CPU turns off after 1 second

[dravenr6]

Ok so I've read up on the net about this and if I'm correct it comes down to my power supply, motherboard, or my cpu.

here's the story:
We had a scheduled power outage where I live. I turned my cpu off in preperation however I did not unplug it from my surge protector which was left plugged into the wall. The next day when I went to go power back on my cpu it turned on for just a second and then right back off. Only the fans spin and the lights come on but that's all.

I have unplugged everything and then plugged them in all one by one. The culprit is the 4 pin power connector to the cpu on the motherboard. Everthing runs fine as long as that cable is not plugged into the motherboard while the processor is in. If I put the processor back in and then try to turn it on then the problem continues. There are no burn marks on the processor or anything like that. I made sure the fan was seated correctly and thermal paste is on the processor.

So my question is:
Could it be that cable on my power supply getting overloaded when there is an actual load applied to it?
Could it be my motherboard?
Or is it my processor?

any help is much appreciated.

System specs:
ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition AM2 NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI MCP ATX AMD Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ Windsor 2.0GHz Socket AM2 89W Processor
HIS Hightech H195PRQT512DDN-R Radeon X1950PRO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported IceQ Turbo HDCP Video Card
CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory
KINGWIN ABT-600CW ATX 12V Ver.2.2 600W Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
SONY Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal Floppy Drive Windows 98SE/ ME/ 2000/ XP
SONY 16X DVD±R DVD Burner with 5X DVD-RAM Write and Black Front Panel White E-IDE/ATAPI
XION II XON-103 Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

[pam123]

Sufficient power will get past a surge protector and if that's the case the first thing that it will damage/destroy is your power supply.

You need to clarify this :

The culprit is the 4 pin power connector to the cpu on the motherboard. Everthing runs fine as long as that cable is not plugged into the motherboard while the processor is in. If I put the processor back in and then try to turn it on then the problem continues.

[glc]

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

[dravenr6]

Pam I'm not sure how much clearer I can be about the 4 pin power connector on the motherboard for the processor.....

glc I already stated that I did everything that you so kindly linked and as per that thread it says it's either the cpu, power supply, or motherboard. What I was ACTUALLY asking if for some reason it got lost in my post was:

In your EXPERT opinion and experiences what is usually the cause of this??

No worries though I got another motherboard and hooked it up and she runs smooth as a baby's bottom.

So for other folks looking for an answer from my experience.... and I am by no means "proficient" in this stuff.

If you can run your power supply with everything plugged in EXCEPT the 4 pin power cable to the cpu power on the motherboard... and you don't see any scortch marks or any reason to believe the processor is "OBVIOUSLY" fried.... start with a new motherboard.

My previous ASUS motherboard would not post even when everything but the cpu power connector was plugged in leaving me to believe..... low and behold the processor must have power to post the board.

Hope this helps!!

[glc]

In my expert opinion and experience, it's seldom the CPU itself that's defective. The only conclusive way to determine which component is defective is by substitution, which you wound up doing.

Now, analyzing your component list, I would have suspected the PSU first. Why? Simply because Asus is GENERALLY a top quality brand and Kingwin is not. Your experience proves that there is an exception to every "rule" - which is why a good technician must have spare parts.

the processor must have power to post the board

Absolutely correct.

Every system I build gets POSTed out of the case with only the CPU, ram, a speaker, and video card connected to validate the core components prior to assembly in the case. I have a spare PSU on the bench. You can validate the CPU and motherboard without ram and/or video card by listening for multiple beeps with either/and the ram and/or video card removed. No beeps means the board is not starting, which will be either the board, CPU, or power supply.