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You also want to make sure that your motherboard supports both the CPU and RAM
Who can point me to a good PSU or PSU brand that isnt Corsair
- Thread starter mdgrim
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1 thing I havent seen covered is Does the Power On button work?
hold it in, does it make the fans ramp up over and over? If it does, get a new switch.
hold it in, does it make the fans ramp up over and over? If it does, get a new switch.
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He has an i5 2500. His motherboard supports it. It would be his RAM between those two.
Never ran into that one. O.O
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already tested that by switching the reset button wires with the power button wires, same issue. Don't really want to touch the cpu while there is power going to the PC lol. It's too late now, I will try some of this stuff tomorrow after I wake up from napping after work. I still don't think its a compatibility issue as in my eyes that would mean the system wouldn't have started up properly in the first place.
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It really sounds like an electronically damaged motherboard to me at this point. The cpu trick I mentioned is a way to isolate the problem between the cpu and motherboard. But a dead cpu usually means no activity whatsoever when you press the power button (no fans spinning up, no beeps no lights etc) so it isn't likely that. I would like to know what happens after you've checked the above items. Also thought of this: if the cmos/bios settings have bad timings or voltage settings you might experience a no post issue such as this.
You can clear you cmos settings by taking out the battery, unplugging the computer and with the cmos battery not in the motherboard, press the power button a couple times to drain the capacitors of any energy left. Then reinsert the cmos battery.
Then when the computer comes on hold down the Insert key on the keyboard (bios settings override button). It may be a different key depending on your motherboard but the Insert key is common on many boards for resetting or bypassing the stored cmos settings.
You can also use a multimeter on your cmos watch battery (usually a cr2032) to test the voltage. It should read over 3v if it is full (usually around 3.3volts for a brand new battery). If it's less than 2.7v you may want to get a new one (around $2-$3). You can also use that multimeter to test out your power supplies 5v and 12v rails (but as you've already tried another psu, I don't think that is the problem).
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I will attempt some of these shortly, going to take a nap for now. To clarify on exactly what happens: Power button pressed, case,PSU,and cpu fans spin up. red LED on case for power lights up, 2nd LED (idk what its for, symbol is squarish in shape) on case does not light up as it was when the PC was operational. 0.5 to 1 second later power shuts off and everything stops.
When it first occurred I was able to press the power button multiple times to bring the same issue up. I somehow managed to get it started up long enough (like 5-8 seconds) to get the post beep once the first night it happened and get my windows 7 CD out of the drive, but then it lost power once more. Now I have to unplug and re-plug the power cable each time I want to check if anything has changed. So possibly the battery on the motherboard is bad... kinda seems like it isn't holding a charge or something, hopefully I'll find out soon >.>
When it first occurred I was able to press the power button multiple times to bring the same issue up. I somehow managed to get it started up long enough (like 5-8 seconds) to get the post beep once the first night it happened and get my windows 7 CD out of the drive, but then it lost power once more. Now I have to unplug and re-plug the power cable each time I want to check if anything has changed. So possibly the battery on the motherboard is bad... kinda seems like it isn't holding a charge or something, hopefully I'll find out soon >.>
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The battery going bad on the motherboard won't cause the computer to shut down on it's own. Usually everything would start up in that case with the computer's time being reset (and the other cmos settings as well) or with an error cmos checksum fail (usually meaning watch battery is getting low/dead).
I only mention to check it because if the cmos is corrupt, the motherboard may exhibit strange post/no-post behavior and you'll want to rule out this as the cause of the failure to start by clearing the cmos/checking the battery.
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Okay... here goes nothing.
Tested/completed:
-unplug power & data cables for hard drive & Cd/DVD drive
-pull RAM, turn on and wait for beep
- pull video card, turn on and wait for beep
-Take out motherboard battery, drain capacitors, put back in, and turn on
-Check screws holding motherboard (supplied with board, no washers)
-Unplug everything and re-plug
Not attempted:
-Take off heat sink, turn on PC and touch CPU
-Take CPU out of motherboard and check
- Reapply Thermal paste
The reasons these were not attempted are as follows: Not too comfortable messing with the most delicate part of the build (and one of the most expensive). Not entirely sure how to apply thermal paste, and the Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste tube I have is fairly old (1 1/2 or so).
So I guess this has isolated the problem down to the motherboard, CPU, and maybe the PSU if its being goofy and isnt pumping out the watts its supposed to or something. My money is on the motherboard but I guess I could always send both back to Newegg for replacements if I really had to/wanted to
*edit* should of mentioned, same exact results every time.
