I built my current system two years ago (with some help from this forum, thanks guys/gals) and it's been working fine until a few weeks ago. I left the computer on overnight and in the morning the computer was off and would not turn back on. I've done a bunch of troubleshooting already, and I think it might be the processor, but I want to be sure I've tested everything before going out and buying a new (probably unreturnable) CPU. Here's where I am:
The setup:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720
Mobo: ASUS M4A78T-E
RAM: OCZ Platinum 2x2GB DDR3 1600
PSU: Nexus Value 430
The symptons:
- There's a green LED on the motherboard that is on when there's a power supply connected. That LED is on.
- When I press the power button on the case, the fans spin up for a second but immediately stop. The power LED on the front of the case turns on but then fades off.
- I don't have a case speaker, so I don't know anything about the POST status.
Some steps I've gone through:
- It's not the PSU. I tried my PSU in a friend's computer and it works. I tried his working PSU in mine and it won't turn on.
- I don't think its the motherboard. My motherboard was under warranty so I sent it to ASUS for repair. They sent it back to me without any explanation. At the time, I thought they couldn't figure out what's wrong with it so I called them back and complained. They offered to replace the motherboard with the same model. The replacement came in today and I hooked it up, but nothing has changed. The box that the new motherboard came in had a paper that says they tested the motherboard before shipping it.
- I don't think it's the case switch. I tried touching the PWR pins with a screwdriver and I can hear the PSU make a noise for a second, but it doesn't start.
- I unplugged everything else (even the keyboard). I haven't tried taking all of the RAM out yet because my heatsink blocks the last RAM slot and it's a pain to get them in and out with the heat sink on. Also, without a case speaker, I don't think I'll learn much.
Final details:
- There was a big (big for Philadelphia) storm the night that my PC died. The PC was plugged into a surge protector, but I think it's possible that the storm had something to do with it dying.
- The day after it died, when I plugged my friend's known-good PSU into my motherboard, it still wouldn't turn on. After about 10 seconds of being plugged in, his PSU sparked, made a weird noise and died. It never worked again. This was on the old motherboard (before replacement).
Any ideas or other tests I should run? Thanks in advance.
The setup:
CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720
Mobo: ASUS M4A78T-E
RAM: OCZ Platinum 2x2GB DDR3 1600
PSU: Nexus Value 430
The symptons:
- There's a green LED on the motherboard that is on when there's a power supply connected. That LED is on.
- When I press the power button on the case, the fans spin up for a second but immediately stop. The power LED on the front of the case turns on but then fades off.
- I don't have a case speaker, so I don't know anything about the POST status.
Some steps I've gone through:
- It's not the PSU. I tried my PSU in a friend's computer and it works. I tried his working PSU in mine and it won't turn on.
- I don't think its the motherboard. My motherboard was under warranty so I sent it to ASUS for repair. They sent it back to me without any explanation. At the time, I thought they couldn't figure out what's wrong with it so I called them back and complained. They offered to replace the motherboard with the same model. The replacement came in today and I hooked it up, but nothing has changed. The box that the new motherboard came in had a paper that says they tested the motherboard before shipping it.
- I don't think it's the case switch. I tried touching the PWR pins with a screwdriver and I can hear the PSU make a noise for a second, but it doesn't start.
- I unplugged everything else (even the keyboard). I haven't tried taking all of the RAM out yet because my heatsink blocks the last RAM slot and it's a pain to get them in and out with the heat sink on. Also, without a case speaker, I don't think I'll learn much.
Final details:
- There was a big (big for Philadelphia) storm the night that my PC died. The PC was plugged into a surge protector, but I think it's possible that the storm had something to do with it dying.
- The day after it died, when I plugged my friend's known-good PSU into my motherboard, it still wouldn't turn on. After about 10 seconds of being plugged in, his PSU sparked, made a weird noise and died. It never worked again. This was on the old motherboard (before replacement).
Any ideas or other tests I should run? Thanks in advance.
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