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mobo won't post

L

LeetestUnleet

Senior member
EDIT :: UPDATE NEAR BOTTOM

Okay... where to begin...

First, my computer is being more stupid than a barrel of ... stupid since I've changed cases.

Problem #1: If I have the network cable plugged into the onboard 3Com NIC on an Asus a7n8x Deluxe, the computer pretends to power up, but I get no POST and no video. It just randomly reboots about 5 times before it shuts itself off. Unplugging the network cable still leaves the orange light on. It only goes off when I unplug the power cord, and when that happens, the system powers up for a second or two, then turns off again. If I then unplug the network cord, then plug in the power again, it works fine... UNTIL...

Problem #2: When I circumvent the unknown problem #1, everything is fine until XP boots. It'll boot to the login screen, wait a few seconds, then bluescreen on me. No specific error message, just a BSoD with standard, general stuff.

I haven't a clue what the HELL is going on here. Anyone know anything? The PSU is a 350w and is only about 3 years old.
 
Just to eliminate the possiblity, it still does the same thing when everything is unplugged from the PSU except for the motherboard.. and still when I've got all LEDs unplugged, so that's not the issue.
 
What is the exact model/brand of power supply you are using? Did you do anything else besides changing cases? I would also try booting outside the case meaning have the motherboard with just processor/heatsink/fan, video card, memory, and power supply hooked up. Don't have any drives hooked up. It could be just a simple short somewhere.
 
I didn't do anything else other than change cases. Why would it randomly short out on me though? It's been working fine for over a month in the old case, and this new case just provides for some better airflow with 2 included case fans, with room for 4 more (none of which I have plugged in).

It's just a generic power supply, but again, it was working just fine when it was in the other case, and it wouldn't have gone from 100% functionality to -999% functionality in 30 minutes, would it? And how would that explain the fact that it boots without a network cable plugged in? BLARG!

I'll try removing it from the case and setting it on empty space without anything else plugged in, like you said, and see if that works. Maybe it's just making too much contact with a part of the new case...?
 
The motherboard shouldn't be making ANY contact with the case except for the insulating standoffs provided for attaching the motherboard. Try outside the case, and hopefully it will boot. If not, then it's possible something on the board went out due to a short.
 
Originally posted by: helpmeout
The motherboard shouldn't be making ANY contact with the case except for the insulating standoffs provided for attaching the motherboard. Try outside the case, and hopefully it will boot. If not, then it's possible something on the board went out due to a short.
Click to expand...

Any contact, too much contact, whatever, that's what I meant 😛 I was in a hurry typing the post.

Unfortunately it was a refurbed board to begin with, so my warranty has long since expired if that's the case 🙁
 
Hm, unplugged the CMOS battery for a while, then plugged it back in, and now it boots and passes POST correctly (at least for now). HOWEVER, I'm still getting a BSoD on XP load. It'll load login prompt for about 10-15 secs then bluescreen, and I've got default settings loaded...

Stop 0X0000008E

MS says it's usually a RAM error ... think my RAM went bye-bye with whatever was causing the constant reboots? 🙁
It's Mushkin PC3200 512MB, and it came with a lifetime warranty, but it'll take time to ship back and forth that I don't really have...especially if it turns out to not be the problem.

Could it be anything else?
 
Have you try taking the ram out and putting it back in to reseat it. Maybe it came loose when you move the mb to the new case. Try it a couple of times. If thats doesn't work, see if there anything in the slots that may cause the ram to not make contact. Lastly run memtest86+just to make sure it not your ram. you can find it here. It will boot of a floppy so you won't have to get into windows. 🙂
 
Ugh... this computer is going so many different directions I don't know what path leads to the real problem.

I took the mobo out of the case (left it on the mounting though), and unplugged everything but the LED to the power switch, the IDE hard drive, the RAM, and obviously the CPU/HS/F ... and it booted just fine - didn't BSoD on me or anything. It actually stayed stable long enough for me to login, let things load up a bit, and let it idle for a few minutes.

Now, the question is, what's causing the problem? It may have been loose-seating RAM, as I've taken it out and reseated it twice since, but we'll see. I have yet to put it back in the case. I'm going to start by putting just the mobo and the PSU back in the case and set it up in the exact same way as when it actually ran stable... I'll be posting updates. Thanks for help if this works....
 
GRR!!!

