Shuttle build - frustrating problem

[PeterVC]

Please help,

A year or so back my PC motherboard packed in so I decided to strip out the components and build my own. I chose to build a Shuttle ST62K:
Hardware : Intel Celeron 2.6 GHz
Memory : Three quarters of a meg
DVD : Philips DVDR1648P1
H/D : 80G - NTFS
O/S : XP Home
Everything worked and works fine - EXCEPT! it occasionally did not start up on pressing the power button (the fan would start at full speed - but it would not even fire up the BIOS) requiring a press of the small reset button - then fine - everything is OK. It now seems to operate this way all the time. Powers down fine (XP closes down with no errors) but when I come to press the on button - just full speed fans and blank screen. Press reset and away it goes. I am having no other problems with the system - but why is it doing this????

I have updated the drivers the firmware for the DVDR, the BIOS (from the Shuttle website) the mainboard XP drivers ... and running out of ideas. It makes no sense - surely a power on press is just the same as connecting the power and doing a reset? I do not want to have to reinstall the whole of XP (especially as everything else is fine and that may not be the problem anyway!).

Anyone out there any ideas? I have tried google, yahoo etc ... and cannot find anyone with same or similar problems.

Thanks for anyonyone who can suggest anything (short of starting again!).

[liambl]

Remember, the operating system is completely out of the picture when you power on, everything is up to the BIOS. ONly thing I can think of is PSU, not enough power to start the components, but once they are powerd up pressing th reset button allow them to start. Only a theory.

[heave]

Originally Posted by PeterVC Please help, A year or so back my PC motherboard packed in so I decided to strip out the components and build my own. I chose to build a Shuttle ST62K: Hardware : Intel Celeron 2.6 GHz Memory : Three quarters of a meg DVD : Philips DVDR1648P1 H/D : 80G - NTFS O/S : XP Home Everything worked and works fine - EXCEPT! it occasionally did not start up on pressing the power button (the fan would start at full speed - but it would not even fire up the BIOS) requiring a press of the small reset button - then fine - everything is OK. It now seems to operate this way all the time. Powers down fine (XP closes down with no errors) but when I come to press the on button - just full speed fans and blank screen. Press reset and away it goes. I am having no other problems with the system - but why is it doing this???? I have updated the drivers the firmware for the DVDR, the BIOS (from the Shuttle website) the mainboard XP drivers ... and running out of ideas. It makes no sense - surely a power on press is just the same as connecting the power and doing a reset? I do not want to have to reinstall the whole of XP (especially as everything else is fine and that may not be the problem anyway!). Anyone out there any ideas? I have tried google, yahoo etc ... and cannot find anyone with same or similar problems. Thanks for anyonyone who can suggest anything (short of starting again!).

Do u have video card on if u do check it ur video card maybe it burned out cuz same thing happen to me once^_^

[Alaron]

You might have a faulty power switch too. Try opening the system and disconnecting the power switch pins on the case from the motherboard. Use a screwdriver to short the two pins and see if that starts the system. Just touch it to both pins and remove it when the system boots. Worth a shot to check the simple things first.

[novie]

ive had a comp that would always make the super loud fan sound like you are describing when power is restored after a sudden loss (generally me accidentally pulling the cord). since you say you are shutting down properly, id also guess the power supply is a good place to look.

[PeterVC]

Thanks for your helpful suggestions. The ST62K has a separate power supply "brick" with no cooling fans - the big selling point was that it is really quiet (only the fan on the CPU). I do not have a video card (only a modem card - the rest is on board). I have taken the case off and checked all connections. It just seems really weird that it starts (power light on and fan at full speed) but will not go into POST.

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by PeterVC It just seems really weird that it starts (power light on and fan at full speed) but will not go into POST.

That happens when the motherboard is shorting out to the case. Pull the motherboard out of the case to troubleshoot.

Cricket

[liambl]

Cricket, the wouldn't explain why when the reset button is pressed, the PC post's fine. Still you might start there. I'm still curious about the "brick" powering the system.

[PeterVC]

http://www.trustedreviews.com/pcs/re...bone-System/p1

This shows the PC and the "brick". I am not keen to remove the motherboard as it was delivered as a barebones system with the motherboard in place. I have checked that all the push in connections on the drives etc...

My feeling is that it is something to do with the h/w initialisation prior to getting into the bios. I am thinking about taking the power lead out of the dvd and perhaps removing the modem and seeing if that helps. I am not keen to disrupt things too much as it is a fantastic machine - except for the annoyance of having to press the on button and then the reset to get it started! I was hoping that someone had had a similar problem and help to narrow it down a bit. It took me a while before I dared to flash the BIOS!