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DuhbLinn
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« on: April 19, 2007, 12:51:23 PM » |
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I'm having some trouble with my PC and I'm hoping somone here can help.
The other day when I switched my PC on, everything started fine, then suddenly went dead. Whenever I press the power switch, the system seems to start up, but after 3-5 seconds it switches off. If I continue this process for a while, it eventually boots and everything works 100%.
My first instinct was PSU, so I tested it on another PC and that PC also didn't start, so I replaced it. And now my system still won't work! I tested the new PSU on another system, so I know it works. I've removed every component except the CPU (since I don't have an extra one handy at my flat) and tested the system with every possible combination to no avail. Even when connecting the bare minimum (onboard video, one ram chip, one harddrive, no cd-rom), it still gives this problem.
So my question is, what are the chances of my mobo or cpu being the problem? The CPU is a couple of months old and the mobo is almost a year old.
Hope someone can help. If you need my specs, just let me know and I'll post it.
Thanks.
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #1 on: April 19, 2007, 03:03:37 PM » |
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Sounds like something is overvolting, usually happens when I overclock my system a bit too far or drop RAM timings too low.
If CMOS clear doesn't do the trick, the power supply might have damaged the mobo or CPU.
If it is this mobo: Intel D101 Grant County MOBO, you still have one week of warranty left.
CheerZ
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #2 on: April 19, 2007, 03:52:46 PM » |
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I've checked the three standard voltages and they looked fine.
+3.3V - 3.33V
+5V - 5.05V
+12V - 11.88V
Don't know what other voltages to check.
I'll try clearing the CMOS and check what happens. And yes, it is that motherboard, so if this doesn't do the trick I'll try and confirm it's the mobo and then bring it to you. Thanks Re@PeR.
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2007, 11:36:04 AM » |
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Ok, so clearing the CMOS didn't fix it. I'll try testing the CPU and mobo, but I can't really confirm whether it is either. I'll insert my old CPU into the mobo and if it still doesn't work I'll assume that the mobo is faulty. I don't have another mobo to test my CPU on, so if there something wrong there I won't know.
So Re@PeR, if the mobo appears to be faulty I'll bring it on Saturday. Also, do you have a mobo on which I can test a Pentium D?
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #4 on: April 20, 2007, 02:42:36 PM » |
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Bring the motherboard, the suppliers can test it.
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #5 on: April 20, 2007, 04:52:28 PM » |
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That's a good idea, thanks. I might bring it on Sunday and not tomorrow, since I still need my PC for working on the HMM project (don't really wanna use my Celeron CPU for that) and I assume you can't do anything with it before Monday.
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #6 on: April 26, 2007, 02:17:15 AM » |
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Busted MOBO, waiting for a replacement...
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #7 on: May 04, 2007, 12:00:23 PM » |
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Thanks Re@PeR.
Any news on when I can expect to get my components back, or are they still looking for a mobo?
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2007, 02:10:17 PM » |
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Still waiting for a replacement unfortunately.
Will let you know as soon as the replacement arrives!
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2007, 09:53:44 AM » |
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So I finally got my stuff back, setup my pc, everything worked with no problems.
Until the next day.
It won't boot! And what's worse, it now takes even longer before it finally does work. I disconnected everything again, and I still can't see anything wrong. The CPU was tested, so it can't be that. The mobo is new, so I doubt it's that. I removed all my HDDs, so I'm pretty sure that's not at fault. My sound is onboard so I can't remove that. I removed my graphics card and my wireless lan card. Still nothing.
I'm thinking the faulty mobo was a result of the boot problem, not the cause. And now I'm stumped.
Anyway, thanks Re@PeR. I don't want to bother you with this any further, given that it's almost exam time and you still have projects to do. Guess I'll have to find someone to look at my system...
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #10 on: May 21, 2007, 11:00:46 AM » |
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Try testing the RAM in somebody's system, certain brands of RAM tend to degrade with time eventually causing the system to either BSOD or not boot at all. Good luck, sounds like one of those frustrating problems  |
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #11 on: June 02, 2007, 05:15:54 PM » |
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Any good news from your side?
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #12 on: June 03, 2007, 12:46:26 PM » |
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Nope. Nothing. I tried the RAM on my two other systems, but that didn't to anything to help me solve the problem - it works great on both other PCs. Right now I just keep my PC on 24-7. I'll probably take it to some place that can test the entire system for me, but right now I use it to often to be be without it.
