Need some [real] geek help

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Public'sTwin

Public'sTwin

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DismissiveClOCK
I did a tear-down yesterday on my PC to clean it out and apply some new thermal paste. Deconstruction went fine, and then I re-assembled everything.

When I tried to reboot it, this is what happens:

  • 1 orange, 1 green LED on motherboard turn on [normal]
  • Motherboard LCD says “FF” (Fully functioning)
  • All fans turn on, stay at max speed [unusual]
  • GPU fan turns on [normal]
  • Display/video feed does not activate [unusual]
  • No beeps or sound to indicate POST activity [unusual]
  • Front panel LEDs (Power LED, HDD LED activity) do not turn on after power-up, except for a brief flash after pushing the button [unusual]
  • Computer will turn on, and will turn off if I hold the power button (NOT the AC switch at the back) [normal]
  • Can hear HDD spin if I listen closely [normal]
  • Powers up exactly like this WITH OR WITHOUT an HDD or Keyboard/Mouse [unusual]

Here are some troubleshooting steps I’ve tried:

  • Flashing/clearing my CMOS (twice)
  • Different PCI-E slots for my videocard
  • Different RAM slots/ full RAM slots/ all empty but 1 RAM slot
  • Switching +/- leads from Front Panel (Power, Reset, Power-on LED, HDD activity LED)
  • Removing all unnecessary devices, leaving only RAM, HDD, GPU & fans
  • Inspected motherboard mounting posts/chassis contact

So this is the state; it just powers on, and nothing. The motherboard will beep if there’s not enough power - I’ve had that before. No boot sequence, no display, no sounds (except for those described) … nothing. I’ve checked the EVGA/nForce/nVidia forums to no avail - most people’s problems are new equipment with incompatible graphics cards, RAM, etc., or are simply resolved by trying different slots or clearing the CMOS.

Hardware:

  • EVGA nForce 780i SLI
  • Intel Q6600
  • BFG nVidia 8800GTS 512mb
  • 2gb OCZ2N1066SR2GK PC2 8500 RAM
  • 4gb OCZ2P10664GK PC2 8500 RAM (2gb installed)
  • 500gb WD HDD

Anyone have any ideas?

Suggested causes:
  • Computer may think it's over-heating
 
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If the fans turn on fully then it may think it's over heating, which might be preventing it turning on to protect it's self.

I wouldn't know where the temp sensor is but just check it all over round the CPU. (Usually under the cpu in the middle of the socket.)

Other than that I can't really help, but I'm not much of a geek.
 
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The CPU is very cool. How would it 'think' that?

What the fans all staying on max speed indicates to me is that it hasn't made it to POST yet. When it worked fine, it would always turn on, the fans would be going full blast, and then POST would start at which point the computer starts "thinking" and slows them down.

If it is what you suggest, how would one go about rectifying that?
 
Oh OK, I didn't realise the fans started at full speed from the beginning. I did edit my post slightly after some research.

I'm just giving my thoughts until someone who knows what they are doing arrives.
 
I'm a bit stumped. I've had a similar experience after cleaning up my machine, but I got it to boot right up after re-seating the memory. What about re-seating the CPU? I wouldn't go as far as cleaning the thermal paste since it's new, but maybe adding a tiny bit to smooth out the peaks and such created from removing the heatsink. That looks like the only thing you haven't listed as trying. Other than that, just make sure everything is 100% seated. I've had times where RAM looked and felt locked in, but wiggling it and pushing it down cleared up the issue. If none of this works, I have no idea where to go next.
 
Did you short anything with the new paste?
 
Omnis
Did you short anything with the new paste?
Click to expand...

That was my initial thought here. You did a lot of good steps already and I would question the processor itself at this point. with the MoBo FF light, I would rule that out and unless your MoBo has an onboard video to try, the video card probably isn't the issue with trying different slots (but make sure the power to the video card is plugged in if it requires one).

Do you have another same socket processor you can insert, re-paste and boot with to see if the same happens? That would be my first recommended step. If not, you could do what I've done and get a compatible processor for testing and then return it saying you got one with the wrong socket :)

Jerome
 
First off, the thermal paste is not a maintenance item. It's there at initial install, and it's there forever. You do not need to replace it or change it. if for some reason you remove the heat sink you do need to use new thermal paste, though. Don't pull it apart just to put paste in, though. Sorry, but that's dumb.

