dead Asus P4P800 DELUXE/P4 2.8

  • Thread starter Thread starter liu
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liu

I've have the system running for 1.5 years. It died 2 days ago. I was
compressing some files and left. When I came back, the system was
freezed half way on the job. The mouse isn't moiving so I rebooted the
PC by shutting the power off and on again. The sytem powered up and it
appeared that HD was powered too. But no video signal out. No BIOS
screen. I then tried a different DDR RAM, switching locations.
Unplugged video card and plugged a basic one in. Check all the
connections. It looked fine but still won't boot. I then replaced with
the new battery but still no go. My Power supply is 1.5 years too and
it's 450W. Since it powers up so it don't think there is anything wrong
with it.

What's left is either CPU or motherboard (or both). I'm researching on
buying a new CPU and motherboard, but still wonder what's wrong with
the old system. Is there anything else I can try before giving up on
it? I'm amazed that most my systems lasted only ~2 years. I wonder if I
didn't handle them correctly?

Thanks for any suggestions,

cpliu
 
"liu" said:
I've have the system running for 1.5 years. It died 2 days ago. I was
compressing some files and left. When I came back, the system was
freezed half way on the job. The mouse isn't moiving so I rebooted the
PC by shutting the power off and on again. The sytem powered up and it
appeared that HD was powered too. But no video signal out. No BIOS
screen. I then tried a different DDR RAM, switching locations.
Unplugged video card and plugged a basic one in. Check all the
connections. It looked fine but still won't boot. I then replaced with
the new battery but still no go. My Power supply is 1.5 years too and
it's 450W. Since it powers up so it don't think there is anything wrong
with it.

What's left is either CPU or motherboard (or both). I'm researching on
buying a new CPU and motherboard, but still wonder what's wrong with
the old system. Is there anything else I can try before giving up on
it? I'm amazed that most my systems lasted only ~2 years. I wonder if I
didn't handle them correctly?

Thanks for any suggestions,

cpliu
Click to expand...

Have you checked the Southbridge ? There have been a fair number
of failures reported. Use the warranty and get it repaired, if
this is what it looks like. What you are seeing in these pictures,
is burning caused by power conductors in the USB data pair area
of the chip. All failed chips should burn the same way (although
we have one report of someone who just had the USB ports fail,
without the rest of the motherboard failing too).

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84122&highlight=usb+port

Typically the problem correlates with the hot plugging of a USB
device (front or back USB port can cause it). But, there are people
who weren't plugging anything at the time, who suffered a failure.

If your Southbridge is toasted, please post the details leading up
to the failure, to add to all the other reports posted so far.

You could have some kind of power supply failure, but due to the
prevalence of this kind of ICH5/ICH5R Southbridge failure, I
somehow doubt that trying a different power supply is going to
help in this case.

http://tw.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/FAQ/FAQ_456.htm

Paul
 
if your not getting any post screen, what type of beeps do you get ?
That may be your clue, but it sounds like the board. At this point,
considering you have tried another video card, it's either the psu or
the board...Mine only lasted a year, same board...
 
No beep at all. If I take the RAM out, I hear continous beep. So the
beep system still works.
 
I don't run it 24/7. The day it died, it was running overnight. I
usually turn it off if I know I won't use it for a long time. By
average, probably turn on and off 1 to 2 times each day. In the
weekend, maybe 3 or 4 times a day. By average, I probably use it 5
hours a day in thee weekdays, 8 to 10 hours in the weekend.
 
"liu" said:
No beep at all. If I take the RAM out, I hear continous beep. So the
beep system still works.
Click to expand...

That is a good sign. For the board to beep, the processor has to be
able to run BIOS code. It could be, when a DIMM is present, that
the BIOS code is getting stuck on some other busted hardware.

Your board has "Vocal POST". If you plug an amplified computer
speaker into the green Lineout connector on the motherboard, you
may hear a voice error message. The error messages are listed
in the user manual, and you will have to compare the sounds made,
to the list of error messages, as the voice samples are highly
compressed.

HTH,
Paul
 
Per liu:
By
average, probably turn on and off 1 to 2 times each day. In the
weekend, maybe 3 or 4 times a day. By average, I probably use it 5
hours a day in thee weekdays, 8 to 10 hours in the weekend.
Click to expand...

I used to run my old one 24/7. Now, with my new box (P4P800 Deluxe also) I've
been doing the same thing you are.... couple on/offs per day.

Long time ago, when I was working in the IT department of a major electric
utility, somebody reasoned that we could save significant money by turning all
our IBM 3290 terminals off each night and back on again in the morning.

Electric consumption, obviously, went down by the precise calculated amount of
TerminalCount * Watts/Terminal * HoursOff.

What nobody expected was that repair costs on the terminals went through the
roof - far outweighing the savings in electricity. Something about
heating/cooling the circuit boards over-and-over.

But that was a long time ago.... and I'm hoping that circuit board design has
progressed since then.

I guess I'm gonna find out... but until somebody who knows chimes in I'd hold
that out as a possible factor in your bad luck.
 
"(PeteCresswell)" said:
Per liu:

I used to run my old one 24/7. Now, with my new box (P4P800 Deluxe also) I've
been doing the same thing you are.... couple on/offs per day.

Long time ago, when I was working in the IT department of a major electric
utility, somebody reasoned that we could save significant money by turning all
our IBM 3290 terminals off each night and back on again in the morning.

Electric consumption, obviously, went down by the precise calculated amount of
TerminalCount * Watts/Terminal * HoursOff.

What nobody expected was that repair costs on the terminals went through the
roof - far outweighing the savings in electricity. Something about
heating/cooling the circuit boards over-and-over.

But that was a long time ago.... and I'm hoping that circuit board design has
progressed since then.

I guess I'm gonna find out... but until somebody who knows chimes in I'd hold
that out as a possible factor in your bad luck.
Click to expand...

The thermal coefficient of expansion of the materials used is the
same as it always was. For example, if you heat and cool your
motherboard by a certain temperature range, several times a day,
it can affect solder joint reliability (motherboard might last
less than ten years). So, yes, switching the PC on and off a lot
should have a measurable effect (if you wait enough years and
sample enough motherboards).

But, you might also have to consider the beneficial effect on some
of the other components. Perhaps the electrolytic capacitors will
last longer, if the system case air temperature is reduced on
average. So, some parts of the computer may benefit, and others
are harmed a tiny bit, by the different operating practices.

But a dead PC gives you an opportunity to upgrade, so it isn't
all bad :-)

Paul
 
Thank you all for the information. One last question, is there a way to
figure out whether it's the CPU or the motherboard that is bad. I think
it's highly unlikely that both went bad. I'm thinking A64 system for my
next purchase, so I don't have a similar setupto test.

Thanks,

cpliu
 
"liu" said:
Thank you all for the information. One last question, is there a way to
figure out whether it's the CPU or the motherboard that is bad. I think
it's highly unlikely that both went bad. I'm thinking A64 system for my
next purchase, so I don't have a similar setupto test.

Thanks,

cpliu
Click to expand...

Because the board beeps when RAM is missing, I think you are able
to execute some of the BIOS code. That means the CPU is still good,
whereas we don't know about the motherboard.

Assuming the warranty on the motherboard is good for three years,
perhaps you can return it under warranty, and get it fixed.
Wrap the motherboard in its anti-static bag, and put in in a
box that won't get easily crushed. Phone Asus Tech support to
arrange an RMA - web site methods are notorious for unreliability.
The RMA number must be on the outside of the shipping container,
for an RMA to be accepted at the receiving end.

Paul
 
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