Can't get new computer to post

[rko618]

Hi, I am attempting to build my first system. I ordered all the parts
from newegg and put it all together however I can not get the system to
post. The first time I turned it on the system powered up for a second
before shutting itself off. The second attempt yielded the same
result. At this point I smelled something burning coming from the
computer. When I turn on the computer now it powers up and stays on
but does not post at all and there is nothing on the screen. The case
did not come with a internal speaker so I can't hear any post codes
however sense it is an ASUS motherboard I plugged in speakers and
listened but did not hear anything. I realize I screwed something up
here but I have no idea what to do now. Please advise.

Parts
MB ASUS P5B Deluxe
CPU INTEL|CORE 2 E6400 2.13G
PSU ROSEWILL RP550S-2MK 550W
CASE ANTEC P180B

 

[Mike T.]

Hi, I am attempting to build my first system. I ordered all the parts
from newegg and put it all together however I can not get the system to
post. The first time I turned it on the system powered up for a second
before shutting itself off. The second attempt yielded the same
result. At this point I smelled something burning coming from the
computer. When I turn on the computer now it powers up and stays on
but does not post at all and there is nothing on the screen. The case
did not come with a internal speaker so I can't hear any post codes
however sense it is an ASUS motherboard I plugged in speakers and
listened but did not hear anything. I realize I screwed something up
here but I have no idea what to do now. Please advise.

Parts
MB ASUS P5B Deluxe
CPU INTEL|CORE 2 E6400 2.13G
PSU ROSEWILL RP550S-2MK 550W
CASE ANTEC P180B

After the mainboard gets power good signal from power supply, it will 'turn
on'. But there are certain things that will cause it to turn off again
immediately. One of those things is, if the mainboard doesn't sense that
the CPU fan is plugged in and running, the mainboard will shut down
immediately. Unfortunately, having an improperly installed heatsink on the
CPU can damage a CPU faster than the system can shut itself down. Another
thing that will cause a mainboard to shut down is if the CPU ever gets TOO
HOT. In other words, even if the CPU heatsink is installed and the CPU fan
is properly installed and running OK, if the CPU gets too hot, the mainboard
will sense that (the CPU is too hot) and shut down the system immediately.

Now your symptoms don't make much sense, as the symptom changed without
(seemingly) any outside influence. You've obviously over-heated something,
the most likely suspect being the CPU. But IF you have overheated the CPU,
the mainboard should still be shutting itself down due to the CPU getting
too hot (because the problem causing the CPU to get too hot should still be
present, even if the CPU is toast)

My best guess at this point is that you might have a bad mainboard, which
was temporarily mimicking symptoms of a CPU overheat condition. OR it's
possible that you are facing multiple problems. That is, maybe you've
managed to fry both a CPU and a mainboard.

First thing to check though is the CPU.
1) Make sure it (the CPU) is properly seated. Most CPUs should be 'keyed'
so that you can't install them wrong, but double-check that it is installed
right. Review your mainboard and CPU documentation to confirm that the CPU
is properly installed on the mainboard. You might have to temporarily
remove the CPU heatsink to do this.
2) Make sure that the heatsink is/was properly installed (you did remember
the thermal paste, right?)
3) Make sure that the fan for the CPU is/was plugged in *to the mainboard
CPU fan header* AND that the CPU fan is/was RUNNING (verify this with your
own eyes)

If you don't find any problems with the CPU installation, double-check it
and triple-check it.

If you DO find a problem with the CPU installation, it's a good bet that the
CPU is now toast. But even if you can confirm that the CPU is toast, I'd
still suspect you have a mainboard problem, also. Otherwise, it doesn't
make sense that your symptom would change from (powers down immediately) to
(powers up, but no POST). -Dave

 

[Mike T.]

Hi, I am attempting to build my first system. I ordered all the parts
from newegg and put it all together however I can not get the system to
post. The first time I turned it on the system powered up for a second
before shutting itself off. The second attempt yielded the same
result. At this point I smelled something burning coming from the
computer. When I turn on the computer now it powers up and stays on
but does not post at all and there is nothing on the screen. The case
did not come with a internal speaker so I can't hear any post codes
however sense it is an ASUS motherboard I plugged in speakers and
listened but did not hear anything. I realize I screwed something up
here but I have no idea what to do now. Please advise.

Parts
MB ASUS P5B Deluxe
CPU INTEL|CORE 2 E6400 2.13G
PSU ROSEWILL RP550S-2MK 550W
CASE ANTEC P180B

Oh, in addition to what I just wrote -

Check the CPU like I wrote earlier. But it also occurred to me that you
could have a bad power supply. These symptoms would make perfect sense if:
1) The first couple of times you tried to power up, there was some kind of
problem with the CPU (fan not running, CPU overheating) that caused the
system to shut itself down to try to protect the CPU
2) After a few power-ups, your power supply fails to the point where the
mainboard never gets the power good signal. So the power supply is on,
perhaps, but the mainboard doesn't come on, and thus never gets to the point
where the mainboard would shut the whole system down (including the power
supply).

But that's just a guess that would perfectly fit your symptoms. -Dave

 

[Chris Hill]

Hi, I am attempting to build my first system. I ordered all the parts
from newegg and put it all together however I can not get the system to
post. The first time I turned it on the system powered up for a second
before shutting itself off. The second attempt yielded the same
result. At this point I smelled something burning coming from the
computer. When I turn on the computer now it powers up and stays on
but does not post at all and there is nothing on the screen. The case
did not come with a internal speaker so I can't hear any post codes
however sense it is an ASUS motherboard I plugged in speakers and
listened but did not hear anything. I realize I screwed something up
here but I have no idea what to do now. Please advise.

