Catastrophic new build - Help?!!?

Kirth Gersen

Kirth Gersen

Kirth Gersen

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Joined
4 Nov 2005
Posts
617
You would have thought this, being my 5th upgrade, would be easy. Unfortunately, I have had a total disaster - of really cosmic proprtions. I am very embarrassed :o. And am looking for some ideas.

I was looking to upgrade the below to:

Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R
E2160
Tuniq Tower 120
Leadtek 8800 GTX
Del 2407-HC

Screw up no 1. Once set up. The PC would fire up and then switch off for a few seconds, and repeat. I thought it could be the PSU, but wanted to try some alternatives, so took out the mobo and fired it up barebones (ram and PSU only). Same result. I then replaced the Tuniq with the stock cooler, and it worked! I then reconnected everyhing, and not only did it stop working, the mobo would just spark up for a micro second, then nothing.

Screw up no 2. I then replaced the Seasonic with a PSU (only 400W) from my other PC. Worried about things firing up, I reverted back to the old graphics card, and disengaged low priority power sources. Same result :confused::confused:. I put the 400W PSU back in the other PC, and now that isn't working. Absolutely no spark whatsoever. Can a mobo blow a PSU???

Screw up no 3. I then decided to go back to my current setup, so at least we have something working. The good news is that the Seasonic is working on the Epox just fine, and I can boot to windows. Well at least I can hear it booting, because the bad news is that there is no connection being made to the monitor. I've swapped monitors, cables and video cards.

At the moment, I am at an almost total loss, and am running out of spare parts :(.

I've done all the usual including:

checked connections
cleared CMOS and taken out battery over night.

I am happy to admit that some component is knackered, but can't figure out which: mobo, PSU, new e1260 chip? The most bemusing is screw up 3.

Any ideas (other than give up building PCs)?
 
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Sounds motherboard-ish on first read. Can I just double check that you have plugged in the 4 / 8 pin motherboard connector as well as the 20/24pin atx connector?
 
I'm thinking it might also be the overheat cpu protection, as when you changed to the stock cooler it worked straight off the bat. Did you change back to the Tuniq? There could be a loose fitting on the HSF somewhere, wherther is be the heatsink itself or the actual motherboard, or you may not be pushing the clips down enough for them to lock into position and as soon as you turn the pc on, it heats up very fast, then turns itself off. Although if it's turning off, then turning itself back it it may not point to this as auto shutdowns for cpu heat actually turn it off and don't turn it back on until you press power again. Still worth checking though.

Have you got a PC speaker plugged into the motherboard jumpers so you can hear any beep codes? If the CPU is dead/dodgy then you'll get beeps, same for other components. If you do have a PC speaker though I would taken it down further than the barebones, and remove a graphics card and RAM and see if it beeps at all. No beeps at all and I may point at a dead motherboard, if we get beeps we can at least continue from there (as it should beep with no ram/gfx, unless it has onboard graphics).
 
flibby said:
I'm thinking it might also be the overheat cpu protection, as when you changed to the stock cooler it worked straight off the bat. Did you change back to the Tuniq? There could be a loose fitting on the HSF somewhere, wherther is be the heatsink itself or the actual motherboard, or you may not be pushing the clips down enough for them to lock into position and as soon as you turn the pc on, it heats up very fast, then turns itself off. Although if it's turning off, then turning itself back it it may not point to this as auto shutdowns for cpu heat actually turn it off and don't turn it back on until you press power again. Still worth checking though.

Have you got a PC speaker plugged into the motherboard jumpers so you can hear any beep codes? If the CPU is dead/dodgy then you'll get beeps, same for other components. If you do have a PC speaker though I would taken it down further than the barebones, and remove a graphics card and RAM and see if it beeps at all. No beeps at all and I may point at a dead motherboard, if we get beeps we can at least continue from there (as it should beep with no ram/gfx, unless it has onboard graphics).
Click to expand...

I thought the same, and while I tried the Tuniq again, I reverted to the stock cooler as that is easier to know that it is seated properly.

I have a pc speaker but also an error code lcd on the epox - it happily goes to FF - ie AOK :confused:

Update on screw up 3. I have just dug out an old, unloved MSI mobo, and moved my AMD chip and Zalman over. Exactly the same issues - ie no monitor connection. So now have swapped, monitors, cables, GFX cards and now mobos - it got to be the Seasonic surely. Would people agree? Unfortunately, I blew my other PSU in screw up 2 :mad:
 
have you tried the blown psu since it went, because i have had multiple psu's cut out on me and after about 1 hour they can work without anything begin done to them.

jackassuk56
 
Just thinking aloud.

If it is the PSU for screw up 3, then it may be the reason for screw up 1. So hopefully I am only in the market for 2 PSUs. However, why have I lost 2 PSUs? It would seem that something in my setup is deadly - some sort of shorting? I am of half a mind to pop round to that shop in the high street and get a cheap Jeantech. Or am I on the wrong tack?
 
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jackassuk56 said:
try running your new build out of the case?

could be somthing shorting

psu set on wrong volts??

jackassuk56
Click to expand...

Have just done so. Out of the case, barebones - 1 stick RAM, e2160, Gigabyte P35, and all I hear is a small click. Which throws some of my logic out. If the Seasonic is firing up the Epox (but not the GFX cards), but is not firing up the Gigabyte. I think screw ups 1 and 3 are separate. I may need both new PSUs and a new board/CPU :(:(. OK, I definitely need a new PSU for the family PC, so will get one after lunch.
 
Do you have any USB devices connected?. My old P5B would sometimes fail to boot up when my external hard drive was connected.
 
Senture said:
Do you have any USB devices connected?. My old P5B would sometimes fail to boot up when my external hard drive was connected.
Click to expand...

Nope, I have been testing this barebones recently.

I have come back from that shop in the high street with a 500 watt Jeantech Orchid. Will test that barebones - hope it doesn't fry...
 
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OK.

Screw up No 2 is fixed courtesy of new PSU. Quite silent too, so a small lining in this overcast. At least the family have access to whatever they do with it.

Before that, I tried it out on the new mobo - zip. Logic tells me it's a dead mobo. Would people agree? Or is it a dead chip? What are peoples thoughts? An RSVP would be appreciated so that I can RMA appropriately.

As for screw up no 3. I'm at a total loss. The monitors work, I know that, the Seasonic works too, except for starting the monitors (the new PSU could not fire them up either). Maybe it is a wait and see until I get the replacement mobo. Any clever ideas?
 
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