Computer won't stay on long

[Neeno]

Hi-

I recently had a hardware upgrade into:

Intel® Core? 2 Quad Processor Q6600 B3 stepping w/stock cooler
2x 2GB DDR2 PC6400 PATRIOT
Corsair CMPSU-520HX 520W Modular Power Supply
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R Socket 775 Motherboard
XFX Alphadog nVidia 8800 GT
Creative Sound Blaster xFi xTremeMusic (kept from old system)
Oldest version of the 74 gig Raptor(kept from old system)
WDC 320 gig 7200RPM (kept from old system)
DVD drive (kept from old system)
Antec Sonata (old)
Genuine MS Vista Ultimate

There were some initial heat issues (the computer would shutdown after I run a couple of any programs) and was advised to purchase a new case for cooling purposes. I was advised and chose the Antec P182.

I order it, it comes in the mail and I get rather excited (wow first case that's not a Sonata in god knows how long)

I open up the box, check through the manuals and start the migration.

1: Shut off Power Supply/unplugged it and unscrewed it.
2: Took out all the cables plugged into all the hardware
3: Took out the graphics card followed by the sound card (I didn't take the RAM out)
4: Took out the jumpers (writing down which way the words were facing on a piece of paper)
5: Unscrewed the motherboard
6: Screwed the power supply into the P182
7: Aligned and screwed the motherboard into the P182
8: Plugged the 24 pin connector into the motherboard
8a: Plugged the jumpers in according to the direction I had on my diagram (to my own detriment for not knowing better)
9: Installed graphics card and attached a 6 pin molex to it
10: Installed sound card
11: Installed hard drives and DVD drive right after
12: Plugged all the cables in the back (monitor, speakers, printer, power cord, keyboard)
13: Plugged Mouse into a front USB
14: Prayed and turned the Power supply on
15: Turned the computer on-

It didn't go on. Thought: "maybe I'm suppose to hold the button"- 5 seconds of holding the button- it still didn't go on.

Called up my brother, told him my situation. He says it's odd that the P182's jumpers do not use black as ground and therefore asked me to flip all of the jumpers (so they are facing oppposite of the way they were facing when it was in my Sonata and working fine).

I press the power button again and something was stuck in my CPU fan (a wire). I power it off, move the wire and power it on again-

It came on, but no display. Took a little while but then I noticed the molex from the graphics card fell off. I plugged that in and power the system on again- this time there is display. Finally thought it was over-

It starts loading, gets to the loading screen on Vista, halfway through the whole computer shuts down. Maybe it was a fluke so I look at cables to make sure nothing was tangled and power it on again. Same thing.

I thought maybe a driver went out or something so I try Safe mode. It starts loading files and suddenly it goes off again.

Now it's like 1AM and I'm feeling totally wiped and went to sleep.

Woke up, moved everything back into my feels like home Sonata and replug everything the way it was before I took anything out. I power it on, it gets further into Windows (Vista logo shows and it goes out for normal mode and I get into Safe mode for about 20 seconds with Safe mode before it shuts off).

I check the Bios, it reports 74 celsius on CPU and that both case fans are off (despite both of them being on and spinning at a normal pace).

It appears to me that computer is not in a functional state and right now I'm hoping nothing sustained any kind of damage. I'm not very familiar about installing hardware (operated off a Sonata case for many years with someone helping and stock a stock Dell case before that) and really need some help here on what I should do at this point.

Thanks for all your help and have a good day-

 

[mechBgon]

Start by confirming that the ATX12V cable (two yellow wires, two black wires, square 2x2 plug) is connected to the receptacle on the motherboard. It's at the edge of the motherboard near the CPU socket.

 

[Neeno]

Confirmed-

I couldn't tell the colors of the wires right away because it's wrapped in a mesh like covering from the power supply. It's always been connected before any system power ons.

 

[Lozzo]

74C? Wow.

First thing I would check is the CPU heatsink & fan assembly. Check it's sitting nice and flush, and that the thermal pad/paste is OK.

 

[Neeno]

Upon installation a few weeks ago (first time) I scraped the stock thermal paste and applied AS5 on it; gently spreading it throughout the top of the CPU as advised. Everything was working until I tried moving all of it to the P182 case.

It always reported some high temperature like that yet it use to work fine although in the Sonata it would shutdown on its own after a couple of hours if the side panel was on (didn't shutdown with the sidepanel off).

I'm hoping nothing is fried-

Thanks!

 

[Lozzo]

I doubt anything is fried. If it is shutting down due to thermal over load, it's doing it's job by throwing it's hand in and switching off *before* anything starts to fry, so you should be OK.

I see no reason why the CPU temp monitor should be out by any degree, so those high temps do suggest something screwy with your heatsink. Have you tried running CoreTemp or TAT in windows to see if those readings agree with the BIOS readings?


Anyway, you say you scraped off the old thermal paste? Naughty naughty!. Even though I've done it many a time myself... You should really be cleaning it with a non-lint cloth and solvent. (I use surgical alcohol myself). Someone on here suggested using the filter from a coffee-maker as an ideal cloth. They're right, it works a treat. Anyway, thing with just scraping is all it takes is for you to miss a tiny amount of the old thermal gloop to knacker things up, as that tiny amount may well be the difference between your heatsink sitting flush, and sitting just that bit lobsided.

 

[Neeno]

Uh oh-

Heh, I hope (for my sake!) that I got all of it off. I remembered it being totally clean before applying the AS5 though.

I haven't run CoreTemp (didn't know about it then) and currently my system is not in a condition where I can access that software.

It's a relief to hear that you believe it's not toasted-

Thanks for your support so far =)

 

[Lozzo]

Heh.

Well, if you have any thermal paste left, I'd try cleaning and reseating the heatsink. Make sure the 4 pushpins are clicking into place comfortably. They can be a right pain in the neck to get right sometimes, especially when the board is mounted in the case, with the way the board flexes and so on.

http://www.intel.com/cd/channe...ntium-4/tech/99345.htm

That explains safe removal/reapplication of the heatsink assembly, with some nice diagrams to boot. The only thing I would add to that is, when popping those plastic pegs back in, do the first 2 that are diagonally opposed, so that its semi-flush rather than 2 the same side that might cause the heatsink to sit to one side a bit, if you get my drift..

Remeber that with AS5, less can sometimes be more. You only need a thin layer, and too much can be worse than too little.

 

[Neeno]

I'll give it a shot- thanks very much again for your help. I'll let you know how it goes-

It's a huge relief to know that there's a good chance nothing's toasted at this point =)

 

[jackschmittusa]

In the future, when installing the front case connectors, all of them (with the possible exception of the speaker) should share a common colored wire, usually black or white. this is the wire labeled "-" in the mb manual. Speaker connectors are generally red and black, with red the "+" and black the "-". Even though the power and reset connectors have a polarity listing, it does not really matter for them.

I use 99% alcohol to clean cpus/hs. I get it at a "healthnut" type pharmacy. Some beauty supply outfits have it too.

 

[Neeno]

Thanks for the info!

One thing bothers me though: before I attempted the migration, the Bios was registering the 75 celsius temperatures but it was running fine with the lid off (shutdown if the lid was on). Now, it shutsdown alot faster even with the lid off-

1/22: Something I noticed when I tried putting the computer on with the lid off (to spectate the internal end) is that the CPU fan is not on immediately when I power the system on. I shut it off and noticed that it can rattle if I shake it (as if it's not tight) yet it's pinned to the heatsink. Would that mean it's possible that the fan is not installed properly (thus generating temperatures of 75C) on power on? Thanks-