PC won’t boot?, interesting …

[archenemynl]

Hey guys, a 6 month old computer is having boot troubles. It shuts itself down 1 second after it’s powered on. Then it turns itself on again, only to turn itself off 1 sec later. No bios, no windows.

The trouble started after I installed an Intel graphics driver. First time after reboot I could use the pc for 10 minutes, the second time it shut down after 5, the third time only 1, now I can’t boot at all (see 1st paragraph). During the 3rd time it booted I managed to install a temp monitoring software, but did not detect anything special in the cpu temp (as far as I know). Oh ya: there are no beeps @ startup.

Here’s a List of sys specs:

Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz 6MB LGA1155 Quad-core
EVGA GeForce GTX670 FTW - 2GB HDMI/DVI/Display Poort
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UD3H ATX Z77 LGA1155 Intel Z77 - 4 x DDR3 - SATA600/USB3.0
Corsair Vengeance 8GB Kit (2x4GB) DDR3/1600MHz C9 DDR3 - 240 pin - 1,5V - CL9 - 2x 4GB Kit
Corsair TX V2 Series. 650 Watt. ATX. Power Supply. EU Ver ATX12V 2.31 / EPS12V 2.92
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler Socket
Antec One Mid Tower ATX - USB / Audio
Crucial 240 GB SSD

Here’s what I tried already:

Connected different PSU
Connected Video Card
Removed everything (yes even the processor), and reconnected.
Inspected processor/motherboard for damage
Reset CMOS/BIOS
Tired to launch with only processor and 1 memory stick

What do you guys think the problem could be? I’d sure love to know!

[cadaveca]

OK, so does it start to load windows, then crash?

you say one second, makes it sxeem like you hit power, then poof....then you say you got to install some hardware...so when exactly does it crash?


If you insxtall Intel VGA driver, then disable the VGA, windows will fail to load. Even if Intel VGA is enabled, but not primary display device, Windows will crash.

So I'm wondering if this is the source of the problem...but reading your post left me a bit confused.

[archenemynl]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

OK, so does it start to load windows, then crash?

you say one second, makes it sxeem like you hit power, then poof....then you say you got to install some hardware...so when exactly does it crash?


If you insxtall Intel VGA driver, then disable the VGA, windows will fail to load. Even if Intel VGA is enabled, but not primary display device, Windows will crash.

1) Nope I dont get windows, even bios doesn't start anymore.
2) It crashes permanently now, no matter what hardware I connect to it. I haven't tried to switch the mobo/cpu yet though.
3) I've been running on the build-in video card for about 2 weeks now, no problems whatsoever. Could the driver update have messed up the settings?

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

I don't thinks so since you can even get in the bios. If it was just crashing in windows then yes. This is pure hardware failure somewhere. Have you tried removing it from then case€ then clearing the cmos and trying with bear essentials?

[archenemynl]

Originally Posted by ThE_MaD_ShOt

Have you tried removing it from then case€ then clearing the cmos and trying with bear essentials?

Ay, I've tried to remove the Mobo from the case. Afterwards I ran it with just the processor/ram. It yielded no results though .

After that I tried a different PSU. Nothing again.

[cadaveca]

Hrm. Doesn't sound too positive, really.

I'd look at ram, CPU, and motherboard as the problems, would be nice to have the stuff to test each on it's own. If those three aren't working together, I mean ,you cannot get more basic if CMOS has been cleared. Is there an LED POST display on that board?

[erocker]

Things to check if you haven't:

- Try flipping the power/reset switch leads that go from your case to the motherboard

- Double/Triple check all power connections again. Make sure there aren't any PCI-E and CPU power cables mixed up.

- Grab your manual and check any and all jumpers on the motherboard.

- Check for bent pins in the CPU socket.

- Keep the CMOS battery removed for at least 10 minutes.

[archenemynl]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

Is there an LED POST display on that board?

Yeh, but since the pc shuts down within a second, it cant display anything useful.

[Bluefox1115]

is your heatsink seated properly with new thermal paste and the old stuff cleaned off? cpu fan plugged in? power connections correctly and fully inserted? make sure your clear cmos jumper is not still on the reset pina.

[Hellraiser1981]

make sure the pch (The big chip on the MB) has the heat sink seated properly. Else, replace the motherboard.

[archenemynl]

Originally Posted by erocker

- Try flipping the power/reset switch leads that go from your case to the motherboard

Im currently using the power button on the Mobo to boot, the case shouldn't be the issue

Originally Posted by erocker

- Double/Triple check all power connections again. Make sure there aren't any PCI-E and CPU power cables mixed up.

