Build gone bad

Yz388

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 18, 2005
Messages
197
Well put together a system last night. For the most part everything worked well. Only strange thing I noticed was 1 time last night i turned it on, and it went right off. Everything after that was fine, installed vista. Got tired and went to bed. This morning, all the pc does is turn on for a split second and turn off. Shows nothing on screen.

How could something go bad while i'm sleeping, veryyyy annoying. Any suggestions?

Basically am just trying to boot it with the essentials and still nothing?


Edit: ok, it will stay running if i keep the 2 plug power thing disconnected from the mobo. But shows nothing and no beeps. If i reconnect the 2nd power plug from the psu, it just turns off and on.
Also, my main power plug from the psu, its like a 20-24 pin. I only have the 20 in, and the 4 hanging off. But I am plugging in the power plug from the psu, thats like 2 holes if that makes sense.

Edit 2- Checked psu with paperclip. PSU is fine
 
At this point, im assuming its the cpu or motherboard. I dont fully understand how considering it was fine when I went to sleep last night.

Like i said, with just the main power connector, it will stay running but no info on monitor.

With the smaller power connector from the psu also connected, it goes on, then off, on then off, and eventually stops
 
You could be shorting the motherboard unknowingly. Try hooking it up with the motherboard outside of the case on a non-conductive solid surface (wood, a countertop).

And what is a "2 plug power thing" that you have disconnected from the mobo? Are you talking about the front power header for the power button?

It's easy and common to be shorting the motherboard in the case.
 
yep, i have been testing it outside the case on wood. so its def not that.

As for as the power connectors, i have the main one from the psu, and then another thats like 4 holes that goes in which is also power. Whats strange is it will stay running if i disconnect the smaller power one, but either way nothing shows on monitor.


Can you guys verify that these parts should work together? (I was working last night like i said before for a little while)


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128078
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153023
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066
 
What's the entire specs of your build? That Thermaltake 430 watt PSU is not that strong with only 18Amps on the +12V.
 
It was the memory. Never had this problem before. Something to do with the memory voltage and the motherboard. I have been told to tell the motherboard to turn down those settings? Not exactly sure what to set it to.

Right now its running perfect using one of my sticks of ram.
 
Follow the motherboard's instruction manual and go into the BIOS to adjust the RAM's voltage setting.
 
Yeah that is good advice get into bios and adjust the mem voltage
 
OK. Here is the newest update. It was running fine all night, with my stick of memory and then finally shut off by itself?

I dont know what to do. Is this is a memory issue? Will setting the correct voltage's for either type of memory completely solve this problem?

Or should i just rma all this stuff, and get a different mobo, memory, and psu. I have never had this many problems with a build.
 
First, figure out what the motherboard's ideal voltage level is and adjust the RAM's voltage to that. For now, use only one stick of RAM.

If it runs stable, run memtest for at least six hours. If that runs stable, add the second stick of RAM and run memtest again for at least six hours.

If running the voltage prescribed by the motherboard doesn't work for you, try running the voltage at the level the RAM is supposed to work on. Repeat all of the above steps to test it.

If nothing works, RMA the RAM and/or buy RAM that runs on the voltage prescribed by the motherboard.
 
I'm certainly surprised no one has said this, but I think your PSU is faulty, probably the 12v rail since it totally flakes out when you plug in the ATX12V connector (the 4-pin).............. do you have access to another PSU for testing purposes?
 
EDIT: delete accidental double post............. forum was busy being slow.............
 
this is getting so annoying. ok here it goes.

Using my memory, it ran 5 hours. Then turned off. So i figured, ill try the old stuff. Put back the old memory that i bought for the pc, and it booted up. 4 hrs later, started acting up again to the point where it just turns itself on and off. This no way can be a memory problem because them memory is fine on my pc, and is of a good brand. I tried to set the memory settings, but there were not many options.

Im not sure what to do. Is it the mobo or psu? I am thinking about just returning them and buying completely different parts. I cant afford for this problem to go on much longer.


