Booting Issues

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8 months ago I purschased a new system the specs are to as follows

Amd 4600+ 2.6ghz
Xfx Gefore 7600gt
Asus Crosshair Mobo
1gb Corsair Xms2 Ram
Dvd rw blah blah.
hd Sound Card Asus.
Cheap Power Supply

I had a old power supply which was in the machine and it died so i went out got a cheap one for £20 which is around $35. One moirning I come down stairs switch on the computer it powers up for 2-5 seconds. Then turned off. So i instanly think must be the cheap power supply so I go out and spend £80 on a Hiper type-r 530w which are good power supplies.

I fit the new Hiper type-r still the same problem, troubleshooted everything graphics card, ram, sound card, hard drive, dvd. Still the same.

Unfortunately the problem is pointing straight at the CPU or MOBO but there only 8 months old and extreamly well cooled with one of the best coolers out there Artic Cooling Freezer Pro 64.

Just wondering if someone out there could help me because its really getting me down after spending the best part of £1000 on my dream machine :(
 
No, the problem is not necessarily the motherboard nor the CPU. It could be, but unlikely. Dead machines are almost never caused by a bad board or cpu. The Crosshair is a good motherboard, and the AMD rarely fails unless overheated... and your other components look good...

Unfortunately it is more difficult to trouble shoot when it won't boot up...
Some computers are designed to shut down when important things are not right... one of those is the CPU fan. Another is the CMOS battery. And failed memory will stop a lot of computers cold. Power Supplies can be bad upon arrival... even high quality ones can be damaged in shipment.
I would check all of these:
Are all internal cables connected, or do you see something loose. Sometimes cables and connectors fall off sometime after the technician errs.
Is the little green or orange light on the motherboard on?
Power Supply. Does the fan blade turn 1/4 to 3 turns when you press the on button? Can you get access to a power supply checker? They are about $10 -$15 US. Or use a known good power supply borrowed from another machine... not the new one.
CMOS Battery, shaped like a coin in only $3.50 to $5.00 US... or borrow one from another machine. Temporarily trade out the one you have, or just buy a new one.
Memory modules will stop most computers cold when they fail. Test yours in another computer, and one from another computer in yours. This would be a high suspect item in my book.
CPU fan: Is it filled with dust, dirt or hair? Does the fan blade turn 1/4 to 3 turns when you push the on button. They are a bit expensive on an AMD 4600, but you might want to get it tested at a shop or borrow one from another machine.
Video Graphics Cards are high failure items. Trade out yours with another temporarily just to see if the change makes a difference. In our experience, if the memory is good, the video card is the most likely second choice.
Any card found in a PCI slot, if electrically failed, can shut down everything else, so remove them for now... audio card, modem, usb and firewire cards. Then try again.
Power switch... do not discount this as a cause. A bad switch will be difficult to detect, but look it over if everything else checks out.
Hard Drive. Remove yours, and try another... just to see if it changes the boot lights... It will not work totally if it comes from another computer... but try a new one if you can.
If you have a floppy disc drive, unplug the hard drive, and attempt a boot to the floppy using MS-DOS or a Windows 98 or 95 floppy boot disc.
Remove everything you can... down to a simple, low memory video connection, power supply, CPU and fan, and one memory module. Does it boot or make different lights or noises.

Good luck. You should learn a few things when you try all these. Please get back to us with the results, even if it is still dead.
 
You said it starts up for 2 to 5 seconds then shuts down. Does that mean it makes it past POST? If so, does Windows start to load?
 
All fans are spinning freely well over 3 spins no hair no dust. So there out of the question.

Unfortunately i have no other machine to hand and most of my friends wont swap things to test them as there afraid of getting theres damaged. This is how i tested.

Checked all cables p4 12v Atx, 24pin cable, Front Panel jumpers, Cpu Fan, ide for dvd, Sata for sata 2 drive all fine.

1. Unplugged Sata Cable and Power.
2. Unplugged Dvd.
3. Unplugged all case fans.
4. Took Out Graphics Card.
5. Took out Sound Card.
6. took out ram one at time, took out both rams, tried diff slots.
7. unplugged front usb, audio and firewire.

green light is on. changed heatsink and fan.

And all did not work :( Im convinced its the processor. It wont be the psu as its done this with several now.

Would it be safe to remove heatsink and fan remove processor and see if machine turns on and stays on~?
 
almcneil said:
You said it starts up for 2 to 5 seconds then shuts down. Does that mean it makes it past POST? If so, does Windows start to load?
no does not get past post no display no nothing the lcd display on the cross hair reads.

cpu init = cpu initiation
 
Carefully pull the cpu and examine for that blue green brown oily look of a burned cpu... and for irregular darkend spots. Often they will have the odor of overheated metal, as well.
Normal ones, of course look normal. But you can have damaged cpu's that have no visible evidence of damage...
Testing the CPU in another machine or in a shop is the only way to know.
 
raybay said:
Carefully pull the cpu and examine for that blue green brown oily look of a burned cpu... and for irregular darkend spots. Often they will have the odor of overheated metal, as well.
Normal ones, of course look normal. But you can have damaged cpu's that have no visible evidence of damage...
Testing the CPU in another machine or in a shop is the only way to know.
but how would the cpu burn out or brake its been well looked after?
 
trfc4ever_aldo said:
no does not get past post no display no nothing the lcd display on the cross hair reads.

cpu init = cpu initiation

Unless the BIOS/POST gives you more info, there's nothing more I can offer you. Best to take it to the store and where they can do some hardware tests on the MoBo.
 
yes i think i will have to take it somewhere to be tested however that costs money :( but it will have to be done i guess :) Once we have whats broke i can claim on warranty. So no big issue there just initial cost of finding problem
 
Invented by man. Produced from micro materials, Built by machine. Anything of electronics can fail just because of miniaturization alone... Electronics are just very small bulbs and switches. The parts become assembled so close together that defects in materials allow short circuits in those very small voltages.
Light bulbs burn out. So to all other electronics, sooner or later... Sometimes it is just sooner than we liked.
 
The poor man.....

trfc4ever_aldo said:
but how would the cpu burn out or brake its been well looked after?

It burnt out because you, like many of us, do not have the funds to go out and by the needed parts much less a Alienware, its just MURPHY'S law, god I hate that man! If you had the money, your system would run smooth as tits, and believe me that is true!
 
Not if it is an Al;ienware, it wouldn't ... the Alienware computer failures are creeping right up there with Sony and eMachines, in our experience.
 
puffader said:
It burnt out because you, like many of us, do not have the funds to go out and by the needed parts much less a Alienware, its just MURPHY'S law, god I hate that man! If you had the money, your system would run smooth as tits, and believe me that is true!
Your techinical knowledge about computer hardware must be the size of a pea.

I bought stuff according to my budget and the best things i could buy for that budget :)

We all dont have $2000 - $5000 to spend on a ****ty Alienware. Which i probally wouldnt buy :) Ide rather build one myself :)

I think it is a dead Cpu I am going to have it tested tommorow :) along with all the other components. Just hope they replace the goods under the warranty.
 
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