Very odd computer issue. Reboots. Clueless.

[Safeway]

So I have a relatively new build:

Intel E6600
Zalman 7700 Cu
Asus P5W-DH Deluxe
2 x 1GB OCZ DDR2
Maxtor 300GB SATA
eVGA 7900 GTO

Here is the issue:

When I power the computer up after it has been off for any period of time, an hour or overnight, the computer doesn't POST. That is, the lights on the keyboard to not flash and I do not get any POSTing on my monitor.

If I continually restart the computer, toggle the PSU, etc, the computer ultimately POSTs. But then, it restarts when it gets to the Windows loading screen. It keeps restarting and getting further and further into the Windows loading screen until Windows loads successfully. There are probably 3 or 4 more reboots until the computer is stable.

I know that it is not the power supply (checked with a brand new 600w PSU), and it is not the HDD (checked with an HDD known to be good). Also, it is not an issue with the MB BIOS, I flashed those to the newest version. So it is the RAM, CPU, MB, or GFX.

What do you think it is? Why would the computer restart, load, restart, load further, restart, load further, restart, stable? That makes me think that it isn't an actual physical defect.

 

[lobbyone]

Maybe the OS has something to with it? I had something similar happened where XP loads, then restarts only to load further and restart again. I just reinstalled XP and it worked fine. Last resort man!

 

[safetyguys]

So I think I have the same problem

ASUS P5N ? SLI board (not in SLI mode)
C2D 6300 ? not overclocked
1 g Corsair ddr2 667
evga 7950 GT KO
XP pro sp2 (upgraded from 1) ? old HD from old system did not reinstall XP after upgrade hardware
Maxtor 60 gb 133 udma

So when I power-up I get intermittent problems, when first built system booted first time no problem. After that things went downhill. Now system never boots first time, sometimes it posts, sometimes it does not, sometimes it post on second try then never boots, sometime it posts and I can get into the bios, sometimes not. Combination like this might go on for 3-8+ power ups until it finally boots. When I do get the system to finally boot it works just fine with no problems at all (and I always shut my computer down at the end of the night). And yes if I power off and reboot again right away works fine but if more then a 15 or so minutes same problem. It is almost like the system needs to warm up???

Any ideas at all?
Nothing obvious in bios settings that would cause this? I have not flashed new bios however.
I have swapped the power supply ? no change
I have swapped video cards no change
I have replaced ram ? no change
I have booted from cd ? no change
I have booted from another drive ? no change
I swapped the MB for a new one ? no change
I have done the Indian rain dance ? no change

Gotta be an easier answer than to reinstall xp. Anyhow system has trouble getting past post so that could NOT be xp (could it).

 

[Safeway]

Right, I don't think that it is XP. I initially had my 300gb Maxtor with a fresh format and XP Pro install. After these issue started popping up, I swapped the drive out for my 80gb WD drive with an older installation of XP Pro. The issue didn't go away.

SafetyGuys, from what you just said, and by the way, welcome to AnandTech, it could be the processor itself. Maybe we installed it incorrectly? Though, that shouldn't affect the boot up process or the incremental processing of the boot up.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: lobbyone
Maybe the OS has something to with it? I had something similar happened where XP loads, then restarts only to load further and restart again. I just reinstalled XP and it worked fine. Last resort man!

I had a spare HDD to attempt this on, but since my computer has booting, POSTing, AND loading issues, I don't think the problem lies in the XP install.

 

[safetyguys]

Safeway - Safetyguys (hehe didn't notice that- interesting)...

...anyhow - "could be the processor..." I was thinking the same thing. I am going to pull the processor, look at all the pins, look at the bed, etc... Those fracking fans are a pain in the a$$ to in/uninstall. I am really stumped though - even have one of my IT buddies totally stumped...

... help... anybody - certainly since we are both expereincing the same prob we can't be the only 2.

BTW first post to Anand but very long time lurker - love the deals section.

Cheers!

 

[Safeway]

I wish someone could help ...

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

I know you don't do junk Safeway...Seen some of your pics
Constant reboots 'can' be a cap issue but your board and PSU is new. I hope the PSU is not an Ass-Fire brand (Aspire).
For cap issues read http://www.badcaps.net/Ident/ You must register to view attachments, if you do, please give the referral to Galvanized.

What techs do to get old boards to POST that won't, is to pre-heat the caps with a hair dryer. See, old dryed out caps fail when cool.
So...Is this issue more pronounced when the rig is cold vs warm?

That's all I got.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: safetyguys
So I think I have the same problem

ASUS P5N ? SLI board (not in SLI mode)
C2D 6300 ? not overclocked
1 g Corsair ddr2 667
evga 7950 GT KO
XP pro sp2 (upgraded from 1) ? old HD from old system did not reinstall XP after upgrade hardware
Maxtor 60 gb 133 udma

So when I power-up I get intermittent problems, when first built system booted first time no problem. After that things went downhill. Now system never boots first time, sometimes it posts, sometimes it does not, sometimes it post on second try then never boots, sometime it posts and I can get into the bios, sometimes not. Combination like this might go on for 3-8+ power ups until it finally boots. When I do get the system to finally boot it works just fine with no problems at all (and I always shut my computer down at the end of the night). And yes if I power off and reboot again right away works fine but if more then a 15 or so minutes same problem. It is almost like the system needs to warm up???

Any ideas at all?
Nothing obvious in bios settings that would cause this? I have not flashed new bios however.
I have swapped the power supply ? no change
I have swapped video cards no change
I have replaced ram ? no change
I have booted from cd ? no change
I have booted from another drive ? no change
I swapped the MB for a new one ? no change
I have done the Indian rain dance ? no change

Gotta be an easier answer than to reinstall xp. Anyhow system has trouble getting past post so that could NOT be xp (could it).

