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Computer build gone wrong!!

H

honkee

2[H]4U
Joined
Aug 6, 2003
Messages
2,438
sorry to bother you guys but i have another problem.
Ive built a pc for a friend that consists of
abit nf7-s,axp 2600+, 256 specteck memory, 60 gig hdd, turbolink 350 w psu, radeon 9200 se (rosewill)


i have primed the computer and it is stable for well over 24 hours,
now everytime i give him the pc he brings it back to me with the same problem!!
he keeps losing video signal and i have to keep reinsatlling his mobo to the case, in order to get video again.
this has happened 4 times already and im starting to get annoyed.
any clue to why this could be happening?
and why resitting the mobo would cause him to gain video signal again?
 
sounds like your shorting out the mb.

Make sure that the motherboard doesnt come into contact with the metal tray.
 
I'd check to make sure no parts of the case underneath the motherboard are touching the motherboard. You might have a motherboard standffo that is poking up, and everytime he moves the computer it touches the motherboard and shorts it out.
 
Are you using long enough stand offs and what case are you using? ummmmm i dont really know anything else that could be wrong other that you are shorting it out like BigTaf said
 
ok this thing is in a antec slk-700bqe whatever its called.
i have a zalman cnps3100 for his heatsink/fan
im assuming he is moving this bracket alot and interfering with the video card because u need those pc slots to mount the fan!!
good thing it only takes like 5 minutes to unscrew the mobo.

i noticed that his -5 v rail is at like 1.79

thats perfectly fine right?
 
You're -5 volt rail has +1.79 volts?

I would say no, that isn't good at all.

What brand of PS did you slap in that bad boy?
 
turbolink 350 watt taht came in a n x dreamer case
whats does the -5 v rail control anyways?

my main rig has a -5 v rail of 1.24
and its been like that for a long ass time
i havent a problem with it as well
 
I have no idea what it is used for, probably just included for legacy support. I'm sure there is an electronics wiz in here that can tell you exactly what it is for.

However, that rail should be at -5 (or reasonably close to it) anything besides that can cause strange issues.

To be safe, I would swap it out (and maybe yours too) with a better known brank like Antec or Sparkle (I've heard good things).

If it doesn't fix the issue, take it back and we can troubleshoot more after that.
 
i got this rosewill 550 watt psu with 34 a on the 12v rail
i also tried the antec true 480
so i doubt the psu is the issue
im assuming these mobo sensors are just wrong on every mobo
:cool:
 
Could very well be the case...

Have you run memtest on it for at least 24 hours?

The vid card your friend has probably has some low amount of on board memory which means that it may be writing excess info to the system memory. If the sys memory has some wierd glitch in it the card could be freaking out and locking up.

OR

What sort of cooling is on the vid card, active or passive? If it is active, is the fan spinning?

What is your friend doing when he loses the video? Gaming, pron surfing, finishing up his doctoral thesis, etc?
 
im assuming its the video card
it was only 40 bucks off the egg
for a 9200 se 128 mb

should have just got the ati card with 64 megs for a little more.
the specteck is 256 pc 2700
its timings are 2.5,3,3,7
166x11.5
 
oh yeah
lopped in 3dmark 2001 for like 12 passes
had to watch that garbage score over and over and over
thought i was running 3d05 for a second, LOL
 
Does the motherboard have a socketed PLCC BIOS chip? I experienced similar effects with my Abit IC7-Max3. Everytime I pick up the case to move it or jostle it in any way I can never post until I make sure to exert a litle extra force on the BIOS chip to ensure it is properly placed. Took me a week to figure it out and I had to crack open the bubbly when I finally narrowed it down.
 
It's not the problem of every mobo. I have an NF7-S v2 (we don't know what version he is using) with an Antec Tru550, and my -5v rail sits at -5.12v average.

A positive value on the -5v rail would show either a feedback problem, or a short in the power supply or motherboard. There should be no more then an 10% variance from stated voltage on this legacy rail. The main rails should be within a 5% variance.

I'm guessing that there is either a short to the case tray by unused standoffs, or even a damaged mobo due to over tightening the mounting screws. Sometimes by using the red insulating washers under the screw heads you can alleviate this problem. Also, do you have stand-offs mounted at ALL the mounting holes? This is very important, especially with the large HSF you are using! You can tell if you have over-tightened a mounting screw by looking at the solder pads around the mounting hole... if the are wore threw or badly scratched, you have over tightened the screws.

I'm also questioning the type of the HSF... is the case being banged about enough to cause the HSF to lose proper mounting orientation? Could be suffering an overheat problem. I would try using a different HSF, and making sure the fan power is plugged into the mobo's cpu fan header. Take the adjustable cooling fan off the Card holder rail that is made of the heat sink... vibrations may be causing AGP/PCI cards to loosen.

