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AMD 64 3500 not posting.

W

Wilier

n00b
Joined
Sep 10, 2004
Messages
16
System Specs:
AMD 64 3500 Newcastle
Gigabyte 939Ultra
1gb Corsair XMS
Gainward 6800GT
Enermax 600Watt PSU
Scythe Kamikobo CPU cooler.
XP Pro SP2

The other day I set the above machine off, just downloading some stuff and it ended up staying on for a couple of days. About 3 days in, I came home from work and the machine had turned itself off. Odd I thought, so I booted it up again, all the fans came on, but the machine switched off before the GPU post screen came up.
Thinking the graphics card had died, I swapped it for a 6600, but to no avail.
I then took the cooler off, cleaned the gunk off, and fitted a standard AMD cooler, same thing. Turn on, the fans fire up but before the screen comes out of stand-by, the machine stops.

Just so Ive got things straight, the post order should be graphics---->CPU---->memory----> drives etc?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.....Im begining to think the CPU has failed in some way.......but surely the GPU would still initially post....no?
 
Sorry, should have said. Yes I have re-set the cmos, made no difference. :confused:
 
OK, thanks for the replies.

Last night I tried booting with no CPU or memory, and got to exactly the same point in the post....about 3 seconds in, the machine turns off.
Ive tried a different PSU too, but no good.

One thing Ive noticed is that there is a tiny (really tiny) smudge of the white AMD thermal paste across the CPU, passes across around 3 pins. Would this cause a short of any description?
 
it's possible. you can always try to clean it off.

also, try booting with the mobo outside of the case, on some cardboard box or wood.
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
it's possible. you can always try to clean it off.

also, try booting with the mobo outside of the case, on some cardboard box or wood.
Click to expand...
I realize you're trying to help out Eclipse, but I wouldn't recommend using cardboard or wood. ESD damage. Cardboard and wood can store 10's of 1000's of volts of static charge under certain conditions, and it only takes a mere 25v static discharge to render permanent damage to sensitive IC components. Don't mean to sound scrutinizing or anything, but static electricity is a real enemy to a computer.
 
this is true, but if you have been handling both the surface you put the mobo on, and the mobo, the chances of anything happening are basically zero, unless you've been rubbing things with a wool sweater for the hell of it :D
perhaps a better place would be a hard floor, as long as it isn't electrically conductive

as a side note, i've put my mobo on plenty of weird things before without problem. even foam, which can definitly generate static electricity more easily than cardboard or wood :p
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
as a side note, i've put my mobo on plenty of weird things before without problem. even foam, which can definitly generate static electricity more easily than cardboard or wood :p
Click to expand...


I hear people talk about ESD. And I'm not saying it isn't ever a problem. But, I've never actually heard someone say: " #$&%#&#$&, I just killed my computer part with ESD ".
Correct me if I am wrong about the material used, but is there a brand of motherboard that doesn't come packed with a sheet of foam supporting the bottom of the board?
 
most boards these days come in an anti-static bag with foam underneath. i don't know of any without that bag :p

however, you have a point about the ESD. hell, i've dropped a motherboard from 3 feet onto concrete (p2 mobo, slot style with the cpu + heatsink in) and it worked just fine. not electricity, but hardware is a lot stronger than most people make it out to be :D
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
most boards these days come in an anti-static bag with foam underneath. i don't know of any without that bag :p

however, you have a point about the ESD. hell, i've dropped a motherboard from 3 feet onto concrete (p2 mobo, slot style with the cpu + heatsink in) and it worked just fine. not electricity, but hardware is a lot stronger than most people make it out to be :D
Click to expand...

You're right Hardware is pretty [H], but electro static is like cryptonite to it. One little shock, and it's done.
 
eh, some kid I know sets his computer parts on carpet whiles hes buidlign them, he hasnt ESD any of them :eek: . I used to have a Celeron 2.5, 512MB PC-2100, 80GB, running on a cardboard box. ;)
 
ESD in most cases doesn't cause instant catastophy, sparks, and smoke. It weakens IC components and over time they destroy themselves. In some cases it can cause instantaneous failure as I have seen leads on IC chips actually burned or severed from electro-static discharge. But in most cases the ESD damaged devices will operate like normal for a while before exhibiting signs of failure.

I work for one of the largest PC manufacturing companies in the world and the manufacturing centers utilize a $1500 per sq ft flooring to dissipate static (ranges from 45,000 to 60,000 sq ft total area per center). The company gets annual ISO9001 audits and ESD prevention has always been a major area of focus. All technicians are required to use static conductive foot straps and test them twice per daily work shift. They are also required to get certified in ESD prevention training twice a year. Why do we do this? Because we won't be able to tell that the components have been damaged and we certainly don't want our products failing in the field. Read up on ESD here, here, and here.

Touching/handling the surface before setting static sensitive devices on it is not the key here, but instead make sure the surface itself is electro-statically safe and well grounded. A grounding mat from a place like Radio Shack will fit the bill just fine. If anyone builds or tinkers with a computer without proper ESD precautions, I'll say that's about the stupidest thing they can do. Well, short of him/her relying on a cheapo PSU to run it all :rolleyes: . Just moving your arm around can generate a great deal of static from the contact with your sleeve. Enough static to damage components. Enough static to charge contaminate the cardboard/wood/plastic surface you're handling before setting your components on them.

My point here is just take a step back and think before setting that new $200 motherboard, $400 video card, $150 DIMMs, and everything else that costs a pretty penny on something that could seriously screw things up.

If anything, burn about $8 and go buy a wrist strap. It's quite a worthwhile investment.
 
TehQuick said:
this thread has been hijacked... kinda :D
Click to expand...
I wouldn't call it hijacked. I'd call it educational for users experiencing similar problems as the OP... kinda ;)
 
(cf)Eclipse said:
most boards these days come in an anti-static bag with foam underneath. i don't know of any without that bag :p
Click to expand...

And since it snags on the foam when trying to remove just the board from the bag... most people will just slide the mobo and foam out together. Voila! Foam-backed motherboard is no longer in a anti-static bag. :p Again, correct me if I am wrong... Doesn't the anti-static bag protect the mobo from external ESD? If you drag the mobo across the foam whilst inside the bag, does the bag keep ESD from occurring between the mobo and the foam?
 
The foam used is anti-static dissipative. Similar to the stuff used to protect the pins of a cpu in the little esd-safe plastic clamshell thingy.
 
DejaWiz said:
The foam used is anti-static dissipative. Similar to the stuff used to protect the pins of a cpu in the little esd-safe plastic clamshell thingy.
Click to expand...
i've actually gotten a few different kinds of foam with my mobos. the dfi came with nifty foam that was different, but my k8n neo platinum definitly had regular foam, not ESD preventive foam :D
 
They are all esd-safe foam. Grey, black, pink, yellow, white...whatever the color may be. Depending on the manufacturer of the foam, the texture and feel will be different from one another.
 
Well, I can only say that Ebuyer (UK) have far out stripped all my expectations.
I requested an RMA the other day.

I sent the board back yesterday, and a new one will arrive at my door-step tomorrow (Sat delivery ).

No explanation as to the fault, just that its broken.

:)
 
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