Is this system fried?

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Ruined Saint

Alright, I checked a few threads here before posting and tried a few of the things I found in them before posting... So here goes.

System is DIY.
Mother: Biostar P4M800 Pro-M7 Socket 775 w/P4 3.8Ghz
Case came with 450W power supply.
1.5G Ram (DDR2)
Couple fans
7.1 Soundcard (Auzentech)

Last weekend, I installed an ATI Radeon X1950GT Super 3D Graphics Card. This immediately resulted in overheating problems, and eventually the system wouldn't so much as boot up (CMOS set to shut down at 80C). I finally decided to give it a rest and went to bed.

The next morning, it booted fine, so I logged into CMOS, set the fan to alternating speed ("Smart"?), then went downstairs (don't smoke in the house; kids, y'know). At any rate, when I came back, the system had shut down. At this point, it wouldn't reboot at all.

Frustrated, I started taking my system apart; I wanted to check the motherboard for anything that looked like it might be burned, scorched, melted, etc. However, about 2/3 of the way through, I found an oily substance on one of the cables. I traced this to the power supply, which I then removed and opened. Sure enough, there was a component that had melted and some of this fluid had leaked (am I gonna get cancer?).

So, I ordered a new power supply (500W) and dual-fan system that slides into a 5.25" slot for good measure. Arrived this morning. I installed and fired it up.

And it ran for all of 10 seconds.

Since then, when I hit the power button, nothing happens.

If I unplug the cord from the power supply for a few moments and then plug it back in, then the fan kicks on for just a split second after hitting the power button but then stops.

Since then, I have cleared the CMOS twice, removed all hardware except the C: Drive and RAM...

So, this being all the relevant information that I can think of, does this sound like a fried board, or is my problem elsewhere?
 
Motherboard is fried. There can be no evidence of burning, and the board can still be bad. Your new video card probably drew too much current from the power supply killing it. This failed supply took out the motherboard. Your CPU and memory are probably still good. Good luck
 
Well, poo...

Okay, my usual online store (Geeks) doesn't have any boards in-stock for my CPU and DDR2... Care to recommend a store/board for me?

kitty500cat said:
Couldn't just the PSU be bad?
Click to expand...
Brand new; plus there's an LED indicator light on that says it's working (take that as you will, of course).

This is the new PSU.
 
kitty500cat said:
Couldn't just the PSU be bad?
Click to expand...
I'm gonna back up to this because the new board's in and I'm getting the same results.

(Note: Comparing the new board to old, I'm seeing three parts adjacent to the CPU fan that are clearly melted to a certain degree on the old, so I'm for keeping the new board anyways.)
 
Sounds good Ruined Saint,
it's not that easy to see exploded parts sometimes... I can usually smell them before I can see them
 
Well, Geeks finally contacted me back about the PSU; they're sending me a new one and told me not to bother sending back the first one.

o.O

Sounds like I'm not the first to have problems with that model, doesn't it?

(As an aside, by the time this thing's running, my free 14-day trial of WoW will have expired. :p )
 
Well, the Geeks PSU arrived, and worked.

For a couple of hours. Now it's behaving just like the first one. I've requested either a refund or credit towards a future purchase.

With any luck, the PSU I ordered from Newegg will be here on Monday.

This is frustrating because that system is almost identical to the system I built here at work, and this system's been running fine for almost 10 months without a single problem. Yet I can't keep the home system up for more than a couple of weeks without it flopping over on its back...

There is one issue I noted before the PSU died, however: The system tends to lock-up during boot. Occurances noted:

#1
Lists IDE drives, then locks while listing SATA drives.

#2
Reach black-screen prior to Windows Start-Up screen, locks.

#3
Get the "Improper Shut-Down" list with the various options, with the following results:
A: Select Safe-Mode, it lists out a bunch of programs with other data (drive, partition, etc.), then locks up.
B: Last Good Configuation, it simply locks up.
C: Start normally, it sometimes locks up, sometimes boots up.
D: Hit escape (stop the countdown), scroll up and down, select Start Normally, it boots up.

No order to which of these I get; it was like playing a lottery every time I hit the power button.
 
That is a terrible power supply. POWMAX is the worst company to buy from.
There's even a chance that that horrid PSU killed the rest of you components. Never buy a cheap brand like POWMAX.
 
Yeah, I'm learning that... Of course, most everything else I've gotten from Geeks has worked just fine; guess I just got too comfortable buying from them.
 