The hardware is connected just fine, It worked before the driver update, I didn't change anything until the system didn't want to boot.

Originally Posted by erocker

- Grab your manual and check any and all jumpers on the motherboard.

There's a jumper to clear CMOS. I gave it a shot yet no results

Originally Posted by erocker

- Check for bent pins in the CPU socket.

Checked it but found nothing out of the ordinary.

Originally Posted by erocker

- Keep the CMOS battery removed for at least 10 minutes.

Nothing, same as before.


Ps: This particular mobo has 2 bios boots: a normal and backup. When the pc starts it tries from one - crash - then it tries to boot from the backup bios - crash -. This process keeps repeating over and over again. I'm not sure it has any value, but thought i'd mention it.
pps: thnx guys for troubleshooting

[archenemynl]

Originally Posted by Bluefox1115

is your heatsink seated properly with new thermal paste and the old stuff cleaned off? cpu fan plugged in? power connections correctly and fully inserted? make sure your clear cmos jumper is not still on the reset pina.

The Heatsing is seated relatively properly. When I removed the heatsink/processor to check for broken pins in the socket, i was sure to apply new paste when the heat sink was put back.

The CMOS clear is a button on my board, so no worries about that. The cpu fan doesn't seem to solve the problem either way.

[archenemynl]

Originally Posted by Hellraiser1981

make sure the pch (The big chip on the MB) has the heat sink seated properly. Else, replace the motherboard.

Pch? Every heatsink is steated firmly though, I doubt it could be the problem.
There's still warranty on the Mobo, yet I want to be absolutely sure it's the problem before sending it back.

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Now when you are clearing the cmos, you do have the power core removed from the psu right? You probably do but some small things like that can be overlooked when in the heat of things.

[brandonwh64]

Originally Posted by erocker

- Try flipping the power/reset switch leads that go from your case to the motherboard.

Originally Posted by archenemynl

Im currently using the power button on the Mobo to boot, the case shouldn't be the issue.

What erocker and the madshot are saying is that with the PSU in the ON posistion, it delivers a small amount of power to the motherboard which will retain CMOS information. To properly clear the CMOS, you must unplug and turn off the PSU then remove the CMOS battery and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. This should completely clear out any leaking voltage that the motherboard and PSU hold.

[JrRacinFan]

To me it sounds like a dead motherboard. If you have an onboard/case speaker for the board, try to post without any ram and see what happens.

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Originally Posted by brandonwh64

What erocker and the madshot are saying is that with the PSU in the ON posistion, it delivers a small amount of power to the motherboard which will retain CMOS information. To properly clear the CMOS, you must unplug and turn off the PSU then remove the CMOS battery and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. This should completely clear out any leaking voltage that the motherboard and PSU hold.

Yeah what he said. LOL Unplug the Psu from the wall, then remove the battery. Hit the power switch on the mobo to discharge any residual energy. Then hit the clear cmos button. Leave the battery out for about 10 mins just to be sure. Then try again with bare essentials, cpu, mem, gpu.

[archenemynl]

Yes, I've cleared the CMOS w/o the mobo being connected to the powersupply. Even took out the battery for good measure. It didn't change the situation though. The computer still shuts itself down after 1 sec.

[ThE_MaD_ShOt]

Hmm this isn't looking good man. Sounds as if the board or cpu may have took a dump on you.

[erocker]

Originally Posted by ThE_MaD_ShOt

Hmm this isn't looking good man. Sounds as if the board or cpu may have took a dump on you.

I'm thinking the same.

[cadaveca]

Originally Posted by erocker

I'm thinking the same.

Yeah, tough one. Could be PSU, ran into similar recently myself, but that was tested, so board or CPU is most likely. if it was ram, there'd be a code displayed on the POST LED. Could be some sort of short withy the casing, too, if tested outside of system, that'd eliminate that.


Hopefully you have a local store or something you can take this into for testing, I'm fresh out of ideas here.

[archenemynl]

Too bad, thnx for the help anyway guys!

I really hoped it could be fixed more easily, but it looks as though I should try a new mobo or proc.

What's in your opinion more likely to break in this scenario: the processor or the mobo?

[Crap Daddy]

Motherboard.

[drdeathx]

test the PSU first

[axis007]

Hey mate this is horror story i feel your pain. I'm a system builder and believe me this kinda crap happens quit a bit. Like some of the guys are saying, it's very likely that board is fried. Have you tried different cpu and ram... If the board wont post with say a G830 and one stick of QVL ram in it then it's probably a good bet in saying its a dead board. Considering all the trouble shooting you have done.

Send it back for RMA and direct them to this thread and say i bloody well tried...