Motherboard Failure

[FLChamp]

I turned off my system before going to the pub last night with no hint
of a problem. When I returned I switched it on, the fans span up and
the lights came on, but nothing appeared on the monitor. (The power
light flashes slowly when the PC is off and the monitor is on standby,
usually upon switching on the system the light stays on and an image
appears. Now the light continues to flash)

I have replaced as many parts of my system as I can with working parts
from a friends system. I have ruled out my graphics card, procesor and
RAM and am about to try another monitor(just to please my mother, i
dont expect it to work).

I have done a little research and found another thread from a guy with
an almost identical problem and it turned out to be his motherboard. Is
there a way to reset the motherboard settings, BIOS version etc back to
its factory/default settings? This would be most benificial if it
solves the problem but also incase I have to claim a replacement/repair
as I have flashed my board with the P4P800 BIOS. (Have been running
this BIOS for almost a year so I know this is not the cause of the
possible fault but it could invalidate my warranty )

Is there any way to know for sure if the motherboard has failed(there
is no visible damage). Does anyone have any suggestions on possible
remedies?

All help is appreciated!

Cheers,

Ben


System

Asus P4P8x
Intel 2.8Mhz
512 Mb DDR400
Radeon 9700

 

[Fitz]

Try resetting the CMOS. This is usually accomplished by a jumper (consult
motherboard manual) or removing the battery for about 5 minutes and then
replacing it. BIOS settings will return to default, and hardware will be
redetected. You will then need to go through the BIOS setup (identify boot
device order, etc), which should also be in your manual.

Fitz

 

[Fitz]

Make sure you disconnect the power prior to resetting CMOS- by removing the
ATX power cable from the motherboard to the power supply, or removing the AC
cord from the back of the computer.

Fitz

 

[FLChamp]

Thanks for the suggestion, forgot to mentioned that I have already
tried that, twice!

Ben

 

[kony]

I turned off my system before going to the pub last night with no hint
of a problem. When I returned I switched it on, the fans span up and
the lights came on, but nothing appeared on the monitor. (The power
light flashes slowly when the PC is off and the monitor is on standby,
usually upon switching on the system the light stays on and an image
appears. Now the light continues to flash)

I have replaced as many parts of my system as I can with working parts
from a friends system. I have ruled out my graphics card, procesor and
RAM and am about to try another monitor(just to please my mother, i
dont expect it to work).

I have done a little research and found another thread from a guy with
an almost identical problem and it turned out to be his motherboard. Is
there a way to reset the motherboard settings, BIOS version etc back to
its factory/default settings? This would be most benificial if it
solves the problem but also incase I have to claim a replacement/repair
as I have flashed my board with the P4P800 BIOS. (Have been running
this BIOS for almost a year so I know this is not the cause of the
possible fault but it could invalidate my warranty )

Since it has been this long since it was flashed, that it is
clearly not the problem, my advice is to simply not mention
that you have flashed the bios, (and righly so, because it
is not relevant to the failure). The odds are incredibly
low that they're going to both check and determine what bios
version is flashed to the PROM, AND cross-reference that
with what it had when it shipped, AND then invalidate your
warranty because of it. If you had misflashed it and during
that flashing had killed the board, it would be a different
matter, but with the entire bios intact in the EEPROM, they
have no valid argument for why their correct bios, that the
manufacturer supplied, would not be valid on their product.

Is there any way to know for sure if the motherboard has failed(there
is no visible damage). Does anyone have any suggestions on possible
remedies?

What make and model power supply?

Pull the power supply, hook it up to only a drive and short
the PS-On pin (pin 14, usually a green wire) to ground.
Take voltage readings. Beyond that, if you only have the
one motherboard and one PSU, you are gambling on which is to
blame. If PSU "seems" to work while removed, and it's not a
junky generic, odds would tend to implicate the motherboard.

Before doing any of this, strip the system down to bare
essentials- CPU, heatsink/fan, 1 memory module, and video.
Then disconnect AC and clear CMOS. Leave keyboard, mouse,
drives, etc, all disconnected. Try to power on system.

If you had a spare, known viable motherboard or power supply
that would be very helpful. Rarely a video card will go bad
as well- if it has a fan then check that it is spinning, as
well as all other fans. Video card failure (if fan still
works) is less likely than motherboard or power supply.

 

[Paul]

I turned off my system before going to the pub last night with no hint
of a problem. When I returned I switched it on, the fans span up and
the lights came on, but nothing appeared on the monitor. (The power
light flashes slowly when the PC is off and the monitor is on standby,
usually upon switching on the system the light stays on and an image
appears. Now the light continues to flash)

I have replaced as many parts of my system as I can with working parts
from a friends system. I have ruled out my graphics card, procesor and
RAM and am about to try another monitor(just to please my mother, i
dont expect it to work).

I have done a little research and found another thread from a guy with
an almost identical problem and it turned out to be his motherboard. Is
there a way to reset the motherboard settings, BIOS version etc back to
its factory/default settings? This would be most benificial if it
solves the problem but also incase I have to claim a replacement/repair
as I have flashed my board with the P4P800 BIOS. (Have been running
this BIOS for almost a year so I know this is not the cause of the
possible fault but it could invalidate my warranty )

Is there any way to know for sure if the motherboard has failed(there
is no visible damage). Does anyone have any suggestions on possible
remedies?

All help is appreciated!

Cheers,

Ben


System

Asus P4P8x
Intel 2.8Mhz
512 Mb DDR400
Radeon 9700

Do you have a burn mark on the Southbridge ? See the pic here.

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84122&highlight=usb+port

This explanation is not the whole story. We don't know the real
reason. Certainly, this explanation applies to earlier observed
failures. But there are more boot time failures now.

http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/FAQ/FAQ_456.htm

If there is any warranty left, you can RMA it.

Paul

 

[FLChamp]

Thanks for everyone's responses. This morning I removed everything from
the system that was non-essential, leaving me with a single memory
module, the processor and the video card, then used the jumper to reset
the CMOS. Still nothing. Tried with another power supply (My current
one is 500w, the extra one is my old 350w, which worked when I removed
it from my system). Still nothing - guess that rules out the power
supply? Unfortunatly I cant check the voltage with just a drive
attached as I have no idea how this would be done or have any equipment
for measuring the voltage. I hated electronics at school! Also I
checked the southbridge for any visible damage and there is none. The
motherboard is in pristine condition, except for a nice build up of
dust which I have now removed and the fact that it doesn't seem to
work!

I have contacted ASUS support (via email - theres no phone number for
the UK). Their response, in very basic English(the support member was
Chinese) was that someone should call me before Tuesday, but they could
not supply me with a number to call. Get the feeling it could take a
long time to get a replacement.

Thanks all

Ben