I just replaced the motherboard, CPU, HeatSink, and Ram in one of my cases.
I have a Geforce3 motherboard with a Semperon 3200 CPU, 512MB PC3200 memory and a HSF of unknown brand (generic).
When I turn on the system it starts. I can get into the BIOS setup where it will be find for a few minutes then it just turns itself off. CPU fan does spin. The Heatsimk/Fan combo had thermal transfer material on it that was exposed by removing a plastic layer which I did.
I just bought a used PC with an Athlon xp3000+, Radeon XL800X card, 1gb Ram, MSI K7n mobo. Case was cracked in a couple of places, and it was kinda dusty, so I bought a new case, BenQ DVD burner, and started to rebuild. I’ve always wanted to build my own anyway, so I figured this was a good way to start. Took it mostly back apart, got it all into the new case, and I have the same problem. Sometimes, it will boot and run for 10 minutes or so. Sometimes it boots for 30 seconds…sometimes it powers up but does not boot. I don’t think there is going to be an easy"solution" that someone will just know our problem is.
One thing I read to do on a PC building website is get the mobo out of the case and on an electrically inert surface(like the mobo box)…then try to get it running with the HD, one stick of ram, etc…just the bare minimums, then troubleshoot out from there…sometimes I’ve read that the case’s power button can stick, so the computer sees the ‘ON’ push as one continuous press, which signals a reboot.
I don’t know, I’m about to give up and take mine to a PC tech. I thought it might be easier to do my first build with a partially built one, but now I think I’m stuck troubleshooting stuff I didn’t originally purchase or put together
Oh I should mention to give the mobo the power on signal when it’s out of the case, you have to take a small screwdriver and jump a pin somewhere, I’ll try to find the exact forum and get a link for ya
Some heatsinks are easy to install backwards. When installed backwards, they do not contact the CPU properly. Something to check.
Also, many BIOS interfaces have a “PC Health” screen that shows the CPU temperature, voltage readings, fan speed, etc. See if your temp is above 60C, or if your voltages are very low (inadequate power supply)
That’s going to be different on every board, but it’ll be in your manual that you got with it. BTW, to turn it off, you’ll short those pins again, but hold it until it turns off (the same way you have to hold the button to shut off the computer). And you have to have a steady hand, you don’t want to slip and short the wrong thing out.
Something else to check. Take a look at the capacitors, and see if any of them are leaking a sort of rust colored crusty stuff. If they are, that’s bad and you need to replace the MB NOW, before it blows the power supply as well.
I looked at the capacitors while I putting the board in the case and they looked alright. I will examine the board again when I get home
I can get to the health screen and I believe one of the power levels was below what it should be. I beolieve the +5 Line was reporting as 4.95 or something along those lines. I will have to check at home.
The heatsink for this model CPU is flat all the way across, I don’t see how installing it one way or the other would make a difference. I believe I saw the CPU go up to 68 before it kicked off so that sounds like a cooling problem.
I do have the board on cardboard to prevent accidental grounding to the case for testing purposes. Currently it only has the same AGP card I was using before in it and no hard drives attached. One 512KB stick of memory the heatsingk.fan and a case fan.
I ha a similar problem when I had to rebuild my PC; Turned out that the old poewr supply (one of the few salvageable components I hadn’t replaced) wasn’t of a high enough wattage to run the new kit.