PCChips motherboard will not post. PSU problem?

[Catalyst18]

Hello, I'm having some problems with a system I am trying to repair. When I press the power button on the front, the system turns on (all fans, drives spinning), but I see nothing on the display, and I get no post codes.

The power supply is emitting an abnormal "hiss" that was not present before. I just want to remain sure that the problem is, in fact, the power supply, and not the board being faulty. (ie, would the board power on half-way if the PSU was failing?)

Thanks guys in advance.

 

[Peter]

It might simply be overloaded, or dead.

The spinning fans just indicate that something resembling power is there, but individual rails might be missing or just too bad to let the actual operating circuitry fire up.

 

[blinky2004]

Given the poor quality of PCChips boards it could be a faulty motherboard.

 

[Peter]

DOA mainboards are an extremely rare occurance, even more so with volume suppliers that focus on the OEM market - exactly like PC-Chips.

Fake-DOA mainboard returns are extremely common however, due to people making simple mistakes in their DIY and then believing bullsh*t floggers like you, rather than figuring out what they did wrong.

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: Catalyst18
Hello, I'm having some problems with a system I am trying to repair. When I press the power button on the front, the system turns on (all fans, drives spinning), but I see nothing on the display, and I get no post codes.

The power supply is emitting an abnormal "hiss" that was not present before. I just want to remain sure that the problem is, in fact, the power supply, and not the board being faulty. (ie, would the board power on half-way if the PSU was failing?)

Thanks guys in advance.

I think to be sure, you're gonna have to test with another PSU.

 

[Catalyst18]

Resurrecting this old topic...

I got a hold of another PSU, and still no dice. I hooked up just the ATX power connector/front panel switch, and installed the CPU, RAM, video card, and HDD, but even so, when I press the power button, the hard drive and fans spin up, but I get nothing on the display and I hear no beep/post codes. This is truly aggravating, especially since this is my family's system, so they are constantly on me about when it's going to get fixed.

This system is as such:
PCChips M811LU Socket A 266fsb mobo
Athlon 1700+ 266
Rosewill 256mb DDR2100
Maxtor 40g 7200rpm ATA133
Nvidia MX440 AGP 64mb
Antec 250w

Like I said before, thanks guys for any help you can offer.

 

[JHawk56]

Hello. My first post here.

I'll share my post from another forum. It gives an idea of the power supply minimums of a similar M811LU build:

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I recently bought an M811LU refurb from newegg for US$10 + $1 shipping -- they weren't available for long! I got it primarily to learn how to support them, intending to populate it with old gear. I've also been accumulating some new parts to upgrade my systems, but haven't had time to install all of them, so I had a few items as yet untested, and I decided to throw it all together and check it out while I could still RMA any bad stuff.

So I did a temporary, table-top build (no case) with the following:

M811LU refurb ( "new" )
Duron 850
CoolerMaster Aero 7 Lite CPU cooler (new, my second one)
PQI 256MB PC3200 (new)
ABIT Radeon 9550 128CDT (new)
80 GB WD IDE drive, 7200 RPM, 80MB cache (new but already tested)
CD-ROM
Allied 300W PSU (old spec) +3.3V/+5V/+12V = 20A/30A/10A

Keep in mind this very unbalanced system was never intended to stay together. It's just a quick way to test parts.

No POST. Just turned the CPU fan for a few seconds. Not really a surprise considering the Radeon 9550 and that old PSU. With or without the HDD and CD-ROM, no difference. So I tried my old Linkworld 300W 22A/30A/14A. This time the CPU fan kept turning, but still no beeps and no video.

So I stuck the new 9550 in the PC it's actually intended for, which has a new Thermaltake 420W 30A/40A/18A, and it works fine. Glad I got the new PSU, since that PC used to have the Allied!

That freed up the old MX400 video card that IS intended for the M811LU. Just for giggles, I went back to the Allied PSU. Fan spins but no beeps and no video. Back to the Linksys. Success! Installed WinXP Pro without a hitch. Just no sound, until I download a driver.

But here's my point. I've used those Allieds with everything from the Duron 850 to Duron 1000 to Athlon 1200 on M830/K7S5A, Duron 1300 on ASRock K7VM2, Athlon 900 on Gigabyte GA-71XE4, and Athlon XP Palomino 2000+ on M817, among others. The Athlon 1200 had an older Radeon and almost every slot filled, and the Duron 850 K7S5A system was nearly identical to the M811 setup, with the same MX400, an identical cooler, and the Duron 850 overclocked 33%. But on the M811, the Allied won't even power up the mobo, memory, normally clocked CPU, and cooler alone!

I know motherboards have changed in what voltage lines are most important. But I'd have to say overall, this M811 uses more juice than other mobos I've used.
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Hope that helps. I have to wonder if that 250W Antec is enough.

John