Put it all back together, same setup as before, goes back to Problem #1. Twink around a bit, make sure nothing is touching the motherboard, try again, and it boots. I slowly plug everything back in, and it keeps booting. Then, on the boot before this one, (I'm posting from the computer in question now), it BSoDs on me again - I'm hoping it was a coincidence, but it was when I plugged the dialup modem in (backup for ISP)... I turned it off, unplugged it, boot, and now it works. However, to get it to work, I had to pull the power plug and plug it back in again twice whenever I installed/uninstalled the modem.
 
I had a similar problem. I had a working system that I wanted to put in a case with better airflow and the PS2 ports stopped working in the new case. I took the motherboard out and put it in the old crappy case and it worked fine. I guessing that you have a short somewhere that you are not picking up on. Try another case if you are determined to move the guts of the system to a new case. I know, it is a really frustrating problem.

Mike
 
Originally posted by: mbackof
I had a similar problem. I had a working system that I wanted to put in a case with better airflow and the PS2 ports stopped working in the new case. I took the motherboard out and put it in the old crappy case and it worked fine. I guessing that you have a short somewhere that you are not picking up on. Try another case if you are determined to move the guts of the system to a new case. I know, it is a really frustrating problem.

Mike
Click to expand...

Well for some reason it's all working now. My dialup modem must have shorted out somehow in the short amount of time it wasn't plugged in, because it was what was causing the bluescreens. As far as the power problem, I haven't a clue what was causing that. There must've been a short somewhere, and it's just really touchy I suppose. Oddly enough, though, every time I unplug or plug in something that would draw power (either internal or external - eg. expansion card or keyboard), I have to unplug the power cord and plug it back in after 15 seconds, otherwise it's just dead and gets no power.... but unplugging and plugging in the power cord fixes it. Ugh, computers 😛

However, on the plus side, the new case brought my load temp from 62C/143F to 39/104F 😉
 
UPDATE

Ugh ... it's back.

I leave my computer on 24/7. Sometime between 1am and 7am the computer shut ITSELF down. It won't boot back up, and after I unplugged and plugged in the power cord, it goes back to the step 1 problem. This morning, my A7N8X board was telling me "System failed memory test". Tonight, it's not doing anything. It's not even attempting to POST - no beep, no video feed, no BIOS report, nothing. I plug in the cord, it automatically turns itself on when it's not supposed to, all devices get power, and ... nothing.

I've already tried disconnecting all but the critical components (video, RAM, CPU) and it still does the same. It's really starting to piss me off and I'm *THIS CLOSE* to removing and destroying every little conductor and transistor in every piece of hardware and make a Picasso replica out of them. Any suggestions (on the computer, not your favorite picasso painting!)?
 
Well now it stopped turning itself on. In fact, it stopped doing anything altogether when I plug it in. This happened after I left the CMOS battery out for a few minutes. Now, when I plug it in, it makes a bit of a ... buzzing noise, similar to how it sounds when you're close to a power line and everything else is quiet. Unfortunately, it seems to be emanating from the upper portion of my motherboard, near my CPU. I unplug the power supply from the motherboard and I don't get the noise. I wonder if my CPU was toasted 🙁 I hope not, I really can't afford a replacement.... I can't check it because I can't get the blasted HS/F off! Does anyone have any special tricks up their sleeve to get one off easily? My thumbs are worn to nubs :s
 
Originally posted by: CXGJarrod
Do any of the caps look bad? (Bulging at the top) Check out this site for more info: http://www.badcaps.net/

Also, try using memtest on the machine to see if the memory is bad. http://www.memtest.org/
Click to expand...

Checked the caps, and nothing looks bad.
As far as memtest goes, I'm not even getting any power so that's way out of the question.

Update:
The buzzing sound is actually coming from the power supply. I tried the power supply in another machine, and it worked just fine - no buzzing and it gave power. However, the other system was a meager Duron 700. I then tried the largest backup PSU I could get my hands on, a 235W, and plugged it into the motherboard in question. Nothing. The test PSU also powered up the Duron system no problem. Note that this all happened OUTSIDE of the case, with the motherboard mounted onto the metal inset of the case, but that inset was outside of the case.

It appears as if my motherboard somehow died overnight with no cause or even a trace of what the problem was. Any other suggestions? I REALLY don't want to buy a new motherboard 🙁 It was only a couple months old (bought after the New Year, even!). Unfortunately it was a refurbed board via Newegg, so the warranty has long since expired (only 15 day warranty). Think there would be any chance of RMAing it at all...? 🙁
 
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