[thund]

Hello,

When I press the power switch the fans start moving, but there is no beep and my monitor stays desperately black. Then I can't shut down or reboot my PC : holding the power switch pressed for a few seconds doesn't shut it down, and the reset switch isn't working. The only way I can stop it is by shutting down the power supply.

How did that happen? I moved to Sweden recently and my PC traveled as checked baggage on the plane. I knew it would get a lot of bumps so I protected it as best as I could but apparently that wasn't enough. When I arrived here I brought it to a computer repair shop that told me the motherboard was dead. When they gave me their price to replace it (1100Kr or about 130€, that's just for replacing the motherboard not for buying a new one!) I decided I'd do it myself.

I spent the full day yesterday installing the new motherboard : read the whole manual, handled all components with care and made sure every last wire was in the right place and properly connected. Then I powered the PC on, only to find out I still have all the same problems plus one : now the fan of my graphic card isn't moving anymore! I double-checked and triple-checked all cables : the video card is properly connected to the power supply and to its PCIEX16 slot, as are the front panel connectors to the motherboard.

My specs :

Motherboard : Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 (previous one : Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P)
Power supply : Corsair TX650W
Video card : Radeon HD 4870
CPU : AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition

I hope you can help me diagnose the problem, I'm really getting desperate here. It took the computer shop 1 week to get back to me and tell me my motherboard was "dead", then it took me 2 weeks to receive the new motherboard I ordered online, all of this seemingly for nothing. I would go to another computer repair shop to get another opinion but there are no others, this is a small city and I don't have a car here. Could it be the power supply at fault? I don't have a multimeter at hand to check it. I don't hear any unusual noises, only the sound of the fans moving. Also since the reset and power off buttons are not working does that mean the front panel connectors are dead? Thank you.

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then it took me 2 weeks to receive the new motherboard I ordered online, all of this seemingly for nothing.

IS the replacement motherboard the same exact motherboard?
Did you install it or did the shop?
Have you double checked to make sure the two power supply connections are made to the mother?

[rshaffer61]

then it took me 2 weeks to receive the new motherboard I ordered online, all of this seemingly for nothing.

IS the replacement motherboard the same exact motherboard?
Did you install it or did the shop?
Have you double checked to make sure the two power supply connections are made to the mother?

[thund]

then it took me 2 weeks to receive the new motherboard I ordered online, all of this seemingly for nothing.

IS the replacement motherboard the same exact motherboard?
Did you install it or did the shop?
Have you double checked to make sure the two power supply connections are made to the mother?

It's not the same exact motherboard, the replacement is a Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 while the previous one was a Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P.
I installed it myself (the shop was asking 130€ for it).
Yes I made sure the two PSU connections are made to the motherboard, both the ATX_12V and ATX connections.

Today I tried booting without the video card, then without video card + RAM, in both case the exact same thing happen as I described it earlier : the fans rotate but I'm not hearing a beep.

[rshaffer61]

Is the system speaker hooked to the motherboard?
Power hooked to the video card?
I'm a little worried that you are not getting a beep even with no memory installed as that is a sure fire way to know if something is wrong.
Did you bench test the new motherboard before installing it?
Also do the fans keep turning?
Did you make sure the standoffs matched off under the motherboard?

[thund]

Is the system speaker hooked to the motherboard?
Power hooked to the video card?
I'm a little worried that you are not getting a beep even with no memory installed as that is a sure fire way to know if something is wrong.
Did you bench test the new motherboard before installing it?
Also do the fans keep turning?
Did you make sure the standoffs matched off under the motherboard?

Yes the system speaker is hooked to the motherboard, it could be broken though?
Power is hooked to the video card.
I didn't bench test the new motherboard beforehand.
The fans do keep turning (except for the video card's one that doesn't rotate at all)
I have 11 standoffs under the motherboard, I made sure 9 of them matched with the 9 screw holes of the motherboard but I left the 2 additional standoffs in place, should I remove them?

[rshaffer61]

but I left the 2 additional standoffs in place, should I remove them?

Yep if they don't match up to holes then they could be causing a short.
I'm also worried that the video card fan is not turning.
Is the PSU new or original?
Can you get the make and model of it for me please?

[Macboatmaster]

Is the PSU new or original?
Can you get the make and model of it for me please?

Power supply : Corsair TX650W

I feel certain this is the clue,

Then I can't shut down or reboot my PC : holding the power switch pressed for a few seconds doesn't shut it down, and the reset switch isn't working. The only way I can stop it is by shutting down the power supply.

Indeed, as my colleague rshaffer61 says, the stand-offs may well be the problem.
I have had a look at both motherboards
http://www.gigabyte....spx?pid=3534#sp

and
http://www.gigabyte....spx?pid=3907#sp

It seems to me that you must carefully examine, where those stand-offs - the two of the 11 are, My feeling is that power switch which makes the contact between the pins of the 24 pin main power connector on what is known as power on and gnd - normally but not always 15 and 16 - makes it but only to supply power to the fans etc the power been prevented from the rest of the circuit by the POSSIBLE short of a stand off to the motherboard.
NOTE please ONLY for information - PLEASE DO NOT TRY shorting those two pins

If of course, you are really unlucky and a stand off is located against a live eg power connection on the underneath of the board - then I regret to say it may be motherboard disaster

That could be the indication that the power button will not then switch the system off.

What I cannot see at the moment is where the ELEVEN stand-offfs relate to the original board

The most likely other cause is incorrect seating of the CPU - I think
OR it was damage caused by handling as hold luggage.

Edited by Macboatmaster, 26 September 2012 - 11:37 AM.

[thund]

Thank you so much, you two nailed it! Actually I only had 1 unused stand-off that was fixed on the case but not on the motherboard, I removed it and everything is working fine again including the video card! I could hardly believe it when I saw the fan of the video card start rotating, then heard a beep then saw the logo screen of the motherboard on the monitor, after a month of it not working. I should have asked here since the beginning.

What surprises me is that with the previous motherboard I had unused stand-offs too and it had worked flawlessly for 3 years. I'm thinking the case may have been bent a bit during the trip, or that the stand-offs moved which caused them to come into contact with the motherboard : when I arrived here I remember one or two stand-offs had fallen from their emplacement, so I guess the ones that were still in place must have moved a bit too. Maybe my previous motherboard is actually still working, I'll have to check. In which case the computer shop would have been wrong, I hope not on purpose.

THANK YOU

[Macboatmaster]

What surprises me is that with the previous motherboard I had unused stand-offs too

You are so lucky

If the stand off on the old board happened not to contact a live solder connection it would have no effect

On this one I am sure it did

It was of course my good colleague rshaffer61 who pointed you in the right direction

Did you make sure the standoffs matched off under the motherboard?

in his post 4.

Great news
Thks for updating us.

Do not of course forget to check that you have the up to date drivers for that NEW board, albeit that Windows7, finds more of the correct drivers than any previous edition - so after installation of O/S get most recent from the Gigabyte site


Re old board, COULD BE especially as I only saw the nine securing holes on that board as well

Edited by Macboatmaster, 27 September 2012 - 01:32 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Such great news and I am so glad you have it resolved.
Congratulations. for a successful resolution for your issue.

I'm glad we could help and please let us know how everything works out for you.
If there is anything else we can do to help please feel free to ask. I appreciate that you allowed us to assist you with your issue and for your patience.
Thank you for choosing GeeksToGo for help.
This issue now appears to be resolved.


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