Everything was working fine....

[loyolacub68]

Hi, I have the following build:

MSI P6N
Pentium 4 940
2 GB OCZ memory
XFX 7600GT 256MB video card
Hiper 580W power supply

I had everything working great, I had Vista up and running and was transferring files from my old computer. Once I finished I had a couple parts from the old computer that needed to go into the new one.

So after I was finished installing everything I went to go boot it up and it started, thought I heard a pop or crackle or something, then it shut down. I opened the case, looked for any obvious signs of damage, saw nothing, booted it back up and I got nothing on the screen. I tried restarting it a couple times then got the screen to come back and I got an error message that told me "my attempted overclock had failed" (I have not attempted any overclock) and it was going to revert back to the old settings. After I restarted it again, I got nothing, nothing on the screen would not post, nothing.

I tried taking everything out of the case and doing what the sticky says with just the minimums plugged in, still nothing.

Do you think maybe in my haste to install some stuff that I fried my processor? The motherboard still recognizes that the CPU is overheating when the heatsink is not all the way on and the processor is definitely heating up.

Could I have fried the motherboard or is this most likely a processor related issue? Anything I do right now I can not get any sound from the speaker or any video on the screen when I start it up.

Thanks for any help!

[pam123]

It does sound like you fried something or, possibly, dislodged something.
First, you had the computer unplugged when you were transfering the remaining parts ?
Out of the case remove the processor/heatsink combo and examine it with care, use your nose as well.
If all is well reinstall it carefully.
Use the reset jumper and/or pull the CMOS battery for about 30 minutes, precise instructions for this should be in you manual, that will return the bios to factory settings.
Now, still out of the case, try again.

[glc]

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409

[loyolacub68]

Originally Posted by pam123 It does sound like you fried something or, possibly, dislodged something. First, you had the computer unplugged when you were transfering the remaining parts ? Out of the case remove the processor/heatsink combo and examine it with care, use your nose as well. If all is well reinstall it carefully. Use the reset jumper and/or pull the CMOS battery for about 30 minutes, precise instructions for this should be in you manual, that will return the bios to factory settings. Now, still out of the case, try again.

I think I made a mistake by not having the power supply unplugged, I dont remember unplugging it. I tried following that out of the case test with all the minimums with no luck, still no video. I think I am going to return the processor because it is trhe only thing I can think of.

Anyone have any other ideas?

[flanzig1]

I would first pull the CPU heatsink and the CPU and check both sides of the CPU and the CPU socket for possible burn marks. If there is any, probably both the CPU and motherboard are fryed. If no burn marks, reinstal the CPU and heatsink and try a boot. If still nothing, would suspect the motherboard over the CPU first.

[loyolacub68]

Yeah, I dont see any burn marks on the CPU or the board, is it possible there could be some type of burn mark underneath the heat spreader that I can not see? I am already in the process of returning the processor for a new one. If that does not work out I will try the motherboard. Is it common for the screen to be blank and the system wont post when the processor is bad?

[pam123]

"...some type of burn mark underneath the heat spreader..." ?
Not sure what you've done.
You removed the heatsink/fan combo and pulled the cpu and checked both it and the motherboard socket?

[loyolacub68]

Originally Posted by pam123 "...some type of burn mark underneath the heat spreader..." ? Not sure what you've done. You removed the heatsink/fan combo and pulled the cpu and checked both it and the motherboard socket?

I did not pull off the heat spreader, I am just wondering if there could be damage underneath the heat spreader that I can not see as I have not pulled that off the CPU.

I removed the heatsink, and the CPU and looked at the board and the CPU looking for burn marks and could not see any damage.

I have another processor that should be here tomorrow, could I try throwing that in and seeing if the processor was the problem? Or will a bad motherboard mess up the new processor?

[loyolacub68]

After looking at everything a little closer I think that the motherboard may be damaged. I think I can smell something burned around the southbridge, I pulled the heatsink off and I can not see anything damaged but it does smell bad. I am going to RMA the board and see what happens when I get a new one.