dead mobo? fried PCI?? Help!

[Shan21]

Hi guys,

I have a problem with my editing pc. The other day I took out one of the spare HDD's to put into an external enclosure to use in this admin pc. In order to do so I switched the power off at the wall (I forgot to switch the PSU switch off first), then removed the drive & got it working.

We've had some bad weather the last couple days so I didn't repower my pc until today. I switched the power on & heard the fans boot as I walked away to get something from another room - this is normal when power is restored, it doesn't ever actually boot but just whirr's the fans and then goes off.

However, I came back after about 10mins to find the lights on, and then hear the pc restart... then go off... then restart... etc. The area of the case by the PSU was very warm. Nothing was registering on my monitor, no signal at all, and there were no beeps or alarms aside from the regular & quiet "on" beep.

My on/off & restart buttons didn't work so I was forced to switch it off with the PSU switch.

I reseated my RAM, but that didn't help - the moment power was back on the Pc went through it's automatic cycles of on & off with a blank screen...
I turned off the power, and removed my video capture card (PCI). There was one pin that had some scorch / burn marks on it! But there's no sign of any other damage on it, no melted points, no blown ic's... just a black scorch on one pin. I checked in the pci on the MBD, and saw the scorch marks inside on that pin joint. I cleaned up as best I could and then with the PCI removed, tried the power-up again.

Again with the on / off / on / off!! & again no control with the buttons... although I noticed that the dvd drive now also gave the beep noise that it normally does when the pc started.

I've tried removing everything but the bare essentials, still nothing. I'm at a loss - is the MBD dead? or is it a PSU problem?

Also, if the pci card doesn't have any other visible damage and the scorch mark basically came off with rubbing with a rubber... would it be safe to load into another pc to use? How likely is it to be dead??
I REALLY hope not!!! Its vital to my work! plus I don't want to buy a new MBD or system just to find that it doesn't work or causes damage there!

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[|tera|]

Switch off the computer, unplug it. Switch it on about 4 or 5 times while unplugged. Plug it in again and test.

If it works, then your PSU is likely going. If it doesn't, you have some diagnosing to do further.

 

[Shan21]

thanks for the reply, but I'm a little lost. I must switch it off & unplug it from the power and then press the on button 3 -4 times before pluging the power back in & booting?

Or do I unplug all the PSU connectors from the hardware & then plug that in & power up 3 - 4 times before connecting to the pc hardware again and then boot?

 

[shovenose]

Switch it off then switch it quickly back on then off then on again.
Did you try another psu?

 

[|tera|]

thanks for the reply, but I'm a little lost. I must switch it off & unplug it from the power and then press the on button 3 -4 times before pluging the power back in & booting?

Or do I unplug all the PSU connectors from the hardware & then plug that in & power up 3 - 4 times before connecting to the pc hardware again and then boot?

Did you read what I posted?

Unplug the power cord from the computer, switch the button on a few times, 4 or 5 times so that the power could cycle out of the system. Plug the cord back in and test it.

 

[Shan21]

oh ok.. now I got you.

Thanks will try it.

@shovenose: haven't got another psu to try except to take this pc's one out... that's a job & a half! ... I'll try it but I'm not amped today.

 

[shovenose]

do you have a multi meter laying around?

 

[Draconia2]

dude , i have had ram slots blow up on me and my pc still worked (ram slot not working after that) . it might have been a short / mobo touching case while being on without being screwed on onto protective screws . you could try a friends place and check out your pci card there , but only if he is willing

shovenose provides some solid advice

 

[Shan21]

tried the unplug & button thing .. no luck. I have disconnected all the HDD's & the optical.... still have the pc switching on the fans running about 3 -4 secs then powering down then starting up again - all when I apply the on switch from the plug or PSU. case on/off button does nothing. :/

unfortunately... no multimeter here!

@Draconia2 - thanks for the info... was thinking of trying the pci in this admin pc... just want to BE SURE it wont cause this one to Die too!! before I slot it in

I know about the possibility of the shorts when not screwed in properly, but everything is... has been since the get-go of this pc which was working perfectly before I took my TB storage HDD out... :/

 

[Draconia2]

tried the unplug & button thing .. no luck. I have disconnected all the HDD's & the optical.... still have the pc switching on the fans running about 3 -4 secs then powering down then starting up again - all when I apply the on switch from the plug or PSU. case on/off button does nothing. :/

unfortunately... no multimeter here!

@Draconia2 - thanks for the info... was thinking of trying the pci in this admin pc... just want to BE SURE it wont cause this one to Die too!! before I slot it in

I know about the possibility of the shorts when not screwed in properly, but everything is... has been since the get-go of this pc which was working perfectly before I took my TB storage HDD out... :/

you can try it , remember the scorch marks could be from the blow port , not your pci card. if your pci card works in the admin pc then its bye bye mobo and get a new one.

remember to ground yourself before you plug in anything, like wear rubber slops and touch the case metals with your hands just to eliminate any sneaky static surprises.

one of my mobos is doing the same thing, i think its the mobo not giving enough power to the area it needs to , the fan of the cpu spin up, then SLOW down to a halt , then spins up again , chip + HS work fine in another board.