ICH4 North Bridge Overheats

G

gumdealer328

New Member
this computer wouldn't even boot in the first place but my neighbor gave it to me to fix. if u plug in the cord to the PSU and hook it up to the mobo, it turns the computer on by itself without hitting the power button. the loading light in the front of the computer just stays lit up the entire time. the PSU and CPU fans are both running, but the computer wont boot or display anything. so i booted it up one more time to try and the northbridge chip started to smoke so i janked out the power asap. there are a couple of bumps on the chip from the smoking and heat. i cant figure y it would overheat and not shutoff and y it wouldn't boot in the 1st place b4 the chip was burned. is the mobo fried? it seems to do the same thing as b4 i fried it. the fans all turn on, its just it wont boot or display anything. i think it may have been fried in the 1st place and wouldn't boot and it has been more damaged now that it was smoking. no everytime i try to boot it up, the northbridge gets very hot but doesn't seem to burn like last time. it just gets scolding hot after about 10 seconds. does anyone know how to get this computer up and running again by trying to FIX the mobo? and to know if the mobo was fried? any help on this topic would be greatly appreciated. thx.:D
 
the chips integrated on the board so is not like a bios chip were you can replace it. if it is damaged you might need to replace the entire board.
 
thats wat i am thinking. im not entirely sure though b/c i couldn't get any other PSU to work on it. it only works with the PSU that it came with so im thinking that i may need to cool down the northbridge since it has not heatsink or fans. would this be able to help boot the computer since it would be cooler then?
 
what do yo mean it doesnt work with other psu? are you saying they dont have 20 pins? newer psu comes with 20+4 pin you can switch between 20 and 24pins
 
i mean that the other psu's that i have tried, have not even got the fans to turn on in either the CPU or the PSU itself. and yes the PSU that i tried works fine b/c im using it rite now on this computer. if i find another PSU that boots it up, maybe it wont overheat or give over voltage to the northbridge chip, which im not sure if it is fried yet. i no it smoked but im hoping its fine...
 
ya since its not mine, i can tell them that it is time to upgrade b/c its like 3 yrs old and it was already smelling and smoking b4 they gave it to me so i'll tell em to get a new one for now. thx for everyone's help.
 
Wow... this is kinda new =) Northbridge overheating?Try getting an household fan and blow it at the computer. But first check for shorting thoughlike bluedishwasher said. Try taking the mobo out and setting it on a floor and plugging everything in.
 
i no its really werid. it just smoked for no reason. lol. it was freaky. thats wat im gonna try to do. if its cool enough, maybe it will boot? watcha think? i cant really take out the mobo b/c its rivited in. :(. but i'll try the fan idea. thx.
 
My mothebroard did that once - plugged psu in and it just started up by itself and fans but no post - was a faulty motherboard - didnt notice any smoing NB's tho loil
 
If its smoking I doubt that its "overheating" Im pretty sure its more like a short. If you can, go by an super cheap mobo from ebay and plug the CPU in, if it boots, that mobos dead. Ask the origional owner when this started, and if he had any power surges or if something spilled on the mobo, ect ect
 
i'll probably just return it to him and tell him that his mobo was defective b/c this seems to be a problem with this model computer. i googled it and found about 30 other sites w/ the same exact problem. so i'll just salvage the parts if he doesn't want them. i'll try to take it out still to see if its a short. but if its smoked already i think its done. and no other PSU boot it up so i think its gone now.
 
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