M/B damaged?

[loz.archer]

Hi,

I have had my self-assembled PC running for almost a year now with no
problems. However yesterday I switched on and noticed vertical
artifacts on the screen during the boot sequence, which remained when I
got to the login screen in Windows XP. I rebooted a couple of times to
see if the problem would correct itself, but after a short time I could
not power on any more.

Now whenever I power on, I get a burst of power into the motherboard
for a fraction of a second - the CPU fan moves slightly, the light at
the front of the case powers on slightly - but then nothing, the power
goes dead. I do not get any audible beeps. I have stripped down -
removing the memory, AGP card, IDE and other cables - to just having
the power switch, CPU power and board power cables in, with just the
CPU and CPU fan attached to the board, but I still get the same result.
I have also tried clearing the BIOS, by removing the battery for 10
minutes, and removing the board from the case to make sure that the
case itself wasn't causing a short-circuit.

What could be the problem? Is the board short circuiting? Is it
damaged, and if so what is likely to have caused it? Or could this be
something else?

Cheers for any suggesions,

Loz

---
Specs:
M/B Name : Gigabyte GA-8IP775-G
Video: PNY Nvidia 6800 Ultra
CPU: Intel P4 3.0
Operation System: Win XP SP 2
Memory: Kingmax DDR 2Gb
Power Supply : 500 W

 

[Paul]

Hi,

I have had my self-assembled PC running for almost a year now with no
problems. However yesterday I switched on and noticed vertical
artifacts on the screen during the boot sequence, which remained when I
got to the login screen in Windows XP. I rebooted a couple of times to
see if the problem would correct itself, but after a short time I could
not power on any more.

Now whenever I power on, I get a burst of power into the motherboard
for a fraction of a second - the CPU fan moves slightly, the light at
the front of the case powers on slightly - but then nothing, the power
goes dead. I do not get any audible beeps. I have stripped down -
removing the memory, AGP card, IDE and other cables - to just having
the power switch, CPU power and board power cables in, with just the
CPU and CPU fan attached to the board, but I still get the same result.
I have also tried clearing the BIOS, by removing the battery for 10
minutes, and removing the board from the case to make sure that the
case itself wasn't causing a short-circuit.

What could be the problem? Is the board short circuiting? Is it
damaged, and if so what is likely to have caused it? Or could this be
something else?

Cheers for any suggesions,

Loz

---
Specs:
M/B Name : Gigabyte GA-8IP775-G
Video: PNY Nvidia 6800 Ultra
CPU: Intel P4 3.0
Operation System: Win XP SP 2
Memory: Kingmax DDR 2Gb
Power Supply : 500 W

Do you have a spare power supply to use for a test ?

Paul

 

[loz.archer]

No, unfortunately not, though I'll get hold of one... they're cheap
enough to have one lying around as a spare. Thanks for the tip.

I hope it's a dodgy PSU (~£20). I had feared it was the GPU at first
(~£300).

 

[Mike T.]

No, unfortunately not, though I'll get hold of one... they're cheap
enough to have one lying around as a spare. Thanks for the tip.

I hope it's a dodgy PSU (~£20). I had feared it was the GPU at first
(~£300).

Nope, sounded like a bad power supply to me. Either that, or a loose video
card. Remove it and reseat it. -Dave

 

[DaveW]

Either your power supply unit or your motherboard has failed. The easiest
diagnostic to run first is to replace the PSU and see if that fixes it.

 

[mike]

you too, my son Brutus: get the vaccum cleaner out!

 

[Mike T.]

you too, my son Brutus: get the vaccum cleaner out!

If that doesn't work, try a garden hose. No, DON'T. A vacuum cleaner is
one appliance that should never be within five miles of a computer. -Dave

 

[loz.archer]

Oh Joy!

It was the PSU. Thank you dudes for your invaluable help.

Loz