Dead Motherboard?

fox2319

Just got a new motherboard and processor and installed in a new case (long story but fault finding a friends computer, replaced case first then it looked like the mobo was fried)

Anyway, All plumbed in but nothing happens when I press the power switch (and yes, that is wired in). No beeps, no fans - nothing!

So, can anyone offer any advice as to what's happening?

It's an ECS NFORCE-A939 motherboard with a retail boxed Athlon64 3000 and stock heatsink.

Ta

Jeff

Blacksheep1979

try a google for jump starting the psu - ie you short out the green and black wires. This will start the psu without the need for the on/off button and will tell you if the PSU is knackered, the on/off button is knackered or maybe the mobo. HAve you plugged the extra 4 pin connector from the PSU into the mobo?

shutton54321

Yeh the above! Plus do you have spacers between the case and motherboard as the system can cut off sometimes if they arent put in. And would check the power connections again!

madpom

Double-check the motherboard manual as a lot of boards have a stand-bye LED to indicate it is at least receiving the stand-bye voltage from the PSU. If this is lit then the PSU is at least providing some juice (but could still be faulty if there's not enough current on one of the rails).

fox2319

<sigh>

Thanks for all that, it turned out to be a corner of the mobo was touching a case stand-off point. So, some non-conductive material in there and we're off - or so I thought.

Now the PC gets up to the point where it's just about to start the windows GUI then resets. Even when I try to run it in safe mode. I've tried a bootable Mandrake disk and it seems to get to a (fairly basic) GUI. I'm also going to try to burn a bootable ubuntu image and will try to see if it handles that.

I'm assuming that if it will go to the desktop then the grfx card is ok but the windows drivers are shot. If it doesn't, new grfx card... Any thoughts?

Ta

Jeff

DrSmutt

you have done a fresh installation of windows?

fox2319

DrSmutt wrote:

you have done a fresh installation of windows?

Not yet, no install disk at the mo. Ho hum, could be the next job

computerwoman

pc wont work until you format and re-install windows as I too have just installed a new MB and CPU and it fired up ok then shut down straight away you have to format the HD so the whole system will pick up the new stuff, you can make an MS DOS floppy boot disk by going to my computer right-click on floppy drive and scroll to format click on format you'll need a blank floppy for this go to create an MS DOS start-up disk

TheImportanceOfBeingIdle

computerwoman wrote:

pc wont work until you format and re-install windows as I too have just installed a new MB and CPU and it fired up ok then shut down straight away you have to format the HD so the whole system will pick up the new stuff, you can make an MS DOS floppy boot disk by going to my computer right-click on floppy drive and scroll to format click on format you'll need a blank floppy for this go to create an MS DOS start-up disk

A full format isn't needed. Boot from an XP disc and when asked, press enter to set up windows xp. When it's finished loading, press 'r' to repair.

The data and settings won't be lost but a new copy of XP will be installed

computerwoman

TheImportanceOfBeingIdle wrote:

A full format isn't needed. Boot from an XP disc and when asked, press enter to set up windows xp. When it's finished loading, press 'r' to repair.

The data and settings won't be lost but a new copy of XP will be installed

wish I'd thought of that the other night, but I do prefere to use the fdisk, so I can check the HDs intregrity,