So like right now, it just turns on and off, on and off. If i wait a few hrs, it will give me a little but of time to tinker with it. Like i said, tried diff memory, and same thing. I plan on RMA'ing the mobo and psu, and taking it from there.
 
yeah RMA those

I hate when people just RMA everything 'cause they can't figure out what's really broken.
But then again, that's where we get all those great deals on "factory refurbished"... :p

It REALLY sounds like the PSU. It may be failing, or it may be going into current limit. Nothing else will usually cause the power to turn on and off repeatedly.... just off.
 
had similar problems before. It wasn't ram related for me. It was the reset switch reversed. I've also had a short (metal touching) do this to me too. All in a days experience though ;)
 
RMA'd mobo and returned psu for a better one. Same exact problems, reinstalled windows, installed everything, 6 hrs ran fine. Came home and it was off. Try to turn it back on, and it turns on and off. Then i cant even do that, but eventually it will turn on by itself.

Please help. Its been too long for this to keep happening.
 
Which PSU did you buy instead? And have you tried replacing/returning the RAM?
 
bought a TT 500 psu.

i have tried my good ram from my other pc, same thing
 
Guarantee you it's the ram. I bought some Geil DDR2 667 2x1GB and it would only work in my machine with one stick of ram. I tried more voltage, different speeds, higher cas, running it in single channel... none of it worked. Bought some Patriot DDR2 667 2x1GB and it worked fine.

Some memory just doesn't work on some motherboards.
 
This is going to sound stupid, but have you tried running your motherboard outside of your case?

I can't think of anything else at this point, other than the possibility that a stray screw or something possibly "shorting out" (for lack of a better word) your board.

If/When you run your case outside of your board, try running it with just the processor, one stick of RAM, your hard drive, and the video card. If you are having problems after this point... I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to do.
 
ok. I still think its the memory now. If i read newegg about this mobo, people are saying that you need to adjust the memory settings on lots of the memory for this board or it will restart byitself, similar to whats its doing now. Heres the thing, how and what to I change them too? How do I know what my memory wants?

Like 2 for voltage, 1.8? This has to be the issue here....


No shorting, new mobo, new psu, ran it outside case, everything is hooked up perfect.

Here is the memory I have, please let me know what settings it actually needs so I can try and change them in bios.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066
 
Update:

I am on the pc right now as I type this. I went into memory settings, took everything off auto. It got the timmings right (5.5.5.18) butttt it has the voltage at auto. When I take it off auto, there is 1.6, 2.0. 2.2. The memory calls for 1.8, so I put it on 2.0.

Was this the right choice? Why is there no 1.8? All is good so far, but it usally takes a while before it shuts down.
 
Hmm... it's good to hear that you're up and running. But I am surprised that 1.8 wasn't an option for you.

You may want to run memtest again to test the RAM's stability at 2.0V.
 
Well, it did it again. I am beyond pissed off with this setup. I have tried everything. Please any more suggestions? Could it be the processor?

Its doing it now where it turns on and off on and off. If i give it a few hours it will be fine for prob about an hour. This time it lasted about 3 hrs. Had windows all setup and everything. Tried my memory again from my pc in it, same thing.

(about to break my phone as im on my 45th minute waiting for Gigabyte support)
 
Have we tried replacing the power supply yet?

I have witnessed this problem with someone else's system, it will behave perfectly for maybe a day or two and then shut off, my guess is the PSU has a fault, and pulling the ATX12V in and out sure doesn't help the other components...Might as well RMA the lot and get all new parts, although just RMA'ing the PSU and the mainboard might clear the problem.
 
Don't know why I didn't think of this until now :rolleyes:

Are you sure that the motherboard hardware monitor isn't activating??

Maybe the BIOS is set for too low of warning temp?
Try to set a manual temps rather than AUTO settings.
Maybe a fan tach is being lost or is not seen?
Make sure unused fan plugs are set to UNUSED or IGNORE in BIOS.
Same with temps and volts. Make sure they are set properly or turned off.

Sooner or later we're gonna nail this bugger! :D
 
Outamyhead: That was with old psu, i have since got a new one. Also, this is the 2nd mobo.

