Question about getting a motherboard to power up

[Salvador]

Hello.

I'm trying to help a buddy build a pc over long distance. I helped him build his first one and now he's building a second pc.

He's using a Shuttle AN35N Ultra board and has an Ahanix Romeo Blue case with a 300w Antec power supply.

He says that he's got it hooked up and when he hits the power button, it starts for a second and then nothing. I've had this happen to me before when I had the power connector from the case installed backwards on the mobo power header. I keep telling him to double and triple check this connection, but he says that it's hooked up correctly.

That being said, what else should I look for? How can I help him troubleshoot this? Any suggestions on what to try?

TIA,

Sal

 

[CDRecorder]

Is the "clear CMOS" jumper in the normal position?

Also, have him take the board out of the case and set it on a cardboard box (like the one it came in). Then, have him try to start it up like that. If it works, the board is shorting out on the inside of the case.

 

[Salvador]

I don't think the board is shorting out in the case. I'll have to ask about the "clear cmos" jumper. I would think that it would be in the correct position because he didn't touch it. Maybe I'll have him try clearing the cmos.

I really think it's the way that the power connector lead from the case is connected to the mobo. This very same thing happened to me and when I got it connected correctly, it fired up.

Now.. How would we know if the motherboard is dead? How would we know if the cpu is dead? The green LED is on and it goes to start for a second and then stops. Would this indicate that the mobo is not dead?

Also.. I sold him a PNY GF4 Ti4200. It calls for a 350w power supply. We are both using 300w Antec psu. I don't think that's the problem unless the board is sucking a lot more power than other boards. Again it's a Shuttle AN35N Ultra. I really don't think it's a power problem because Antec power supplies put out more power than most cheap 350w power supplies.

Thanks again.

Sal

 

[Fern]

That's a good point about the cmos jumpers, every once in a while one is shipped in the "clear" position.

Any beep codes?

Double check cpu heatsink, ensure its flush. Double check CPU fan header too, make sure it pluged in properly

Either in or out of the case (btw, out of the case was another good suggestion) remove all drives etc, leaving only cpu (hs+F), ram, and vid card. See if it will post

What other jumpers does this board have? E.g., FSB etc, Double check them too.

Good luck

 

[Viper96720]

Does the 300W PS have a 12v atx plug? That mb needs that plugged in. It's right next to the agp slot.

 

[bdyeager]

power supply would be my guess and its easy enough to check unpluging every thing might give an indication but swapping it out would surely tell

 

[Cerb]

In addition...got the HSF on right? The only times I've had the fans go on and no beepds are:
1. Installed CPU, overheated within a couple seconds
2. shorted reset
3. CMOS jumper in clear position.

I've never had such a thing happen w/ a bad PSU, and I doubt that Antec is having any troubles. People get way crazy over PSUs.

 

[syversen]

I'm having the exact same problem... the lights come on and the fans for like 2 seconds, then the light starts blinking and it all shuts down. I've unplugged EVERYTHING from the motherboard except for the power cable, the power switch, the status light and the processor (and the two chip fan power cables).

I tried the cardboard idea (a good one by the way), no difference. Any suggestions? I know the processor is (or was) good, I took it out of my desktop.

Could poor thermal paste and/or application cause it to shut down that fast? Or is there a short on the board? I'm not sure how to troubleshoot this one...

 

[dxpaap]

Humm - I'm having problems with my new Shuttle AN35N Ultra board also (posted in another message here).

Seems to be a lot of AN35N problems poping up :-(

 

[T2T III]

Seems to be a lot of AN35N problems poping up :-(

I'm not sure if *problem* is a good word or not regarding this board. It does seem to be quite sensitive in regards to using proper memory and a proper power supply top operate as it should. Then again, most people have mediocre power supplies - which just show their weakness when they attempt to perform an upgrade.

I'm one of those people.

 

[Salvador]

It was the power supply btw.. We tried the paper clip trick by placing one end in where the green wire was and the other in the adjacent black for the ground. This shorts it and is supposed to fire up the PSU and it didn't. He exchanged the power supply and when he got his replacement, it fired right up. This is the first DOA Antec psu that I've heard about.

Thanks for your help guys.

Sal

 

[syversen]

I figured out my problem (I had a Chaintech 7NIF2 BTW): I took apart the whole thing, swapped memory, PSU, etc. Finally, I took off the heat sink and noticed the thermal pad wasn't perfectly aligned to the processor. (About 20% was only covered with a thin layer). I reapplied some thermal paste, put it back on, and it worked!

Hard to believe that that small a surface would cause the chip to shut down in 2 seconds after boot... thought I'd let you all know for future reference. It makes that much of a difference I guess.

- Jason