Motherboards dying

[Garyeag]

I've used computers for many years now but recently have had two new motherboards die on me. The first one was problematic as soon as I built the machine but I got it going OK. It died 3 days later but came back to life after I took it all apart and reassembled it piece by piece. When it died a third time I exchanged it. I also bought a new case with a 300 watt psu.
This board died even quicker. The initial boot gave a checksum error but going into the bios to put the settings straight led a freeze up. This freezing seemed time related, like a time out. I managed to get it to fail safe settings but it still froze on me. I changed the keyboard but it still froze. After the 5th restart it stopped sending a video signal and thereafter refused to do anything except display lights. I checked every component nothing.
The next day it would not even start up, not even a beep. The fan spins but that is all. Also, the psu in the new case has died as well.
To may horror I even had the refusal to send a video signal on my old trusted board which I've had 18 months and have swopped bits on loads.
Since installing a surge plug I've had no problems. However, I've got a dead motherboard which I can't return and a case which needs a psu.
Any thoughts or similar experiences related to power surges? I alway thought the boards were pretty robust. And I've never had this problem before.
Comments appreciated. Advice on my rights vis a vis warranty/guarantee etc also welcome.
It has sapped my confidence as well. So I'd like to hear any other stories about the same or worse!!!
Thank you all for your time. Gary

 

[Guest_imported]

I think we'd all be interested to know the make and model of motherboard, at the very least so we can all avoid that one in the future!

I have had similar experiences recently with 1st Mainboard AZ11's - they either die fairly quickly after first switch on, or run for maybe a few days, then show similar symptoms to yours. Worst case was trashing a processor...

As regards power surges, I've usually found it's the PSU which normally takes all the stick. If it's a cheap and nasty one then it will invariably die and might, under exceptional circumstances take out motherboard, drives, etc.


ROGER - GØAOZ.

 

[edfair]

I had one series of M/B problems like that, ended up moving to another manufacturer.
Had another series that started the same way, worked during buildup, failed in customer office. Power supply was set for 220v for a whole lot of cases and I had been careless and not checked.
You might also want to look at possible memory problems. I spent days, like you are doing, fighting what appeared to be a M/B series of problems. Got the good memory and every problem disappeared.
Hang tough, you'll fix it. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[Guest_imported]

Ed, I read with interest your above message stating PSUs were inadvertantly "set at 220v". Many of the PSUs I still see here (in the U.K.) are switchable either 110v or 220v - there isn't another option. Prior to the main changeover to ATX a few years back, most of the PCs I saw were satisfactorily running PSUs at 220v whereas at that time mains voltage here was 240v! (It's now standardised throughout the U.K. at 230v [rms]). New ATX PSUs now are mainly 115v/230v. I'd be interested to know what the mains voltage is at your location?

ROGER - GØAOZ.

 

[ceh4702]

As a side note, I have seen motherboards that just refused to work with certain generic RAM. When I booted an A-Open AX59 PRO MB once it said Checksum error. I sent the board back and they returned it sayin it was OK. When I called them back they said to use different RAM. After that it worked just fine. I put the other RAM, that was incompatable, in a different computer and it worked fine also. I Still have the A-Open motherboard and it still runs. If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[edfair]

Roger, the systems were set on 220v but pulled enough from the 120v line to power the system. Then I took them into a photocopy dealer that had lots of machines with switching power supplies running and the systems crashed regularly or wouldn't boot at all. I also had problems several years before with linear supplies working in the same environment. Got to be the switchers lopping off the top of the wave. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[Garyeag]

I forgot how much I loved this site. Cheers guys, you have repaired my self-esteem a whole lot. And a peruse through the history of postings reveals many similar stories.
Board no 1 was a Gigabyte 6VC something. I think the board was good. It kept going for a week!! The problem is the chipset, the via 133, conflicts with ATI cards, apparently, especially AGPs. The fitting on the AGP was very bad anyway and anything which intereferred with a good connection and was going to cause restarting was contributing to the problem - i.e. I think the surges killed it.
Board no 2 was given to me in exchange because the shop uses them in their systems and "don't have problems with them as a rule". Once again, a Via 133 chipset. It was an ECS EliteGroup P6VAA. It looks a decent board, very comprehensive manual, good box and packaging.
Increasingly, there are so many conflicts between different devices and it's not always possible to have the latest drivers on hand.
I will chase the manufacturers now, because I did take all reasonable precautions, I even wear a silly wrist straps these days. It wasn't ram because I tried 4 differenet brands in it.The cause has to be the power supply here. And as proof, I've a 24" Phillips tv which I haven't used for about 18 months. I gave it to a friend at the weekend. But before I did we tested it. On one socket it wouldn't start, it just kind of "popped", on a second socket the power light flashed but the screen didn't come to life. It was only when we powered it off an extension running from a brand new outlet that it powered up with no problems.
Light bulbs pop all the time in this house and other odd electrical things happen. What is interesting is how the older board of mine has weathered all this. The motto is, buy the best you can. The two that died cost me £70 each. My old board was £170 nearly 2 years ago. And I've found this pretty true throughout with components. Cheap and cheerful = pain in the arse to install, conflict with everything and die. Expensive and quality = plug and play, never need a moments attenion.
Thanks for the encouragement all the same.
Gary

 

[ErikZ]

Also note, Tom's Hardware just put up a new article about the current state of power supplies. To sum, they're made with the cheapest parts possible. He's had them burst into flames!

If you're building a system, don't get the cheap power supply, get the 400w one that you would install in a server.

 

[Guest_imported]

Ed, very interesting, thanks. I think those PSUs of yours were doing a great job to cope with such a low voltage. My experience with switching mode PSUs has shown that after a failure it is often the oscillator circuit which doesn't operate - usually around 45-50HKz? Maybe it was the oscillators that were ceasing with the (wobbly) low voltage on those PSUs of yours...

ROGER - GØAOZ.