Possible Motheroard Problem

[jpwarz]

I just built my first rig and it has been running fantastic for the last 3 weeks. However in the last couple of days something has happen which is very upsetting and hopefully able to be corrected. Hopefully you gurus (no pun intended) out there can offer some guidance in correcting my problem so that I do not waste my investment.

My Specs
Abit AV8 Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice Core
Thermaltake K8 Silent Boost heatsink
Aspire 520w Power Supply
2 GB of Corsair ValueSelect Ram (2x 1 GB ran in dual channel)
ATI Radeon x800 Pro 256 mb AGP
Samsung 120 GB SATA 7200 rpm 8 mb cache HD (With Windows XP Pro)
Samsung 40 GB IDE 7200 rpm 2 mb cache HD (With SuSe 9.3 Pro)

My Problem
My computer has been running fantastic for three weeks, good temps, fantastic performance, and great frame rates. I loaded SuSe Linux on my second HD and it worked great, the only problem was the GRUB (bootloader for choosing Windows or Linux) splash screen had crummy resolution graphics but as soon as an OS was chosen the graphics became normal. I looked around at how to improve the splash screen resolution but it was not really a big deal. I left my computer on for a couple of hours and I went to turn it off before bed but it was locked up and the screen's graphics were all jumbled. I turned it off and went to bed hoping it was no more than a Windows lockup. The next day I turned on my computer to use and it was working great until (while just folder browsing) the computer's graphics got jumbled and it locked again so I rebooted. The switch wouldn't work so I turned off the power supply and let it sit a few minutes. I turned the computer back on and it kept turning on and off almost in a loop, I panicked and turned off the power supply again. After waiting I turned it on again and got to Windows, my Power Supply was reading high (3.10 v) on my 3.3v rail and I instantly thought I had a power supply issue. I watched as the rails got down to normal voltages and was running fine. After a little bit the computer locked up again! After this I would turn on the computer and right at the BIOS logo screen the computer's graphics would be all jumbled. I have tried clearing the CMOS to see if something got corrupted in the BIOS memory but still no go.

What I think might be wrong
Well I at first thought it was a PSU problem but the rails did level out and I think that the reason for the high voltage was the constant rebooting of the computer. The CPU temps on my monitor are reading normal while all this is happening so I don't believe this is the problem. I also thought that the graphics card could have a problem due to the jumbled graphics but when the computer boots it stays at BIOS and does not try to boot from the floppy which I think would still happen even if the graphics card was not working. I also thought that the bootloader was the problem but the problems are occurring before it even looks at the HD where it resides. One possibility could be a memory problem. I believe that it might be a bad motherboard that could have a power problem. This would explain the graphics problem, perhaps improper voltage to the AGP slot. The reason why the system kept turning on and off could be mixed signals on the power button header.

My Questions
1. Any suggestions?
2. If it is the motherboard have I ruined any other part of my system (graphics card, memory, CPU, ect.)?

Thank you for reading this long post but I am confused and upset with this happening. One of the great things about the internet is that people are willing to help each other and I am sure there is someone out there that might know what is wrong with my system. I truly appreciate any help that anyone can provide.

 

[Praetor]

The switch wouldn't work so I turned off the power supply

Did you hold the switch for 4-5 seconds?

Well I at first thought it was a PSU problem but the rails did level out and I think that the reason for the high voltage was the constant rebooting of the computer

Actually 3.10 < 3.3v but yeah, undervoltage does indeed cause restarts

I also thought that the bootloader was the problem but the problems are occurring before it even looks at the HD where it resides.

One quick way to eliminate this possibility is to run with a single HDD and avoid the bootloader altogether

One possibility could be a memory problem

Using Memtest86 or MemTest86+ you can check that

I believe that it might be a bad motherboard that could have a power problem.

Worth checking to see if the board is in direct contact with the case or not


1. Can you get into BIOS and reliably sit there or does it lock up right away? If you can, jump into bios and note the voltages and whether or not they are stable

2. Check that you dont have all the devices (video, HDD etc) connected via the same connector (i.e., spread the molex connectors out)

3. If the PSU proves to be ok, check the memory

4. When in your bios, have a check: what are the Vdimm, VCore and Vagp values?

 

[jpwarz]

Did you hold the switch for 4-5 seconds?

Yes I did and it would still not turn off

Actually 3.10 < 3.3v but yeah, undervoltage does indeed cause restarts

Ok good advice, what is a good range for this? My Abit monitor was reading this in red as a warning.

One quick way to eliminate this possibility is to run with a single HDD and avoid the bootloader altogether

Once I get this fixed I plan on running the bootloader off the CD.

Using Memtest86 or MemTest86+ you can check that


Worth checking to see if the board is in direct contact with the case or not

I might try removing the second dimm.

1. Can you get into BIOS and reliably sit there or does it lock up right away? If you can, jump into bios and note the voltages and whether or not they are stable

I was able to but now the computer display is unreadible and I am unable to perform any BIOS operations since I cannot read the screen.

2. Check that you dont have all the devices (video, HDD etc) connected via the same connector (i.e., spread the molex connectors out)

Good Idea I do have a few y-splitters including one from the graphics card to the SATA HD.

 

[Praetor]

Ok good advice, what is a good range for this? My Abit monitor was reading this in red as a warning

Well ATX specifcations require ±5% spread meaning 3.315v to 3.465v

Good Idea I do have a few y-splitters including one from the graphics card to the SATA HD.

For what you've listed as your specs you should not have to be using any y-splitters as most PSUs have 3 independent rails ... which should be enough to spread things out

 

[jpwarz]

For what you've listed as your specs you should not have to be using any y-splitters as most PSUs have 3 independent rails ... which should be enough to spread things out

I mainly used the y-splitters because they take up less room than an extra PSU cable. I only have two in the machine.

I tried removing 1 gig of ram and unhooking my optical drives to free up power but I had the same result the screen is all jumbled from the beginning. So tomorrow I am going to buy a cheap graphic card to try. If that doesn't work I am (regardless if the graphics card works or not) going to buy a new PSU. If it still doesn't work I will buy a new motherboard.

 

[jpwarz]

I picked up a $40 ATI Radeon 7000 32mb card today on the way home from work. I put it in and the computer just kept restarting. I then restarted the computer and it worked! I went into BIOS and the voltage readings were:

+5 5.21
3.3 3.12
3V Dual 3.08

I then tried restarting my computer a few more times and it worked a couple of times then when I restarted it again it just gave me a black screen. Then I took out a stick of Ram and it worked. I tried again and now everytime I try it it just restarts itself. I am starting to think that the computer's mobo is fried.

 

[jpwarz]

It Works!

I ordered a PC Power and Cooling Turbocool 510, installed it, booted it up, and IT WORKED! Thank you for all of your help! It has been working great the only thing is that my pc is running a little warmer now so I think that I might add a top fan to blow hot air out. I am getting idle 44C and 55C full load temps when I used to get 37C and 51C.