Outside the case assembly

[mrhowdeedoo]

Ok. Long story short, the blue screen of death showed up, saying 'unmountable boot drive'. Look under 'drives and storage' for the thread 'unmountable boot drive' for the whole story.

They said it was a core hardware failure, and referred me to the thread describing how to assemble the computer outside the case. I've done all the steps, but the setup won't power up.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...oo/Photo57.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...oo/Photo48.jpg

There's some photos of the setup. The cable with the white end in that picture is the only thing to connect from the psu to the motherboard, right?

Thanks,
--mrhowdeedoo

[Cricket]

What are the complete system specs for this computer? Please list the parts by brand and model including the power supply.

Those pictures look flipped horizontally...the components are in the wrong locations.

Cricket

[sgtspector]

If thsi is a P4 build you need to connect the large connector (either 20 or 24 pins) and the 2 X 2 connector to the matching socket near the cpu socket.

[mrhowdeedoo]

The pictures are weird because I took them with my isight camera.

HD: Barracuda ATA IV 60GB Model: ST380021A
Sound Card: Creative Audigy Platinum Model: SB0090
Ethernet: Linksys Wired Card Model: LNE100TX
Floppy: Mitsumi Model: D359M3D
Optical 1: Samsung DVD writer Model: SH-S182
Optical 2: Toshiba DVD-ROM Model: SD-M1712
Modem: 3Com Model: 0726
Motherboard: MSI K7T266 Pro2 Version 2.0
Video Card: ATI Radeon 64MB
Processor: AMD Athlon 1.15Ghz Socket 462 Model: 27111 (I can't find the number. This may be the model)
PSU: Enermax (Says 'meet p4' on it) ATX pwr supply Model: EG365P-VE

I think that's all I can do. If you need pictures or anything, just tell me.

SgtSpector, from what you've described, I believe I have the psu hooked up right. Anything else?

[glc]

That board does not have the P4 connector. It's most likely the old capacitor issue. Examine the capacitors for bulging tops and leaking electrolyte.

[mrhowdeedoo]

I don't see any of that.

The outside the case build is still not turning on. What should I try next?

[flanzig1]

Try the bare minimum: PSU/Motherboard/CPU w/heatsink. disconnect everything else and have the case speaker connected to the motherboard. If the last parts are good, should get a series of beeps, if no beeps, one or more of the 3 components is bad.

[mrhowdeedoo]

Still nothing. I tried both with and without the RAM.

From the noise, it seems like the psu is powering up.

[glc]

Are you saying all capacitors look good?

http://www.thenakedpc.com/dan/Bulgin...ors/index.html

[mrhowdeedoo]

Exactly. Everything looks fine.

[Jose Suarez]

probably some graphics adapter problem, correct me if I'm wrong.

System Info:
95' MICRON
Intel Inside Pentium x86 based CPU 100Mhz
old fashion 64 mb ram
western digital 2.2GB
and good old Win2000
--> this is my master system

[Panama Red]

Are you using the screwdriver across the two power pins to attempt the out of case start up? Or are you trying to turn it on using the power supply switch?

[mrhowdeedoo]

I've been using the screwdriver, but I'm not sure which pins I should be shorting. Where are those on this motherboard?

[Panama Red]

Page 1-6 in the manual for that mobo shows the power pins to be the first two from the right, closest to the edge of the mobo. There is one missing pin to the right on the JFP1 connector. Double check your manual or use the download from MSI.

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/suppor...?UID=28&kind=1

[mrhowdeedoo]

That manual is in .exe, which doesn't work on a mac. Do you know if there's one I could use? I couldn't find any.

mrhowdeedoo

[Panama Red]

Check your pm's, MrH.

[mrhowdeedoo]

Alright, I had a friend come over, and he put it all back in the case, turned it on, messed around in BIOS a little bit, and determined it was the hard drive. I took it to a local computer store and they confirmed it.

Now I put it all back together as best as I know how with a new IDE hard drive, and it won't turn on.

Now what?

[Panama Red]

Back to basics, how is the drive jumpered? Will it power up to the bios without the hard drive even connected?

[mrhowdeedoo]

I just tried powering up without the hard drive connected, and the power supply spun for half a second, then made a loud pop. There is a little bit of smoke, and I can smell burned something.

I don't know if I should try turning it on again or not.

--mrhowdeedoo

[Panama Red]

Nope, replace it. No good once you let the smoke out. You'd risk damaging other components.

[mrhowdeedoo]

Great. What kind should I get, and is there anything I did that caused it to blow?

My motherboard's a K7T Pro2 MSI.

[mrhowdeedoo]

I'm looking replacing the exact psu I have: ENERMAX EG365P-VE FMA 1.3 ATX 350W, and I need to know before I ruin another one if I did anything to cause the last power supply to fail.

thanks,
--mrhowdeedoo

[minsonngo]

Sometimes the power supply just dies due to usage or age... just get any quality ATX PSU and you will be good to go.

See here for good brands to look for and bad ones to avoid: What Power Supply should I get? How many Watts? Who made it? Guide Inside

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by mrhowdeedoo and is there anything I did that caused it to blow?

Nope...unless you didn't keep the inside of the computer clean and the air vents on the power supply were clogged with dust.

Originally Posted by mrhowdeedoo I'm looking replacing the exact psu I have: ENERMAX EG365P-VE FMA 1.3 ATX 350W, and I need to know before I ruin another one if I did anything to cause the last power supply to fail.

If the computer interior was clean then it was probably just old age that got the power supply. Looking at the specs this computer it's about 6 years old...that's a long time in computer years.

Cricket

[mrhowdeedoo]

Ok. I got the psu, installed it, put everything together as best I could with the manual, and started it up. The fans spun for a while, then on a usb... hub? bus? The four lights next to two usb ports (in a pci slot, not on the mb itself) flashed red, and it shut off.

Now what?

Thanks for your help!
--mrhowdeedoo

[minsonngo]

Do you have the heatsink and fan installed properly? How about a thin layer of thermal compound between the heatsink and processor? Is the fan on top of the heatsink working?

[yoloksky]

hello,

can you point us where the big 'pop' occured? is it on the old PSU or in the mobo? i suggest that you attach peripheral and other component one at a time (video,ram,hd,cd,usb..etc) to narrow up the problem and do the out-of-case assembly as suggested. Try to run your pc only with the cpu+heatsinked fans first, then you should hear a series of 'beeps' coming out. The clue on the big 'pop' means that something was shorting out your build. Also remove the pci component inserted in your mobo or any external usb component because sometimes they get 'shorted' by accident when the insides of the wires are poorly soldered.

wbr,

[Cricket]

Is the motherboard mounted in the case or do you have it out of the case for troubleshooting?

Cricket

[mrhowdeedoo]

minsonngo, I believe I have the heatsink and fan properly installed. There was a thin layer of compound covering the processor when I removed the fan.

Yoloksky, The loud 'pop' came from the old PSU. As far as I can tell. I'll do what you suggested, though.

Cricket, it's in the case. Right now I'm trying to get it to run normally again.

Thanks so much!

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by mrhowdeedoo Cricket, it's in the case. Right now I'm trying to get it to run normally again.

Pull the motherboad from the case and just assemble the motherboard, CPU, CPU heatsink, video card, 1 stick of RAM, power supply, keyboard and monitor. Then follow these troubleshooting steps. Let us know what happens.

And what brand is the new power supply?

Cricket