An Urgent Plea For Help... Corona Won't POST.

SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
edited September 2005 in Hardware
I went out and picked up an Antec TruePower 550W PSU today to replace the tiring 430W Antec in my system now (was undervolting).

I shutdown the system (which was working perfectly fine at the time), removed the 430W PSU and installed the new 550W PSU.

Before restarting, I swapped a few disks around.

The old configuration was:

C: 2xWD360s in RAID-0 on SATA Promise Controller
D: WD1200JB - Pri. Mas. on IDE1
E: WD1000BB - Pri. Mas. on Ultra133 TX2 IDE1
F: WD1200JB - Pri. Slave. on Ultra133 TX2 IDE1
G: Lite-On 16x DVD - Sec. Mas. on IDE2
H: Lite-On 48x12x48 - Sec. Slave. on IDE2

Other hard disks were out for maintenance.

The new configuration is:

C: 2xWD360s in RAID-0 on SATA Promise Controller
D: WD1200JB - Pri. Mas. on IDE1
E: WD1200JB on Pri. Slave. on IDE1
F: Lite-On 16x DVD - Sec. Mas. on IDE2
G: Lite-On 48x12x48 - Sec. Slave. on IDE2

Attempted to boot back up, and the system did not POST.

I doubled checked all the power and IDE connections & jumpers and tried it again. No go. Okay, clear the BIOS and unhook all the disk drives. Attempted to power up system. It started. Okay, hooked up the RAID-0 array (trying to get into Windows), but system won't boot from or find RAID-0 array. I fiddled in the BIOS and accidently enabled the Intel Integrated RAID, which I mistakenly had the SATA RAID-0 drives (RAID array made with the Promise Controller) hooked up. Fired the system up, it found the 2 drives on the Intel RAID controller, but not as a RAID disk.

Attempted to boot system again... no go. Cleared BIOS and changed SATA cables back to Promise controller. System can find the RAID array now, but can't boot from it.

So, I attempt to install the CD-ROM drives now. No go, the BIOS can't detect the burner. I thought it was a cable malfunction, so I changed cables. Still won't find it. Tried different power connectors. Still won't find it. Getting pissed off at this point... :)

Finally, after running out of ideas, I put the drives back into their original setup (on the Promise Ultra133 TX2 and the IDE ports on the motherboard), SATA cables back where they belong and CD-ROM's back where they belong. Now it won't POST. Really pissed now.

Shut down system, remove Antec 550W and re-install 430W. Hook everything back up again just as it was BEFORE I installed the 550W. Attempt to boot system.. No POST. Clear CMOS. System boots, but won't find any drives.

Restart PC and now the system won't POST at all. Removed all drives, CD-ROM's & floppies and system will not POST. Removed all case fans, short of the CPU fan. System will NOT POST.

Any ideas? Please help. :(:(:(
I'm stumped and about ready to throw this god damned ****ing machine out the window!!! :mad2: :mad2: :mad2:

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Comments

  • ClutchClutch North Carolina New
    edited October 2003
    Have you tried taking the motherboard out of the case and seeing if it will even boot up with just the bare minimum? Did you check the jumper on the cd-rom before installing it? sounds kind of dumb, but got to check everything.
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited October 2003
    Man, sounds like you've been pretty thorough in your troubleshooting and this looks like a real puzzler. Have you tried either or both of the psu's on another mobo? I'm leaning towards a mobo malfunction more than psu problems, from all the troubleshooting you've done so far. Did you check the 5v and 12v rails with a multimeter on a molex plug out of the psu on your 430? The 5v and 12v rails might have been low because of some component on the mobo getting weak. Also, do you have any case or hsf fans drawing power off the fan headers on the mobo? Maybe you have a fan going bad or something and is messing with you. Hook any necessary fans up via 4-3 adapters for the moment to help troubleshoot.

    Testing the psu's on another rig would seem to be the next step in troubleshooting to me.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited October 2003
    ESD is a possibility here. One thing we "experts" always tend to forget is a wrist strap or at least the "hold on to the case with one hand while we work".. It's possible that you may have ESD'ed your motherboard to death, I hate to say it.

    I still think Keeb's memory problems the other day were due to ESD.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2003
    prime, it's interesting that you should say that. I've never, ever, EVER killed something through ESD, to the best of my knowledge. But, now that I think about it, I've had a stick of RAM and a motherboard just stop working, for no apparent reason, shortly after I did something with them. Wonder if ESD was to blame...

