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MOTHERBOARD OR CPU IS BAD ?

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dhar25

Technical User
May 4, 2001
79
US
My desk-top just quit yesterday. Suddenly no fan was running.I suspected that the power supply died. So I checked it. Only -5v seemed to be bad, I did not think it good enough to stop the power supply an running. In spite of this I switch it with another working power supply.

But my PC was still not working and no fan was running.
At this point strongly suspected either the Motherboard or the CPU went bad. CPU hardly goes bad unless the PC was running without the CPU fan running which will kill the CPU.
This never happened.

So now I strongly suspect the Motherboard just died. Anyway to confirm this before I take the Motherboard out,
I will appreciate any advise on this, if you have similar experience.

I need to get the unit running in order t save my Tax files form it.

Thank you in advance.

 
If the CPU fan stops working, the PC usually shuts down. Double-check the case switch headers; try to start the PC by briefly shorting across the PWR pins with a small flat-blade screwdriver.

Make sure the wall outlet is good, the cable is good, the power supply is switched ON and the proper voltage (110/220) is selected.

Tony

Users helping Users...
 
Certainly sounds like the motherboard as USUALLY the fan continues to spin with a bad CPU.
Martin

On wings like angels whispers sweet
my heart it feels a broken beat
Touched soul and hurt lay wounded deep
Brown eyes are lost afar and sleep
 
I suspected the case switch too. So I checked this by switching with the reset switches and try to start it with a reset switch. Still nothing was moving.

This is the 2nd ASUS MOBO in 3 weeks.
 
Check your memory sticks. I have had this happen a cpl times. Just last week I had a computer that stopped. Caps looked good and board looked good. I knew th PS had gone bad so I switched it with another and still nothing. Finally I got a extra stick of ram and switched it out and it started running again :) Its worth a try.

 
First off that's not the only way a cpu can go bad, if you don't have enough memory your cpu has to work twice as hard to produce results.It won't crash at first but leave like that and it won't take long.

As for the motherboard,the most common way to tell if a motherboard is burnt is to look at the capasitators.If they are bubbled up on top instead of flat chancees are pretty good it's no good.

Before you go tearing up the motherboard & cpu first check your basics check your memory modules to make sure that they are properly inserted correctly if they are try switching them around.

Get yourself a multimeter tester check all your components.
 
First off that's not the only way a cpu can go bad, if you don't have enough memory your cpu has to work twice as hard to produce results.It won't crash at first but leave like that and it won't take long.
I've yet to come across a CPU that died because of the above myth... CPU usually die from ESD damage, over voltage due to OCing, or bad or non existing heatsinks, though these are becoming rarer as thermal shutdowns are integrated into the CPUs these days...

just for testing... unplug the mains (power cord) from the PSU, then hold the POWER BUTTON for about a minute or two... replug everything back up and try to power up... a lot of power supplies today have a circuit protection build in, which can be reset with the above procedure...

it was already suggested to reseat and test RAM, reseat the GFX card aswell, also clear the CMOS (some mobos do not like it when a new PSU is attached and the CMOS needs to be cleared so as to reflect the change)...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
 
I'd also trying disconnecting EVERYTHING from the mobo, remove RAM and CPU, then clear CMOS and remove battery. Replace all, cleaning off CPU and heatsink and using new compound. Replace battery as last item.

ROGER - G0AOZ.
 
You sure it's not the cpu fan that's bad? Have you ohm'd it out?

Burt
 
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