Troubleshoot: Power comes on and goes off 1 second later

[Noved2000]

I was doing a bit of maintenance to my cooling system last night and when I put it all back together again, the computer didn't work.

What happens is, I turn on my computer and hear all the usual power-on noises (fan whirling, CD-Rom spinning, HDD rotating, etc) and then about 1 - 1.5 seconds later, all power turns off. What's interesting is that that "power" LED at the front of the case is still on. I took out the CPU and tried booting again, and this time, power remains on (but of course nothing else happens since there's no CPU).

I am thinking that it is either the CPU that is dead, or some part of the Motherboard directly involved with the CPU socket connections. Any help/suggestion would be appreciated.

Further, has anyone ever crushed their CPU die due to over-tightening of the heatsink/waterblock? If the CPU die is crushed in this way, is there any physical damage of the die which is visible to the naked eye? This is the only explanation I have at the moment for my problems.

Thanks in advance.

[Senor Panadero]

The first thing that comes to mind is the C.O.P. function. That will shut down your system if there is a cpu overheat. But it usually takes a few seconds to get hot enough, even when making little contact. Worth checking out as it doesn't seem as though it is the split-second power bump that you get when there is a power supply/electrical problem.

[Noved2000]

Nope, COP doesn't appear to be the problem. CPU die is cool, and the system does not stay on long enough for the CPU to get hot. It doesn't even stay on long enough for BIOS to initialize.

[themortarman]

Excuse me if I am just reading this wrong but how are you able to tell if the Die is warm, cold or on fire?

[Noved2000]

I removed the waterblock after a few failed boots, wiped off the arctic silver, and placed a finger on the die.

[themortarman]

Ok sorry!! What happens if you boot without a cpu or memory in place?

[Noved2000]

With the CPU out of the socket, power stays on. However, nothing appears on the monitor. No POST screen, no BIOS menu, not even a video signal (monitor remains in standby mode).

[themortarman]

What Motherboard is this? Do you have Voice reporter, is the onboard sound setup to work?

[Noved2000]

*nod*

Motherboard is an A7N8X-X with the onboard sound reporter activated. I was listening for the diagnostic reports telling me that my CPU was overheating, or my CPU was overclocked, etc, but got no such warning.

Basically, with the CPU in the socket, the power turns off probably too quickly for any kind of voice warning to activate. If you count 1-0-0-1 slowly, the power would be off by the time you get to the second '1'.

I was also expecting to at least see the BIOS menu even without the CPU in the socket, but nothing. Do you know if the BIOS menu will come up without a CPU in the motherboard socket?

At this present time, my biggest dilemma is trying to decide whether to buy a new CPU or a new Motherboard. I cannot pin-point the cause of the problems....

[CMB]

What kind of maintenance were you doing ?
Is it possible you have cracked or chipped the cpu die ?

[themortarman]

Does the A7N8X-X have the voice reporter?

[Noved2000]

I was doing a clean-out of my water cooling system. Replacing the water, adding corrosion protection, new-layer of Arctic Silver, checking radiator for leaks, etc.

It is possible that I cracked/chipped the die. The water block I am using does NOT come with any over-tightening protection measures. It is a simple nut and screw mechanism. I am always careful while tightening but of course, I am always wondering if the nuts are too tight or too loose.

Would there be any visible damage to the die if it were cracked/chipped?

[CMB]

Usually a small chip or crack along an edge or on the corner.
I am sure there are some pics flaoting around on some sites, if I can find one I'll post it.

[Noved2000]

themotarman: It appears you may be right, the Asus webpage does not list the A7N8X-X as having a POST reporter, only the A7N8X Delux appears to have it. I assumed that my A7N8X-X had one because my system used to run on a A7V333 which has the POST Reporter feature.

[CMB]

When you need a pic it's hard to find....something here but not so good:
http://www.axiontech.com/store/suppo...d/AMDstuff.htm
http://www.over-clock.co.uk/amdwarranty.shtml