Something happened last night...

GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
edited February 2006 in Hardware
It has been quite a weekend. I started off by deconstructing my PC that is in the Antec Aria case, in order to start the ball rolling on my case mod and eventual upgrade of the PC.

I planned on selling the pieces of that PC (XP2500+ & nForce2 chipset mobo) and so I migrated my 9800 Pro into the 'media PC' that's just been sitting and gathering dust for months. This PC is a AMD64 3000+ on the Socket 754 chipset.

I started by installing XP Pro 64-bit edition, and that ran fine for 2 days without really a hiccup, aside from the fact that I had no ability to print or connect to the web through WiFi, so I wound up scrapping that idea.

I installed XP Pro (original w/SP2) on the PC, and that borked very quickly. So I did it again. This time it worked just fine. I was even able to update everything and play some AoE3 before bed last night. I went to bed, thinking everything was just fine. Unfortunately, something happened last night.

I woke up this morning and the PC had shut itself down. At first I figured that maybe there had been a power outage last night that lasted longer than the UPS battery, so I thought all was cool and I pressed the power switch. Nothing happened.

By this time, I was not a happy camper. I popped the side of the case open to see if maybe by some fluke the power switch connector had popped off the header on the mobo. Nope. Then I noticed that the LED on the mobo was off. To me, it seems like the PSU is dead. How the heck can an Antec TruePower die with only about a year of use under its belt?

Anyway, I connected up a spare PSU that I have to the motherboard power connection points (20 pin and 4 pin) and to the 9800 Pro. When I plugged in that PSU, the green light came on on the mobo. However, when I press the power button, the PC still doesn't respond at all, even after a CMOS clear. Did my PSU die and take out the mobo with it?

Please tell me there's hope!
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Comments

  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    Have you tried bothe PSU's on another system?

    Have you tried taking the board out of the case and trying again?

    I know you know the drill but sometimes we just get bogged down with how things look at the moment. For the heck of it, what are the specs of the rig?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    I haven't tried the PSUs on another system yet, but I will once I get enough pieces that weren't in this system together.

    For my second test, with the new PSU, I had the board out of the case, with just the RAM, Video Card, and CPU on the board, and just the board's two power connectors and the video card's one plugged in.

    Here are the specs:
    Asus K8N motherboard
    AMD64 3000+ (2.0GHz) Socket 754 CPU
    1 GB (2x512) Corsair TwinX PC3200
    Radeon 9800 Pro
    80GB IDE Drive (System)
    200GB SATA Drive (Data)
    Hawking Tech HWP54G WiFi card
    XP Pro 32-bit w/SP2
    Old PSU (that didn't show power LED on mobo): Antec True380S (came out of an Antec Sonata1 case stock)
    Backup PSU: Antec 400W SL400
    Case: Generic Aluminum Newegg $18 special

    When I turned over the Antec 380 to look at what model number was on it just now, I heard something rattling inside. :eek:
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    GHoosdum wrote:
    ....... When I turned over the Antec 380 to look at what model number was on it just now, I heard something rattling inside. :eek:
    Ouch!!!
    That is definitely not a positive sign. And I have certainly been familiar with PSU's and other components taking out mobos when they go. I guess all you can do is to isolate the bad parts through individual testing.

    Good luck. :thumbsup:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    Thanks, Larry - I'll need the luck. I can only test everything except for the mobo and CPU, since this is my only Socket 754 system.

    I'd be content if just the PSU were blown away, but since the system won't boot (or even try) with the new PSU, I'm not feeling too good about this. :(
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited December 2005
    GH, if you need the processor tested, send it my way and I'll drop it in one of my DFI folder systems. That's if you don't have anyone within driving distance that has a 754 system, of course.

    I had an Antec PP412 blow out last year and it was exciting to say the least, with sparks and smoke and everything. :shakehead Luckily it didn't take out anything else on that system though.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    Thanks, mudd, I may have to take you up on that offer. I'll let you know. :thumbsup:
  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited December 2005
    I bet it was a power surge. Do you have good power protection on the system (like a UPS)?

