System crash....

[mksa]

The following system crashed:

Gigabyte GA-7AVX motherboard
Athlon XP 2400 CPU
4-60 Gig hard drives
1-512 3200 DDR memory
Ata 133 IDE controller card
ATI 9700 Pro video card
10/100 mbps network card
56k modem

All was working well, after an abscence of two hours I return to find a solid hard drive activity light on..with the monitor light blinking. (Like suspend mode) The reset button is inoperative. A hard reboot brings me back to the same place. I've removed everything except the memory, hard drive, and video card from the mix. I've tried to reboot with a known good video card...no effect. I've removed the memory entirely...hoping to get at least some beeps on post. At this point I think I'm looking at either the motherboard or processor. This is the second GA-7AVX motherboard, the first being DOA out of box. All system fans are running, and I have LED lights on the motherboard. Any body have a best guess what part to replace?

 

[G0AOZ]

Have you tried clearing CMOS, and perhaps also removing the battery for a short while? Also try removing the CPU and closely inspecting it for any signs of overheating. When you replace it and the heatsink back onto the board make sure mating surfaces are cleared of old heatsink compound and reapply a thin fresh layer.

Assuming no joy... As to which it's likely to be, well it's six of one and half a dozen of the other! You could argue that you've had a duff one before, so maybe this one's now kaput. Or, you could say that as the fans and l.e.d.s all seem to be working, it might be the processor.

Maybe a local computer repair shop could be invited to check your processor...


ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[mainegeek]

Hello mksa,
"I've removed everything except the memory, hard drive, and video card from the mix".

Try booting with just the video, memory and cpu.
Disconnect the hard drives and remove the controller card as well.

What are you using for a Power Supply?

 

[mksa]

mainegeek, I had already removed hard drives from the system as well as all PCI cards, but failed to mention it. I tried moving the memory to different slots as well. I'm using a Antec 500 watt True Power PS.

I think as GOAOZ said....it's a toss up between the CPU and motherboard. But given my own experiences with Athlon XP CPUs and Gigabyte boards, I'm leaning toward replacing the motherboard. The DOA board I mentioned earlier also had LEDs and power as well, but wouldn't post.