After speaking with Intel and Gigabyte, both told me to update bios. This mobo at one point did not support this cpu. (1333 fsb is not supported) Updated it, restarted pc, and it turned off.

Wjogert: Can you elaborate please? As of now, I can not turn it on without it turning right off. In a few hours (no idea why) it will let me use it for a bit longer so I can play with some settings.
I remember one of the fans is reading 0 RPM, but thats normal because its not connected. I will look for a disable feature for that, although I dont think it would have the option anywhere.

This happens with memory set to auto, or manual with the correct timings and 2.0 v instead of 1.8 which it calls for. 1.8 is not one of my options

NOTE: It stopped turning on by itself for a while now. It just turns off at random times. Not sure why this changed, but it use to try and turn itself on and off, on and off. Now I have to turn it back on once it turns off.
 
It really sounds like your using memory that your motherboard just doesn't like but that A-Data ram should be fine with your combo. You do have the power supply hooked up correctly don't you? 20+4 pin at the atx connector plus the cpu power connecter 4 pin hooked into the board up next to the PS-2 ports? I'm looking at the pics of your motherboard on Newegg's site. Just trying to cover all the bases here.
 
Wjogert: Can you elaborate please? As of now, I can not turn it on without it turning right off. In a few hours (no idea why) it will let me use it for a bit longer so I can play with some settings.
I remember one of the fans is reading 0 RPM, but thats normal because its not connected. I will look for a disable feature for that, although I dont think it would have the option anywhere.

That motherboard supports hardware monitoring.
You won't be able to make changes 'till the system is ready to run.
When it's ready, go directly to BIOS. Navigate to the Hardware Monitor settings. Check any fail-safe settings... settings that dictate when the PC should hard-shut-down to protect hardware. Many motherboards have a fail-safe setting for CPU temp and CPU fan speed. It's possible that one or both of these settings may be set too low. Don't use AUTO setting if it's enabled. Manually set the limits according to your CPU and HSF.

I'm assuming came with the Gigabyte CD came with a hardware monitoring utility. After checking BIOS, I would recommend monitoring the software utility for CPU temps. Make sure that the CPU isn't actually getting too warm.
 
Ok thanks, I will look into those when I get home from work. Like I mentioned before, the cpu was reading around 30 C.

Any other suggestions? Do you guys still think it could be a memory timing/voltage issue?

As much as i dont like doing this, i might have to start swapping parts out of my personal pc and testing. I need to figure out what is causing this problem.

Would windows event log tell me whats causing this?

Officially, the build from hell.
 
I did, but since then the psu has been returned for another one. Here is an updated list.

Motherboard:GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Memory:A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Power Supply (Newer One):Thermaltake Purepower W0100RU ATX 12V 2.0 500W Power Supply

Processor:Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Conroe 2.66GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E6750

Whats been done if your new to this thread

Motherboard has been rma'd,
Returned the first TT psu for one listed above
Tried my working memory in other desktop.
Tried running outside of case
Played with memory timings, set to manual, voltage to 2.0, timings to match what the memory wants
Double checked power..24 pin connected and 12 volt connected
Used spacers between screws and motherboard just to be safe
Double checked wires connected to mobo...reset, power. etc.
Updated bios to newest (Gigabyte told me to do this, to make sure my cpu has support) This was done successfully, and still same problem.
Double checked cpu temps, if anything they were very low. 30 C if i remember correctly.
Have tried running the motherboard on optimized defaults, not fail safe yet because im not familar with that.

What is the problem still?
The computer will turn on, run like nothing is wrong for a given amount of time. Say 2 hours. After this amount of time, it will turn off. I have to turn it back on and then it will last a few seconds and turn off again. If I give it a few hours or a day, I will get another few hours out of it when I turn it on. Process repeats over and over. It will do this in windows or bios, just depends where I am atm. Windows has been installed fine twice, runs great and then gets dies. No blue screen or anything.
 
Yes, i have not tried another cpu yet. I have hesitated using my personal core 2 duo for testing purposes, but it looks like im going to have to give it a try.

The cpu temps were low 30 C
 
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