    I've replaced PSUs through Antec before and have no complaints.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2005
    GHoosdum wrote:
    ...Or do they disallow RMA if it's the PSU's fault the mobo goes out? :scratch:
    Unless you're certain that was the case, why tell 'em? For all you know it was the MB that took the PSU out. (If the MB is actually bad, of course.) :cool:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    TheSmJ wrote:
    I bet it was a power surge. Do you have good power protection on the system (like a UPS)?

    I've replaced PSUs through Antec before and have no complaints.

    Yup, it's hooked to a UPS. I'll give Antec's RMA a shot. And possibly Asus' too, if my mobo is fried. Or do they disallow RMA if it's the PSU's fault the mobo goes out? :scratch:
  • deicistdeicist Manchester, UK
    edited December 2005
    whoa...time warp?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    deicist wrote:
    whoa...time warp?

    I guess I'd better check the clock on my notebook. ;D

    Thanks for the advice, prof! :thumbsup:
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2005
    The server is having a midlife crisis. Next thing you know it'll buy a sports car and dump prime for a trophy wife. ;)
  • deicistdeicist Manchester, UK
    edited December 2005
    profdlp wrote:
    The server is having a midlife crisis. Next thing you know it'll buy a sports car and dump prime for a trophy wife. ;)

    I wondered why Shorty had started wearing that blonde wig...... :D
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2005
    deicist wrote:
    I wondered why Shorty had started wearing that blonde wig...... :D
    ;D;D;D

    I'm gonna tell... :vimp:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    I just returned from a vacation today. I had slapped together all of my working pieces to provide my sister with an operational PC. Upon returning today, this system is doing exactly what the other one did, sans PSU rattle.

    I am not happy. :shakehead
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2005
    Was it plugged into your UPS as well?

    Whether it is or not, with what looks like two blown PSU's in a row it might be time to check your wall outlet. :(
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    I don't know if it's a blown PSU yet, but I was able to get this board to boot with only CPU, RAM, and Video on a different PSU, along with a different power switch, just a few moments ago.

    I'm going to test my wall outlet with the tools I have. Unfortunately, it's not much.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2005
    Your UPS software will probably give you a lot of details concerning the source power. Also, one of these is cheap and is great for looking for grounding and polarity problems:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    profdlp wrote:
    Your UPS software will probably give you a lot of details concerning the source power. Also, one of these is cheap and is great for looking for grounding and polarity problems:

    Good point. I guess I'll be installing the UPS software on the notebook, then.

    That particular tester is the exact tool I was referring to. I've got one of those and one of those little pen-looking things that you can test whether there's power to the circuit or not, but it works inductively, not like a continuity tester.

    Then again, one of my best friends is an electrician, so if I can't find what's wrong, I'd be willing to bet that he can. I've asked him to help me run a dedicated circuit for the two outlets for the PCs in the office, but we won't have time until spring. Hopefully a new outlet will suffice for now.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    Here's the latest update:
    I have put a system together using my Chaintech mobo & XP2500+ with my 2nd backup PSU. It boots and goes to Windows, but the USB ports don't seem to work any longer for keyboard and mouse. I'm not sure if it's a hardware failure or something else, but I'm looking into it this weekend. I hope to have the system up and running soon, and the pineapple released into the wild ASAP.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    Sorry for not responding to this earlier, but I have a few of those aria Cases and have found that the stock PSU's suck! I have replaced both of my Aria PSU's due to failure and just down right constant issues. I did a bit of modding to the case to allow a full sze PSU to mount on the back :) they both run liek champs now...

    )ne being almost the same as yours a AMD Athlon 64 3000+ on a 754 socket with 2 gigs ram and a 6800GT graphic card.

    The other one is running a AMD Athlon 64 3800+ on the 939 socket set, with 1 gig ram and a 6600GT graphic card.

