kreon3

Okay, I really need some help on this one, because I have no idea what's left to do. So here's the situation. I am using a ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard. I had my computer working perfectly for about 8 months. One morning it stopped began blue-screening when trying to boot xp, reinstall xp, or die in another way when trying to install linux. I thought it might be the RAM, so I ran memtest86 and found about 10 errors in two of about ten full runs during the random memory test, so extremely rare. Later, I tried disabling the L1 and L2 caches and the computer booted stable, other than the fact that it was incredibly slow because the caches were disabled. I assumed that it was a problem with the mobo due to the caches, so I RMAed it to ASUS. ASUS returned my mobo saying that there were no problems with it.

I reinstalled the mobo and now things are worst. Now whenever I try to start in any method, winxp, memtest86, msdos, bios, the computer shuts down after between 20 seconds to 2 minutes. When I save and exit the BIOS the computer shuts down in the same way immediately when it begins to restart(before the monitor gets a signal). Also the cpu is being detected as an AMD 1150 mHz(this is due to it reverting to safe mode settings of FSB 100mHz and multiplier of 11.5), if I try to increase these any, the computer just immediately shuts down when restarted. It is also not a clean shut down, the power supply, fans and other accessories turn off, but the power light stays on, and I am not able to turn the computer back on unless I turn off the power supply and turn it back on. The original power supply had slightly low voltages on the 5v line(like 4.94v), and it wasn't a very powerful supply, so I got a new psu, but this didn't change anything except make the voltages slightly better. But I'm not really sure what to do now I've tried a variety of things, mostly individually.

The System
ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboard
Athlon XP 3000+(has Arctic silver, heatsink and fan)
2x Kingston ValueRAM 512mb 333
Chaintech GeforceFX 5900
Aspire 550W psu(old psu RaidMax 300W)
Seagate 160 GB SATA hard drive
IBM Floppy Drive
Some CDR/DVD drive



What I've Tried
Moving RAM around, 1 DIMM only, or 2 DIMMs - No affect other than decreasing to 1 DIMM makesx total 512 in checks
Changing FSB, 200mHz, 166mHz, 133mHz, 100mHz - System instantly shuts off instantly on restart when set to anything but 100mHz
Decreased cpu multiplier - changed the mobo interpretation of processor from 1150mHz to other lessor values
Increased cpu multiplier - System instantly shuts off on restart
Connect cpu fan to different power - No affect (it supposedly solved someones troubles when faced with a similar problem)
Disconnecting all components except for Hard drive, video card, and processor - No affect other than devices that are disconnected are no longer detected
Move about power cables, unplug all, replug all - No affect
Cleared CMOS memory - reset bios
Attempted to flash bios - was not able to flash bios because MSDOS would not detect my SATA hard drive, and the system was to unstable, so I didn't want to mess up the Bios chip by having it shut down during the flashing

I think that's about it for things I've tried

Also, The CPU temperature is stable at ~45 celsius

So, yeah, I'm stumped. Any advice would definately be enjoyed.

mark3567

Hi,

The way I see it, you have done about everything humanly possible to troubleshoot this problem. However, with the constant shutting down now, I have some suspicions about possible causes. The process I use is slightly different, so here is what I would do if it were mine:

Take the motherboard out of the case and place it beside the case on a piece of carboard or other non-conductive surface.

Remove all items from the board, including the CPU and heatsink, that includes all pci devices, all video cards, all drives, just the bare board.

Carefully clean the heatsink and cpu surface with 100 or 99 proof alcohol.

Now, start out by reseating your CPU making sure you don't have any bent pins. Be very careful that it is down firmly in the socket and snapped in properly.

Put a VERY SMALL amount of thermal paste on the heatsink and CPU contact surface. Be VERY CAREFUL that you don't get too much on, because that is as bad as not getting enough on.

One has to be make sure the heatsink clamp is down tight. This is a common cause of the error you are seeing at times. Just make sure.

Connect the heatsink fan to the motherboard as specified.

Then, put in one stick of ram, keyboard, connect the ATX connector, AND don't forget the 12volt Square plug connected to the motherboard. Do not forget to connect the Off/On switch wires.

Turn it on and see if it stays on without dying.

If it dies, then take out the ram and see if it still dies.

If it stays on, then add your video card and connect the monitor.

If that works, add a hard drive.

You get the picture, I think!

If this process keeps it going, then put it back in the case and be sure that you don't have any extra motherboard posts in the wrong place.

Note: At some point, you should flash your BIOS to the latest version with this CPU you are using. Therefore, when you are able to do this, be sure you do. This also may be the cause of some of your problems. Please try to leave your BIOS setup menu at default without altering until you get it up and going.

Let me know about your progress.

kreon3

Yeah, I am beginning to think it's a cpu problem again. The old fix of disabling the L1 cache definately points to the cpu. Also when I reinstalled the cpu after I got the mobo back, I used some cleaning stuff, I thought it was high percentage rubbing alcohol, but now I am somewhat doubtful (it did not explicitely state what it was, and I got it from someone else). So I wish my cpu wasn't messed up, but it may be, of course, the one thing not under warranty appears to be going bad. I'll hopefully be able to test the cpu on another mobo, or another cpu on this one tomarrow. Thanks for the advice, I'm accepting of more though

gerrywhite

I have this mobo. It doesn't use the extra 12v square connector, does it?

Overall, your troubleshooting technique looks solid.

- Gerry

mark3567

Hi,

Excellent point gerrywhite. I simply forgot to put in my usual disclaimer that all boards do not have this square molex plug. Since I do not own this particular board, it is my assumption that you are exactly correct and thank you for clearing that issue up.