Motherboard gone bad?

Maskclone2k · Sep 14, 2003, 01:35 AM

Hello everyone and thanks for taking the time to look at this thread. Alright, heres the problem about two weeks ago, my computer began to act strangely, I would press the power button and the fans would turn on, hard drives powered up, etc, however, no BIOS beep would occur, nor any singal would be sent to the monitor. So I posted this problem another forum and got feed back that it may be a power supply problem, as such, I myself believed it was a power supply problem, I ordered a new case with a 350 watt power supply. After switching cases (also changed ribbon cables to rounded type) I powered her up, and it started fine, however once it reached the time for Windows to load the screen remained blank until an error message appeared stating that the root file of "ntoskrnl.exe" could not be found and to replace the file. The computer then automatically restarted, and it happened again, so I turn it off, make sure ALL cables are snuggly inserted to their respective locations, and turned the computer back on, and sure enough my original problem returned...power supplied, but no beep, no signal. So I tried unplugging all case fans, and my extra hard drive to see if that would make a difference...nope, that didn't work, so I plugged them back in and tried it again. This time I got it on, so now I attempted to repair Windows, it worked and I was able to get into Windows, however, all information was lost. No big deal, I reinstall Windows many times (not because of serious issues, just for the heck of starting from scratch). So I begin the lengthy process of updating Windows. SP1 begins to install, and about half way through, an error occurs and the computer restarts on its own. After the restart, Windows is unable to load, so I attempt to reinstall it COMPLETELY fresh, so I begin the hard drive reformatting and about 10% through, a message appears stating the drive may be damaged and the install process could not be completed. So this leaves me where I am currently at... I don't believe it is the hard drive as it is not even 2 years old, nor every been dropped, banged, etc. So this along with the powering on problem have begun to lead me to think that maybe my EPOX 8K7A motherboard's days are long gone (however, it is only 2 years old).

PLEASE HELP!!! ANY INFORMATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

THANKS!!!!

~~craig588~~ · Sep 14, 2003, 01:44 AM

Any PSU that comes with a case will be terrible, but that doesn't seem to be the problem in your situation.

It almost seems like something is shorting out. Try blowing out the case with compressed air.

Maskclone2k · Sep 14, 2003, 01:48 AM

I don't believe that something is shorting out, because the same thing occuring in both my previous case and now the new one?

The_Neon_Cowboy · Sep 14, 2003, 01:52 AM

OK clear your bios....
Also look for a fresh bios flash

.....
The bios dated 5/2002 regular states..Disabled AC97 audio beep speaker by BIOS item.... doesn't that mean they turned off the beep code speaker?

And have you run a diagnostic / zero fill test on that drive? Who makes your hard drive more info please?

Maskclone2k · Sep 14, 2003, 01:54 AM

Tried clearing the CMOS, didn't work, latest BIOS has been flashed. Hard drive is a Maxtor 60GB 7200 RPM. Can't run a diagnosis program because the board won't even boot up correctly. (Unless you don't need the motherboard to operate properly to run a disk drive diagnosis?)

The_Neon_Cowboy · Sep 14, 2003, 04:29 AM

Try running just the board cpu/ram/video only nothing else attached...

Try a different cpu or ram or try them on another board...

i seen ram chips that have sorted cpus that have exploded lol I’ve seen allot in my years... if you try the above and the components are good then you board is dead... sounds like your ide controller died or you chipset itself all though it could be a bad bios chip too...

Maskclone2k · Sep 14, 2003, 06:00 AM

Alright, I just tried turning it on, and it still didn't work, but the chipset sure does seem really hot. Its heatsink was far hotter than that of the cpu... I really think that the motherboard is dead now, it doesn't go through its usual boot up tests (it is an EPOX with the two letter red LEDs to help diagnose problems, both immediately read "FF", which means it has cleared all tests, which of course it hasn't). So, now that I truely think it is the motherboard, what good, but inexpensive board should I look at? Something that is just good enough to hold me over 'till spring... Price range $50 to $75 is good I think... Suggestions please, and thanks.

