UPDATED Computer turns on and shuts off within 1-2 seconds

[A Casual Fitz]

I recently had to fix my CPU that was overheating so I bought some paste, cleaned it, reapplied it, put the heatsink/fan back on. Now when I go to turn my computer on it shuts off almost right away. Is my power supply messed up or maybe it's still a CPU issue. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[Lanyap]

Sounds like you didn't put the CPU and/or heatsink/fan back together correctly and it's doing a thermal shutdown. Make sure you mounted the CPU correctly and you didn't let any dust bunnies sneak into the socket between it and the CPU. Also make sure the heatsink is mounted correctly and you have the fan plugged into the motherboad.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

Thanks for the quick response. I just took those both out, cleaned them and put it all back in and the same thing is still happening. Ugh

 

[BoomerD]

The CPU is in the socket correctly? No bent pins?

How about the 4/8 pin connector for the motherboard?

 

[HeXen]

did you ground yourself before messing with it. i once walked across the carpet floor one day to get something and static shocked my mobo dead. luckily it was under warrantee and they replaced it.

 

[Lanyap]

Tell us more about your original problem. What made you think your CPU was overheating?

What CPU, heatsink and motherboard do you have?

 

[A Casual Fitz]

Alright well, I bought a new internal hard drive and installed it. Then my PC would shut down after about an hour or so I ran Speedfan and it the CPU was overheating. It would still turn on fine but the cores would start heating up. So I bought some thermal paste and re-applied it and put the fan back on and now it turns right off every time I try turning it. I have since re-done the paste and the same thing still happens.

 

[Sephire]

What is your CPU, MB and GPU? and how many sticks of memory you have installed?

 

[A Casual Fitz]

QQ6600, Gigabyte socket 775, 8800GT, I have 2 memory sticks. Here's something fishy though. When I took out the 4 pin power connector it turns on but with no display and I think it's not booting either. I took everything out except for 1 RAM stick, GPU, CPU, and video card and it's doing the same thing. Does this mean power supply problem?

 

[Sephire]

One way to find out do you have a spare power supply?

 

[mlc]

could be a short.. Try pulling out the board from the case, and see if it posts with the cpu/fan, memory and graphics card all connected.. and nothing else....

Make sure all of the power connectors going into both the mobo and graphics card are connected....

If that fails, try pulling the power cord, and resetting/clearing the CMOS and see if it posts...

 

[Lazarus52980]

I have seen this issue caused by either a bad power switch too. Have you tried "jump starting" the machine with a paperclip or other conductive material?

 

[denis280]

Did this started when you changed your hd. or was it doing it before. if not well like Mlc say this could be a short. I Would Clear cmos too and see if it posts......

 

[A Casual Fitz]

I can't figure out how to clear the CMOS. In the CMOS section there isn't anything to pull out.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

When I turn it on with the 4 slot power connector in (which it used to be) it turns on, beeps and then immediately turns off.

Edit

could be a short.. Try pulling out the board from the case, and see if it posts with the cpu/fan, memory and graphics card all connected.. and nothing else....

Make sure all of the power connectors going into both the mobo and graphics card are connected....

If that fails, try pulling the power cord, and resetting/clearing the CMOS and see if it posts...

Okay I tried all of these things besides the resetting/clearing of the CMOS (right now it's sitting on a cardboard box) and it's still turning on/shutting off immediately.

 

[KGB]

I can't figure out how to clear the CMOS. In the CMOS section there isn't anything to pull out.

Grab your MB manual or get it online but you definitely need to clear the CMOS.

 

[Insomnihacks]

Definitely clear the BIOS. There should be a jumper on your motherboard that allows you to do so. Find your manual from the Gigabyte website. Double check all of your connections. If you build your own machines you should have a PSU tester on hand. They are fairly cheap and will save you a ton of time during troubleshooting.

Make sure there aren't any screws that are grounding out your motherboard (i.e. lost screw floating around in your case. Take it down to the basics here. If you have onboard video use that instead of the aftermarket GPU.

 

[Spaces]

How much thermal paste are you applying? Be sure to use the correct amount because you can apply too much and your processor will overheat quickly.

 

[Harvey]

How much thermal paste are you applying? Be sure to use the correct amount because you can apply too much and your processor will overheat quickly.

This. You should apply the thinnest possible coating. The purpose of heatsink compound is to fill microscopic gaps between the CPU's cooling surface and the heatsink, and more is not better. In fact, it just gets in the way of good thermal transfer.

If this makes you think you should re-do it, Windex is good for removing old compound from the CPU and heatsink. I usually start with a BB size drop and spread as thin a coat as possible it on the chip's cooling surface with my index finger. Then, I mount the heatsink on top of that.

Windex removes heatsink compound from fingers, too.

In this thread, last month, others and I gave similar advice, and the OP reported that his CPU temperature went down 8°.

You may also want to check the temperature limits in the CMOS to make sure they're right for your CPU.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

This. You should apply the thinnest possible coating. The purpose of heatsink compound is to fill microscopic gaps between the CPU's cooling surface and the heatsink, and more is not better. In fact, it just gets in the way of good thermal transfer.

If this makes you think you should re-do it, Windex is good for removing old compound from the CPU and heatsink. I usually start with a BB size drop and spread as thin a coat as possible it on the chip's cooling surface with my index finger. Then, I mount the heatsink on top of that.

Windex removes heatsink compound from fingers, too.

In this thread, last month, others and I gave similar advice, and the OP reported that his CPU temperature went down 8°.

You may also want to check the temperature limits in the CMOS to make sure they're right for your CPU.

Thank you very much. I once again clean/re-applied the thermal paste using the thinnest possible coating and it's doing the exact same thing. I really doubt it's the RAM so it's either the power supply, the motherboard, or maybe even the processor itself. Everything was working fine until my CPU started overheating. Perhaps the CPU is just fried?

 

[mlc]

.. there is a good chance you did fry the processor.. but until you try clearing/resetting the cmos, as mentioned previously, all other bets are off....

 

[A Casual Fitz]

.. there is a good chance you did fry the processor.. but until you try clearing/resetting the cmos, as mentioned previously, all other bets are off....

There are two pins next to the "CLR_CMOS" label but there's no jumper that I can find.

 

[Harvey]

There are two pins next to the "CLR_CMOS" label but there's no jumper that I can find.

The jumper shorts the two pins, which is what clears the CMOS. You can use any spare jumpers from a hard drive or an old motherboard or vid card. If you don't have one, use a metal object like screwdriver blade or paper clip to short between them for 15 - 30 seconds.

 

[A Casual Fitz]

The jumper shorts the two pins, which is what clears the CMOS. You can use any spare jumpers from a hard drive or an old motherboard or vid card. If you don't have one, use a metal object like screwdriver blade or paper clip to short between them for 15 - 30 seconds.

Thanks, I tried that. No luck though

 

[KGB]

Try removing the battery and shorting those two pins together for a moment like Harvey suggested.