Computer Hardware Help → [motherboard] Pulling my hair out here....

Ok, here goes. I'm pissed. I had a raggidy old case with nice guts in it. Decided I'd upgrade to a better case. I got everything transferred over to the new case and now it won't POST. All fans start up just fine. Figured it was a bad MOBO, got a new one same thing. Checked all my RAM out in a different machine, it's fine. Tried various combinations of video cards/sound cards, etc and still nothing. Bought a new case and PSU today, and still nothing. The only thing it can be is the CPU...am I correct in this assumption? Specs are P4 3.2 stock, Abit AG8-V mobo, 1.5 GB PC3200 ram, X700 graphics card...Audigy 2 sound card...anybody else have any ideas?

Be sure to double-check the placement of ALL of the Motherboard's standoffs (the Metal posts that attach the Mobo to the mounting plate)... Make SURE that there isn't a Misplaced standoff installed where there isn't a corresponding mounting screw hole in the Motherboard...

A Misplaced standoff will cause a short to ground between the Mobo and the case, and prevent the Mobo from POSTing (or in the worst possible case, causing actual Damage to the Mobo itself)...

HTH,

-Tursiops_G.

We even tried it once with the mobo out of the case and it wouldn't post...i'm afraid that it's a toasted cpu

I know it may sound retarded, but did you remember to connect the ATX12V Connector from the PSU to the Mobo? (the 4-pin connector just below and between the Parallel port and the PS/2 port)...

-Tursiops_G.

Yes, that is hooked up...as Azinator said, we even tried it out of the case...all standoffs have been removed and replaced multiple times, in two different, known good cases...thanks for the tips though...I know standoffs can be a real bitch...

Try putting it back to the old case. I know that can be a pain, but just in case.

Just a Thought...

Could it be possible that during the transfer of the Mobo, that there was a momentary Short between the Mobo and the case/Standoffs that caused corruption of the CMOS?

Try Clearing out the CMOS settings with the Motherboard's CCLEAR Jumper, or by removing the CMOS Battery for 15-20 Minutes or so, and see if that brings it back to life...

-Tursiops_G.

Clearing the Bios worked here with a similar problem where MB wouldn't power up at all - no fans or anything.

Reset the bios and it restarted, but hold the power key in for at least 8-10 seconds the first time after you do so.

If using the jumper to reset the bios, remember to change it back before giving up on the MB.

I bought a MSI k8n neo2 plat from ebay.. it would not post at all but the fans worked.. etc.. I was thinking that I must have did something wrong or got a bad board..Cleared the cmos and all went well.

I can't remember if we tried that or not....wouldn't hurt to try it...

Yup, tried it. But I only did it for about 30 seconds...I'll try it again for longer, and clear the BIOS.....but I'm leaning toward a busted CPU....arghhhh!

ROFLMAO! Picked up a new CPU today. Got it all installed and still getting the same problem...stupid question...would a dead CMOS battery be causing any of this?

i have a dell server that the cmos went bad in and it wouldn't let it boot up...that thought got brought up when i just now read that...so the im i sent you...not as puzzled now...hehe

It's possible. I read your thread a while back and I meant to suggest trying to replace the CMOS battery. Sorry I didn't post that before you bought another CPU. But you also said you got a new mobo. Seems hard to believe that the new board would also have a dead battery. But it's possible.

BTW, I had a similar experience as you with my MSI board. I went through 5 boards before getting one that worked. The last two boards were refurbs. I then finally bought a new board from a local store and so far it was worked flawlessly.

Well, after doing MORE research (googling, lol) I found out that some of these boards are finicky about which CPU fans will work and won't work. Seems the code I'm getting 9F covers this in a very broad manner. So I am now going to plug and play as many fans as I have laying around and see if I can find the "magic one".

Well, no dice yet. I've had it. I'm swallowing my pride and taking into a shop tomorrow. I don't care if costs $100 to fix it, I just want it fixed. There is NO logical reason this thing should be doing what it's doing.

2-cases, 5 different PSU
2-Mobos
2-CPU's
4-video cards
3-sound cards
Many different RAM configurations

Everything but the RAM has been replaced, but a friend put it in his PC and it ran fine.

This may be a Long Shot, but Before taking it to the Shop, Try Disconnecting all the Power and Ribbon cables from the Floppy and Hard Drives, and try powering it up again... If it now POSTs, then reconnect the cables to the drives (ONE drive at a time), until it stops POSTing... When it does, then There's your culprit.

It's Worth a Shot, Anyway...

-Tursiops_G.