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #13 on: June 17, 2007, 01:59:56 PM » |
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So today I decided to test everything in my PC again, and the first thing I did was remove everything except the CPU. I literally had nothing except mobo + cpu + power. It wouldn't boot. Since I know the PSU is fine, and the mobo is pretty much brand new, I figured it has to be the CPU. So I replaced it with my old Celeron D that I used before I got the Pentium D. And it worked... Now, I'm glad I've got a PC I can use, but wtf is the problem!?! I know my CPU is compatible with the mobo, and last time when Rectron tested the CPU their tests came back with an OK. Now what? Anyone got any ideas? Also, know somewhere I can get the CPU tested, other than Rectron?
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #14 on: June 17, 2007, 02:21:21 PM » |
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It might be that the CPU is undervolting for some odd reason, frequently get this when overclocking and some CPUs somehow prefer higher voltages with time or after being pushed too hard, push the CPU voltage with 0.1V and swop the celeron with the Intel D, if it is still giving crap, swop again and boost the volts with 0.2, but keep your eyes on the temps of the celeron, you don't want to fry your celeron trying to fix your Intel D, going 0.3 is getting dodgy, unless the temps stay under cotrol, pushing my CPU volts 0.3 makes the CPU run almost at 80 degrees.
Also check what the recommended CPU voltage should be on your CPU, I know Intel have a datasheet for every CPU, can't remember the site though, but it basically says exactly below what voltage the CPU switches of and at what voltage it is working stable and above what voltages you can expect it to fry.
Also take into account that the readings given by your motherboard is usually very inaccurate, to get an idea of just how much the voltages are out, measure the 12V rail and 5V rail with one or more multimeters and compare with the reading given in the BIOS (and or software if you have any monitoring software), this should give you an idea by how much the CPU voltage reading is out and will help you decide how much you can boost the voltage before it becomes unsafe (if undervolting is the problem)
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #15 on: July 02, 2007, 10:59:08 AM » |
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Ok, so I'm finally back from my trip to the UK, so I can start working on this problem again.
My bios doesn't allow me to change voltages. Any ideas?
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #16 on: July 02, 2007, 11:18:36 AM » |
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I'm not too familiar with the Intel BIOS, but there should be an option somewhere to change the temperature threshold on which the system shuts down, see if you can disable that or otherwise change the threshold to some unreachable level, what I have seen on some AMD systems is an unstable temperature reading, the probe might be damaged for some reason or simply spitting out gibberish on startup causing the BIOS to react to an overheating CPU and shuts everything down.
Will do some further reading on the board's features, maybe I can pick up something that might be the cause...
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #17 on: July 02, 2007, 12:22:25 PM » |
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The only useful piece of information I can find on the Intel website is either corrupted BIOS causing the power to switch of or a short circuit somewhere, but how does one test for a short circuit? |
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2007, 05:48:28 PM » |
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Some advice I got from another forum is to use the BIOS's 'Load Optimized Defaults' option. Apparently this checks what CPU is inserted in order to decide on the settings. Clearing the CMOS (as I've done earlier) doesn't execute this, it simply loads factory defaults. So I'll try that and also the temperature cutoff changes. Something has got to fix this problem eventually...
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2007, 05:55:55 PM » |
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I should probably have mentioned it, but you should always do a "Load Optimized Defaults" after a CMOS clear, when somebody says CMOS clear they imply do a "Load Optimized Defaults" as well.
Good luck, may the source be with you!!!
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #20 on: July 02, 2007, 08:08:08 PM » |
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 I have to admit, I feel a little like an idiot for not thinking about that. I haven't tried it yet, but if it works I'm gonna kick myself. Could have saved myself a LOT of trouble. I'll let you know how it ends...
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #21 on: July 15, 2007, 11:11:42 AM » |
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Good news is, I don't have to kick myself. Bad news is, it's still not working.
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #22 on: July 15, 2007, 11:19:33 AM » |
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That sux  I'm running out of ideas here. |
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #23 on: July 15, 2007, 11:39:07 AM » |
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You and me both. Maybe I should just get a new mobo. Trouble with that is, last time I checked I had some trouble finding a mobo that supports my CPU and still uses DDR. They all use DDR2 now and I can't afford to upgrade my RAM.
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Re@PeR
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« Reply #24 on: July 15, 2007, 02:44:56 PM » |
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Anything DDR400 is becoming more and more scarce these days
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DuhbLinn
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« Reply #25 on: July 16, 2007, 11:45:52 AM » |
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I made a post on TechGuy forums about this problem as well. The last thing they pointed out to me was that my BIOS version is not listed on the website. They told me it might be that the BIOS version had some problems and was removed from the site, so I updated my BIOS to the latest version in the hopes that it would make a difference. It did not. I am now officially out of ideas.
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