Computer does not start for more than 1 second 2

[FurEver]

Hi,

I connected all the wires to the mainboard and everything else.
I installed the CPU, ram and hard disks. When I go to turn it on it just starts for like 1 second and turns off again.
The mainboard LED is on and the fans actually spin a little. And that only if I don't have the CPU power connector plugged in. When it's plugged in it just gets a tiny impulse that causes the CPU fan to shake somehow.

Now I tried to unplug everything but one ram stick and the CPU, but it didn't help. I guess it could be the mainboard or CPU. PSU can't be it since I tried like 3 different ones, same for Ram, harddisk and stuff...
I just bought all that stuff, it was originally packaged and hasn't been used before.

Well I could really need some help if any of you got Ideas.

Here's my System:

P4 3E Ghz (Prescott)
Asus p4c800 deluxe
2x 512 ddr400 ram
one hard disk and a DVD


It's like the power runs through the system for a sec. and then just dies...

 

[Lemon13]

try it outside of the case(maybe you have a shortcut somewhere), only with cpu/ram/graphic/hdd.
make sure all is seated propper (did you use thermal paste or a pad for cpu/cooler).

have a look at this page, theres a guy who collected probs with your board. esp. #4 might apply to you.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/computer/topic/6104-1.html

 

[paparazi]

FurEver
New build????
Too many motherboard mounting, brass stand off's fitted?
Shorting the mainboard to ground?
These stand off's should only be located at specific mounting points on the motherboard, identified by a brite solder ring around the hole.
Also pull out any addon cards, run bare minimum.
Reset cmos clear.
Be sure it's not the PSU (try another) I know you said you had already.
Note* the CPU fan has to be plugged in to the CPU fan header (the motherboard need to sense the fan spinning) otherwise it shuts down (failsafe device).
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[Crowley16]

When it's plugged in it just gets a tiny impulse that causes the CPU fan to shake somehow

your fan actually shakes? have you fitten your heat sink and fan properly? your heatsink and fan should not shake!

 

[FurEver]

I tried all of the above and even more than that.
I took it out of the case, set it on a non conductive surface and tried the bare minimum like you said.
I've been through the entire forum looking for older posts about this and tried all the mentioned methods.
So far I havn't got any farther but like 2 seconds, and that only without the 4-pin CPU power connector.

Yes I newly built it with new parts.

Now it can't be PSU, short cut, Ram, any other external or internal devices.

All that's left is Mainboard, which still has the LED on and seems to start up for a couple of seconds.
I tried differen jumper settings too, even though the jumpers are only for USB wake up or keyboard wake up.

And the CPU, which is brand new and came with all the cooling equipment in a sealed box. So I guess it should be working. The fan is connected to the mainboard and I even tried different ones, but they just spin the usual 2 seconds.

 

[paparazi]

FurEver
Main power lead? loose wires?
Faulty wall socket?
When you tried the bare minimum was that without CDroms and hard drive attached?
Did you try another graphics card? as that would be the only add on card.
Extra power lead to motherboard definately plugged in?
3 differant power supplies? where they 300watt or above?
Are you sure about front side bus settings
Martin

We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.

 

[mudskipper]

...check the back of the new PSU to ensure that it is set properly (if yours has a swtich) between 220 and 110...

Check to ensure that your CPU fan is plugged into the CPU fan power tap on the MB.

It seems like it should be simple, but there are many things that it could be!! Those suggestions above are all good ones, btw.

Mudskipper
-----------------
Groucho said it best- "A four year-old child could understand this!
Quick! Run out and find me a four year-old child: I can't make heads nor tails out of this!"

 

[AckNack]

FurEver,

I've seen this happen if you miss all four pins on the floppy drive power connector (and catch just three with the power plug).

I've also seen this happen if the CDROM data cable is plugged in backwards (stripe needs to be on pin 1).

Doesn't always happen, but it's something to check.

AckNack

 

[FurEver]

I tried 300w, 350 and my new 550. They're not cheap ones, so I guess PSU is not it.

CPU is pluged in like I said, the fan starts to spin and stops, just like everything else in the system.(like a blue case light, which basically just flashes briefly)

The floppy connector thing...I don't know, it shouldn't matter since I only have the CPU, Video card and ram inserted after I read about trying the minimum configuration.

It's just weird. I tried the same setup without CPU and it still happens the same exact way. If I plugin the 4 pin CPU power it just barely noticable kicks when I turn it on. But without the 4-pin CPU connector, it actually runs for 2 seconds and you can see the fans make some spins.


I don't know how to say this, but it looks like the power that goes into the system just goes out at the other end. So instead of circulatiing through the system it goes in and comes out just once.

Thx so far guys, this is just a terrible nightmare.

 

[ceh4702]

Here is something I wrote up a while back. If nothing works take the CPU off and reaseat it. I had trouble with an Asus A7N8X a while back and when I reset the BIOS it worked fine.

Motherboard will not Boot.

Everytime you work on the motherboard, turn the computer off all the way and unplug it. If you have it plugged in you still have electricity flowing into the motherboard. You can damage some ports like the PS2 keyboard or the hard drive ports, or the PS2 mouse port.

The remedy for this varies . . . .

BIOS:
BIOS may be improperly set up. Turn the computer off completely unplug it and then use the procedure in your manual to reset the BIOS to factory defaults. Sometime you have to remove the battery. Do not remove the battery unless you have to. Once you damage the battery holder, the motherboard is useless!

