My antec true430 bit the dust, and took my mobo with it! Need some advice.

[ones3k]

THis happened on friday. During the day i noticed my side casefan turning on and off (it was connected to the fan only connectors on the PSU). I thought nothing of this, and figured it was the fan dying.

I left the computer for a 2-3 hours and when i came back upstairs to it, i noticed it was turned off! The LED by the power switch was blinking, but i could not boot up the system. All i got was maybe power for a fraction of a second, only enough to slightly rotate the fans. I then checked all the other computers and clocks upstairs, all the clocks were still ont he correct time and the other two computers upstairs were working fine. Also, my computer was plugged into a 50dollar APC surge protector power strip.


I took off the side panel and i noticed a slight burning smell. Not terribly strong, but noticible. The PSU grills smelled particularly strong. I then took the truepower430 out of the case and plugged it into an old gateway 333mhz p2 (bought back in feb 98), suprisingly the system booted. I figured this old computer wasnt stressing the PSU enough, and even though it died, it still had enough power to run this old machine.

I figured my PSU was toast and i went to compUSA to get a quick replacement ( i bought the antec neopower480). One of the fellows at the place tested my PSU and confirmed it was faulty. He used some device to plug into the connectors to measure voltage output. Im assuming one of the rails, maybe the 4-pin 12v rail that plugs in near the CPU (this isnt needed for the gateway), was outputting well below spec.

I brought home the neopower480 and the SAME thing happens, i only get the PSU to turn on for about 1/5 of a second. I then tried a number of things such as:
1) resetting the comos
2) uplugging everything from themotherboard except power switch connector, the 2 motherboard power connections, and the CPU.

in all cases i get the same damned thing: power on for a fraction of a second.

So i have concluded my motherboard was toast and i tested my Radeon9800pro, audigy2zs, and PCI tv tuner in another computer, and they all appear to be working. I cannot test my two SATA raptor drives, my athlon 64 3400+, or my 1gig corsair ram because i dont have any other compatible systems. What are the chances that these are fried given the circumstances?


I just ordered a new motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131498

 

[Crescent13]

It sounds very unlikley that your hard drives would be fried. I would be a bit worried about the cpu and ram though. The ram and cpu could both have been given too much voltage because they are directly connected to the chipset, whereas the graphic card, and pci cards have to go through another bus, and then the pci voltage regulators, and such.

Welcome to the forums, and sory about your system . here's a :beer: to make you feel better.

 

[ones3k]

So when PSUs die, they sometimes output a large burst of voltage?

 

[ones3k]

I just took the heatsink off but it took the CPU with it. The thermal pad i used (came with CPU) is stuck on there good. How should i go about removing it?

 

[imported_Truenofan]

rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover. oh whoops...sorry im thinking otherwise, try throwing it in the freezer and plucking it off....if the nail polish doesnt work i spose

 

[ones3k]

I cant pick off anything, when i pulled the heatsink off, the CPU came with it (this isnt supposed to happen, right?).

 

[ixelion]

Use a hair dryer on the HSF, but dont direct hot air directly on the CPU for a long time, once the paste has melted twist it of best you can.

I am guessing that surge protector may have been the culprit in your situation, did you get a power outtage or something in your area? I say this only becuase the Truepower PSUs, although not the best, are very reliable.

But it does seem like you will need a new mobo and CPU.

 

[ones3k]

I dont think there was a power surge... No other computers in the house were effected. Also, i DID notice my side case fan turning off and on, maybe this was an indication of a PSU failure?

 

[ones3k]

OK. I just tried turning on the computer without the CPU but with the CPU fan plugged in. The CPU fan started. Is this any indication that the CPU is broken and maybe not the motherboard?

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Probably your CPU... Do you knwo teh temps you run it at typically?

 

[ones3k]

45c load 35 idle

So you think my CPU and PSU died but not my mobo?

 

[ones3k]

bump

 

[ones3k]

 

[ones3k]

So is it possible the motherboard isnt broken but the CPU is?

 

[ones3k]

bummp

 

[Bozo Galora]

pulling out the cpu with the HS is common, sometimes people pull off the haetspreader
ordinarily you can put it back in without clamping and push down slightly and rotate HS slightly in one direction then the other to break the bond. The suction is often too much for the ziff socket when pulling straight up.

your $50 surge protector is worthless - tho I might note that they have to be manually reset after a failure.

Tho most peeps here love the Antecs, I dont use them anymore - too many component failures for me. If you pull off the cover (after waiting for caps to discharge) and look around, I'd bet you find an exploded filter cap. HOWEVER, this WILL void your warrenty.

