PCTech Forums

Hello, I have recently been experiencing trouble with a PC that I had built about a year ago (first PC I have built). I have gone through websites, instruction manuals, friends, and
even one of the hardware companies, still to no avail. So that is why I finally figured I might as well try here. To start off I guess I should list my system
specs:
Intel 875PBZ motherboard
Intel P4 2.66 GHz processor
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128 MB
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2
Generic 56K modem
ATI TV Wonder VE
Enermax 465P-VE 460W power supply
Maxtor 160GB Hard drive
Maxtor 80GB Hard drive
Standard Floppy
Sony DVD drive
Sony CD-RW drive
1 case fan
Samsung Sync Master 955 DFF 19" monitor
and that should be all of that. Now for the problem:
About a month or so ago my computer would randomly shut down, and my monitor LED would blink (this is the equivalent of another monitor LED turning
amber). So I would restart and things would be fine for a while. Well recently it started happening once every 24 hours so I wasn't happy. So I decided to
take everything apart and make sure it was in good shape, get the dust out, and put it all back together making sure that there were no loose connections.
So I get everything back together, turn on the power supply, first thing I notice is that it does not do its initial quick whir of power, then I turn on the PC
and the fans and lights turn on and the monitor LED is blinking, there is no picture.
So that is the problem, and here is what I have tried so far:
I have taken everything out of the case, mobo included, and reseated everything multiple times to make sure there were no problems there.
I have taken out all the extra cards and drives and tried to boot up on only what the PC would need to run this being the video card, 1 hard drive, and of
course the power supply. (nothing)
Due to results of above test I figured that it must be the power supply, maybe it is not powerful enough. So I e-mailed Enermax and they told me that the
power supply I have is powerful enough to support my PC and to shorten two of the wires (putting it in PS_ON mode) and then testing it to see if the power
supply was working properly, I have not tried this yet but will be soon.
I have also checked to see if the monitor was okay by moving it to another PC (it worked perfectly) and taking the other PCs monitor and connecting it to
my PC (same problem). So it's not the monitor.
So there you have it, I'm sorry to have written so much but it's best to get all the information from the start rather than placing it all out over a period of
time. Anyone who has taken the time read this, thank you very much, and any help that anyone could offer would be extremely helpful and very much so
appreciated.
Thank you for your time

Id try another power supply.

First of all I want to say you guys are awesome as far as getting back to me.
I e-mailed Enermax once and they got back to me quickly I e-mailed them 3 more times over the past week and they have altogether stopped replying to my e-mails, yeargh!
but oh well cause I think I have made a lot of progress thanks to you all.
Okay so I placed my video card into another PC and it worked just fine.
I placed that PC's video card into my PC only to get the same blinking LED on the monitor, no beeps, just fans, that's all; the exact same results I got with my vid card.
So this means that it is either the Power Supply or by some extremely slim chance the mobo yes?
Just want to make sure before I go ahead and attempt to get a replacement power supply.
OH and just a quick side note, something I discovered while putting my PC back together.
My power Supply has a fan connector that is supposed to be plugged into a slot on a mobo entitled either "PWR_FAN" or "PWR FAN"
my mobo has neither of these, so I plugged it into the "VREG FAN" (voltage regulator) is that correct?
and if not then should I look into getting a Power supply that has a VREG fan or should I leave the PWR Fan unplugged and it will that be okay?
thanks again

EEEEEK

NEVER place your motherboard on top of the anti static bag, why do you think motherboards are shipped inside an anti static bag.

ESD bags are designed to move static from the inside of the bag to the outside, keeping the motherboard inside safe. By placing a component on an ESD bag, you are exposing it to harmful static.

I've place my mobo and friends mobo's on anti static bags for testing things or while installing new mobo's and have never had any problems doing it........in fact i did that very thing last night when i switched mobo's. But how you think a towel would be any better ill never know because the towel would simply stick to the soldering on the back of the board......but anyway we're meant to be helping not arguing


Anyway as i said try your psu in a different computer and if need be do the same with cpu and ram then if they all work you know that the agp slot on your mobo is knackered.

geekgirl, that is not correct.
It is conductive, but that helps only to distribute the charges evenly, so they cannot build up to a dangerous level. How is it suposed to move the charges outside? Well hmmm... amagicians trick could be useful here.

noby

Well seeing as we have a debate going here...your both wrong.
Towels are a no-no because of the threads getting caught on the MOBO.
Anti-Staic bags are usefull while the component is in it, not on it.
There are special Neoprene Mats specifically designed for placing elecrical components on,like pci cards,mobo's,memory...etc.,and no not everyone has one.What some people do is cut a pc of #1 Hardwood(12"x24") and use it ,as the wood absorbs the Static.

Cactus

that would be wood from an anti-static tree then?
I know you can use that, because it does not conduct electricity (so you can put your motherboard on it without the possibility of shorting something) and it does not build up charges because the matter (wood) is not static sensible as plasic is.

As far as goes my knowledge, this is the why to both cases, but correct me if I'm wrong here.

noby