Good Luck finding the gremlin.
 
No need to worry about the -5 V rail. Chances are that this PSU doesn't even have this voltage, as it was dropped from the ATX PSU spec a couple of revisions ago.

What do you mean exactly with 'losing the video'? Does the video signal vanish suddenly while the system is on? Or does it happen only during booting?
 
Make sure the screw you used is not long for the standoff ... I have seen this before, when you thought you tightened the screw ... but the truth is it's not holding the board being the threaded part is hitting the bottom of the screw hole before it's tightened ...
 
[KFKAS]Death-Speak said:
ATI card on an NVidia mobo. Update the mobo's BIOS. Had the same problem with a 9600XT.

DS
Click to expand...
I was going to suggest the same thing. I don't think is the video card at all, I bought the exact same one about 2 months ago for my son's pc and no issues so far. Download the updated drivers from the Abit website and and check also for a short some where in the case.
 
i was using this motherboard with a 9800 pro for well over a year, so i doubt that its the nvidia/ati issue

however, when screwing in the mobos, i only use a regular screw, no red thing undernaeth it.
i also only have 4 out of the 9 screws that should be in place!!

and i alays screw it tight as fuck on the mobo
please help me out on the proper way to screw shti down

thanks in advance and sorry for sounding like a guy with no experience


EDIT:
i mean losing video as no video signal when the pc powers on, the monitor will just stay orange and never power up.
I have no idea what a plcc bios chip is, but im trying to google it now
 
honkee said:
i was using this motherboard with a 9800 pro for well over a year, so i doubt that its the nvidia/ati issue
<snip>
EDIT:
i mean losing video as no video signal when the pc powers on, the monitor will just stay orange and never power up.
<snip>
Click to expand...

That is exactly what mine was doing. If you've covered all of your bases you may as well try, you might be surprised at the results.

Also, different mobo's ship with different BIOS revisions. Just because it worked on one doesn't guarantee it will work on another. This is especially true if the mobo's mfg is different.

DS
 
i will flash the sucka when i get home later
thank god for windows flashing utility
because floppies are no friend of mine
:D
 
word of warning, Spectek mem is not good. I used to work for a place and they used that stuff for about 2 days. They stopped because systems starting coming back and they were really unstable. Put in good memory and they worked fine.
 
are you screwing the video card down after it is inserted in the motherboard? you know, the little screw on the angle bracket that aligns the vid card with the chassis?
 
honkee said:
i also only have 4 out of the 9 screws that should be in place!!
Click to expand...

Why? When using a heavy heatsink ... you'll need the motherboard as tight as possible... The Case should have more than enough to use all the mounting holes ...
:confused:
 
Blauman said:
word of warning, Spectek mem is not good. I used to work for a place and they used that stuff for about 2 days. They stopped because systems starting coming back and they were really unstable. Put in good memory and they worked fine.
Click to expand...

Good point! I didn't even notice the brand of RAM. However in this case I'm not certain that RAM is causing it.

DS
 
I don't think this has been mentioned, but you should check to see if the mobo tray is screwed in.
 
May sound retarded:

When it boots up again: and the video doesnt come up, reach in the case and press on the Northbridge chipset(kinda hard if it has a fan).You never said who manufactued the MB, but i saw it on an MSI, with bad soldering. You will know right away, cause the video will turn on.

One small bump and it will shut off again.
I would try a new MB, figure $75
 
Is the motherboard still flush with the standoffs after each screw you screw in? Another possibility is that you are warping the PCB when you are tightening it down.
 
i dont think anybody mentioned this so in case you didnt check (which im sure you did) assuming its AGP make sure the card is FIRMLY into the slot with it screwed into the expansion bay well...i had this problem recently and that was the only thing I did to correct it :D
 
I've had a similar problem one time. It was my parents PC. I built it and it worked fine, no issues at all at my house. Took it to my parents and it would fail within 24 hours. For their computer, I would have to pull out the Video card, and then put it back in. Then it would work for a while longer.

I tracked it down to the power outlet that it was plugged into. My father had installed that outlet a few years earlier. I checked the circuit with my equipment but could find no fault with the wiring. I can only guess that it is dirty power on the line.

To fix it, I gave them a 7 foot corded surge suppressor that reached to a different outlet that ran to a different circuit in the house.

You might want to try that, or purchase a UPS to see if that helps your situation.

Slacky
 
Slacky said:
I've had a similar problem one time. It was my parents PC. I built it and it worked fine, no issues at all at my house. Took it to my parents and it would fail within 24 hours. For their computer, I would have to pull out the Video card, and then put it back in. Then it would work for a while longer.