    *Geeky1 goes to grab his wrist stralp and anti-static mat*
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited October 2003
    Clutch had this to say
    Have you tried taking the motherboard out of the case and seeing if it will even boot up with just the bare minimum? Did you check the jumper on the cd-rom before installing it? sounds kind of dumb, but got to check everything.

    Just pulled the motherboard out of the case, set it on a phone book and attempted to boot with the following:

    Intel Pentium 4 2.4C @ Stock (200x12)
    Asus P4C800-E
    1 stick 256 MB Corsair XMS3700
    SLK-900 & Fan.
    Radeon 9800 Pro.

    Still won't post. Tried swapping video cards with my Radeon 9700 Pro... still won't post, so it's not a video card issue.

    Swapped Corsair RAM with another stick of Corsair RAM. Won't post. Tried with a 512 MB stick of Crucial PC3200. No post.

    Swapped the Dell UltraScan 21" monitor (hey, you never know) with a Samsung SyncMaster 750s on each video card... still no go.

    Looking at the jumpers on the backs of the DVD & CD-RW, they are in the proper master & slave positions according to how they have been setup for the last 16 months. Thanks for pointing that out though :)
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited October 2003
    muddocktor had this to say
    Man, sounds like you've been pretty thorough in your troubleshooting and this looks like a real puzzler. Have you tried either or both of the psu's on another mobo? I'm leaning towards a mobo malfunction more than psu problems, from all the troubleshooting you've done so far. Did you check the 5v and 12v rails with a multimeter on a molex plug out of the psu on your 430? The 5v and 12v rails might have been low because of some component on the mobo getting weak. Also, do you have any case or hsf fans drawing power off the fan headers on the mobo? Maybe you have a fan going bad or something and is messing with you. Hook any necessary fans up via 4-3 adapters for the moment to help troubleshoot.

    Testing the psu's on another rig would seem to be the next step in troubleshooting to me.

    I hooked the 430W & 550W PSU's to my Athlon 2500+ system. With a volt-metre and booting with only the bare essentials, I checked each and every plug (minus the floppy plugs) with a volt-metre. All readings are right on the money.

    Only the CPU fan draws power across the motherboard. It's a 92mm Panaflo H1A 57 CFM fan which draws little to nothing. I tried booting with another CPU fan that draws power across a 4-pin molex connector, but it didn't help the situation. :(

    After closer inspection of the motherboard, nothing looks out of the ordinary, other than the place where I spilt AS3 on it almost a year ago.

    Thanks for the suggestions. I'm grasping for straws here :)
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited October 2003
    primesuspect had this to say
    ESD is a possibility here. One thing we "experts" always tend to forget is a wrist strap or at least the "hold on to the case with one hand while we work".. It's possible that you may have ESD'ed your motherboard to death, I hate to say it.

    I still think Keeb's memory problems the other day were due to ESD.

    The place where I do all my component swapping is on carpetted flooring. However, on top of the carpet are a couple of plastic chair-roller mats that help protect the carpet from those nasty indents you get from sitting in one spot too long.

    Any of the cards I removed from the system were placed directly onto a static bag. The hard disks were placed into a rack unit where I store all my hard disks when the are not in use. Not until this morning was the motherboard & RAM removed from the case & placed onto a non-conductive surface.

    Unfortunately, I didn't use an anti-static wrist strap, so ESD may be to blame here. :(

    Thanks for the help guys. I really do appreciate it! :):):)
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited October 2003
    Looks like it's the motherboard causing me grief.

    Before I packed up the motherboard, I pulled it out of the system (again) and put it on a non-conductive surface. CPU, RAM & Video card is all I stuck in the board.

    Tried with both sticks of Corsair XMS3700. No boot.
    Removed the B1 Channel stick. System boots. Okay, now I think I have a dead RAM stick.

    Remove the stick from A1 Channel and insert the stick from B1 channel. System boots.

    Okay, try swapping memory modules around in A1 & B1 memory channels to operate in dual channel - won't POST.

    Try switching to A2 & B2 channels... won't POST. Insert each stick in A2 & B2 channels and the system still won't POST.

