put a comp together, XP wasnt installing, now re did it NOTHING will boot or post at all! help!

[ChonChon]

i have a socket A Athlon XP 2000+ working great. i bought a mobo for it, put together a computer, and everything started fine, was going great until the windows XP installation that i had on my original hard drive wouldnt boot.

thats fine, ill install it on another partition i have open. i pop in my xp disc, it loads all the beginning setup files, and then stays stuck on the "Setup is starting Windows" screen. i left it for about 3 hours, and it didnt move, so its stuck.

i get this same problem with any system disk i put in -- windows 2000 as well.

BUT these discs work PERFECT on other systems. what can i do?

plz help.

NOW ITS WORSE!!!

the heatsink/cpu were HOOOTTT. i took them out, let them rest, put it all back together -- NOTHING. the think stays on and runs for about 4 seconds, then it just shuts off. no post, no boot, no screen, no NOTHING.

help...

 

[Severian]

try either a different optical drive or a different IDE cable, and try re-seating the cable in question as well

 

[ChonChon]

wow i felt the heatsink and it was burning. i took it off and the CPU was hot too.

so i let them cool off a bit, popped it all back together, now check this out.

i turn it on, everything works for about a 3 or 4 count, and then shuts off like no tomorrow. and anytime this happens u need to turn off and turn on the psu switch to be able to start the cycle again.

HeLp!

 

[mechBgon]

Check that your heatsink is installed in the correct direction. Like this. Also, you did use thermal-transfer compound between the heatsink and the CPU core, correct? Each time the heatsink is removed, you must reapply the thermal-transfer compound, by the way.

 

[ChonChon]

wow...

after SLEEPING and getting up and putting it on properly, completely and properly re-assembling the whole computer, still have the EXACT same problem.

i've eliminated the video card from the problem. it cant be the problem because a) no beeps, b) the same card works in 2 other computers STILL...

so im really not sure. unfortunately i have no friggin way of testing the RAM but im sure its alright because AFTER that surge problem, i used it in THIS system thats having the problem and it was all well and good (meaning it was running it for me to see that xp wouldnt work -- but running nonetheless).

so my only other speculation is the CPU...but how could it go just like that after actually working steadily that whole time...

and if it burned out on me i would notice it immediately, like the comp wudda shut off...this started when at that XP screen i turned off the comp, and then just turned it right back on...

help...

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: ChonChon
wow...

after SLEEPING and getting up and putting it on properly, completely and properly re-assembling the whole computer, still have the EXACT same problem.

and if it burned out on me i would notice it immediately, like the comp wudda shut off...this started when at that XP screen i turned off the comp, and then just turned it right back on...

If you put the heatsink on improperly, which you seem to be saying you did after installing WinXP, then you may have toasted the CPU. It will hit critical temperatures in a couple of seconds with the heatsink installed wrong, and if you do that over and over, you can burn it out. Try another CPU and this time make sure you ALWAYS get the heatsink installed properly. Also, I hope you do know this, but the heatsink needs direct fan cooling 100% of the time.

If you need further help once you have a working CPU, then post your full spec list including brands & models of the power supply, RAM, motherboard and the other parts, to help people get insight on what the problem might be.

 

[ChonChon]

CPU: AMD Athlon XP 2000+ (i think its t-bred) with stock AMD Heatsink/AMD Fan.
Motherboard: ASRock K7VM3
Hard Drive: Western Digital 80GB IDE
Video Card: LeadTek GeForce FX5200 128MB (works perfect already tested)
RAM: SAMSUNG 1x512MB DDR-400 (board will force 333) CAS2.5
Optical: Black LG 16x DVD-RW (tried with an LG DVD-R and SAMSUNG CD-R already no luck)

any help? i hope it is.

im not sure there are any physical signs of a burnt CPU all the time, so i dont know how to tell...unless im wrong...

 

[ChonChon]

guys check this out...wow it doesnt look good...

http://chonchon.110mb.com/amd_1.jpg
http://chonchon.110mb.com/amd_2.jpg

looks like a burn...?!?! what u think?

 

[ChonChon]

 

[mechBgon]

Ow. :Q Well, at least a working AthlonXP won't cost a bundle to pick up on the used market nowdays. Better luck on the next one.

 

[ChonChon]

oh crap...

is it burnt 100%?

 

[mechBgon]

The darker-brown area around the core is known as a sign of overheat. I'm guessing it's gone on to The Great CPU Socket In The Sky

 

[Lord Evermore]

You let out the magic AMD goo.

I'm assuming that's not just a buttload of thermal compound that got pushed out by the heatsink. Try and get a better focused, higher resolution picture. But based on your problems, yes, it's toasted. There is no such thing as a lightly overheated XP processor. With a better picture, we might even see if you chipped it.

 

[ChonChon]

right now the digicam is screwed. that was a shakey left-hand pic with my SLVR, but either way im 99% sure the CPU is gone. there is no salvaging it. im not sure there is much left in my P4 2.4GHz and the motherboard either. pics of those tomorrow ill try to make those clear as possible.

thanks.