrong.
Click to expand...

Manu. website isnt even updated with what the MB supports, although a 915 chipset not supporting a 3.0 is absurd to even fathom. It does however say that Nvidia cards are supported fully, that only some ATI cards may have issues. Gonna remove some of the standoffs and see if that makes a difference. I also have a Ti 4200 that I can throw in there to see if the card is pulling too much juice

if your overclocking,,, dont.

try a different mouse try a different keybaord try none at all just to see if the system turns on
Click to expand...


Im not OCing it, so thats not it. Gonna take some time and see what I can find out. Nothing is open here in Atlanta, so Ive got all night to mess with it and find out if the MB truly is just shot.

Thank you very much for the long reply and the good info. Ive built 2 comps from scratch before, but this is the first one to give me any headaches. Us newbs appreciate guys like you that take the time to help out. Thanks.

Edit: oh and I already used the jumper on the board to reset the cmos...didnt do anything.
 
Originally posted by: w00t
why did u get a p4? if u dont mind me asking u said u just built this did u not know than the amd 64bit is a better choice? just wondering
Click to expand...

I just prefer Intel to AMD. No real answer other than that.
 
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