Sep 14, 2003, 01:35 AM	#1
Maskclone2k DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Doesn't Exist Posts: 67 Rep Power: 0	Motherboard gone bad? Hello everyone and thanks for taking the time to look at this thread. Alright, heres the problem about two weeks ago, my computer began to act strangely, I would press the power button and the fans would turn on, hard drives powered up, etc, however, no BIOS beep would occur, nor any singal would be sent to the monitor. So I posted this problem another forum and got feed back that it may be a power supply problem, as such, I myself believed it was a power supply problem, I ordered a new case with a 350 watt power supply. After switching cases (also changed ribbon cables to rounded type) I powered her up, and it started fine, however once it reached the time for Windows to load the screen remained blank until an error message appeared stating that the root file of "ntoskrnl.exe" could not be found and to replace the file. The computer then automatically restarted, and it happened again, so I turn it off, make sure ALL cables are snuggly inserted to their respective locations, and turned the computer back on, and sure enough my original problem returned...power supplied, but no beep, no signal. So I tried unplugging all case fans, and my extra hard drive to see if that would make a difference...nope, that didn't work, so I plugged them back in and tried it again. This time I got it on, so now I attempted to repair Windows, it worked and I was able to get into Windows, however, all information was lost. No big deal, I reinstall Windows many times (not because of serious issues, just for the heck of starting from scratch). So I begin the lengthy process of updating Windows. SP1 begins to install, and about half way through, an error occurs and the computer restarts on its own. After the restart, Windows is unable to load, so I attempt to reinstall it COMPLETELY fresh, so I begin the hard drive reformatting and about 10% through, a message appears stating the drive may be damaged and the install process could not be completed. So this leaves me where I am currently at... I don't believe it is the hard drive as it is not even 2 years old, nor every been dropped, banged, etc. So this along with the powering on problem have begun to lead me to think that maybe my EPOX 8K7A motherboard's days are long gone (however, it is only 2 years old). PLEASE HELP!!! ANY INFORMATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! THANKS!!!!

Sep 14, 2003, 01:52 AM	#4
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	OK clear your bios.... Also look for a fresh bios flash ..... The bios dated 5/2002 regular states..Disabled AC97 audio beep speaker by BIOS item.... doesn't that mean they turned off the beep code speaker? And have you run a diagnostic / zero fill test on that drive? Who makes your hard drive more info please? __________________ Last edited by The_Neon_Cowboy; Sep 14, 2003 at 12:06 PM.

Sep 14, 2003, 04:29 AM	#6
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	Try running just the board cpu/ram/video only nothing else attached... Try a different cpu or ram or try them on another board... i seen ram chips that have sorted cpus that have exploded lol I’ve seen allot in my years... if you try the above and the components are good then you board is dead... sounds like your ide controller died or you chipset itself all though it could be a bad bios chip too... __________________ Last edited by The_Neon_Cowboy; Sep 14, 2003 at 12:08 PM.

Sep 14, 2003, 01:44 AM	#2
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	Any PSU that comes with a case will be terrible, but that doesn't seem to be the problem in your situation. It almost seems like something is shorting out. Try blowing out the case with compressed air.

Sep 14, 2003, 01:48 AM	Thread Starter #3
Maskclone2k DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Doesn't Exist Posts: 67 Rep Power: 0	I don't believe that something is shorting out, because the same thing occuring in both my previous case and now the new one?

Sep 14, 2003, 01:54 AM	Thread Starter #5
Maskclone2k DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Doesn't Exist Posts: 67 Rep Power: 0	Tried clearing the CMOS, didn't work, latest BIOS has been flashed. Hard drive is a Maxtor 60GB 7200 RPM. Can't run a diagnosis program because the board won't even boot up correctly. (Unless you don't need the motherboard to operate properly to run a disk drive diagnosis?)

Sep 14, 2003, 06:00 AM	Thread Starter #7
Maskclone2k DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Doesn't Exist Posts: 67 Rep Power: 0	Alright, I just tried turning it on, and it still didn't work, but the chipset sure does seem really hot. Its heatsink was far hotter than that of the cpu... I really think that the motherboard is dead now, it doesn't go through its usual boot up tests (it is an EPOX with the two letter red LEDs to help diagnose problems, both immediately read "FF", which means it has cleared all tests, which of course it hasn't). So, now that I truely think it is the motherboard, what good, but inexpensive board should I look at? Something that is just good enough to hold me over 'till spring... Price range $50 to $75 is good I think... Suggestions please, and thanks.