    Does that sound like a northbridge/motherboard problem or memory problem (maybe both)? :)
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2003
    Sounds like the board's dead to me.
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited October 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say
    Sounds like the board's dead to me.

    Yep. To rule out the memory, I just tested both modules again in the Asus A7N8X in dual-channel mode. They booted the Barton 2500+ in dual-channel mode into Windows without a problem.

    Looks like it's the northbridge/MCH that's fu*ked, as I can use both 256 MB Corsair XMS3700 modules in single-channel mode on the board, but as soon as you try to use them in dual-channel in either Channel 1 or Channel 2, the board won't post.

    Thanks for the help all of you! Looks like I'm off to get me an Abit IC7-MAX3. :)
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2003
    Or you could just RMA the ASUS... Even better yet, do what I do. Buy a new board, AND RMA the old one
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited October 2003
    To confess, I've never actually had to RMA anything before.

    Even though I've purchased the motherboard from a local store, I can still RMA the board to Asus?
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited October 2003
    Yea, and ASUS is very good about their RMAs. I've RMAed 3 boards to them (one of which I just drove up to their office and dropped off...) and they've always replaced them...
  • Jeff34BuffJeff34Buff Lakewood, CO
    edited September 2005
    ASUS gave me this procedure yesterday:

    Unplug everything, Except CPU, RAM, CPU fan,

    Clear CMOS

    Put Video, Keyboard, Mouse, back on - (I don't think this works with USB KVM)

    Plug in Power
    Turn on Video
    Turn on & listen for beeps:

    1 beep = Keyboard Video or Mouse Error, Refresh Time Error, No Master Drive
    2 long + 2 short beeps = floppy controller failure
    2 long + 4 short beeps = hardware controller failure

    It's helped me - Also try the phone support. ASUS very good, Free (well, long distance) + max 2-3 minute hold for tech
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited September 2005
    2 years

    that procedure would also not have solved his problem
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited September 2005
    Wow, talk about digging a thread from the grave! ;D;D;D
  • Jeff34BuffJeff34Buff Lakewood, CO
    edited September 2005
    Hey, I still haven't got mine running yet!

    I had just got off the phone with ASUS and that was his current mantra.

    I get NO beeps.

    The ASUS guy told me to keep resetting the CMOS, plugging and unplugging this or that. Everything is humming fan blowing, but NOOOOO for the video signal. I do have another motherboard I could use to check the Video with, but I don't want to pull the CPU on and off unless I have to. Maybe I'm a chicken, but Every Time I pull one off or put one on I turn into a STRESS PUPPY. I make my girlfriend leave the room like I'm disabling a bomb or something. I grit my teeth when I unclamp the fan from the heatsink. I know sooner or later I'm gonna bend a pin or something. Probably just a write of passage, ya know? Like a skier that has never fallen has never really skied. Or maybe I'm vain enough that I can't bear to screw it up in front of her. It always leads up to quality time discussing my commitment to real world responsiblities. I call it the "There goes our car payment speech".¹

    The CPU is a P4 530 and I've really been happy with it. In her celestial opinion I spend way to much time and money playing with computers as it is. It's a hobby. I build one, use it for maybe a year, sell it & use the money to buy the parts for the next. I wanna try one of the 64 bit AMD's but that looks like a major jump in software, drivers etc. It seems like the industry has hit a flat spot in development. The dual processor path doesn't seem that innovative to me. They've been doing it in severs for quite some time. I find it hard to swallow as cutting edge when Dec Alpha was doing it 6 -7 years ago.

    I've only built about 10 boxes, made my share of mistakes - but I have yet to kill a processor. It does add a little excitement to a dull evening.

    I'm keeping a candle burning for all those souls looking at dark monitors tonight.

    Jeff

    ¹ The only known defense to this arguenment is to go to the closet & start counting her shoes, but it's risky to counter attack (I learned the hard way not to bring up the fancy fingernail paint & finish every couple of weeks). :wtf:
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2005
    Sometimes when the craziest of problems with boot/BIOS can't be fixed by resetting the CMOS, simply removing the CMOS battery can set it straight. Remove the battery and let it sit for an hour. Chances are you'll be able to enter the BIOS and set everything right.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited September 2005
    make sure you also unplug the psu when following leo's advice. It doesnt sound like it will work but it does. I can't tell ya the number of times it has saved my butt.

    Tex
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