    Both system run very cool with the 2 modded 1200MM fans I put on both sides...
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    The thing of it is, my system has run without a hitch in the Aria for a year now. It was only when I put it together in the big aluminum case with the TruePower PSU that it fried. It strikes me as quite odd.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited December 2005
    For the USB stuff, have you checked your BIOS settings? What SP is installed for WinXP?
    GHoosdum wrote:
    ...It was only when I put it together in the big aluminum case with the TruePower PSU that it fried...
    Sorry if I missed this in the thread, but did you check all the standoffs?

    Also, what type of standoffs does it use? Are they the familiar screw-in brass thingamajigs, the clip-on type, or just conical protrusions on the MB tray?
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited December 2005
    SP2. BIOS is the first thing I thought of and I plan on checking tonight, and now that you mention it, I had reset the CMOS jumper just for grins when I pulled the mobo out of the aluminum case and put it into this spare case; the default setting may be USB keyboard/mouse disabled. If it's that simple, I will be thrilled.

    The aluminum case uses the normal brass standoffs, and I had the mobos screwed down to those using fiber washers under the screws. There's some kind of (steel?) nuts attached to the back of the aluminum case's removeable mobo tray. Actually, they're not really nuts per se, because they are rounded off, but they are threaded to receive the brass standoffs.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    The loss of my notebook got me off my butt to look at the main rig again, so I got it back up and running today after swapping master & slave on the HDDs. It turns out I was trying to boot into a different Windows install, one that had nF3 250 drivers installed instead of the nf2 drivers for the Chaintech mobo I'm using, and that's why the freaking USB keyboard wouldn't work.

    As far as the UPS goes, I'm going to swap it out. The device wasn't recognized when I tried to connect to it with the Bulldog software and it was showing "USB device failed to install properly" message in Windows when I connected it.

    I'm also going to be replacing the outlet. This evening, in fact.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited January 2006
    Sorry to hear about the notebook going down on you, GH. Hopefully it's something simple like the hard drive crapping out. I guess you will get to get your money's worth out of the extended warrantee coverage you bought with the notebook at least.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    Yup. That's the bright side I keep trying to look on.
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    The PC is shut down and unplugged right now; I didn't get to the outlet change yesterday. I will do it tonight and report back tomorrow. I'm a little wary of going to sleep and letting it run even with everything changed out, but I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt tonight.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited January 2006
    You may want to ask around in the neighborhood and see if there are others having similar problems. I don't know about where you live, but back when I worked in Washington D.C. they were fond of dropping our 120V line down to 80 or 90 volts. (This won't apply to your situation, but since they didn't do it on every phase at the same time we lost a few 3-phase motors until we put phase protectors on them.) You may have a brand new electric panel, but it could be that what is coming in is messed up.

    It's not quite straw-grasping time, but your problems seem somewhat outside of the laws of probability. Have you offended any wizened old crones lately? They're famous for putting nasty curses on people. :hair:
  • GHoosdumGHoosdum Icrontian
    edited January 2006
    I'm beginning to suspect I may be cursed as well.

    It could be the power coming into the whole house that is at issue, but I'm not sure that makes total sense, because it's only the PCs at my desk going crazy. l33t wife's PC is connected to the outlet on the next wall over from my PC, and she hasn't had a single issue (knock on wood).

    Here's the scenarios I can think of that may have led to the issue:
    1. Bad power to house - fried my PC twice and notebook HDD, wife's PC doesn't show signs due to better PSU (Antec True 430)
    2. Bad power at outlet - fried my PC twice and notebook HDD, specific to this location.
    3. Bad UPS - fried my PC twice and notebook HDD, location specific.
    4. Aluminum case was bad - something grounded improperly and fried PC twice, notebook issue unrelated (?)
    5. By chance, two PSUs (Antec!) were bad, and so was a notebook HDD - they all decided to fail within a month of each other.
    6. Somebody laid a curse on me.

    Here's how I rank them in order of most likely to least likely:
    2, 3, 1, 4, 6, 5

    My ultimate goal is to get voltage regulators on both PCs, but it'll have to wait because I'm very broke atm.

    I'll be selling off most of my surviving parts bin items soon, and I'll hopefully be able to afford a power-regulating UPS or a voltage regulator that can handle both PCs and new UPS with that.
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