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SN25P early death

M

Mexicorn

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jul 11, 2002
Messages
285
so I just got my brand new SN25P last weekend, and had everything working fine...UNTIL, just yesterday...I turned it on after work...loaded windows, on desktop for 30s, insta-reboot....this had happened about twice before during the week so i figured I'd check it out online...load back into windows...reboots again.

Now I get worried, I unplug everything, wiggle around the sata cables, reseat the vid card, and pretty much check everything except the CPU. I try again, go straight into bios...temps are fine (30'sC for system and proc) though I noticed the NB fan was at 0rpm...I check it out and low and behold, it's not spinning...

On top of that, when I tried loading windws again, it gave me the safe mode choices etc, but would freeze immediately no matter which choice i picked. Did all these reboots in a row fry my new HD too?? Basically, if I pick safemode, about 20 files load before it locks up.

What bothers me is the system was rock solid just the day before. I had world of warcraft running for 3ish hours before i went to bed the night before it died. Could this be the SATA cable trouble i've been hearing about? Or maybe something funny with the PSU? I'm pretty sure i'm gonna have the RMA at least the shuttle due to the northbridge fan, but can my HD be saved?
 
Mexicorn said:
can my HD be saved?
Click to expand...

I really doubt that anything happened to your harddisk.

Just hook it up to another computer and check it out. It's really not that hard. :p
 
well i'm pretty sure it won't need to be completely replaced, but i'm just worried that i'm gonna need to reformat again. And as for checking it in another comp, I have no other computers in my apartment and my friend's old server can't support SATA. What i'm mainly worried about though is the shuttle itself. If I need to RMA it I feel it's gonna be a real hassle, especially since i had it sent ot my parents place in jersey, and they brought it up to me in MA. Should i contact newegg or shuttle first relating the RMA? Also, can i simply get a replacement northbridge fan/HS, or is it epoxied on?
 
First of all, to rule out heat being the culprit, take the entire mainboard and attached components out of the case and place it a non-conductive surface (cardboard).

Second, sudden rebooting is usually due to power issues, i.e., a bad/dying PSU. Try hooking up another PSU (standard ATX, for example). Alternatively some components (caps) on the mainboard could have, or are about to let out the magic smoke, so check for visible signs of damage as well.
 
Elledan said:
First of all, to rule out heat being the culprit, take the entire mainboard and attached components out of the case and place it a non-conductive surface (cardboard).
Click to expand...

With the cramped space inside the case, I think it'd be quite a pain to take out hte entire mainboard. With the case off though, the whole thing is pretty much open, and that hasn't helped issues. Remember that just the nigh before this happened i was stressing the system pretty hard for hours.
Second, sudden rebooting is usually due to power issues, i.e., a bad/dying PSU. Try hooking up another PSU (standard ATX, for example).
Click to expand...
Don't have another PSU to test on the system, but even if i did, the shuttle has a custom built PSU with 2 proprietary connectors to the mobo instead of the of standard plug.

Alternatively some components (caps) on the mainboard could have, or are about to let out the magic smoke, so check for visible signs of damage as well.
Click to expand...

will check for that once i get home from work, though my problem seems surprisingly similar to the SATA cable issues i've been hearing about, so I guess I have to try that first. I just hope i can RMA individual parts of the system assuming the mobo isn't at fault (i.e. replace the NBU fan and even PSU if necessary) Has anyone had any similar problems though, with regards to insta-rebooting on their machines?

EDIT: also, where would be the best place to find a cheap sata cable to test my problem? I know i could order one from newegg, but $5 shipping on a $5 cable, plus waiting a week isn't very appealing...
 
After doing a burn in on my SN25P, the BIOS didn't see my HDD at all. Since the HDD worked fine in my other box, I put it back in the shuttle, but replaced the SATA cable and all was well. Not sure if you are having the same issue, but its worth a try.

EDIT: The Shuttle comes with 3 SATA cables, did you try them all?
 
canislupy said:
The Shuttle comes with 3 SATA cables, did you try them all?
Click to expand...

I'm using the shorter supplied cable with seems sturdier now with the HD in the floppy bay. Unfortunately I think the insta-reboots have corrupted the drive since I still freeze on windows bootup instantly. I'll try a fresh install when I get home. This was my first "buy everything and put it together myself" computer too :( oh well, guess I'm getting a good lesson huh...
 
Um, did you take the "sticker skin" off the bottom of the cpu?

This happened to a buddy of mine's SFF and he hadn't done that but had the same probs as you.
 
Grimmda said:
Um, did you take the "sticker skin" off the bottom of the cpu?

This happened to a buddy of mine's SFF and he hadn't done that but had the same probs as you.
Click to expand...

On the CPU you say? Like, in between the pins of the processor itself? I've never heard of that, and didn't see anything about that in any of the manuals. Or is this something relating to the SFF heatsink itself? The bottom was just polished copper, no stickers of any kind....i'm confused.
 
I don't think you have to worry about the "sticker skin". I think he is referring to the stock fans that the AMD retail comes with (not quite sure but I could be wrong). However, I highly suggest you to ditch all SATA cables that comes with the Shuttle. Over at Sudhian, even shuttle representatives have acknowledge the problems with them and have done a complete redo of all SATA cables in the SN25P in their inventory. Also, they are replacing SATA cables upon request if you call their customer service.

With that aside, I believe your NB chip is overheating since your fan is not spinning. I believe your hard drive should be fine, unless your overall system was overheating (which doesn't appear to be the case). If your NB chip is indeed overheating, then the access between your CPU and memory is non-existent thus, it freezes.

Ald
 
***UPDATE***
Moved the HD to below the dvd in the drivecage, and used the tougher feeling short SATA cable that came with the system. I've since done a full format at windows install, and will see how things run. One interesting note, when I re-installed windows, for the longest time it wouldn't recognize my on-board LAN. I kept uninstalling/reinstalling the nforce ethernet drivers to no avail until I decided to muck around in the bios as a last resort. For some reason, the onboard lan was set to disabled as default in the BIOS, I have no idea why...

As for the NB fan, it's still not spinning up, but I don't think that had anything to do with the stability problems. I am however, going to contact shuttle and see if I can get a new NB cooler, or if I have to send back the whole case. More updates to come...
 
that fan may not spin if it doesn't think it needs to, based upon bios settings.

I'm just guessing here, been awhile since I messed around with the fan controls in the sn25p bios.
 
Just a note for anyone who wants to remove the mainboard. It comes out the front of the case, there is a panel that if you look at it right, you will see the screws that will let the panel come off and the board once unscrewed will fit out the front. You will obviously have to remove the plastic front case cover first. This way you should not have to remove the power supply.
 
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