Dead rig...

Bear · Post by **Bear** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 4:32 pm

I have a 4 or 5 year old HP Pavilion m8000n media center, in which several years ago I installed an Nvidia 9500GT graphics card. It worked fine for a few years, but died on me late last year. I had to park the HP for a few months until I could afford a new graphics card. I recently obtained a new graphics card, installed it, and the system would not even power up. I replaced the power supply with a brand new 450w Chiefmax this afternoon, and it still will not power up; the cooling fan on the ps doesn't even spin. Back in December I ran memtest86 over night to make sure my 4Gb of ram was ok. It passed with flying colors. That is the last time this rig has powered up. I can't believe that 3 different power supply's have gone bad, not to mention the brand new Chiefmax. Would a bad motherboard stop even the power supply cooling fan from working?

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:27 pm

Good way to test the power supply is to take a paper-clip & bend it out so that you can connect the green wire with any of the black wires. If it powers up, I'm suspect of the motherboard which CAN go bad to the point where it won't turn on the power supply. Do make sure that all of the header connections are still connected. If everything's connected, then check the capacitors on the motherboard to see if they look like they are leaking or are domed out on the tops. If they are, the motherboard is definitely dead.

renovation · Post by **renovation** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 5:29 pm

a bad motherbard can be the problem also check and make sure all wires are connected to the motherboard. a loose power lead can fool you sometimes.

Bear · Post by **Bear** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 6:40 pm

Thanks to both normalicy & renovation. I tried the paper clip trick and both power supply's seem to be ok. I could find no obvious capacitor problems, and I made sure all the connections were solid. I sourced a replacement motherboard (M2N68-LA (Narra)) on ebay for around $68.00 plus $9.00 shipping, so I'll just hold out until I can afford it >sigh<. Thanks for the help guys; this forum rocks!

Err · Post by **Err** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 7:39 pm

If this is the motherboard, there is a 4 pin connector among the capacitors. Make sure it's secure. I've forgotten to plug them in before myself.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Jan 26, 2012 8:50 pm

ALL modern mobos have a 4-pin CPU power connector that has to be plugged in or the mobo will not power up at all.

May seem silly, but also check the power button. It may be bad. You can just short the power button pins on the mobo with a screw driver.

Bear · Post by **Bear** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 3:25 am

Err, I triple-checked all connections, making sure that the four-pin connector was secure as well as the 24pin connector. I will try to bypass the power button per your suggestion Flying Penguin. Thanks!

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 9:05 am

Some more ideas:

- Pull all cards, in case one is shorting the bus

- Check memory. I've seen plenty of mobos that won't power at all due to a bad memory stick. Pull all the memory sticks & it should power up and give you a Beep code.

- Check the CMOS battery. If it's totally dead, the mobo may now power up, but it should power up even with the battery removed.

Err · Post by **Err** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:29 pm

I was hoping it was something simple. At least a replacement motherboard is relatively cheap. If you don't want to go the e-bay route, all you need is a micro-atx board that accepts AM2. I found this ASRock on newegg for $44.99 + $2.99 shipping. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157204

This should fit in your case. Just make sure the risers line up. The only downside of buying a non-hp/compaq board is that you'll need your own copy of Windows. HP locks theirs to their bios.

Bear · Post by **Bear** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:58 pm

Thanks for the update Err! That is about $25.00 cheaper than the OEM motherboard, which is a critical factor, lol. I tried Flying Penguins suggestion of removing all the RAM and stuff; it still wouldn't power up, so it must be the motherboard. I will probably go with your suggestion, Err, with the replacement motherboard. Thanks again for all the help! This forum rocks!

oot

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:10 pm

Just be aware that if that mobo isn't identical, chances are you won't be able to use the existing operating system install and you'll have to do a fresh install of Windows.

If you find an identical mobo then the OS will just boot up, see the new hard drive, reboot and be happy.

Bear · Post by **Bear** » Fri Jan 27, 2012 11:50 pm

Thanks FP. At this point, a fresh install is no problem, lol.

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Sat Jan 28, 2012 1:11 am

Also to note: sometimes companies like HP/Dell use special cases with special switches and other hardware that won't work with a different mobo. Dell is a good example.

Bear · Post by **Bear** » Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:31 pm

Update: I just installed a brand new OEM motherboard M2M68-LA, installed processor, replaced dead CMOS battery that came with the new board; carefully checked all connections, jumpers, including memory sticks...nada. The PS lights up, but the LED goes out as soon as the power button is pushed. There should be no problem with the RAM because I was running the same sticks on another computer. The power button checks ok with a continuity tester. I am about to throw in the towel on this one. I have a brand new HP, so I really don't need this one now, I just enjoyed this as a project. Thanks for all the help guys!

Shadow250 · Post by **Shadow250** » Thu Feb 23, 2012 10:29 pm

if i may, it sounds like a possible short, make sure all you standoffs line up and no xtras also see if anything touches on the back side.