Get the "Improper Shut-Down" list with the various options, with the following results:
A: Select Safe-Mode, it lists out a bunch of programs with other data (drive, partition, etc.), then locks up.
B: Last Good Configuation, it simply locks up.
C: Start normally, it sometimes locks up, sometimes boots up.
D: Hit escape (stop the countdown), scroll up and down, select Start Normally, it boots up.

No order to which of these I get; it was like playing a lottery every time I hit the power button.
Click to expand...

When you put in your new motherboard, was it exactly the same kind? Last time I saw symptoms like that it was because of dual conflicting OS's, but I'm betting a motherboard switch would cause it also. Is the hard drive a fresh installation, after all the component modifications?

As a side note: Get an Athlon instead of a P4 next time :)
 
Ruined Saint said:
Alright, I checked a few threads here before posting and tried a few of the things I found in them before posting... So here goes.

System is DIY.
Mother: Biostar P4M800 Pro-M7 Socket 775 w/P4 3.8Ghz
Case came with 450W power supply.
1.5G Ram (DDR2)
Couple fans
7.1 Soundcard (Auzentech)

Last weekend, I installed an ATI Radeon X1950GT Super 3D Graphics Card. This immediately resulted in overheating problems, and eventually the system wouldn't so much as boot up (CMOS set to shut down at 80C). I finally decided to give it a rest and went to bed.

The next morning, it booted fine, so I logged into CMOS, set the fan to alternating speed ("Smart"?), then went downstairs (don't smoke in the house; kids, y'know). At any rate, when I came back, the system had shut down. At this point, it wouldn't reboot at all.

Frustrated, I started taking my system apart; I wanted to check the motherboard for anything that looked like it might be burned, scorched, melted, etc. However, about 2/3 of the way through, I found an oily substance on one of the cables. I traced this to the power supply, which I then removed and opened. Sure enough, there was a component that had melted and some of this fluid had leaked (am I gonna get cancer?).

So, I ordered a new power supply (500W) and dual-fan system that slides into a 5.25" slot for good measure. Arrived this morning. I installed and fired it up.

And it ran for all of 10 seconds.

Since then, when I hit the power button, nothing happens.

If I unplug the cord from the power supply for a few moments and then plug it back in, then the fan kicks on for just a split second after hitting the power button but then stops.

Since then, I have cleared the CMOS twice, removed all hardware except the C: Drive and RAM...

So, this being all the relevant information that I can think of, does this sound like a fried board, or is my problem elsewhere?
Click to expand...


you getting cancer was my best laugh of the day. didnt expect that. But similar thing happened to me, your new card might be pullin too much power
 
supersmashbrada said:
you getting cancer was my best laugh of the day. didnt expect that. But similar thing happened to me, your new card might be pullin too much power
Click to expand...
Definately. The Newegg PSU is a 580W; should be here tomorrow or Tuesday.

Tmagic650 said:
You don't know a Bill Weiner in Rhodes Ranch? Bill has the same luck with building systems as you do...
Click to expand...
Hey now, I'm running a 50% average on DIYs. And I might pull this one out of the mud yet...

o.o

Might.
 
I had same problem. Solution: cut the wires of PSU fan and solder it to 12 volt. its make some noise, but it cooling beter.
 
If its the exact same motherboard I'd recommend reinstalling the OS, perhaps even a clean reformat and reinstall.

(As an aside, by the time this thing's running, my free 14-day trial of WoW will have expired. :p )
Click to expand...

I have 3 or 4 10-day (maybe 14?) guest pass keys, they give you a few when you buy the expansion. PM me and I can give you a couple of those if you want :)
 
ZWERVER said:
I had same problem. Solution: cut the wires of PSU fan and solder it to 12 volt. its make some noise, but it cooling beter.
Click to expand...
That's crazy... Which means it'll likely work. I'll keep this in mind, though. I told them I wanted to return the second PSU, but they ignored that and a third one is on the way. o.O And this while a different one I ordered from another store is enroute.

foozy said:
If its the exact same motherboard I'd recommend reinstalling the OS, perhaps even a clean reformat and reinstall.
Click to expand...
Might just have to...

I have 3 or 4 10-day (maybe 14?) guest pass keys, they give you a few when you buy the expansion. PM me and I can give you a couple of those if you want :)
Click to expand...
Will do.
 
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