Dead Computer (again)

[Blade_Raver]

If I was trying to troubleshoot this, I'd go get a cheap video card to test with and replace the old video card with it and see if you get display. If that works, then you know it's a defective video card.

If it doesn't work, then it's a motherboard issue or a rare chance of it being a power supply issue.

[Kogarashi]

Thanks for all the input guys.

After some input from a few other tech friends as well, I'm replacing the motherboard and processor (and memory, since Newegg doesn't have any boards that support the memory cards I have either). Here's hoping that works.

[Kogarashi]

Update (kind of long, as I attempt to be detailed)

The hardware arrived yesterday, and I got it installed. Today, I tried to get Windows to work on the new hardware and ran into a new problem.

Problem:
From what I gathered from Microsoft's own support database as well as some Googling on tech sites, I needed to do a repair of Windows XP from my XP CD in order to "fix" the existing installation to work with the new motherboard. So with the CD in the one DVD drive I have hooked up now, I booted from CD. I followed the prompts as instructed by Microsoft's support article related to this, and after doing a little file copying in the blue screen, it restarted and went into Setup.

This is where things first went funny. The screen came up with the bullet list down the left, the status icon on the bottom right, the rotating messages about how great XP is in the main section, and the message that Setup would complete in 39 minutes (what it always seems to start at). The screen flashed several times and had a white bar across the bottom that I'd never seen before, as well as repeat of the top portion of the Setup screen. After several flashes, the display settled on a slightly bigger resolution and stayed on, but before it could get into any of the interactive stuff (language options, computer name, time zone, etc.), the monitor claimed to lose signal and went blank. Wiggling the mouse didn't revive it, nor did power cycling the monitor. I ended up having to hit the reset button.

It tried loading the Setup screen again when it got to that point. This time, after several flashes of the screen with the white bar, the monitor went blank with the "No Signal" message. I manually powered down the computer, then borrowed a neighbor's monitor (thank goodness someone had one to loan me for a bit today). I was able to get it to work, though I had to do a newer install rather than a repair due to a corrupted SYSTEM folder. It got me to the desktop with no noticeable problems, and I installed my motherboard's all-in-one driver, including video drivers, thinking that might have been the problem. It rebooted, and when it got back to the desktop, the borrowed monitor lost signal and went into power save as well. I figured it might just be a small glitch, and when I restarted the computer and reinstalled the motherboard driver, it behaved just fine. I returned the monitor.

My own monitor proceeded to work just fine until I restored my old Documents and Settings folder that somehow got preserved on my harddrive. When it rebooted after I did that, the monitor lost signal. It did that a few more times, until I finally managed to switch back to the new Documents and Settings folder (after backing up some stuff I hadn't been able to before). It's since done it once on the minimalist desktop, as well as once in Safe Mode.

Hardware/setup:
ASRock motherboard, brand new
AMD Athlon X2 2,7 GHz dual-core processor, brand new
2GB DDR2 RAM (two cards), brand new
WD Caviar 160 GB HDD with existing install of Windows
NEC DVD burner in slave to the HDD
Flatscreen monitor connected to onboard video

Not only did I replace the motherboard/processor/memory set from my previous build, with the onboard video and audio ostensibly working on the new motherboard, I didn't need to use my old video and sound cards either. I also can't hook up my DVD-ROM due to the new motherboard only having one PATA socket, a feature I somehow missed when ordering it. I can thus only hook up one IDE cable for optical/hard drives, so I have the 160 GB HDD as a master with the DVD burner as a slave.

As for the problem, I doubt it's the monitor. I think it gave me the same problem once with a borrowed monitor, and Hubby and I are going to find another monitor we can work with for a bit longer to try to recreate the problem a few times. Also, with Hubby at home to help me figure out how, we hooked my monitor up to his laptop and played around for a while, including restarting. No duplication of the problem (so far; we may have to try for a bit longer).

I don't know if there's something about the power supply that's doing it. I don't know which cables, if any, might provide specific power to the onboard video. I also don't know where to borrow a multimeter, and we don't exactly have the budget to go out and buy one just to test my PSU.

