Power supply????? 1

[jasonwichman]

Hopefully you can give me your thoughts on this. As you know I have that AMD XP 1700+ machine, that I have been having problems with for a while now. It all started when the power supply went out, I replaced that and from there I have been having problems. At first what was happening is the PC would lock and then I would reboot and get a BSOD saying that the system has become corrupt, please reinstall through the recovery function of XP. Well I would never be able to complete that, because the PC would lock up always around half way though the setup. A clean install would work, sometimes. I thought maybe that it was the XP cd, so I tried a few different cd's. That didn't help. I still managed to get the BSOD and sometimes the install wouldn't even run. After about a week of messing with that I decided to get some DOS testing tools. I tested the PC with stress tests, and various hardware tests. The only thing failed very rarely was the RAM. I thought, great only a stick of DDR, that isn't that bad. So I got a new one of those. I put the RAM in and I could smell something, so I killed the power, looked at the RAM, and sure enough it was burned. No big deal under warranty, I'll send it back. Sent it back, got the replacement, turn the PC on and all I get is one long beep. I am like shit!! So everything comes out at this point, I inspect the motherboard very thoroughly, and see a cap is fried, so replace the board. In the mean time swap all other components and put it in an old 233 Mhz Omni Tech. Got the 233 running fine, with the video card, nic, usb expansion card, sound card, HD, floppy, and CD-Rom. Good all that is ruled out. The only things left are the motherboard, processor and RAM. I get the new board back, plug everything back in and one long beep again. So I figure it is the processor, after all there is a black dot on the heat sink as if the CPU burned up. AMD, replaces it, so now everything including the CPU, Motherboard, and RAM is brand new. All other parts minus the case and power supply have been running in the 233, so I know that those all work. I get the PC put back together last night and turn it on, and what happen next is great. The same exact cap on two different motherboards burns with flames. Not just a smoke, but a flames coming from the motherboard. So I sit back and wonder, can the power supply cause things to fry, or does it have something to do with how the HD is mounted in the 5 1/2 bays? The reason why I question the HD is because the HD case to mount it in the 5 1/2 bay comes less then a 1/16" from the motherboard where there is a circuit. Could that cause an arc to fry a cap on the board about 10" down?

Can you give me any ideas you might have?

If you need to know the motherbaord is a Shuttle AK 31, 1 stick of DDR crucial RAM, 1 stick of 256 DDR kingston Ram, AMD XP 1700+, 40 GB WD HD, 30 GB WD HD, 64 MB DDR GeForce 3 Ti200, Turtle Beach sound card, King Power 300 watt Power supply.



ANY HELP IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!!! Jason Wichman

http://jasonwichman.ath.cx:81

ftp://jwichman.ath.cx:22

 

[DBSSP]

It is possible that a close tolerance circuit could fry, but it is highly unlikely. I would move the hardrive, also check the MBO mounting panel clearance. That would cause some problems if it's touching the metal....PSU would be the only thing left. Are there any contacts exposed near the hardrive on the MBO...? Jay

"Jeezus-sqeezits Bob!"

 

[jasonwichman]

Thanks Jay.

The MBO mounting panel clearence is fine, there is about 1/4" clearence. Also there is no open contacts exposed near the HD either. Because of the 40 GB HD I put it in the 5 1/2 bay for more air flow. If I put it by the other HD there is very little air flow. I'll try mounting that different, when I get the new MOBO.

Thanks again. Jason Wichman

http://jasonwichman.ath.cx:81

ftp://jwichman.ath.cx:22

 

[DBSSP]

Since there are no exposed contacts the board shouldn't short out against the HD.....I'm guessing it's PSU now. On the other hand, stranger things have happened and this could be a coincidence with the boards. I'm not up on the history of Shuttle boards, I'm a Soyo guy myself, but I haven't heard anything bad about them. I hope these suggestions solve your problem, otherwise, I'm out of ideas. Jay

"Jeezus-sqeezits Bob!"

 

[ceh4702]

I would get the power supply tested first; if it is bad, what does the warranty cover? Does it have a 220/110 input setting? If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[jasonwichman]

It has a 1 year warrenty on the power supply. Yes it has the 220 and 110 input settings. Jason Wichman

http://jasonwichman.ath.cx:81

ftp://jwichman.ath.cx:22

 

[Guest_imported]

If the cap isn't too fried, check if you can to see if it's been fitted at manufacture the wrong way round. Some 3 years ago I had half a dozen boards with a tantalum capacitor soldered in the wrong way round - a loud bang, followed by smoke and flames! Can't remember the maker though...

You could also check the voltages coming out of the PSU with a voltmeter.


ROGER - GØAOZ.

 

[jasonwichman]

Yeah, the strange thing is that the same cap has burned on both of the Motherbaords. I have been reading reviews all morning on this motherboard and alot of people are having the same cap burn on all boards. If they don't see smoke they can smell it burning or even hear a pop. It seems that it is the same cap, so maybe you are correct Roger.

Seeing that the board is shot, I am going to be getting an ABIT to replace the Shuttle, do you still think I should replace or test the power supply? Jason Wichman

http://jasonwichman.ath.cx:81

ftp://jwichman.ath.cx:22

 

[DBSSP]

I think you should get it tested at the very least, just to eliminate it as a cause. Jay

"Jeezus-sqeezits Bob!"

 

[edfair]

I'm new to this thread, but I wouldn't worry about the PS.
And the install problem originally was probably ram. I've seen several cases where the diagnostics run OK but windows upchucked on various sticks. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[jasonwichman]

Thanks for all the help guys. I am going to get an ABIT board with a new PS, if it is bad. Some of my friends have some equipment to check the PS, and RAM, so thanks again to all that gave me their ideas. Jason Wichman

http://jasonwichman.ath.cx:81

ftp://jwichman.ath.cx:22