Grounding Out the Motherboard:
Make sure the motherboard does not touch any metal surface in the case. Sometimes a mounting post will come up in a place that does not line up with the holes for the motherboard. If it does the motherboard will ground out. Also the motherboard is not screwed directly onto the mouning plate. Some people have tried this! You must use metal or plastic standoffs to mount the motherboard.

CPU Fan and Cooler:
The fan from the CPU cooler must plug into the fan header on the motherboard meant for the CPU fan. If not the motherboard will not start. The cooler must be LEVEL and LINED UP CORRECTLY for your CPU and socket. The cooler must also have either a thermal pad or some thermal paste like Arctic Silver to transfer the heat from the CPU to the Cooling fins. Sometimes on older computers dust collects in the fins and the cooler can no longer work effectively.

Memory:
Memory could be damaged or installed improperly. It must be firmly pushed into place till the locks on the side click down into place. Try removing the memory dimms and then pushing them back into place. Some corrosion may build up on the contacts. Sometimes memory has to be installed in specific banks or in the right order in the available empty slots. One stick of memory could be bad, or all of the memory can be bad. Try booting with only one stick of memory if possible.

I/O Boards:
VGA, Video, Sound, Network, etc:
With the cards you may have to remove a screw to adjust how they sit in the slot.

VGA or Video Card:
The video card may not be seated in the VGA slot correctly. simply pull it up and push it back in to seat it properly. Memory can be bad on a video card. Make sure the monitor is plugged in correctly and the plug is screwed down at least finger tight. Do not try to tighten it down too much; just barely screw it down with your fingers only. If you have an old video card try another one.

Drives:
Connect just a floppy to test the motherboard with an old boot disk. Just using a CDROM drive works too on newer motherboards. It is ideal to have as few things in the way as possible when you test the motherboard. The fewer things connected, the fewer things there are that can go wrong. Also if the motherboard is bad, you will not have to remove all that extra stuff to take the motherboard out of the case.

Power Supply:
The power supply may be dead. A power supply has several lines at different voltages it takes to run a computer like +/- 12 volt, +/- 5 volt, and +/- 3.3 volt. If just one of these lines is not good then the power supply is bad. Each line has a different number of Watts and Amp rating. When you add them all up you should get the watt rating of the power supply or close to it. The options for power up on mouse activity or keyboard activity use some of this power as well. The USB may also have this option to power on after some activity.


Last Ditch Effort:
When all else fails remove the motherboard and set it on a piece of cardboard or non-conductive surface. The silver bag it came on may not be non-conductive, so do not use that. The top off the cardboard motherboard box is ideal, but you may not want to cut it off if you have to send it back. So put the motherboard on the cardboard. Then with the CPU and the memory in it, attach a power supply. Plug the power supply in. Take a screw driver and touch the two posts that the power switch connects to. The motherboard fan/CPU fan should spin up and the motherboard should become acitve. It will probably beep for no monitor or no operating system. If it does not beep or give you a verbal message you should call your supplier for permission to send it back. Usually you have to fill out a form and get a RIN number to send it back.

If you get a good result like a beep or a message, try attaching a video card and a monitor and see if you can get into the BIOS. If you can the motherboard may not be bad. It may have just been grounding out to the case.


If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[gbaughma]

Yup... my first thought is CPU heat sink. <Sigh> Sorry to say I made this mistake; didn't have my heat sink properly set... turned the computer on, it would come on for about 3 seconds....

... my mistake was I didn't realize what it was, and I kept turning the computer on and swearing.... then I smelled it... the magical blue smoke had escaped from my CPU, because I kept powering it up without the heat sink making good contact.



Just my $.02

"In order to start solving a problem, one must first identify it's owner." --Me
--Greg

 

[jurgen36]

I like to give a star to ceh4702. He gave the best troubleshoting info I came across in many years. It is possible that in the case here the problem is incompatability between CPU and mainbord. The P4 E version is a Prescot chip not a Nortwood and needs supply voltages below 1.4 volts (1.2 - 1.4 max), most main bords can not supply this. As far as I know the only chipset which can handle the E version is the Intel 875. The latest Asus, MSI or Gigabyte bords use this chips. I might be mistaken but we had the same problems with Asus and Gigabyte bords. The machines worked ok with P4 HT 3.2 C chips but when we used the P4 HT E versions they just started momentarely and then shut down. Same symptoms as given. Apparently the chips sense the overvoltage and the protection takes over and shuts down. The only solution is to change the Mobo for a compatible one. Regards

Jurgen

 

[kemo54656]

I seen something like this before the cmos jumper was set to clear so check the jumper also the motherboard may be bad take it back where you got and try another Good Luck

 

[DragonQ0105]

This happened to me once - it turned out to be the Power Cable.

Try a different power cable (e.g. ones that are being used in monitor, speakers etc.), or buy one for £1, and try it then.

 

[Serapha]

We bought a whole new set of components (motherboard, CPU, RAM) to rebuild/upgrade a computer a little while back (couple weeks now) and had this same problem. Everything hooked up inside as it should, went to turn it on, and all fans and motors spun up for a second and the lights came on, then spun down with lights going back off and nothing else happened. We went through all the steps of trying to pin it down -- swapped PSU, removed all but CPU, RAM, video, tried it without mounting in the case in case it was not grounding properly, nothing did it.

We contacted Soyo (we'd bought the mainboard directly from their e-store) and found out that the P4 Prescott CPU we'd gotten did not work on that motherboard. They gave us an RMA to return that mainboard and pointed us at another that would work with that processor. Once it arrived, it took only a few hours and everything was back up and running complete with Windows back on.

I don't know which motherboards work with Prescott CPUs, but make sure everything will work together. Try emailing the ASUS people and see if they can help you determine what might be the culprit.