Complete failure

Morph3ous

Morph3ous

Morph3ous

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Joined
15 Jan 2011
Posts
35
Guys, help please!

Built my system 2 or 3 years ago and haven't had any problems with it, other than the odd blue screen crash. Last time I had a blue screen Stop error it was a couple of weeks ago. Today I turned on the PC, inserted an SD card in my external reader to download some pictures to Adobe Lightroom, and plugged in my iPhone to sync. iTunes was sync'ing and Lightroom was finishing off the upload when suddenly both screen went black. There was a small multicoloured pixelated line on the left side of both screens, about a cm wide, but everything else was black. I turned off the PC by holding down the power switch. Now it won't boot up again. Turning on the machine shows the Asus screen with Bios option, then it says "Windows failed to start due to recent hardware/software changes". It gives me the option of repairing which I do. I get the loading Windows file for a few seconds then it goes to black and nothing happens before the machine turns off.

I'm guessing there's been a hardware failure? I have no idea though, or how to find out which one.

System is:

Asus P8h67-m evo
Intel i5-2500k
16GB corsair xms3 Ram across 4 sticks (2 extra added 6months ago)
Corsair 128GB SSD added 6 months ago to replace old 60gb SSD
Corsair vx450w psu
3 x hdd - I media 2 backup
I'm running two monitors, the 2nd added 3 months ago.

Only recent software change is the addition of Sony media studio for video editing etc.

Advice really appreciated as I need the machine for photography business!!
 
So, I've removed two of the RAM sticks and unplugged two of the HDDs too in case it helped the PSU (I'm clutching at straws a little) this had no effect.

I went into Bios and then advanced. When I selected AI tweaker then GPU boost, clicking okay, the PC instantly shuts down and restarts itself. When it comes back to life, straight into a black screen. I hadn't done it before so I don't know if this is normal, but that suggests there may be a problem with my processor maybe? It has a cooler master cooler attached and it's temp is currently 29deg.

I'm at a loss personally.
 
JJimmyJ said:
Try unplugging all you peripherals, including one of the monitors. Just try booting with the bare minimum. May also be worth trying with just the SSD plugged in and no other hard-drive.
When you installed originally did you have only the ssd in the machine?
Click to expand...

I've tried removing everything but the SSD and no change. I've cycled through the RAM sticks in a single slot, and again, no change. I've also reset the BIOS config, but no joy.

Planning on trying to run off the Windows boot disc when I pick it up tonight and I'll see how I get on. Thanks for the reply.
 
I've removed the CMOS battery, but it's not made any difference. POST sequence and then black screen as before.

I've got hold of my Windows 7 disc. When booting from the DVD It goes through the loading files bar at the bottom, I then get the windows sign, the the black screen again. After a minute or so, the machine switched itself off. Damn.

Any more ideas?
 
Latest update: I took the PC to my parents and used the PC I built for them. I removed my SSD and put it into their machine. After a windows repair it booted fine. I then removed their SSD and put it into my machine, nothing. Said I needed to enter a bootable drive...
So I'm guessing that means it's not a software issue and not a hardware issue with my SSD??
 
No mate, no peripherals connected except the SSD.

Boot options? Booting from SSD gives a black screen and from DVD gives a hang on the Windows screen or black screen.
 
Yes I have tried both IDE and AHCI, neither worked. It's currently in AHCI. Parents is a good half hour drive away. I've spoken to a local PC repair firm this morning and although it's against my normal practice, I may take it into them. I'm at the point where I'm a little beyond my ability and mobo/processor/PSU need testing. They'll diagnose for free, but said it wouldn't be in their interest now they know I'm a self builder, if I'll just take it away and replace the broken component myself. I may therefore swallow the £30 cost of replacing a motherboard for example just to get this machine repaired as I'm not keen on buying replacement parts 'in case it's that bit'.
 
Th0nt said:
I once built a SFF machine and this behaviour turned out to be due to a poor connection with the heatsink unit and CPU.

May not be your issue but I would try re-seating the heatsink and check the fan is working to rule this out.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I've got some paste left, so I'll give it a try.
 
No mate. I realised I didn't have any ipa to clean the CPU with and I got to the point where I just wanted it sorted.

I'll update with their findings in a couple of days.
 
An update.

Repair shop broke the system down so the only remaining parts of mine were the mobo and CPU. The system still wouldn't boot off a hard drive or Windows disk. They therefore came to the conclusion we suspected - mobo problem. Whilst on the phone to me explaining all this, he then suddenly said, "Hang on. I've just noticed you're missing two screws which hold the motherboard to the case? They're earth points and it won't be doing the board any good at all". How embarrassing. Now I can't remember if I ran out of screws or whether there weren't enough securing holes in the recycled Mesh case for the mATX board, but either way it's a shame this breakdown may be due to my own failings in my first PC build. I guess you live and learn!

So I've done a quick bit of research and replaced it with an ASUS P8Z77-V LX board. I gather these newer chipset boards offer me the benefits of both the P67 and H67 which I had to chose between when I first built the system upon release of Sandy Bridge. I think I'm right in thinking I can now make use of the onboard graphics of the 2500K whilst also delving into the world of overclocking to get a little more performance out of it. I've never overclocked before but I'll be doing some research to find a reasonably 'safe' level that'll give me a bit more punch without too much stress on the system.

The repair shop will fit this new board for me, and the total cost of the whole job will be only £30. Not too bad considering they've worked on it for 2 days I thought.
 
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