Is the Power Supply AND the Motherboard BOTH Dead ?

1204 Views 10 Replies 4 Participants Last post by crazijoe, Dec 29, 2006

Girderman

Discussion Starter · Dec 28, 2006 (Edited)

Customer brought over an FIC-AN11 with an AMD 1700 CPU that would not POST at all. No lights, no fans, no beeps, nothing.

First thing I did was use an extra Antec 350W I have to see if that would make it work.

With the Antec 350, the fans spin but still no lights or POST beeps.

Confirmed that the original PS was bad by opening it up and found burned circuitry. Here's my question:

The FIC-AN11 has a 20 pin M/B Power Connector and the Antec is a 20+4 Plug. I detached the extra 4-connector plug and was able to insert the 20-connector into the M/B.

But I don't know if the "20" in a 20+4 plug is wired exactly the same as a standard 20, and I am thinking this may be the reason why the Computer still will not POST.

Are they the same ? The Antec is brand-new (never used) so if the problem is not with the 20 vs. 20+4 pin power connector, I'm going to have to say the M/B got fried somehow by the old Power Supply.

Also, I DID clear the CMOS and remove the battery for a period of time for good measure, but any other suggestions would be most welcome, as I don't want to tell this person their M/B AND Power Supply are both bad.

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ebackhus

· #2 · Dec 28, 2006

The +4 pins add more 12v power to the system beyond what the older 20-pin allowed, so detatching it takes away nothing from the system. I had a board similar to this come into my little home shop and found that the multi I/O chip was burning hot, but the fans and lights came up. It turned out the PSU was the problem after it burned out a new board *cries*.

You can try a known good PSU, but a problem with the board could zap your good PSU and turn it into a paperweight in seconds.

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linderman

· #3 · Dec 28, 2006

Hello girderman

Yes! the 20 + 4 is wired the exact same way as a 20pin only connector

most likely the dying PSU alos killed the motherboard; that why we preach so inansely in here that high qaulity PSU's are not nearly as expensive as replacing cheap PSU's that also killed other components on their way out, such as your motherboard.

keep us posted on the final diagnosis; but I am guessing motherboard funeral.

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crazijoe

· #4 · Dec 28, 2006

Girderman said:
Are they the same ? The Antec is brand-new (never used) so if the problem is not with the 20 vs. 20+4 pin power connector, I'm going to have to say the M/B got fried somehow by the old Power Supply.

Yes they are the same. I would try and remove the memory and reinstall it. If it has more than one stick, remove all but one.

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Girderman

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 28, 2006

Thanks all for the very speedy help. I am very grateful and a bit humbled. You've all confirmed for me what I suspected.

I've removed ever single bit of hardware from the system (to include memory & video card) and still cannot get the system past the fans turning one, so I had already concluded that if the 20-pin plug of the 20+4 is exactly the same as a "straight" 20-pin plug, it has to be that the M/B is fried as all the other hardware was removed and would not have interfered with POST.

Yes they are the same. I would try and remove the memory and reinstall it. If it has more than one stick, remove all but one.

That was one of the second things I did. It has only once stick of RAM, so my options are limited. I've pulled & replaced it several times, and have tried to boot without the RAM, and with only the RAM installed. Also, RAM & Video Card only, with no HD's, CD devices etc... No POST beeps at all under any condition.

I can find no evidence of burning, etc... on the M/B, but I guess that's not necessary. A brand-new PS won't make it work and I guess that's that. For redundancy, I think I will go to a local shop here and try one of their Power Supplies and double-verify the situation, on the outside extreme chance that my brand-new, never used Antec 350W is bad.

I'd like to be able to recommend a source for a new M/B for this customer. I could sell him this Antec, but have no motherboards on hand.

Is anyone familiar with this FIC-AN11 ? There are none available anywhere. I tried Google and none of the search engines even list it, nor does e-Bay have any available.

It's an Athlon Socket "A" board, so I assume they are fairly common, although old. Any recommendations on sources for old/used Socket A motherboards ? For an AMD 1700 Atholon CPU.

Thanks again for the great and fast help.

Girderman

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linderman

· #6 · Dec 28, 2006 (Edited)

My personal choice would of mobo would be Asus A7N8x-E Deluxe
you should have no problems looking for one of those on ebay

but more choices for you here

http://www.motherboards.org/ranking/motherboards/AMD/

dont forget you will need to do a win xp repair install due to the different motherboard chipsets

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI

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Girderman

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 28, 2006

Update

Thanks again for the help.

An Update:

My brand-new Antec 350Watt Power Supply checked bad at a local shop, so I purchased a 450Watt PS from them and installed it.

It gave me some trouble and still wouldn't POST. LOOOONNG beep <pause> LOOOOONG beep <pause> etc....

Re-cleared CMOS for the 5th time (it was all I could think of to do) removed all hardware, installed a stick of 256 PC2100 (still wouldn't POST, but the beep changed...)

Put the customer's 256 PC2700 back in and magically it wanted to POST just fine.

During reassembly, I detected a problem with the video card. I wiggled it a bit while the machine was running and it crashed & re-booted. So I think it is "loose" in the socket (no retaining clip/button thing like I've seen in others). I'll mention it to the customer, but see no point in dragging this repair on longer than it needs to take.

Successful completion of the job, and thanks to all that helped !

Girderman

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crazijoe

· #8 · Dec 28, 2006

It happens. Not every manufacturer will have a perfect product go out the door. Too bad you had to have one of them.

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Girderman

Discussion Starter · #9 · Dec 29, 2006

I don't mind the brand new Antec being bad. Nor am I perturbed at the fact that it's been sitting around unused for about 9 months, and I have no idea what it's warranty status is. If it's out of warranty, then I guess that's that.

However, it DOES bother me that I would have to pay for shipping to return it, if it WAS under warranty. One arguement the Sales Person at the Computer Shop made for buying a Power Supply locally (rather than on-line) was that if you returned THEIR Power Supply (within the one-year warranty time) you wouldn't have to pay for shipping.

I imagine shipping would go for $15 - 20. On a Power Supply that's only worth maybe $45.00, that doesn't sound like a very good idea. So I'm thinking maybe the smart play from now on is to buy heavy items like power supplies locally, and only shop for light, low-cost shipping items on-line.

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linderman

· #10 · Dec 29, 2006

antecs are warranteed 3 years if you have the original sales receipt ???? and the shipping should not be more than $10.00 for snail mail.

I would RMA the unit personally!

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crazijoe

· #11 · Dec 29, 2006

Awhile back, when newegg first started, they kind of explained the reason why you have to pay for return shipping.
"When you buy a product from a local store and it is defective, do they refund you for the cost of the fuel to bring it back to them?"

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