[mgg]

This issue has me completely lost.

I was overclocking my computer about a week ago and started up Empire: Total War.
I was using the standard dual-core center program integrated with MSI motherboards to do so.
During the loading process my computer shutdown suddenly as if a power cable had been pulled.
The computer from then on refused to turn on or even register recieving any power at all.

I assumed the power supply had blown so i ordered a new PSU from newegg an OCZ stealthXstream 700w.
I installed this PSU and the computer would not turn on but the fans twitched to life when i pressed the power button. It would not happen again unless I turned off and on the PSU and then hit the power button again.

I did this about 3 times and on the 3rd the computer actually turned on. I was relieved but this is where the trouble really begins.

The computer is not able to boot the OS or stay on very long in bios.
I have tried runnign bare minimums with hardware but to no avail, the system randomly shuts off while in bios or while i attempt to boot the OS. The heatsink and fan is definately installed correctly so it is not a heat issue.

Please help I fear I may have broken my motherboard or cpu or some sort of hardware while overclocking.

Vista Home Premium
MSI K9N4 SLI 500 chipset based motherboard
x2 Nvidia 8500 GS
3 gigs ram

[Advertisements]

And you are 100% sure all power connections to the motherboard and graphics card are securely fastened?

I fear I may have broken my motherboard or cpu or some sort of hardware while overclocking.

I suspect you fried your CPU - but we don't know if the CPU itself could not handle the abuse, or a component on the motherboard failed, perhaps taking out the CPU with it - and in extreme cases, anything connected to the motherboard too (graphics, RAM, and drives). As a long time electronics technician, one of the biggest reasons I am so against overclocking is because it is not a supported feature by all concerned. MSI's design engineers may design in variable settings in their motherboards, but the CPU and RAM designers sure don't and you can be certain any damage through overclocking is not covered under warranty. Understand that overclocking is a marketing scheme, not an engineering feature.

Overclocking should never be done on a "production" machine - that is, never on a system used for work, school or personal/home business tasks. That said, I hope any critical data is backed up.

Any beeps?

Did you reset the BIOS?

You said you tried with bare minimum hardware - how bare? I would remove everything but 1 stick of RAM, CPU/HSF, graphics, and keyboard. NO drives or other devices, especially USB. Then try to boot. You should see the boot process proceed through the graphics BIOS and much of the POST before it halts, reporting no boot disk found. If you don't get that far, swap RAM, cross-fingers and try again.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Digerati]

And you are 100% sure all power connections to the motherboard and graphics card are securely fastened?

I fear I may have broken my motherboard or cpu or some sort of hardware while overclocking.

I suspect you fried your CPU - but we don't know if the CPU itself could not handle the abuse, or a component on the motherboard failed, perhaps taking out the CPU with it - and in extreme cases, anything connected to the motherboard too (graphics, RAM, and drives). As a long time electronics technician, one of the biggest reasons I am so against overclocking is because it is not a supported feature by all concerned. MSI's design engineers may design in variable settings in their motherboards, but the CPU and RAM designers sure don't and you can be certain any damage through overclocking is not covered under warranty. Understand that overclocking is a marketing scheme, not an engineering feature.

Overclocking should never be done on a "production" machine - that is, never on a system used for work, school or personal/home business tasks. That said, I hope any critical data is backed up.

Any beeps?

Did you reset the BIOS?

You said you tried with bare minimum hardware - how bare? I would remove everything but 1 stick of RAM, CPU/HSF, graphics, and keyboard. NO drives or other devices, especially USB. Then try to boot. You should see the boot process proceed through the graphics BIOS and much of the POST before it halts, reporting no boot disk found. If you don't get that far, swap RAM, cross-fingers and try again.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[mgg]

This computer is a gaming rig which is why I took the chance with the overclocking.
As far as power connections and graphics cards being securely fastened I will get an extra pair of eyes to inspect my work incase that is the problem but im 99% sure I plugged everything in correctly.

No beeps, the computer seems to pass POST test and start up.
I have reset all BIOS settings so I've ruled that out.

As far as bare minimum I used only one stick of ram (have not tried all the different slots), a single video card as there is no built in, and the cpu. I kept the hardrive in however so I'll unplug that when I get the chance as I'm very busy right now and will get to it later tonight.

Also if I did fry my CPU was it because it overheated or because an electrical component on it couldn't handle the additional abuse?

Thanks for your reply,
MGG

[Digerati]

Also if I did fry my CPU was it because it overheated or because an electrical component on it couldn't handle the additional abuse?

No sure what you mean by a component "on it". The CPU is a single piece.

Generally it is always due to heat, either by just getting too hot, or by too much current being drawn, which increases heat - often rapidly.

[mgg]

Also if I did fry my CPU was it because it overheated or because an electrical component on it couldn't handle the additional abuse?

No sure what you mean by a component "on it". The CPU is a single piece.

Generally it is always due to heat, either by just getting too hot, or by too much current being drawn, which increases heat - often rapidly.

Sorry I ment motherboard.
Also I unplugged the hardrive and the computer did indeed get past POST and halt at no boot device found where it stayed until it randomly turned off again after about 20 seconds or so.

[Digerati]

Also I unplugged the hardrive and the computer did indeed get past POST and halt at no boot device found where it stayed until it randomly turned off again after about 20 seconds or so.

That does sound like the motherboard is failing, or the CPU is heating up. You said earlier,

The heatsink and fan is definately installed correctly so it is not a heat issue.

Make sure by checking out my canned text on TIM.

[mgg]

Thanks I'll do that. The reason I was sure i had it installed correctly is because it worked fine before when I installed it and it dropped the heat of my CPU considerably (this was a new HSF).

I was able to check bios a few times before the computer shut off randomly like it had been doing and the CPU would idle at 36-38 celsius! Before my computer started having issues it would idle at 28-32 celsius. Hopefully the motherboard had a component fail that is causing the CPU to heat up and not the CPU itself is busted.

In any event, I'll try isntalling the HSF with the guide you have on TIM and get back to you. I'm leaning more and more towards the problem being my motherboard.

[Digerati]

If it worked fine before and the heatsink has not been removed since, then the TIM is most likely fine. It does not go bad if left undisturbed.

[mgg]

Yea there is no way the computer is shuting down due to a heat issue.
I'm going to order a new motherboard from newegg, I'll get back to you if the issue gets resolved.