Strange problems with new build.

Robert_G

Robert_G

Robert_G

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8 Sep 2014
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168
Location
South Wales
Hi guys, I just threw together a cheap low end build and I'm having problems from the get go.
After assembly the computer booted and I was greeted with the screen that asks you to press F1 to enter setup or press F2 to load defaults, so I pressed F2 and then it just shut down.
Tried to switch it back on and nothing, dead as a dodo.
Removed the power supply and stuck it in another machine, the little green light is on, on the motherboard, but it won't turn on either.
Connected the psu from the working machine up to the new motherboard and there is some life but it won't boot up.
When I press the power button the fan will spin then stop for a second then spin again and just gets stuck in a loop doing that.
Reset the cmos several times but can't even get it to show the setup screen now.
Any ideas?

Edit: Specs of the build:

MSI H81M-34
Pentium G3258
Kingston 60GB SSD
EVGA 430W PSU
1 x 4 gig stick Kingston HyperX Fury 1600mhz
 
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Borealis said:
Using the psu from the working machine, try using just 1 stick of RAM and the CPU. What's the spec of the build in question?
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It has 1 4 gig stick of kingston HyperX 1600 in. I tried it with the ram removed and it's giving the error beep to say no ram present.
I also tried it with a stick of ram out of a working system, but it still does the strange fan starting/stopping cycle.
It's like the system is about to power up then shuts down and starts again.
 
OK, so you've got the G3258 on an H81 board. You may need a BIOS update to get the CPU recognised.

Just checked the MSI support pages. That board needs BIOS H2 in order to recognise that chip properly. If you're not running H2, then that could cause those symptoms. Unfortunately your 4690K also needs H2 so you can't swap CPUs to get the BIOS flashed.
 
Borealis said:
OK, so you've got the G3258 on an H81 board. You may need a BIOS update to get the CPU recognised.

Just checked the MSI support pages. That board needs BIOS H2 in order to recognise that chip properly. If you're not running H2, then that could cause those symptoms. Unfortunately your 4690K also needs H2 so you can't swap CPUs to get the BIOS flashed.
Click to expand...

Is there any way I can check the current bios? Would it be on the packaging or anything?
Also, would it still display the setup screen if the cpu wasn't supported?
As it did show the setup screen before it powered down and now even after resetting the cmos it doesn't show up.
What I'm worried about is the EVGA PSU that just died, maybe it killed the board? As everything was fine till it shut down for no reason.
 
It could be the PSU. The budget EVGA units are made by HEC rather than Seasonic or Superflower. You could run your other PC with just CPU/RAM and that PSU and see if it will post. If the PSU is indeed dead, than that lends weight to it having killed something. The sudden shut down also suggests something might have died.
 
Borealis said:
It could be the PSU. The budget EVGA units are made by HEC rather than Seasonic or Superflower. You could run your other PC with just CPU/RAM and that PSU and see if it will post. If the PSU is indeed dead, than that lends weight to it having killed something. The sudden shut down also suggests something might have died.
Click to expand...

When I tried it in another system the power light on the mobo lit up but nothing happened when I hit the power button. So I'm pretty confident it's dead after around 18 seconds of use.
 
C64 said:
Unplug and clear cmos
Click to expand...

First thing I tried, it didn't make any difference.

I honestly think that the psu died and killed the board, as the first time I booted the board up it showed the bios splash screen and then the setup screen, but now, even after resetting the cmos with the jumper and battery, I can't even get it to do that.
 
You could well be right. If the PSU doesn't work in another system, then there's a problem with it. You could test the CPU in another system to rule out that being dead, just in case.
 
Borealis said:
OK then...:confused:
Maybe there's a bad connection on the motherboard, so it wasn't seated correctly?

Any chance there was a short somewhere?
Click to expand...

I had the mobo on the box it came in, so doubt there could have been a short and the connections were checked multiple times.

I ended up pulling the PSU out of the rig in my sig and then it worked fine. So today I bought a cheapo one from a local shop to tide the owner over till the EVGA 430 watt one has been returned.
 
Fair enough. If it was on cardboard, then there's nigh on zero possibility of a short. The PSU definitely sounds suspect, but you can't be 100% sure it hasn't done any damage. The Supernova G1s are second only to the G2s in my book. They're good PSUs and have a very good reputation.

Good to know the system seems to be working...

Out of interest, which Enthoo Pro have you got? I've got the Titanium Green with window. I think it's a very good case, but for the price it should be!
 
Borealis said:
Fair enough. If it was on cardboard, then there's nigh on zero possibility of a short. The PSU definitely sounds suspect, but you can't be 100% sure it hasn't done any damage. The Supernova G1s are second only to the G2s in my book. They're good PSUs and have a very good reputation.

Good to know the system seems to be working...

Out of interest, which Enthoo Pro have you got? I've got the Titanium Green with window. I think it's a very good case, but for the price it should be!
Click to expand...

I've had a bit more time to fiddle with it now and it is a very fast little machine for what it is, currently running it at 4.0GHZ.

I've got the black Enthoo Pro, it's a really nice case for the price. I like the fact it can be completely disassembled, it makes cleaning much easier.

Edit: I'm thinking of paining some of the case internals blue at some point.
 
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The G3258 is a fast little chip. I have a spare machine using one. Currently I've got it clocked to 4.2GHz on a cheap air cooler. I hit 4GHZ on the stock voltage and needed a minor boost to get to [email protected]. If I can figure it out what needs adjusting, I'll push it to 4.4.

It almost seems faster than my 4670K that's also at 4.2GHz.
 
Borealis said:
The G3258 is a fast little chip. I have a spare machine using one. Currently I've got it clocked to 4.2GHz on a cheap air cooler. I hit 4GHZ on the stock voltage and needed a minor boost to get to [email protected]. If I can figure it out what needs adjusting, I'll push it to 4.4.

It almost seems faster than my 4670K that's also at 4.2GHz.
Click to expand...

This one is using the stock cooler and stock voltages for 4.0GHZ too. I don't need to push it any further, as that's plenty for what the owner intends to do with it.
He will mainly be using it for Kodi and web browsing, so probably a little overpowered for that :p, at least it will last a good few years though :D.

Considering the price, £256.36 including a blue-ray drive, it's a decent little machine.

You should have seen the look on the blokes face when I booted it up for the first time, he's been using an AMD dual core laptop since 2009, so the speed pretty much blew his mind away lol.
 
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