My suspicion is that part of the motherboard, specifically the rear panel, is faulty. The motherboard clearly works and is receiving power from the PSU. I can get into the BIOS, and even as far as the desktop on most boot-ups before the monitor stops responding. On the latest attempt to boot up, I plugged my tablet into one of the rear USB ports and made sure the NumLock key was lit on my keyboard. When the monitor stopped receiving a signal from the onboard video, the power light on my tablet (which gets its power from the USB) went out as well. The NumLock light stayed lit, but it was still lit even after I shut off the computer and took a moment to fade, so it may have already lost its signal too. Tomorrow, I'm going to plug my flash drive into one of the front USB ports since it has a "connection" light on it and see if that darkens as well, and maybe hook the optical mouse to one of the rear ports as well since that gets power from its sole connector. But so far, a fault of the rear connectors seems my best bet.

Hubby and I are both kind of hoping it's just a faulty motherboard. I can get the company to replace it under RMA and that shouldn't cost us any extra beyond, possibly, shipping.

Anyone have any ideas? ::hopeful look::

[Geek King]

Maybe a bad monitor cable? Did you switch the cables as well as the monitor when you borrowed it?

[Kogarashi]

Unfortunately yes, I switched the cables, so it's not that. I used the power and monitor cables that were already attached to the monitor I borrowed, especially since it's actually a major pain to unhook said cables from the back of my own monitor (they run up through the base and have some sort of casing cover over them that makes removing them difficult). I wish it was that easy. ::sigh::

EDIT: And just tried testing it with the flash drive in front. Setup at this point: mouse and keyboard in ps/2 ports, monitor in onboard video, tablet in rear USB port (since it has a power light), wireless internet card in rear USB port (in case I actually get to the desktop and can work), flash drive with power light in front USB port (hooked to the MB via case cables).

Tried twice to turn it on. Both times, the monitor lost signal right after POST, before the Windows XP loading screen could show up. No response. NumLock key on the keyboard stayed lit, but none of the USB devices received power near as I could tell.

Removed the flash drive from the front port and tried one more time just to see if maybe that was shorting some sort of wake-up signal somewhere, but the monitor never even picked up the signal.

Soooo....I dunno. Unless someone has further suggestions, I think I'm going to go with trying to get a replacement board via RMA. It's otherwise a very nice board with a well-translated manual , especially compared to my previous board.


I noticed something else strange today. I have a noisy case fan in the back, though I don't know why it's noisy. When I first boot up the computer, it makes a loud grinding noise, but settles down after a while and runs smoothly. During the second boot-attempt with the flash drive in, and once or twice during testing yesterday, upon booting up it was already quiet (though still running; I could feel the air coming out). It threw me off, especially since the rest of the system fans seem to be quieter in this build than in the previous one, so it's almost silent when the rear fan settles down. It's kind of disconcerting.

[Blade_Raver]

Were those results after you replaced the motherboard?

[Kogarashi]

Everything after and including post #18 (the long, detailed update) is with the motherboard I ordered and received. Everything prior to it is with the old motherboard that I suspect was dead or on its way to dead. I have not returned the new motherboard under RMA yet. Was that what you were asking?

[Blade_Raver]

Was the PSU replaced as well with the new motherboard?

Also, what's the wattage rating of your PSU?

[Kogarashi]

The PSU was not replaced with the motherboard, processor, and memory. Those were the only three components replaced (four, I guess, since there were two memory cards).

The PSU is a 430W Rosewill purchased brand new about this time last year to replace a dead PSU.

[Blade_Raver]

Hm..

Sounds like it could be the PSU... or maybe the motherboard is grounding out somewhere on the case?

[Kogarashi]

Hm. I can't see anywhere that would be happening. Nothing's touching the board to the case that wouldn't have been doing the same to the previous motherboard for the past five years or more.

I've got a suggestion from a friend to run a memtest later (and a source to get a copy that'll run from CD), so I'll be giving that a try if Hubby and I can get the monitor-computer connection to stay awake long enough.

EDIT: And the computer made it through about 76% of the test (~12 minutes), then dropped the signal to the monitor. Especially annoying, as this is another borrowed monitor. Tried a few times afterward to get the computer up, but never saw anything on the screen past POST (the last time, didn't even see that; no signal from the get-go). So it seems that after a few days' break, the monitor connection will work for a while, then drop, and after that it's spotty at best.

[Blade_Raver]

PSU or Mobo (again, since the video card is integrated) is what I'm thinking.

[Kogarashi]

Well, I went through the steps to get an RMA number for replacement earlier this evening, so once I get the possibly-defective mobo sent back to the company and they process it, I should have a replacement on the way (that will hopefully fix my problem). Wish me luck.

[Blade_Raver]

Please keep me posted.

[sms001]

Please keep me posted.

No pun intended, I hope?