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Does this sound like a CPU issue?

scruffeh

scruffeh

scruffeh

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Joined
11 Apr 2006
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504
I have been trying to get my PC to work for a few days now after I replaced a faulty motherboard. As it stands now, the motherboard will power on and then off within a second of being switched on. If I take the CPU out then the motherboard will power on for 10 seconds and then switch off. During this time it will bleep 4 times - long short short short as if there was a video card issue. However, I have tested the graphics card and it works.

My question is whether you would expect an Abit AV8 to stay powered on without any componants attached. As it is powering off after exactly 10 seconds then I am guessing this is by design rather than indicative of a fault. I have a feeling that the CPU is to blame but it was working fine in the previous motherboard, unfortunately I have no way of testing it and don't really want to take it to a shop to be ripped off for a 5 minute job!

My system is as follows:

Abit AV8-3rd Eye (brand new)
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (not sure of the core but it's one of the first ones
released Newcastle or Clawhammer perhaps)
Geforce 5900 Ultra
1 gig Corsair dual channel RAM

Any help would be appreciated, I've been without a working computer for 2 months whilst trying to fix these problems!
 
Have you checked the CPU fan is plugged into the motherboard?

I had this issue once, and it was because i had broken the CPU fan connection to the board when fiddling, and consequently the thermal cut-out was kicking in straight away.
 
Yeah, the fan starts spinning before the whole thing cuts out. I'm inferring from your post that it is probably my CPU that is causing the motherboard to shut down so quickly. Does anyone else have an opinion?
 
It was mounted in the case to start with, as I got more and more fed up with it I removed it from the case and rested it on top of an anti static bag. Would shorting explain the differences experienced with and without the processer there?
 
scruffeh said:
It was mounted in the case to start with, as I got more and more fed up with it I removed it from the case and rested it on top of an anti static bag. Would shorting explain the differences experienced with and without the processer there?
Click to expand...

I would think so, powering up and then powering down straight away is a symptom of something shorting somewhere.

With no CPU in, it will give you an error telling you that there is no CPU installed which is presumably what that error is.

What sort of CPU cooler are you using?

Jokester
 
Without the CPU it beeps 4 times - long short short short. A quick search tells me that the motherboard is reporting a video card error (because it can't print to screen to give more details). I assumed this was just down to the lack of processer. I am using the stock cooler and heatsink that came with the processer.

Pardon my ignorance but how could it be shorting if their is an antistatic bag between the motherboard and the case? Are you saying simply putting the processer in is making it short? I'm fairly computer literate but my physics knowledge is very limited

Thanks for helping..
 
Well in the case that it's on the anti-static with the stock fan then it shouldn't be shorting on anything.

Have you tried reseating the RAM and GPU?

Jokester
 
Yeah I have tried reseating them. The problem occurs even without ram and GPU though. It literally switches straight off as soon as I plug the CPU in. Unplug the CPU and it will stay on for 10 seconds and switch off after beeping. I'll try without the anti static bag tomorrow but I'm not confident that it will help
 
With Intel systems the usual culprits to this are:

1: The mobo bios needs an update as it cannot run the CPU without one as it may be newer than the bios revision in the mobo.

2: You have not properly plugged in all the power leads to the mobo or your PSU does not supply enough power.

3: Your Gfx card & or Ram is broken/failing.

These are the things to eliminate first.
 
Jokester - what I mean is, powering up the motherboard with no componants leads to a 10 second power up and then it switching off. As soon as I plug the CPU into the motherboard and turn it on it spins the fans then switches off. This is without any other componants.

AWPC -

1, I have run the same motherboard (with older bios version) with this chip and had no problems. Even if it was the bios, I wouldn't be able to flash it because it switches off before then

2, I have plugged and replugged it many times. The PSU is a good quality brand (Antec) and has been tested in my other pc. The same PSU also ran this set up before my previous motherboard died

3, The problem occurs before I even plug the RAM and CPU in. However, the GPU has been tested in my other PC and works fine and the RAM was working fine under the same set up before my previous board died.
 
scruffeh said:
Jokester - what I mean is, powering up the motherboard with no componants leads to a 10 second power up and then it switching off. As soon as I plug the CPU into the motherboard and turn it on it spins the fans then switches off. This is without any other componants.

AWPC -

1, I have run the same motherboard (with older bios version) with this chip and had no problems. Even if it was the bios, I wouldn't be able to flash it because it switches off before then

2, I have plugged and replugged it many times. The PSU is a good quality brand (Antec) and has been tested in my other pc. The same PSU also ran this set up before my previous motherboard died

3, The problem occurs before I even plug the RAM and CPU in. However, the GPU has been tested in my other PC and works fine and the RAM was working fine under the same set up before my previous board died.
Click to expand...
I hear what your saying but in my experience the top symptoms for a PC shutting down straight away are:

1: The bios revision is older than your CPU and it cannot post properly because of this. Almost all mobos will power down immediately if no CPU + Ram are plugged in and you can even damage it beyond repair just by trying to power on without them in their sockets. This is the reason it powers down immediately to prevent further damage.

2: Your Ram is faulty. You say it worked fine before your 1st mobo died so its possible the mobo dying damaged the Ram. You need to eliminate the Ram in another currently working PC as Ram can easily fail (even from new happened to me a few months ago).

Best thing to try next is only plug in the CPU+gfx card + 1 Ram stick and all the PSU leads + mouse & keyboard + connect the monitor. If this still does the same thing then you know its either the mobo or CPU.

If the Ram were faulty it would usually give an error message on screen.

Last year I had to buy a brand new CPU just to flash my bios as Asus wanted almost as much to update it as a new cheap CPU cost. It is not uncommon for older bios to hang around for ages in the retail channel or parts bin so sometimes you get an old one which can cause issues.
 
update for reference

For what it's worth there was no problem with the CPU, the problem was with the motherboard. However, the replacement motherboard also died which has led me to conclude that the power supply was stressing the boards out (3 AV8s died on me). I have since upgraded to a 580w Tagan. Thanks to everyone for their input, it was much appreciated
 
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