helP!!!!! me wit my un-predictable MB

S

my comp was loyal 2 me until a few months from now.................

now it starts well some times n doesn't some times<like most of the times>

the processor fan runs n the power led glows but there is nothing happening in my comp. no post, boot and no beeps also.
i can feel the south bridge heat sink to be hot but i don't feel north bridge n the processor heat sink to be hot when the above problem occurs. it occurs randomly. THE PSU IS FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!.............

my config>>
P4 3 ghz
1gb ram
80 gb HDD
MB = mercury PI915GLM
PSU = 400 watts.

J

It still looks like PSU or heating issue. Try running your PC with open cabinet.

S

i always run my pc wit the cabinet open dude.
its not the PSU
or
the over heating problem because i have added a cooler master HS n fan for my processor.........

i know that the problem is with the MB....... buy wat part of MB is wat i do not know???????

S

i always run my pc wit the cabinet open dude.
its not the PSU
or
the over heating problem because i have added a cooler master HS n fan for my processor.........

i know that the problem is with the MB....... but wat part of MB is wat i do not know???????

P

It could be the motherboard, but so far you have not given proof that it is the motherboard. Nor have you explained how you can be sure that the PSU is OK.

It could also be that your RAM is defective or simply loose in the socket. Or the BIOS battery is weak. Or some connectors are not making proper contact. Or it could even be the CPU.

reset u r BIOS, the situation u r facing i have also faced, but it was happened bcause i went to OC the RAM, without changing the Voltage and I also faced nothing on screen, no beeps, all leds working, all fans working.

The solution worked for it was I HOTFlased the BIOS, Its very risky

S

>>>PIMPOM
hey man i always have a spare SMPS @ my place now i'm running on the spare SMPS n i still face the problem!!!!!
you said it might be the cpu can u tell me how can it be cpu because i am typing on the same PC that i have to troubleshoot.ty.

P

sharath_ar89 said:
>>>PIMPOM
hey man i always have a spare SMPS @ my place now i'm running on the spare SMPS n i still face the problem!!!!!

If you had said this at the beginning, there would have been no need to say what I did. Don't expect us to read your mind.

you said it might be the cpu can u tell me how can it be cpu because i am typing on the same PC that i have to troubleshoot.ty.

The same thing can be said for the other components, except that something is sometimes not working, but works at other times. Even if it's the RAM, it's obviously working at the moment. Same for the motherboard which is also obviously working now.

Unless you have a strong indication, you cannot selectively rule out one component or fix the blame on another. You seem to have decided that it's the motherboard that's defective, but have not given any convincing evidence.

I am not saying that it's not the motherboard - it could be. But you have not presented any reasonable ground for your fixation.

S

ok
sry 4 not giving the full detail in the 1st post.....

ok i'll conduct a memtest to see if thers any thing wrong
will this help in find the problems with the ram, please tell me

P

In most cases, memtest86 can be relied on to tell you if the RAM is OK or not. But this is a tricky case. Whenever the faulty part is not working, you cannot boot and cannot even run memtest86. When you can boot, everything seems to work, including the memory. So a healthy pass with memtest86 may not be conclusive.

This is what I suggest: Leave your computer off for some time and let it cool down and then turn it on. If it does not boot, turn it off immediately without restarting. Disconnect all drives and turn it on again. If it still does not boot, turn it off again and remove the RAM. Rub the contacts clean with a clean cotton cloth (not synthetic material). Reinsert the RAM firmly and try again. Then tell us what happens.

S

tried booting the system with out the ram. (i.e removed the ram) the system does not boot (i face the same problem).

sry for the delayed post had sm prob with BSNL bb

sharath_ar89 said:
tried booting the system with out the ram. (i.e removed the ram) the system does not boot (i face the same problem).

sry for the delayed post had sm prob with BSNL bb

A. You can never boot a system with the RAM modules removed.
B. Reset your CMOS battery -- put in a new one.
C. Are your cabinet/electricals earthed correct. Check the computer metal with a line-tester. There should not be even a 'faint' glow.
D. Stress test it -- one of the times when you get to boot it. Use OCCT (PSU test). It will burn it hard..but stress it.
E. Have you done any BIOS update as of late.

P

sharath_ar89 said:
tried booting the system with out the ram. (i.e removed the ram) the system does not boot (i face the same problem).

Not surprising at all that you couldn't boot without the RAM. No normal PC will boot without RAM. That's not what I meant when I suggested that you remove the RAM.

Read my post again. What I suggested was to remove the RAM, clean the contacts and push it in again firmly, and then try to boot up again.

S

A> i mean i dont even get beeps wen i try to run my pc with out ram
B> thers no problem wit the cmos battery its fine.
C> yes it is properly earthed ( i myself am an electrical student)
D> i'll do it
E> nope not touched the bios

S

pimpom. i mean i could not hear the beep sound even after removing the ram.
s i did it cleaned the ram with a soft cloth an even vacuumed the mb

reseat the cpu...also.
How many memory modules you have..if 2..try with one only..alternate..to systematically catch the defective one..IF IT IS..?

