Few second shutdown

[joethesupercow]

Hey everyone! I've just finished putting together my second build but i seem to be having a few problems. The system seems to boot just fine but the whole computer will shut down after about 15-20 seconds. I can enter the mobo setup screen but this doesn't seem to make much difference. Originally i thought it was probably a PSU error but it seems to be operating fine (fans run (on the psu, case and the cpu heatsink), monitor displays bios start menu). Any help i could get would be much appreciated.

Asus P5N-E SLI
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
XFX GeForce 7900GS
Patriot 1 GB (2 x 512) DDR2 800
Raidmax 420W Power supply
1x40 GB SATA
LiteOn DVD/CD-RW combo drive

 

[joethesupercow]

It's a Raidmax

UPDATE:
Alright, so I've tried disconnecting the CD and HDD to see if something's consuming too much power. Same result as above. Tried disconnecting the extra power for the graphics card. Same result. Switching RAM locations. Same result. Cleared the CMOS. Exact same thing. I'd really appreciate any help i can get.

 

[rquinn19]

It's a Raidmax

The Raidmax PSU that came with my Smilodon caused me the same problems. Try swapping it out with another just to see.

U should give more details on your system too.

 

[weilin]

i agree, Raidmax 430w i got before had only 13amps on 12v... that was retarded. I recommend a new psu before your psu explodes and potentially kill everything else attached to it.

 

[joethesupercow]

replaced the psu and still no luck! if anyone can help i'd really appreciate it!

 

[weilin]

what did u use for replacement?

 

[joethesupercow]

what did u use for replacement?

500W MasterPower

So i turned it on a few more times after trying various things and i've been able to decipher a couple of error messages just before it shuts down.
The first was i believe something like an MD5 checksum error? I cleared the CMOS to see if that would help and then i believe i got the checksum error again but in addition there was and warning about my cpu fan being to slow or not functioning properly. So what's the verdict? busted mobo?

 

[weilin]

not necessarily but i suspect it. The cpu fan could just be intel's fault. They have the fan controller designed to only turn on when the fan is needed but boards dont know that and detect it as a broken fan. as for the checksum error. Try flashing the bios to the newest version from the manufacturer's website and see what happens.

 

[joethesupercow]

the computer literally only stays on for about 20 seconds, is there anyway to flash in that time?

 

[WizardOZ]

If you are getting checksum errors, this is a possible indication of a problem with your RAM.

You should get a copy of Memtest386 and run it to check your RAM.

At the very least, try booting after pulling out one of youyr sticks of RAM. If the problem goes away, source found. If it doesn't swap sticks and repaet. Again, if problem goes away, solved. If problem persists, run MEMtest. You may have some bad RAM. Failing that, RMA the MoBo and get a new one.

 

[weilin]

is there enough time for you to look in bios at your cpu temps? i get that feeling it could be the chip shutting everything down because its getting too hot. Did you seat your cpu heatsink/fan properly? You need to hear 2 clicks on all 4 legs for that thing to be on right.

 

[joethesupercow]

2 clicks? I can barely get one! what should i do? just push harder or what?

 

[weilin]

The 2 clicks you're supposed to hear is based on the design. Click 1 is the white thing going into the hole and click 2 is the black pin locking into place as it splits the white pin so it can lock the heatsink down. Some times the clicks aren't obvious so you might have missed one.

to be sure, take the board out of hte case
and look on the bottom where the (assuming stock heatsink)
pins stick out. You should see white pins stuck all the way out and a black pin in the middle also sticking out. If not, hte heatsink is not on right. The black pin should force the white one to split and hold the heatsink down.