Help! Motherboard problems... ASUS P5K PRO

[AgentMinMax]

Dear readers,

 

I am in desperate need of assitance/advice. First I will attempt to explain my situation:

 

I ordered the following computer components from a local vendor:

 

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600

Zalman CNPS9700 NT

 

Cooler Master Mystique 631

Corsair CMPSU-620HXEU 620W

Asus P5K Pro

Kingston HyperX 1GB 1033MHz PC2-8500 (4 of them)

Samsung SpinPoint T166 HD501LJ 16MB 500GB x2

Samsung SH-S203 SATA

 

Gainward GeForce 8800GT 512MB GS

Samsung SyncMaster 245B

 

Anyway, the vendor wrongly sent me a ASUS P5K instead of the ASUS P5K PRO motherboard. I did not notice this AFTER I had

 

installed all the components. The computer ran just fine and I had no trouble with this set of components.

 

However, I discovered that the ASUS P5K does not have two internal RAID controllers so therefore I wanted to get the

 

correct board from the Vendor. The vendor then sent me the correct ASUS P5K PRO motherboard.

 

I then installed it with the same components that I had been using with the ASUS P5K (without problems) but when I powered on my computer nothing really happened. The GREED LED light on the motherboard came online and the instant I pressed the POWER ON button the fans (CPU and CHASSI) appeard to begin running for about a split second and then just died off. Everything just appeard to be dead. I removed all components from the motherboard except the CPU/FAN and one stick of memory but there was no difference. (Tried everything I could think of with all kinds of hardware combinations).

 

So... I then started to wonder if I had somehow damanged some of my components and reinstalled the ASUS P5K (without the PRO) and now everything worked fine! So I assumed the ASUS P5K PRO motherboard was defect and sent it back to the vendor.

 

I now today recieved a new ASUS P5K PRO motherboard and after spending over one hour installing it I'm now experiencing the EXACT same problems!

 

I'm baffled as to what could be the source of the problem. What are the chances I've received TWO defect ASUS P5K PRO motherboards in a row?

 

I started to wonder if the ASUS P5K PRO motherboard did not support my memory stick. However, after consulting the manual it describes EXACTLY the same as the ASUS P5K motherboard manual, so I don't understand how this can be related.

 

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions I can try out to troubleshoot my problem?

 

Thanks a lot for reading! Please help me! (skriv gjerne norsk )

 

Mvh,

SilentGem

[Beej80]

Hi,

 

I can't see any obvious reasons as to why it shouldn't work (you probably would have spotted it if it were obvious).

 

The thing that pops into my head is some kind of unintentionally short circuit. So I would check the screws (holding the MB to the backboard), making sure they don't accidentally touch something that they are not supposed to touch.

 

Taking the whole setup out of the chassis/tower and rebuild it stripped on a non-conducting surface is a normal (my way atleast) way to check a system if all else fails. That way if it boots I know it has something to do with the chassis/connection/short-circuit there. If it doesn't and since all the components works with the other MB that seems to indicate that you might have received a faulty MB (again).

 

Short summary:

Strip it down and retry outside the cabinet with only 'mandatory' components. Add on untill it fails or succeeds. If success try it in the chassis again. If it then fails: Locate the short circuit.

 

Regards,

Beej80

[AgentMinMax]

Hi,

 

I can't see any obvious reasons as to why it shouldn't work (you probably would have spotted it if it were obvious).

 

The thing that pops into my head is some kind of unintentionally short circuit. So I would check the screws (holding the MB to the backboard), making sure they don't accidentally touch something that they are not supposed to touch.

 

Taking the whole setup out of the chassis/tower and rebuild it stripped on a non-conducting surface is a normal (my way atleast) way to check a system if all else fails. That way if it boots I know it has something to do with the chassis/connection/short-circuit there. If it doesn't and since all the components works with the other MB that seems to indicate that you might have received a faulty MB (again).

 

Short summary:

Strip it down and retry outside the cabinet with only 'mandatory' components. Add on untill it fails or succeeds. If success try it in the chassis again. If it then fails: Locate the short circuit.

 

Regards,

Beej80

 

You are a genius!! I got it running.

 

I actually thought I had tried this the first time around. Though, when I think back I don't think I placed the motherboard on non-conducting material. I now used the bag that came along with the Motherboard and the CPU fan now started to run! I'll have to look at this in more detail and see if I can find the source of the short-circut.

 

I posted this on two other forums, mind if I copy/paste your response there for others to read?

 

Thank you very much for your time and assitance!!

 

[Beej80]

Copy/Paste all you want

 

I'm just glad to be able to help.

I just wanted to mention one thing... The ESD bag that the components arrives in, is NOT non-conducting. It's conducting, but has a high electrical resistance.

 

I've done that myself, with no problems, but some have mentioned that it MAY lead to problems (small current leakages that may induce problems/faulty behavior).

 

So now you just have to move on, see if you can get it all fired up and running with everything you got. Then get it mounted in the chassis again. Watch out where you put those screws and make absolutely sure that they don't shortcircuit anything. (There's usually a padded (and grounded) area around the mounting holes for the screws on the MBs). The screws should ideally not touch anything else but those pads and the chassis (since those pads and the chassis are grounded to the same electrical potential).

 

 

Best regards,

Beej80

[AgentMinMax]

Man, I'm an idiot!

 

The P5K PRO motherboard is quite a lot smaller than the P5K one and I had forgotten to remove one of the supporting bolts from the chassis that there were no room for on the P5K PRO. DOH!

 

In the process of figuring this out I also managed to fry a small transistor (or whatever it is). One of the bolts came in contact with it beneath the motherboard and I saw a bright flare and it started smelling burnt (I shutdown the computer within 1 second of this). Although the board now works (seemingly, have just created a RAID volume and I am now insstalling WinXP) now I'm worried this will cause some problem in the future. I hope that transistor ain't used for anything important :S

Endret 7. mars 2008 av SilentGem

[Beej80]

Oh,

 

I'm very very sorry to hear that.

I would be very worried about that myself.

 

You might not notice any initial problems, but it may lead to serious problems with time. There's no gentle way of putting this. You may, in the worst case scenario, risk frying pretty much everything connected to the MB.

 

If it works now, use it at your own risk, however I recommend getting a new one/getting it repaired (if possible) as soon as you can.

 

There is no telling how long it will work, or how stable it is or how much damage it can cause. It might last forever or it might wreck CPU, RAM & GFX tomorrow.

 

Regards,

Beej80

[AgentMinMax]

Thanks again Beej80! You've been very helpful!

 

I'm going to get some additional opinions, perhaps provide a picture of the transistor damaged before I make my decision. The "transistor" (not sure if it is a transistor or what)damanged is really small, it's hard to see actually, but if you look closely the black plastic is a bit burnt.

 

I need more opinions/comments from other sources before I decide to perhaps purchase a new one. Not that I don't trust you I always just try to get info from multiple sources before I make my decisions

 

But you are right, I am a bit concerned right now...

[Beej80]

No offence taken

 

I hope it works out for the best for you.

 

Regards,

Beej80