Is my motherboard going bad?

[cwinnyk]

I have been having some issues with my desktop computer lately and I think it may be my motherboard but I cannot be sure.

The motherboard is an Soyo 845PE Lite with a 2.4 Ghz Pentium 4 Processor and 512MB of ram. From time to time the computer will just black out on me, meaning that my monitor will go black and the computer will stop responding entirely, but the fans in the computer keep spinning. It is not going into an autoreboot or anything...it's just blacks out.

Recently, even though my computer is on and functioning properly, my power light no longer illuminates. The hard drive light will still illuminate when it is busy, however. I went to the Soyo site to see if my light not being on indicates a trouble code or something, but I cannot find any mention of that.

I checked Windows Event Viewer and I don't see anything that would cause the computer to crash. My hardware temp monitor reports that CHA at 86 degrees F and the CPU at 112 degrees F. Is that too high?

Finally, my CD Drive recently crapped out on me. I can place a CD in it, but it just spits it back out. Even if there is no CD placed in the drive, it will open back up. Windows detects the CD drive and does not indicate a problem. I just ordered a DVD burner so I will see if that works or not.

Checked to make sure all my connections are tight. Have not changed any hardware in the computer for a couple years now. No BIOS upgrades either.

So is my motherboard bad or is it something else? Let me know if you need any more information.

 

[maultier]

http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/analyses/jokedarkelfa.html

 

[maultier]

Just click on the description tab of the above link and you'll see the same symptoms you describe. Suggest you get a good virus checker installed on that machine.

 

[wahnula]

If the monitor goes black how do you know the system is not responding? Sounds like a bad video card or driver. Have you checked them monitor connection? Do you think it could possibly be the monitor? That is, next time it happens, try plugging another monitor in. Next would be to add a video card to see if that helps. I wouldn't worry about the LED as they go out occasionally, no call for worry.

Tony

 

[cwinnyk]

Thanks. I am going to update my virus defs and test again. I don't think that is it though. For example, when the computer freezes up, I can no longer toggle the CAPS lock and NUM lock keys. The lights won't turn on and off on my keyboard, so it seems that the computer does not receive or acknowledge that I have pressed those keys.

Also, this happens most often while I am away from the computer at random times of the day. I don't spend much time around this computer as I am using my laptop most of the time.

I normally use the computer to store my non-work related files and make backups from my laptop, so I usually find out that something is wrong when I try to retreive something from the computer and it tells me that the shared folder is not accessible.

 

[wahnula]

Good catch maultier. cwinnyk do as suggested, AVG has a free program, please let us know if that is the problem.

 

[G0AOZ]

As suggested, scan for viruses etc.

1. Check for bad memory - run something like MEMTEST86.

2. What about overheating? Check that fans are all turning ok, and CPU heatsink not clogged with dust and dirt.

3. Is PSU man enough for the job? Quote Wattage rating.

4. Check motherboard for bad (bulging) capacitors.

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[isayni2u]

I suggest you open up your unit.


If the MB LCD and external power light is not on, it is most likely a hardware problem. Are the PSU fans spinning? if not, check the voltage on your PSU's <Power Good> wire. This should tell you if the power output to the MB is fine...as a failure here would cause the symptoms you have been experiencing except for the CD ejection. If the power is good, and the MB LCD is not on, change out the PSU wires if possible...otherwise your MB might be toast. For simple hardware diagnostics such as memtest 86+ and CPUburn, checkout the Ultimate Boot CD at

http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/

Before testing the mem, reseat it! Though, as maultier said, some of your symptoms mimic those of the common Joke virus. If you have important data backed up, I would recommend reinstalling your operating system just to be safe. If the problems persist, it is definitely a hardware issue.


ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO ME!

 

[BadFrog]

4. Check motherboard for bad (bulging) capacitors.

I second this suggestion.

"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy"
Albert Einstein

 

[cwinnyk]

Ok, this is what I have done so far.

1) Ran a full virus scan, none were found.
2) Ran four passes of memtest86. No errors were reported.
3) Replaced my case fan. Temps are 81F degrees CHA, 112F degrees for the CPU.
4) Checked and tightened all my connections.
5) Checked the power supply, fan is spinning It's a 400W PS, btw.
6) The LED on my mb is illuminated. The only light that I should see and is not on is the power light.
7) I'm not an expert on voltage, so I'll give you the numbers my power supply is giving me:
Vcore: 1.5V
+12V: 12.09V
+3.3V: 3.335V
DRAM: 2.51V
+5V 5.05V
AGP 1.52V
8) Checked the capacitors, none of them appear to be bulging.
9) Checked my video drivers and monitor connection, they are fine.

To recap the problem, my computer will randomly freeze (once or twice a week, the computer is on all the time), the screen will go black, and my keyboard stops responding (example: my lock lights no longer toggle).

The CD drive spits out upon bootup, while the computer does its self test. It does this again when the Windows XP Splash comes up. If I close the drive, it reopens. I checked in the Device Manager and it states this drive is running properly. I am replacing it with a DVD burner in a few days so I will see if that resolves the issue.

I'm fairly sure it's not a virus for several reasons, because of the keyboard freeze and I can no longer access it's shared drives from my laptop.

I appreciate all your suggestions. Please let me know if you have any more. I'm fearing that my mobo has gone bad because the computer just blacks out like I stated above. I figured that if it was another component, I would be able to determine it much sooner.

 

[maultier]

It still sounds like the trojan I mentioned early on. You said you ran the virus checker but not all things are caught by all. I had avg find a virus that norton missed. So, I'd suggest going back to Sophos and follow the cleanup procedure listed for you particular machine. Then we can positively eliminate that as the source of your issue.

 

[cwinnyk]

I don't think it's a windows trojan. In the case of the CD-Drive, this behavior can be duplicated before windows even loads. I could be running a memory test or in the BIOS menu and it still happens, which leads me to beleive that either the drive is bad or the motherboard is bad.

I'm running AVG, by the way.

Again, network connectivity is lost, the keyboard stops responding, the screen goes out. These seem to be seperate issues to me that all seem to have either Windows, the Power Supply, or the mobo as a common denominator. I am debating as to whether to replace the power supply to see if that resolves the issue. Maybe it is becoming unstable?

I'll do some more investigating to see whether a virus is to blame.

 

[G0AOZ]

Soyo recommends a minimum PSU of 350W, so providing you have no additional cards. several HDDs or a super whizzy VGA card installed, your 400 Watter ought to be ok. Soyo's diagram of your mobo shows there's an additional 4-pin power connector - I assume your PSU is connecting to this as well as the main 20-pin one? The voltages quoted look ok, but a momentary sag on one of the rails may not show up when you actually have your voltmeter handy.

It may well be worth changing the PSU if you have the option. An intermittent fault only occurring once or twice a week is a real pain to try and troubleshoot. Don't think you've said what your operating system is, but if you have the time to spare, how about loading a fresh copy onto another hard disk and running it for a week over the Christmas break. You don't need to activate it with Micro$oft - you can run it upto 30 days before it bombs out.

Alternatively, over Christmas just run it at the DOS level, or with MEMTEST86, and not load Windows at all.

The fact that the front panel power l.e.d. goes out when the problem occurs, tends to point to a motherboard and/or PSU issue rather than an operating system problem.

ROGER - G0AOZ.