OK, quick background: I am a software developer and have built perhaps 30 systems in my life, and this is the first time I have every been this baffled. I have come here looking for help! Thank you in advance!
Last week I woke up and walked over to my 6-month-old dev machine (it has worked flawlessly since Dec 07). It was hibernating. I moved the mouse, then tapped the space bar, but the system didn't respond. I hit the reset button and the system restarted. Here's where the problem is:
The system comes on, stays up for 4-5 seconds, there are no beeps and it does not post, then it shuts down. It repeats this over and over until I shut the power supply off.
Now then, before you give any advice, here is what I have done:
I assumed it was the power supply, so I have replaced it twice. The current PSU is a Antec 850watt unit. I've tried multiple outlets and a different surge protector but the system still does the same thing!
Then I assumed it was the Motherboard. I first tried a new ATX micro board from a local shop (the system still did the same thing) then I ordered a new MoBo from NewEgg. The system still does the same thing.
I had the CPU checked out, and it was fine. Still, I bought a new one just to be safe and the system still does the same thing!
I have replaced the video card with one that I know works (to prove it, I am using it now on this system to post this message). The video card swap did nothing- the system still did the same thing.
I have not tried new RAM, but I took out all the RAM in hopes that it would post with a memory error, but the system still does the same thing.
So, basically I am looking at a system with a new motherboard, a new CPU, a new power supply, all connections checked and re-checked a dozen times, with and without RAM, different video cards, hard drives connected but I've since disconnected those SATA cables as well, and still:
The system comes on, stays up for 4-5 seconds, there are no beeps and it does not post, then it shuts down. It repeats this over and over until I shut the power supply off.
Please, before I kill myself, can someone tell me what is wrong?
My current specs (with all the new crap):
Intel E8500 Core2 Duo CPU
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 motherboard
Ballistix PC800 RAM (4 gig)
MSI nVidia 8800GTX video card
Antec 850watt PSU
plus a few hard drives and a DVD drive that are not connected.
Last week I woke up and walked over to my 6-month-old dev machine (it has worked flawlessly since Dec 07). It was hibernating. I moved the mouse, then tapped the space bar, but the system didn't respond. I hit the reset button and the system restarted. Here's where the problem is:
The system comes on, stays up for 4-5 seconds, there are no beeps and it does not post, then it shuts down. It repeats this over and over until I shut the power supply off.
Now then, before you give any advice, here is what I have done:
I assumed it was the power supply, so I have replaced it twice. The current PSU is a Antec 850watt unit. I've tried multiple outlets and a different surge protector but the system still does the same thing!
Then I assumed it was the Motherboard. I first tried a new ATX micro board from a local shop (the system still did the same thing) then I ordered a new MoBo from NewEgg. The system still does the same thing.
I had the CPU checked out, and it was fine. Still, I bought a new one just to be safe and the system still does the same thing!
I have replaced the video card with one that I know works (to prove it, I am using it now on this system to post this message). The video card swap did nothing- the system still did the same thing.
I have not tried new RAM, but I took out all the RAM in hopes that it would post with a memory error, but the system still does the same thing.
So, basically I am looking at a system with a new motherboard, a new CPU, a new power supply, all connections checked and re-checked a dozen times, with and without RAM, different video cards, hard drives connected but I've since disconnected those SATA cables as well, and still:
The system comes on, stays up for 4-5 seconds, there are no beeps and it does not post, then it shuts down. It repeats this over and over until I shut the power supply off.
Please, before I kill myself, can someone tell me what is wrong?
My current specs (with all the new crap):
Intel E8500 Core2 Duo CPU
Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS4 motherboard
Ballistix PC800 RAM (4 gig)
MSI nVidia 8800GTX video card
Antec 850watt PSU
plus a few hard drives and a DVD drive that are not connected.