No-Boot after installing new processor...suggestions?

[bmillerd]

Alright, let me start with the basic system details.

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA7N400Pro2
RAM: Kingston Value (2x512 dual channel)
Processor: XP 2500+ (Barton core)
Hard Drive: Maxtor 60GB 7200rpm
Heatsink: SilentBoostK8
Power Supply: Generic 330W
Video Cards: Radeon Sapphire 9550 256MB and Voodoo3

Now for my problem:

For a while now I've been using my computer only for school related activities but have recently started gaming again. I was poking around in the BIOS settings the other day and saw to my dismay that my CPU temp (a XP 2600+ 333 FSB) was at 74C which would explain the lockups/terrible performance I was having playing the trial version of Halo I had installed. The processor was old and I am going to upgrade my RAM in the future to overclock anyway so I ordered a barton core 2500 from Newegg along with a new heatsink (I had the stock hsf on the 2600) to keep it cooler and of course picked up some AS5. My computer was very dusty so I gave it a nice cleaning with an air compressor and pretty much took it apart since I was replacing the processor anyway. When I was done I put the thing back together, mounted the new CPU/hsf on the mobo, optimized the case layout a bit to improve airflow, bought a new 120mm fan for the front and booted the thing up. (at this point I had the Sapphire 9550 in it). The monitor came on like normal, and by normal I mean it was obvious it was getting a signal, but no display. I was having some problems with my motherboard running at optimized settings before (with the 2600 in it) so I tried clearing the CMOS, something that had worked for me before when I was getting no-boot. Nothing. So at this point I just started basic troubleshooting which I will tick off:

1) Switched out the video card
2) Disconnected all fans except the CPU fan to make sure it wasn't the PS
3) Used the CLK_Switch on my mobo which sets the FSB to 100, I used this method before on my old CPU to get into the BIOS at which point I could change the FSB back to 266 without any problems
4) Tried old CPU again
5) Ran 2 sticks, 1 stick in every possible combination, and then no sticks.
6) Cleared CMOS via removal of the battery for 5 mins

It was at this point that I noticed that I wasn't getting any beeps even running with no memory at all. The LED light on the DIMM slots were coming on fine, the motherboard seemed to be getting power but still no beeps (as in the sound it gives you when you boot with no memory). I'm pretty much stumped at this point, I've switched out every other component except for the hard drive and the motherboard and I doubt it could be the hard drive. Basically my question is, 1) is there anything I haven't tried that might work and 2) does the lack of diagnostic sounds mean that my motherboard is bad? And what could have been the cause of it?

On a side note when I inititially bought the GA7N400Pro2 I had to take it back and exchange it for a new one after I tried the "Turbo" setting in the BIOS and it stopped booting. For a while now I've also had problems with my computer occasionally locking up or not coming out of hibernate if I left it on too long. I attributed this to the fact that my 2600+ was running at 74C but I'm not sure if that's necessarily the case. Could this, in conjunction with my current problem, point to a PS problem?

What could I have done in the process of instalilng my new CPU that would have caused this?

<edit>
I have a warranty on my mobo that allows me to exchange it no questions asked for another of the same model, so I have no qualms about replacing the board if you guys think that's the problem

 

[Blazer]

its amazing that someone could wright such a long post and never mention a OS

 

[bmillerd]

lol, it's funny you say that I was just noticing I forgot to mention that =P XP of course, though I don't see how that matters at all given the situation?

 

[Blazer]

the prob could be that xp has seen a major change [CPU] and has locked down the sys from bootup,that would be easy to fix by reinstalling the old CPU,since you have removed other pieces also that may not help as windows can when seeing major changes lock down a sys..

put sys back as was and clear cmos and see if it will bootup,if it does,let windows settle in a while then use device manager to uninstall the CPU and shutdown/install the new CPU and bootup and allow windows to loadup completly before doing anything,although windows may still ask you to reactivate.

 

[bmillerd]

I retried old CPU with exact same settings as before (cleared cmos before and after doing this) and still no luck =/

 

[Blazer]

go into bios and check that the BOOT from drive is still selected,also recheck all other settings esp the FSB

 

[bmillerd]

haha, well I really wasn't paying attention. Topic is supposed to say no POST. Can't even get into BIOS

 

[cryptonomicon]

Originally posted by: bmillerd
I attributed this to the fact that my 2600+ was running at 74C

OMG@!#$&^#^&@*%^

do you have BETTER cooling now????????????????

that will kill your chip if you give it enough time

 

[imported_bajan]

I have one of those boards and it's been running beautifully with a 2400+ for 14 months now. There are only two things that i noticed about it which are a little annoying; the Turbo setting prevents XP from booting, and it's a bit picky when it comes to RAM, or at least the slots are. When i tried the Turbo setting XP just blue screened on bootup saying that some file or the other was corrupted, so i just reset the CMOS, set back up all the settings that i had previously and off she went again. As for the RAM, i've noticed that sometimes, not very often though, if i turn it off and then move the computer to another location during which time it might get a little vibration, the RAM just needs to be jiggled a little bit in the slot before it would POST. Although, when i had that problem at least it beeped to let me know that something was wrong with the RAM... yours isn't even beeping.

I just wish that Gigabyte would put a jumper on the board which would allow it to restore the BIOS from the backup chip. It's a bit unfortunate that they'vre designed it in such a way that the board must POST before you can do a transfer.

From what you've said about it i would have to say that it looks like the board is dead.

Something else you might want to check though... if your CPU was running so hot for a long time then there's a possibility that it was pulling an excessive amount of power. Look at the capacitors around the CPU socket and see if any of them are swollen. If any of them ARE swollen, then the board needs to be replaced.

Good luck.