Computer not posting.

deltaluca

deltaluca

deltaluca

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17 Jul 2009
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This happened about a month ago when i updated my BIOS and I resolved it by lowering the overclock on my RAM (to defaults).

Now it is happening again and I havn't managed to get my computer to post in over a day.

At that time I tried swapping the PSU to a known working (and identical) one, and that did not help the situation.

This time I have so far swapped my RAM with known working (and identical) RAM, and swapped the graphics card with a known working (and identical) one, and have also tried running with my old harddrive disconnected (I recrently bought a new one, and removing that also does not resolve the situation).

I'm hesitant to try swapping the CPU if i can avoid it, but ask what may be the problem?

I've even tried running with no graphics card in at all, and the motherboard speaker did not even beep as it would usually in such a case.
 
Gigabyte MA-700-UD3 Rev.1
Phenom II x2 black edition.
2x OCZ Platinum 2G DDR2
GeForce 9600GT
OCZ StealthXStream PSU 600/700W can't rmember at this moment
2 seagate hdd's

The build is about 2 years old.
 
I've also tried disconnecting all USB devices just incase! And of course, no difference either.

To add, whenever this happened in the past, including now once turned on, the power/restart buttons do not respond and I have to switch off on the PSU.
 
even with no ram inserted it doesn't give any beeps signalling an errror or anything. It almost seems like the BIOS doesn't even start up, never mind check the system or post.
 
Okay, i tried swapping PSU again, and as expected; it didn't solve the problem.

The computer did begin to respond more normally at one point (actually once i swapped BACK to the original PSU). It managed to post once, and turned off with power button a couple times, but overall still exactly the same :P And still no beep when not posting whether RAM is inserted or not.

Last thing to try then, is to swap cpu.

I did have my cpu running very hot for a while a few months ago (up to about 85 from memory under games load (i noticed when my mobo issued a temperature warning, and that is what the temperature threshold was set at)) before i de-dusted the heat sink and applied some thermal paste. So I guess it's not entirely unlikely cpu might be damaged... but i would imagine if it was the cpu and not the mobo it wouldn't prevent the mobo issuing beeps on hardware fault or prevent it turning off with power button?
 
I'm going to assume it's safer with a potentially damaged mobo to test my potentially damaged cpu in a known working system, rather than testing a known working cpu in a potentially damage mobo?
 
Eitherway i guess i'm going to have to remove both cpu's to determine if the mobo/cpu is at fault. Probably means i should reapply thermal compound to them both?
 
Well a summary of events is:

Computer doesn't post, or give any error beeps; even if there is no gpu installed, or no ram installed with nothing else connected like hdd's dvd usb devices etc.

Swapping working ram doesnt help.
Swapping working psu doesnt help.
Swapping working graphics doesn't help.
(even though the fact it doesn't beep with no ram or graphics indicates that something else is wrong anyways)

So. If i put my cpu in a known working system, and everything is fine. Then it would be pretty much 100% clear mobo is to blame?
 
I don't think psu power is the problem. Apart from the cpu (the one in the non-functioning system is slightly more powerful) the two systems are exactly the same spec, except that the known working psu is 100w less powerful, but is working in this almost identical system which also has 2 hdd's, dvd player and usb devices connected (granted i don't imagine a usb device will draw much power :P). The working system with less powerful psu also of course has the gpu connected; and even with gpu disconnected in other system and ram also disconnected there is no fault beep as there should be.

Also the psus are respectively 600 and 700W which is 'more' than enough for my 2 year old - at the time mid-range - builds
 
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The computer has always powered up, but it now very infrequently posts (when it does, the system is TOTALLY stable until it next is turned off/suspended)

I have now tried using my cpu in this computer, and everthing was fine. To try and be 100% sure i've also tried my RAM in this computer and everything was fine, i already tried my GPU in this computer and everything was fine, i've also tried my PSU in this computer and everything was fine.

I havn't tried my system out the case yet; that was going to be my next step now that the computer is already pretty much completely dissasembled.

Summarise:

(faulty computer):
known working PSU, RAM, GPU make no difference.
No non-essential items connected makes no difference.
Having GPU/RAM/CPU not connected (seperately and together); no beeps are issued signalling hardware faults at all.

(known working computer):
My PSU, RAM, GPU, CPU swapped in, everything is still fine.

So my PSU, RAM, GPU, CPU are all fine; and the only thing left since nothing else is connected to the faulty computer; is the mobo.

So I guess one last step is to move the mobo out of the case and test one very last time >.>

-------------

L1ght, your build there does seem a lot more power hungry than mine though, and no; both psu's are StealthXStream (Non-modular)

Subliminal Aura; that could possibly be the case I guess; but the thing that makes me think it is not; is that this happened a few times, a month or two before i flashed the BIOS and it started happening again, then lowering RAM overclocks resolved it until now where it's practicaly impossible to get it to post.
 
I don't have access to any other PSU. But you're suggesting that neither PSU are powerful enough (with degradation) to power a barebones system; but both powerful enough to power a full system with (barebones) virtually-identical spec? (at virtually zero-load?)
 
Okay, so outside of the case it is exactly the same. Most of the time it doesn't post. Very occasionaly it will.

Equally, most of the time it doesn't issue any hardware fault beeps when no ram is installed, and very occasionaly it does; i'm guessing these are the occasions in which it would have gone on to POST.

So i can't see it being anything but my mobo then with every other potential component working fine in 'this' computer :(
 
unfortunately no :P That's one of the first things i tried swapping any time this happened, along with clearing the CMOS values. (And did it again just now 'just' incase)
 
I understand the PSU might've been faulty; that doesn't explain why it works fine in my other computer, and why my other computer's PSU failed to solve the problem?

a £30 diagnosis or new PSU would actually be just as expensive as a new motherboard at this point; heck i've barely even found any suitable replacement boards that are AM3 with DDR2, i've found 4 altogther (2 i wouldn't consider buying) and both have been in the £30-£40 mark :P
 
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