Return of Desktop Woes....

DarkSilver · Post by **DarkSilver** » 2007-03-23 06:43pm

Ok, so after the last bout of problems (I misseated the mobo and burnt it up) I obtained a new motherboard, and rebuilt the desktop.

Specs for the system, before I go on:

Motherboard: ASUS P5N-E SLI motherboard
Processor: Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 2.66ghtz dual-core (LGA 775)
RAM: 1 gb Giel DDR2 667
Power Supply: Antec 500w
HDD: SATA 1 - 250gb Seagate; SATA 2 - 320gb Seagate

Ok...so the problem.

I built the system, made sure I seated the motherboard correctly and secured it (constantly checking with the manual to make sure I had every anchor set), set the processor and heatsink/fan. Knowing this board has problems reported with the northbridge heating up (it's a "fanless solution"), I made sure all of the case fans and the slotted blower worked. I finished setting up the computer, plugged it in, it powered up ran through the POST it searched for the HDD's.....and shutdown (motherboard LED indicates it's still getting power).

I restarted the computer, it didn't get through the entire POST, before it shut down again. A third time, and not even getting to the POST, and down again.

I said screw it, turned off the computer, came back later, tore down the computer, redid EVERYTHING - removed the board, set it up outside the computer case on anti-static mats, made sure I could seat everything without a problem, tore it back down, put it back up in the case, made sure everything was seated properly, anchored down, etc etc.

Powered it up, and it shutdown problem occured again. I let it sit for a few minutes, restarted the computer (on the off chance I had a heat problem), and the second POST started, I shot into BIOS.

Checked out the temps..checked out the temps - 48° on the CPU.

Talked to Ace, who suggest putting a external regular fan blowing into the case to cool it down more, just incase there was a setting in the BIOS which was causing the problems.

Let it sit for a few hours while the fan was blowing, turned it back on, checked the BIOS....CPU Temp,38° Motherboard Temp is 26°. I had just managed to get the temperatures when the computer shut down again.

So...since this makes no fucking since what so ever.....any idea what the hell the problem could be? Should I RMA the motherboard again? Could I have fucked the processor? Should I try different RAM?!?

I swear to the gods.....this computer is pissing me off...

Uraniun235 · Post by **Uraniun235** » 2007-03-23 07:07pm

Did you clean off the heatsink and processor and reapply thermal compound to the processor before you reinstalled the processor and heat sink?

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2007-03-23 07:09pm

Maybe there's voltage and/or PSU issues. Check to see if that might be it.

It appears by your description that all component modules (like power connectors, RAM sticks, and GPU cards) are well-seated and locked down tight, so that's likely not the issue.

DarkSilver · Post by **DarkSilver** » 2007-03-23 07:16pm

Einhander Sn0m4n wrote:Maybe there's voltage and/or PSU issues. Check to see if that might be it.

It appears by your description that all component modules (like power connectors, RAM sticks, and GPU cards) are well-seated and locked down tight, so that's likely not the issue.

Yep, I cleansed the CPU and heat sink with Isopropyl Alcohol and made sure it was dried before I reapplied a new layer of thermal paste (after spread, it's give or take a millimeter thick across the CPU).

needless to say...I've redone everything I can think of...

Einy wrote:Maybe there's voltage and/or PSU issues. Check to see if that might be it.

It appears by your description that all component modules (like power connectors, RAM sticks, and GPU cards) are well-seated and locked down tight, so that's likely not the issue.

Yep, reseated everything down as best as I could without breaking it..all connections are tight, and RAM is slotted in right....

Einhander Sn0m4n · Post by **Einhander Sn0m4n** » 2007-03-23 07:21pm

DarkSilver wrote:
Uraniun235 wrote:Did you clean off the heatsink and processor and reapply thermal compound to the processor before you reinstalled the processor and heat sink?
Yep, I cleansed the CPU and heat sink with Isopropyl Alcohol and made sure it was dried before I reapplied a new layer of thermal paste (after spread, it's give or take a millimeter thick across the CPU).

needless to say...I've redone everything I can think of...

Einy wrote:Maybe there's voltage and/or PSU issues. Check to see if that might be it.

It appears by your description that all component modules (like power connectors, RAM sticks, and GPU cards) are well-seated and locked down tight, so that's likely not the issue.
Yep, reseated everything down as best as I could without breaking it..all connections are tight, and RAM is slotted in right....

One: you accidentally quoted me twice; I fixed it for you in this post.

Two: Excellent to hear the connections are green. I still think it's a power issue. How many beeps does it issue on POST?

DarkSilver · Post by **DarkSilver** » 2007-03-23 07:25pm

Gah..thanks Einy....didn't mean to do that...

As for beeps....it beeps not.

It beeps once when the POST begins (switches from the video card BIOS to the motherboard's BIOS)..beyond that, nothing, it just goes out like a lamp.

DarkSilver · Post by **DarkSilver** » 2007-03-24 10:28pm

newegg user review: wrote: Pros: Everything I needed and then some.

Cons: I had a hard time getting the stock heatsink for a Core 2 Duo to lock into place properly. Booted with one of the corners not properly fastened and the mobo kept shutting down after ~30 seconds, but there was no explanation for why. I figured out the processor was overheating and so it was shutting down to prevent damage, which is nice. There wasn't a warning message of any kind. Of course the whole processor fiasco was mostly due to my being a noob and all. The integrated audio is horrible. A lot of static when I play games.

found this while digging through the newegg.com customer reviews for my board........it's almost the exact same problem as I have..except for the shutdown times (mines is less than 20 seconds, at best...).

I'm going to try reseating the heatsink and fan tomorrow (new paste and all...) see if it works....

anyone else have any ideas?