Tested/completed:
-unplug power & data cables for hard drive & Cd/DVD drive
-pull RAM, turn on and wait for beep
- pull video card, turn on and wait for beep
-Take out motherboard battery, drain capacitors, put back in, and turn on
-Check screws holding motherboard (supplied with board, no washers)
-Unplug everything and re-plug
Not attempted:
-Take off heat sink, turn on PC and touch CPU
-Take CPU out of motherboard and check
- Reapply Thermal paste
The reasons these were not attempted are as follows: Not too comfortable messing with the most delicate part of the build (and one of the most expensive). Not entirely sure how to apply thermal paste, and the Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste tube I have is fairly old (1 1/2 or so).
So I guess this has isolated the problem down to the motherboard, CPU, and maybe the PSU if its being goofy and isnt pumping out the watts its supposed to or something. My money is on the motherboard but I guess I could always send both back to Newegg for replacements if I really had to/wanted to
*edit* should of mentioned, same exact results every time.
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I don't know if I will do that tomorrow or not, not doing it tonight and I leave for vacation on Saturday. So I will prob just make a new thread with a more improved title once I'm back.
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Title is kind of deceiving at this point.
He tried the paper clip test and it passed.
Although he could try unplugging everything from the power supply except say fans (not sure what else he could plug in that wouldn't be harmed by doing this) to see if it's capable of producing enough juice constantly.
Is this plugged into a UPS? Could be a faulty UPS.
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if by UPS you mean this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply
Then no, it's not.
Then no, it's not.
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Yes, that is what I was meaning.
That also had me thinking, Maybe you have a faulty plug for your wall. Or a fuse could be weak that controls that area of your home. Have you tried plugging it in some where else/checking your fuse box? My fuse box for the house is in my room. Any time say my dryer is running it whines pretty loud. When I turn my computer on, whines a little bit and I have a 600watt power supply.
The fuse thing could be a valid point btw. I installed a few car stereos for myself and my family, and a few times we had a faulty fuse. A speaker would phase in and out, cut off randomly etc. until we would replace the fuse. Fuses can go out without warning as well.
The final thing that I can think of at this point is, maybe, yet again your power supply went bad. If you could open it up without voiding your warranty, see if anything looks out of the ordinary. Kind of like when someone suggested to look at the motherboards capacitors.
That also had me thinking, Maybe you have a faulty plug for your wall. Or a fuse could be weak that controls that area of your home. Have you tried plugging it in some where else/checking your fuse box? My fuse box for the house is in my room. Any time say my dryer is running it whines pretty loud. When I turn my computer on, whines a little bit and I have a 600watt power supply.
The fuse thing could be a valid point btw. I installed a few car stereos for myself and my family, and a few times we had a faulty fuse. A speaker would phase in and out, cut off randomly etc. until we would replace the fuse. Fuses can go out without warning as well.
The final thing that I can think of at this point is, maybe, yet again your power supply went bad. If you could open it up without voiding your warranty, see if anything looks out of the ordinary. Kind of like when someone suggested to look at the motherboards capacitors.
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From what you've tried and checked, it really sounds like the motherboard is the problem (since you've tried two psus and the paperclip trick works on the new one). So I'd be curious to see if replacing the motherboard fixes it for you. 
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Well I'm turning the house upside down looking for the mobo plastic protection cover for the CPU insert area. Can't find it anywhere and I think I might need it to RMA the board T____T.... Also, it has been plugged in at several different places.
*edit* this :'( still cant find it
*2nd edit* And according to the Newegg rep I chatted with it seems they wont accept the board without the protector... Don't know about Gigabyte but I'm assuming they wont either. Looks like my father probably threw it away... silly way to lose 100-150 dollars -_-
*3rd edit* LOL I feel so stupid >_>. Was talking to the guy that got the PC up and running the 1st time and I mentioned that my CPU slot protector was missing and told me I should get them to cross-ship me a new board like they did with the PSU and just take that protector plate XD
*edit* this :'( still cant find it
*2nd edit* And according to the Newegg rep I chatted with it seems they wont accept the board without the protector... Don't know about Gigabyte but I'm assuming they wont either. Looks like my father probably threw it away... silly way to lose 100-150 dollars -_-
*3rd edit* LOL I feel so stupid >_>. Was talking to the guy that got the PC up and running the 1st time and I mentioned that my CPU slot protector was missing and told me I should get them to cross-ship me a new board like they did with the PSU and just take that protector plate XD
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