[FUState]

Hi
I have an Aurora with ABIT AV8 1.5 SOCKET 939 K8 MOTHERBOARD that I have had since 2004, when I hit the power button nothing happens... it did this a while ago (week or so), I isolated the power to the machine, turned the power source back on after a few minutes, hit the power button and it worked fine.
Are there any trouble shooting tips I could follow? Is my mobo shot? What should I do???
Please advice.

[Advertisements]

If no activity from the machine at all, replace the power supply unit - the big grey box at the back top.

[Neil Jones]

If no activity from the machine at all, replace the power supply unit - the big grey box at the back top.

[Titan8990]

It would be a good idea to it before it completly dies. Power supplies have been known to take other componants with them when they go.

[FUState]

Okay... I'm online, checking out different powersupplies... I'm just going to get the same size that I had... 480 watt... that should be good right? Is there anything I should look at? My Puter does not have sli or anything as I see some psu are sli compatible suggesting that I may need to ensure I purchase the right type of psu?!?

Also, battery backups, do battery backups that are less output than the power supply harm the power supply?

My new computer has a 1kilowatt psu and if the power goes out, so does my computer, even if the battery backup is fully charged.
Do I have to have the same size battery backup = 1kw? Does it hurt to have a bigger batter backup ie... > 1kw?


Does it hurt having a smaller batter backup = <1kw? Could this have been what caused my psu failure?

[shard92]

The lower power UPS won't cause a problem that just determines how long your battery will last... AS you found out one that is much lower drains quickly.... PSU (power supply Unit ) DOES matter so you will want one at least as powerful but you also want a decent one.... I would not go with the cheapest one you can find.... The other big thing to look at is the shape of the power supply some computers use proprietary sized/shaped power supplies.... Also make sure that it has enough of the different kind of power plugs that you need....

[123Runner]

Also, battery backups, do battery backups that are less output than the power supply harm the power supply?

My new computer has a 1kilowatt psu and if the power goes out, so does my computer, even if the battery backup is fully charged.
Do I have to have the same size battery backup = 1kw? Does it hurt to have a bigger batter backup ie... > 1kw?

You say battery backup? are you referring to UPS (another name for battery backup). If so, basicly a UPS (uninteruptible power supply) is just a unit that will maintain power to a computer or other item for a period of time. usually long enough to be able to shut the computer down. How long the power in the battery lasts depends on the size you purchase.

[The Skeptic]

Before you replace anything open the computer, disconnect the large connector that connects the cables that run from the PSU to the motherboard. Reconnect it firmely and try to boot. I can't tell you how many times I found that the problem was there.

[FUState]

Well, I brought the PSU to a place where I was going to pick up a new one.
They had a tester, which we tried, and the PSU passed. So I brought it back, put it back in, and just used the motherboard to power on the Computer. It started to boot and gave me the video card bios beeps. So now I'm thinking my power button and my video card (which I reseated a month ago or so) may be useless. Unless I just have to reseat the vid card again.
Or could it be that the PSU is starting to take out components and it passed the tester but isn't actually any good?

[The Skeptic]

If you succeded to start the computer by shorting the two pins on the motherboard where the leads from the power button connect, then the button is probably faulty.

Try to clean the contacts of the video card and reseat it firmly. If it doesn't work try to replace it with another card, even an old pci card. Don't worry about drivers at this stage. That will tell you if the problem is there.

[FUState]

I've reseated the card a few times... each time it seems to help, I reset the bios once, that seemed to help as well. Then I reseated with a different card, it worked, put this one back in, and it worked. Then the power button seemed to fail, and now when I bypass the power button, the card seems to want attention again.

I can't help but think something is causing this, but I'll clean the contacts and advice again.

[FUState]

Okay, I cleaned the vid card connects and reseated it and tried to power on the computer.

Now I get 1 long 1 short (system board) bios beeps.

I'm starting to think either Titan is on to something with PSUs taking out other components when they start going out, or something.

Do I now have to replace my board, my psu, and my power button? Please advice.

[Titan8990]

That beep code is a RAM issue. There is a possibility that is the problem but it still sounds to me like some kind of faulty PSU connector. I had a computer with a simular issue once and with the help of the forums I discovered that the molex to my case lights was missing a slot/wire. I never recieved any beep codes.

Do you have another computer you can get RAM from to test in your computer?

Edited by Titan8990, 02 October 2007 - 04:01 PM.

[FUState]

I replaced for 512 ram sticks for 1 256 and turned on the psu.

It took a while before I could soft start the pc, but once it got going, it just did the same thing... 1 long 1 short... its a phoenix bios (what the chip sais anyway) if that makes a difference, and so I'm back to asking again

I can't find that code on the bioscentral site... so I'm just gonna trust that you know what you're talking about.

[The Skeptic]

Diagnosing a hardware problem can be done very fast if you do it systematically and if you have some replacement parts (which you can easilly borrow from another computer. you don't have to buy them). before you take the following steps disconnect all hard disks, drives and other devices from the motherboard. Leave only video card, ram, mouse and keyboard.

1: The Power supply unit MUST be in good condition otherwise you may never end this diagnosis. The test made for your psu in the lab is not good because it measures volts when there is no load on psu. If you want to make any progress get a known-to-be-good psu, install it and bootup.

2: If the computer doesn't boot with the new psu and you get a beep sound that is ususally a problem with the ram (usually long beeps) or video card (usually short beeps). Take out the ram modules, clean the contacts with a soft cloth, and the slots with a soft brush, reseat firmly and try to reboot. You need only one module for the test but it must be compatible and known to be good. If you still get the long beeps try to move the module into each of the other slots, rebooting after each operation. If you still get the beeps then the motherboard is finished.

3: Replace the video card, preferably with an old, pci card. If it works then either the video card or the AGP slot or the AGP buss are faulty.

4: If still no good take out the cmos battery and use a voltmeter to measure it's voltage. It should be above 3 volts. leave the battery out for about 15 minutes and reinstall. This will clear the cmos settings. Boot up. If you succed in booting you will most probably have to set time and date in the bios to overcome a checksome error message or any other message.

5: If still ill no good then either the motherboard or cpu is faulty. it's more common for the motherboard to fail.

[Titan8990]

Well, The Skeptic beat me to it. Follow his instructions. You can also have a look at this troubleshooting tree: http://www.fonerbooks.com/power.htm


Here is where I found your beep codes for your board: http://www.ocforums....ad.php?t=218664.