S

did reseating the cpu. i have only 1 ram stick.
i found this
*img18.imageshack.us/img18/6848/occtd.th.jpg :!:

wen i took this screen shot i did not switch off the pc and measured the voltage of the yellow wire with respect to the black wire in the molex connector and found it was all right i.e it was 12 volts.........

sharath_ar89 said:
did reseating the cpu. i have only 1 ram stick.
i found this
*img18.imageshack.us/img18/6848/occtd.th.jpg

wen i took this screen shot i did not switch off the pc and measured the voltage of the yellow wire with respect to the black wire in the molex connector and found it was all right i.e it was 12 volts.........

Whats the exact CPU you are using..your VCore seems a bit high to me...which P4 is it..?

Also for how long did you stress the system..was it stable..??

If possible download HWMonitor, and post a screen shot of the voltages..it should look something like this...

*img507.imageshack.us/img507/2264/cpuhardwaremonitor.jpg

Disregard my Voltage readings/its a totally different system vs yours.

S

i ran the test 4 an hour twice

this is the cpu z details. its 90 nm technology so i guess the voltage is right.
*img269.imageshack.us/img269/8055/cpuzl.th.jpg

this is the hw moniter details
*img268.imageshack.us/img268/9382/60426210.th.jpg

and also can u tell me y is the 12v showing so much less value. its showing .7v in urs and 5.65 in mine. but rest of the voltages are right!!!

I think this is your CPU. You 'can' lower the voltage, it will make a difference. Also if you lower the vCore then your +12V will also come down.

I lowered my vCore to 0.9975 and my +12V now shows 0.35V....!

But once you play around with vCore run some stability tests.

S

yes thats my processor. how do u lower the voltage . my MB does not support playing with multiplier and voltage. my MB is pi915 glm. if i can do it with the same MB or sm other tool plz tell me how can i do it.
and also i have to mention that my friends comp has developed the same problem that i have.
his config is
c2d 2.88ghz
2 gbram (transcend)
160 gb hdd
9600gt gpu
and i dont remember the which mb i think its low end asus mb.

sharath_ar89 said:
yes thats my processor. how do u lower the voltage . my MB does not support playing with multiplier and voltage. my MB is pi915 glm. if i can do it with the same MB or sm other tool plz tell me how can i do it.
and also i have to mention that my friends comp has developed the same problem that i have.
his config is
c2d 2.88ghz
2 gbram (transcend)
160 gb hdd
9600gt gpu
and i dont remember the which mb i think its low end asus mb.

Could you or your friend try one thing....

1. Run your computers on RAW power for a while. Meaning, without the UPS in between and see what happens.

2. When you stressed it for one hour there were NO hiccups..?

S

no there were no hiccups......
ok i'll do the same......(1)

S

no change in the working... n btw i'm not telling tat the comp is not switching on completely. its switching on partially.

Will get back to you..this same thing is happening to one of my friends..now..!

Also did some research....could you perform one more 'test'...

Try your system with another HDD. At times, the HDD cannot spin up in sync with the computer POST....so the boot fails...I know this is asking a lot, but this is the most I can advice. Else your system seems fine, since it passed the OCCT test for 4 hours. Also if you have time, run Prime 95 (2 threads), with error checking enabled.

Till then.............

Will ask my friend and get back to you.

A

theres this trick we do
take the ram stick out and keep it on a hard surface
ground ur self for static elec
take a eraser and rub nicely on the ram's golden contacts be careful dont exert too much pressure
and clean the ram stick with a soft cloth for sticking rubber particles
and put the ram back

S

appy i already did that

.....

asigh -> ok.. i'll run that to ( prime 95) dude this thing happens even if i run my comp with all the storage devices disconnected ( hdd and cdrom ). so i dont think its the hard disk ne ways i'll try that too will ask frnds hdd.

and i found something that might help diagonize the prob.
wen this happens the south bridge is getting the supply bcoz the heat sink of south bridge is hot. but at the same time north bridge and processor heat sinks are not hot. plz tell me if thers any supply regulating chip on the MB??????

sharath_ar89 said:
appy i already did that .....

asigh -> ok.. i'll run that to ( prime 95) dude this thing happens even if i run my comp with all the storage devices disconnected ( hdd and cdrom ). so i dont think its the hard disk ne ways i'll try that too will ask frnds hdd.

and i found something that might help diagonize the prob.
wen this happens the south bridge is getting the supply bcoz the heat sink of south bridge is hot. but at the same time north bridge and processor heat sinks are not hot. plz tell me if thers any supply regulating chip on the MB??????

Well the motherboard picks the supply from the ATX supply and the 12V connector. Brother..if all components seem fine..seems like your motherboard is gone..!

S

i got confirmed my mb is gone now but which part of the mb ( i'm just curious ). sm 1 tell me if there is a ic to control the distribution of the power in the mother board??

sharath_ar89 said:
i got confirmed my mb is gone now but which part of the mb ( i'm just curious ). sm 1 tell me if there is a ic to control the distribution of the power in the mother board??

Oh..sorry to hear that. How as it confirmed. You showed it to some electrician..??

S

asigh said:
Oh..sorry to hear that. How as it confirmed. You showed it to some electrician..??

rest of the things work fine i checked my ram too on my frnds pc. last thing is the MB.