You can test your own PSU with a MultiMeter as benn said here a thousand times. You can just put the straight needle probes into the top of the 24/20 pin molex while plugged into mobo into various pinholes and put one negative lead in any black pinout. If no boot, someone to hold in power button. I dont like testing with ATX molex out since theres no load.

http://pinouts.ru/data/atxpower_pinout.shtml
http://www.formfactors.org/developer%5Cspecs%5Catx2_2.pdf
(page 20)

As far as PSU taking out mobo - its about a 50% chance.
http://www.powmax.com/ACCESSORY/Power%20Tester.htm
http://www.google.com/url?sa=U&start=2&...ww.dansdata.com/quickshot018.htm&e=912

and according to some of these user comments - a surged PSU needs a
"reset surge"
http://www.newegg.com/product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103905

But due to burnt smell, your possibilities are fewer.

 

[ones3k]

Are you implying my failure was due to a line surge? I dont think there was a major surge when this happened. ALl other computers were fine, and i didnt notice the lights flicker.

Also, which surgeprotector should i buy? i dont know much about them.

 

[ones3k]

?

 

[Bozo Galora]

I didnt say what it was - just offering several scenarios.

Burnt smell in PSU and intermittant fan means PSU, right?
So you put in a dif known good PSU and still no good, so it can only be bios settings or mobo or CPU in that order.
You gotta have some kind of beeps (if case speaker is connected and on), or mobo is dead right?
You also MAY have screwed the CPU pins - bent or missing??
So, I would RMA the mobo just for basic trouble shoot - cant hurt


Folks here use UPS (uninterruptible Power Supply) like a 1000KW APC brand unit
This covers all possible probs, like brown out etc.

 

[ones3k]

buuump

 

[ones3k]

bump

 

[egkenny]

Antec Power supplies have a 3 year warranty. RMA it if it is toast but are you sure the power supply is bad?

It would probably take alot to kill one. I have an Antec SmartPower SL400 in one of my computers. One time after installing a CD drrive I found the computer kept shutting down. I also noticed the power supply was too hot to touch and smelled like something burning. I found the screws in the side of the CD drive were shorting the circuit board in the CD drive. Moving the screws solved the problem. Two years later the power supply is still running fine.

 

[ones3k]

the guy at compusa plugged the PSU into a device and confirmed it was bad.

 

[sandeep108]

It is possible for a PSU failure to take out the mobo. Most probably, as another poster said, it would also take the RAM/CPU alongwith it. Other stuff generally should be fine. That being said, I have also had problems with surge protectors, power cords, PSUs, etc. A faulty power cord took out the PSU, but left everything else intact. Another time a surge protector blew quite spectacularly, but fortunately did not take anything else with it. A friend's PSU blew taking his mobo and RAM, surprisingly CPU was ok. I now do not bother much with surge protectors, preferring to use a UPS as much as possible or otherwise just plugging straight in.

That is why most at AT cannot stress enough on spending good money on an adequately rated PSU. Antec does have a brand name and it may be that a power surge or your $50 protector failed, as it would otherwise take quite a bit to kill a good quality PSU, especially if within it's normal operating parameters.

 

[ones3k]

1) my surge protector is fine, my RAM is fine, my CPU is fine, only the motherboard and PSU were taken out.
2) based on the evidence my PSU died a relatively slow death (probably over the course of an hour), because i noticed fans turning on and off with fluctuation LED lights.
3) The PSU was confirmed "bad" at the store, they used an ATX power supply tester. It dropped below spec most likely.
4) All the other computers upstairs (1 dell p4 laptop, 1 mac, 1 dell p4 desktop) were plugged in when this happened and NONE of them were reset, turned off, etc.. They all work fine. Also the clocks read appropriately. There was no signs of there being any power surges.
5) I've done extensive research on this and a disproportionate number of people with the true430 model are experiencing failures, mostly due to CHEAP capacitors used by antec that are prone to leakage. Look at this: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,14116577
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/groupee...77909585/m/545004476631/r/865002486631

6) Personally, im not opening mine up quite yet. I've contacted ANTEC about an RMA. If i dont get the RMA, im opening this baby up and getting some detailed screens of the failure.

7) Im SICK of people doubting me about my antec true430 failure JUST based off the "name" that antec has. Antec HAS been using cheap capacitors in some of their models, the same caps (maybe worse) that are in generic brand PSUs.