I tracked it down to the power outlet that it was plugged into. My father had installed that outlet a few years earlier. I checked the circuit with my equipment but could find no fault with the wiring. I can only guess that it is dirty power on the line.

To fix it, I gave them a 7 foot corded surge suppressor that reached to a different outlet that ran to a different circuit in the house.

You might want to try that, or purchase a UPS to see if that helps your situation.

Slacky
Click to expand...

Same here with my bro-in-law- power issue- check the outlet he is using to power the PC, and the one for the monitor.
Also, dont rule out the monitor as a problem. Has he tried the PC with a different monitor at his house?
HTH
 
I had the exact same problem (i think), the video signal just cuts out and I cant find any good reasons for it. I finally figured it out, try lowering AGP from 8x to 4x. That fixed all of my problems.
 
If it is running well at your place but not his, I would definitely follow the previous suggestions about power. Try a different outlet/circuit. I had a customer with this problem, the couldn't figure out why their pc kept failing all they had plugged into the power strip was a printer, a scanner, a fax machine, a receiver, an answering machine, another power strip that fed four cctvs, a space heater, their pc and monitor. HMMMMMM, whats wrong with this picture?

look to the power.
 
back with an update guys

1. reinstalled mobo with the red rings under the screws, use new gold standoffs and the same screws that were in the mini ziploc.
noticed that little pentium 4 sqare pin wasnt plugged in so i asid fuck it and plugged it in too.
what do u know, the -5v rail shows as -4.89
I learned something new today on this one.

2. delieverd to his house and plugged in personally.

3.
I go check out how he has his power setup, man i wish i had a camera.
2 outlet wall, 1 doesnt work,got black shit around the outlet, looking like he burned some shit before on this one.
1 surge protector in the other free outlet.
He added another surge to that surge protector itself.
so he has a tv,2 ps2's(why? when he is single),monitor,speakers,home speakers,alarm clock, air humidifier,electric razor,blah,blah.
looks like a fuckin rats nest, took about ten minutes to find a free plug to plug the power cord in(im serious).

i know notihng about power but he has told me that he has shorted his whole condo before, and had to hit this switch in the circuit breaker.
so here i am home, he has a working pc again, but for how long??
ill report back by thursday, which is how long it usually takes him to fuck it up
3 days



EDIT:
i noticed that his cpu diode temp is lower then his socket temp??
please tell me if this is normal, since its my first time seeing it
 
Working computer repair in a university town has taught me to run from what you saw. All that stuff is probably the true cause of the issue, especially the humidifier. But the failed outlet certainly isn't helping the computer but it certainly could help burn the place down.

This is the lines that I always tell the people I see when in the dorm rooms. Buy a UPS, ASAP. Even a basic $50 model is ton better than what is going on now. I would bet dollar to donuts that if you see this problem again, you could not worry about pulling the motherboard but simply unplug the ATX motherboard cable and let stand for about 10 mins. Plug all back in and I am willing to say it would power perfectly fine.

I also can see the future here. Soon the power supply is going to blow without the use of a UPS. If you are lucky, only the power supply is going to go. If not, you will be looking to replace a motherboard, memory, cpu and maybe drives.

Also other words of warning if this is in a dorm room or small apartment, I bet there are other larger appliances on the circuit with the computer introducing noise into the power line. My favorite sight of this idioticy was in a dorm room with a 27" TV, Xbox, PS2, fridge, Microwave, 2 PCs with monitors, and other random gear on two outlets but on the same wall so most likely same circuit. The guy complained to me over and over about the "crappy" PSU we sold him. He blew the thing 3 times in about 5 weeks. Finally, we did a onsite trip for him and I couldn't but laugh my head off when I saw it. I told him to buy a UPS. About 2 weeks later, he returns being pissy and complaining about the PSU again. I asked him if he bought a UPS, since he told me he wasn't going to buy a UPS from us. He told me no. I just pulled his money from the till, took the power supply from him, and asked him to get the hell out of the store. Yup, I lost a customer that day. But in the end, I had the last laugh. His roommate was the reason he came to us in the first place. The roomie was decent, friendly but PC clueless. About a month later, the roomie bought a UPS and the roomie's few issues disappeared. The power supply guy bought 3 more PSU from other places, and he blew them all with the other companies not willing to replace them since they were burned out.

Ok, sorry to rant in your thread, but heed the warning. If you or your friend doesn't believe me, go buy a UPS from a store with a open return policy, use it for a week or 2 and see if it doesn't help return it for your money.
 
thanks for registering capt to respond to this post.
what a helpful community here.
I'm taking your advice and swinging by micro center later to look for a cheap ups ffor him, because you described his place down to the refrigerator, lol.
ill let you guys know in a week if something fluky happens
 
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