Cleaning, as far as blowing out dust, making sure all fans run, making sure heat sinks are clear, is all that needs to be done to ensure normal cooling.

Does the behavior change if the memory is changed as to which slot it's in, how much is installed, and so on? Use one or the other, or swap them.

You may have zapped your CPU, and swapping like for like is the only way to know that. You don't have to feel a static discharge in order to have one actually fry your chip.

You may have a bad power supply. Damage to the 3-, 5-, or 12-volt circuit, so as to have one but not both, may exhibit symptoms you experience. It's like you've got 12 volts (fans, drives, etc.) but not 5 volts. (You did plug in that 4-wire connector as well as the larger one, right? That's 12, but I've seen folks miss it.)

No screws stuck under to mo-bo anywhere?

Memory, CPU, P/S are the things to look at.
 
Well I DID hear about grounding yourself before touching a CPU..........
Oh and I'm also guessing that your Mobo has a fried connector.
 
All screws, connectors, mounts, and otherwise losable or potentially untraceable items are accounted for.

NissanSkylineN1
Well I DID hear about grounding yourself before touching a CPU..........
Oh and I'm also guessing that your Mobo has a fried connector.
Click to expand...

I would like to think I never transferred a static charge to it, as I worked on a plate-glass desk in bare feet, but as you mentioned it can be virtually undetectable when it happens. I generally made sure to discharge myself whenever I left/entered the room. I can't rule it out absolutely as a possibility, but I think it's unlikely. (I also never actually touched the CPU with anything other than a rubber-nosed applicator.)

As for ruling out the processor, that'll be tricky. As common as Q6600s are, most of my friends and colleagues have laptops, or shamefully outdated PCs. Will have to keep testing connections and trying other solutions that are available to me. . .
 
They say to touch a copper tube (like your water line inside the house) and then all the electricity wil get out of you.
 
I know you said you cleared the cmos but I would take the MB battery out for 15 minutes and try that. My nephew hadn't used his computer for a while and wouldn't post and just clearing the cmos wasn't enough. Had to remove the battery. Worth a try. I would also recheck all power connections from the PSU. Maybe one isn't seated all the way. Good luck. It can and will get frustrating trying to figure this out.
 
I don't know if this will help but it is the basics

The System Boot Process Explained
What happens between the time that the user powers up the computer and when the icons appear on the desktop?
Last updated January 28, 2010
In order for a computer to successfully boot, its BIOS, operating system and hardware components must all be working properly; failure of any one of these three elements will likely result in a failed boot sequence.

When the computer's power is first turned on, the CPU initializes itself, which is triggered by a series of clock ticks generated by the system clock. Part of the CPU's initialization is to look to the system's ROM BIOS for its first instruction in the startup program. The ROM BIOS stores the first instruction, which is the instruction to run the power-on self test (POST), in a predetermined memory address. POST begins by checking the BIOS chip and then tests CMOS RAM. If the POST does not detect a battery failure, it then continues to initialize the CPU, checking the inventoried hardware devices (such as the video card), secondary storage devices, such as hard drives and floppy drives, ports and other hardware devices, such as the keyboard and mouse, to ensure they are functioning properly.

Once the POST has determined that all components are functioning properly and the CPU has successfully initialized, the BIOS looks for an OS to load.

The BIOS typically looks to the CMOS chip to tell it where to find the OS, and in most PCs, the OS loads from the C drive on the hard drive even though the BIOS has the capability to load the OS from a floppy disk, CD or ZIP drive. The order of drives that the CMOS looks to in order to locate the OS is called the boot sequence, which can be changed by altering the CMOS setup. Looking to the appropriate boot drive, the BIOS will first encounter the boot record, which tells it where to find the beginning of the OS and the subsequent program file that will initialize the OS.

Once the OS initializes, the BIOS copies its files into memory and the OS basically takes over control of the boot process. Now in control, the OS performs another inventory of the system's memory and memory availability (which the BIOS already checked) and loads the device drivers that it needs to control the peripheral devices, such as a printer, scanner, optical drive, mouse and keyboard. This is the final stage in the boot process, after which the user can access the system’s applications to perform tasks.
 

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