3 things come to mind....

The bios is in default mode correct?
Everything is seated properly.....power cables....connectors to harddries...floppy..etc....video card is seated properly...

Lastly....your CMOS battery....

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
I know you don't do junk Safeway...Seen some of your pics
Constant reboots 'can' be a cap issue but your board and PSU is new. I hope the PSU is not an Ass-Fire brand (Aspire).
For cap issues read http://www.badcaps.net/Ident/ You must register to view attachments, if you do, please give the referral to Galvanized.

What techs do to get old boards to POST that won't, is to pre-heat the caps with a hair dryer. See, old dryed out caps fail when cool.
So...Is this issue more pronounced when the rig is cold vs warm?

That's all I got.

I definately don't buy junk.

I thought it was the PSU at first, which was initially a 510W Deluxe by PC Power & Cooling. The reason I thought this was because it was an older PSU with a 20-pin connection connected to a 24-pin motherboard. I read on here and other places that it should be stable. I replaced the PSU with a 600W Thermaltake (roommate got it for a future build), which I then ultimately replaced yesterday with a new 750W Silent PC Power & Cooling PSU.

I talked to a hardware guy, and he said basically what you said. It is the motherboard.

I'm going to RMA the board ASAP, and just run with my laptop for a while.

Side note to Galvantized: I moved everything out of my watercooled box and into an HTPC case, complete with 7" touchscreen LCD and sound dampening foam. For housing a beast of a machine, it is dead quiet. Once I get the kinks ironed out, I am adding a least 1TB of storage, probably 2TB (4 x 500GB). My university starts selling Vista Ultimate in less than a month! So, 1080P HDTV + HTPC, here I come!

 

[Safeway]

I sent off a detailed email to ASUS. Let's see how good their RMA department is!

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

I'm sure there will be no issue with getting an ASUS RMA.

A bad cap can get through once in awhile, even with batch testing.
It could be something as simple as a cold solder joint, that you would never locate.
A simple warming up of the board *might* close a cold joint but open to high resistance when cold. (As a field diesel mech I've seen this a number of times)
This switch to lead free solder (RoHS) with it's higher melting point is bound to have a few bugs.. for awhile.

Keep us informed, thanks for the up-date. I don't want your comp...I want your Dad's garage.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: GalvanizedYankee
I don't want your comp...I want your Dad's garage.

Ah ha! I forgot about that. Since then, my dad and I installed an outlet array and a compressed air array in the ceiling -- well, on the ceiling/hanging down. Very cool looking.

We have also created a semi-dustless garage with the addition of a few commercial grade dust vacuums and air filters.

 

[safetyguys]

Safeway,

So maybe in your case it is the MB, however I have swapped everything in my system (including the MB) excpet the processor. Same problem - and it is not some loose wire as I have checked and redone the wiring several times. I didn't have the strength to pull the cpu last night but will upon return home. Gotta be somehting silly but not obvious. Can the cap be easily damaged? Can a errant hair, or fuzzy screw it up, what about a drop of thermal paste on the pins, or the fan not seating properly... just brainstorming?

 

[Safeway]

Thermal paste on pins can definitely screw things up. I don't have another C2D to test my system with, but for me, all signs point to the motherboard.

Are you sure the motherboard you tried was good? Did the exact problem persist when you swapped boards, was every symptom there?

 

[Safeway]

I don't believe it ... it has been 3 to 4 days since I sent an email to the RMA department, and I haven't heard anything back from them.

What gives ASUS?

 

[Safeway]

Still no word from ASUS. I forwarded a second request to them.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

At this point...I'd be on the phone. They do show a 510 number on thier support page.

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: Safeway
Still no word from ASUS. I forwarded a second request to them.

I had to call them when I RMA'ed a customer's board that was acting up. They never responded to the request from their site that I did twice. Doing it over the phone was very painless and the person I had was very friendly and *gasp* easy to understand! I think it was a real american :Q

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: SparkyJJO

Originally posted by: Safeway
Still no word from ASUS. I forwarded a second request to them.

I had to call them when I RMA'ed a customer's board that was acting up. They never responded to the request from their site that I did twice. Doing it over the phone was very painless and the person I had was very friendly and *gasp* easy to understand! I think it was a real american :Q

Alright, thanks. I'll call them as soon as I get home and have the mobo in hand.

I looked at the board briefly this morning, and none of the capacitors caught my eye. I am 90% sure it is a motherboard issue though.

 

[NuroMancer]

Yah, I have the same issue with a A8N32SLI-Deluxe Board. I have tried everything except replace the cpu, mostly because I am too lazy, and because the cpu came from a know good rig.

Gonna call up Asus RMA as well

Oh well, my Toshiba laptop with its 7900GS will just have to keep me warm at night.

 

[Safeway]

You say that you have tried everything ... even a new board? Or is that what you haven't tried along with a new CPU.

 

[NuroMancer]

Originally posted by: Safeway
You say that you have tried everything ... even a new board? Or is that what you haven't tried along with a new CPU.

Sorry, I tried everything besides replacing the mobo and CPU.

I have a friend who had a A8N-SLI Deluxe, he had the same issue, RMA'ed the MOBO and the new one worked great with all the old hardware.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: NuroMancer

Originally posted by: Safeway
You say that you have tried everything ... even a new board? Or is that what you haven't tried along with a new CPU.

Sorry, I tried everything besides replacing the mobo and CPU.

I have a friend who had a A8N-SLI Deluxe, he had the same issue, RMA'ed the MOBO and the new one worked great with all the old hardware.

That gives me hope! By the way, this is post 4444.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

As I said earlyer in this thread. I do believe it just might be a cold solder joint....Betcha!