Re: Athlon64 up, & running... Kinda... Advise needed.




"Larry Roberts" <skin-e@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:ao77a2l6c2lc2rph6r66kn42ifingbusfv@xxxxxxxxxx
Here's my system:
Biostar NF4UL-A9 (Nforce4 Ultra)
Athlon64 3800+ Venice
2 x 512MB Corsair ValueSelect DDR400 (Dual channel using BIOS
auto-settings)
Nvidia GF4 Ti4400 128MB AGP (installed to XGP slot)
Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB SATA II


After fighting, & muscling the stock HSF onto the CPU (clip
fell apart under stress, and had to use pliers), the system powered up
fine with only a GeForce4 Ti4400 (installed XGP slot), and a FDD. I
flashed the BIOS to the latest version without problems.
I then added my 80GB WD Sata II HDD. It's jumpered to SATA II
speed, and I have my PSU's SATA power connector plugged into the drive
instead of using the IDE power connector.
I then booted the system with no problem. So I shutdown, and
unplugged it to install the CD-ROM drive. When I rebooted with the
CD-ROM installed, it made it to the end of the boot cycle, but then
shutdown. I pressed the power again, and each time, the boot cycle got
shorter (about 3 reboots), then it wouldn't power on. After I unplug
it for 10 sec., or so, it powers back on, but does the same.
This seems to me to be a PSU problem. I am using a $30.00
ChiefMax 680W PSU. I've been using the 650W ChiefMax PSUs on 3 other
systems with multiple HDDs, and on my AthlonXP 3000+ with 2 HDD, 1
CDRW, 1 DVDRW, and a power hungry 6600GT AGP for over year, and all
have never flentched. 2 of the machines run nearly 24/7. Since these
are not high priced, it could be a hit, & miss situation, but from the
user reviews I've seen, most think the ChiefMax PSUs are the best of
the cheap.
I bought the 680W a few months back, and may be able to get an
exchange, but they will problably test it on a test system with only
minimal componants, and it will power it fine, which they then ship it
back as working. I can buy a new PSU, but the only ones that I could
be sure to not have problems cost $100.00, or more. It's gona take me
3 to 4 months to get the 7600GT I want. Paying that much for a PSU
would set me back another 2 months (half a year away) before I'd have
a full potential system. I've been working on this system since last
August.
I don't want to buy a PSU that cost $100.00, or so to find out
it wasn't the PSU. I don't have income to troubleshoot with. Are there
any BIOS settings that may cause this. I have the shutdown temp, and
fan speed setting disabled from the BIOS. Should I install the CDROM
to the secondary IDE Master instead of the primary IDE Master? Should
I use the IDE power connector on the HDD instead of the SATA power
connector? WD website says not to use both at the same time. I remeber
reading a post that someone had a problem similar to mine, and it
turned out to be a feature of the Nforce4 chipset that needed to be
disabled, but I can't remeber.

You've got several possibilities. The most obvious is that you now have a
mis-installed CPU heatsink causing thermal shutdowns that get shorter the
more often you turn the system on.

The FIRST thing you need to do is buy a new HSF for the CPU. You can't run
it with a damaged clip. The following looks like a reasonable replacement,
if you don't want to do any overclocking:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835185110

Just remember to clean the old thermal paste off of the CPU before adding
new thermal paste and installing the new HSF.

I'd be surprised if that doesn't solve your problem.

Before you purchase a new HSF, you might try disconnecting all cables from
the CD-Rom drive, but I personally think that the CD-Rom drive is probably
not the problem. It was coincidental that the CPU got too hot around the
same time that the CD-Rom was installed.

But I could be wrong. It might not be a CPU thermal problem. If it isn't,
then your symptom would strongly point at the PSU, as you suspect. In that
case, there's no need to spend a hundred bucks. Check out the following:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954
(that should handle your system just fine)

Good luck, -Dave


.



Relevant Pages

  • Athlon64 up, & running... Kinda... Advise needed.
    ... Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB SATA II ... instead of using the IDE power connector. ... This seems to me to be a PSU problem. ... I use the IDE power connector on the HDD instead of the SATA power ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)
  • Re: Athlon64 up, & running... Kinda... Advise needed.
    ... Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB SATA II ... & muscling the stock HSF onto the CPU (clip ... instead of using the IDE power connector. ... This seems to me to be a PSU problem. ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)
  • Re: M2N32-SLI Premium Vista wont post
    ... He reviewed what I had done and couldn't add anything, but said he would come over with another Asus board and see if that worked. ... He said he builds units with 380-watt PSU, but I don't think he sells 8800 SLI GPUs with them. ... Adding CPU, memory, etc. doesn't change that. ... With this setup, the only cables that matter are the PSU, the speaker, and the power switch leads. ...
    (alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus)
  • PC dying or dead- is mobo the cause?
    ... When the power is turned on, the processor, case and psu fans all ... cpu fan,heatsink and cpu to check for damages. ... have no way of checking the ram, but I did try different modules of ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)
  • Re: New PC build will not post or give video output
    ... only the CPU and fans powered. ... I checked the power supply on one of the Molex connectors and found that I ... With the PC turned on all the fans run and relevant leds are lit. ... turn off the PSU itself with its own switch at the back. ...
    (alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt)

Loading