Parts
MB ASUS P5B Deluxe
CPU INTEL|CORE 2 E6400 2.13G
PSU ROSEWILL RP550S-2MK 550W

You should've bought a cheap case and an Antec power supply. I'd try
a known good brand supply first thing.

 

[Nigel Brooks]

Hi, I am attempting to build my first system. I ordered all the parts
from newegg and put it all together however I can not get the system to
post. The first time I turned it on the system powered up for a second
before shutting itself off. The second attempt yielded the same
result. At this point I smelled something burning coming from the
computer. When I turn on the computer now it powers up and stays on
but does not post at all and there is nothing on the screen. The case
did not come with a internal speaker so I can't hear any post codes
however sense it is an ASUS motherboard I plugged in speakers and
listened but did not hear anything. I realize I screwed something up
here but I have no idea what to do now. Please advise.

Parts
MB ASUS P5B Deluxe
CPU INTEL|CORE 2 E6400 2.13G
PSU ROSEWILL RP550S-2MK 550W
CASE ANTEC P180B

The best place for information regarding failure to post is the asus
website - specifically the motherboard forum for your particular
motherboard.

I too built a new system with a P5N-SLI mother board, intell 6600 core duo.
It too would not post. I eventually traced the problem to one of two
things.

I was using 800 mhz memory which the board does not like and I purchased one
stick of 667 memory which allowed the board to post - then I could reset the
board to run the 800 memory at 667.

Also power supply was a problem - I had purchased a new case which came with
a power supply of 500 watts - I wound up purchasing a new PS of 630 watts
which also was SLI capable and had all of the correct connectors for the MB.
If you are running a Core2Duo the MB needs the 8 pin connector in addition
to the 24 pin connector from the PS.

But - the ASUS forum is the best place to find the answers.

 

[Paul]

Hi, I am attempting to build my first system. I ordered all the parts
from newegg and put it all together however I can not get the system to
post. The first time I turned it on the system powered up for a second
before shutting itself off. The second attempt yielded the same
result. At this point I smelled something burning coming from the
computer. When I turn on the computer now it powers up and stays on
but does not post at all and there is nothing on the screen. The case
did not come with a internal speaker so I can't hear any post codes
however sense it is an ASUS motherboard I plugged in speakers and
listened but did not hear anything. I realize I screwed something up
here but I have no idea what to do now. Please advise.

Parts
MB ASUS P5B Deluxe
CPU INTEL|CORE 2 E6400 2.13G
PSU ROSEWILL RP550S-2MK 550W
CASE ANTEC P180B

Well, I'm going to work with the symptoms here. There was one behavior,
then a burning smell, and then a second behavior. Something got damaged
by the way the motherboard was installed. The most likely culprit, is
a brass standoff was installed on the motherboard tray, where there is
no tin-plated hole to mate with it. You cannot place brass standoffs
underneath the motherboard, where they can touch the copper tracks.

A 550W power supply will have plenty of energy to burn something, if
there is a short in place. Shorts can happen on the bottom of the
motherboard, or the wiring between the case and the motherboard can
also short something out (USB, Firewire, audio cabling etc., plugged
onto the wrong pins).

The fact that the system stays on, means a conductor in the motherboard
got burned through, and is now no longer overloading the power supply.

As for CPU overheat, the CPU has a logic signal, and that logic signal
is connected to the PS_ON# control on the power supply. When your processor
reaches 80C or so, THERMTRIP shuts off the power supply. So in fact the
processor is equipped to protect itself. Both modern Intel and AMD
processors, now have THERMTRIP, as a means to control overheat. Older
generations of processors may not have been protected, but stuff you
can buy now, is protected.

Disassemble the computer and visually inspect for damage. Inspect both
the bottom of the motherboard, for burn marks, and also look at
the case wiring. The power supply should be able to melt any case
wiring that gets in the way. It should take a few more seconds to
burn copper tracks inside the motherboard.

Paul

 

[Chris Hill]

Well, I'm going to work with the symptoms here. There was one behavior,
then a burning smell, and then a second behavior. Something got damaged
by the way the motherboard was installed. The most likely culprit, is
a brass standoff was installed on the motherboard tray, where there is
no tin-plated hole to mate with it. You cannot place brass standoffs
underneath the motherboard, where they can touch the copper tracks.

Possible; also possible that the junky power supply self-distructed
when more was demanded of it than it could deliver.

 

[JAD]

Well, I'm going to work with the symptoms here. There was one behavior,
then a burning smell, and then a second behavior. Something got damaged
by the way the motherboard was installed. The most likely culprit, is
a brass standoff was installed on the motherboard tray, where there is
no tin-plated hole to mate with it. You cannot place brass standoffs
underneath the motherboard, where they can touch the copper tracks.

6 machines- brand new-shorted mainboard, last month......builders putting
all the standoffs in first, then installing the board, was the number one
culprit.With the higher amperages now, the shorts are pretty spectacular.

 

[johns]

This can get tricky. You need to figure out right away
how to get warranty replacement for the bad part.
Troubleshooting is a good way to wind up with lots
of bad parts, and lose your investment. In your case,
since you bought from NewEgg, I think your best
bet would be to take the parts to a local shop and
see if they can build it up for you .. and locate the
bad part. That will cost you another $100, but you
can probably get the part replaced under warranty,
and the local shop can finish the build. If you are
determined to do the troubleshoot yourself, you
need to do it in a safe manner. Pull everything
apart, and start over. Find someone who has built
a system before and ask them to help. In your
case, it sounds to me like you used a bad case
with no speaker ... and possibly a weak psupply.
Then you did not mount the cpu and heat sink
properly, and it overheated, but you could not
hear the speaker warning. That is just too many
errors to recover without losing your shirt. Take
the parts to a local shop.

johns