Mainboard dead? - Help please

[kaese]

Hi guys,

my RVE does not start anymore:

When I press the start button the power-on light still turns on (among other LEDs on the Mainboard, also the HDDs start). But no case fan starts and the QCode hangs on 00 and there is no image on the screen.

It seems, it broke while I was running a CPU-extensive task (5820K) for longer duration: Suddenly the PC turned off and never on again .

What can I do?

[Arne Saknussemm]

Hi kaese

Sorry to hear that.

First up I'd power off for a minute i.e disconnect PSU...clear cmos.

Then maybe do same and try BIOS 2

If that doesn't work probably best to remove all power from the board and remove the battery too overnight. Clear cmos. Then replace power and battery...clear cmos again...try BIOS 1 and 2 and see if anything improves....

[kaese]

Thanks for the answer, anyway no boot yet.

I tried:

- cleared CMOS (removed battery & and all power cords - not for one night though but still for 20 min)
- switched BIOS (the LED indicating the active BIOS still works and switches)
- removed all RAM modules, except for one
- removed all external plugs & devices


As the fans do not start up and the BIOS doesnt even seem to load (Qcode indicator remains on "00"), it "feels" to me like a broken VRM...? -

But if I have to RMA the board I cant wait 6 weeks for a replacement to arrive, therefore I would have to order a second board for the replacement time. Can I be sure enough it is the board and not the CPU?

[Arne Saknussemm]

Well, the fans not starting up do point more towards the board but in the end the only way to be sure is substituting one or the other. If you have access to another MB or another CPU you could test...if not you'd have to RMA the board and try the CPU in the new board.

But do leave the CPU out overnight and power off and battery out.....I have seen one 3960X miraculously recover from 00 after a night and a clear cmos...outside chance but worth a try....

If you have a spare PSU of course try that there is a chance it is a power issue

[kaese]

Oh, one more information:

The CPU fan does start up only the case fans stay stopped (I havent seen the CPU fan before as it is usually not connected (water cooled)).
Does this point to the CPU again then?

(I will check the PSU (a bequiet Dark Power Pro P10 850W is currently installed) but I guess its failure is unlikely)

--> So CPU or Board? <--

[kaese]

...it has come back to life - sporadically. Somewhere there must be a bad contact: mechanical bending can let the PC boot ! Still I am not sure if it is the CPU or the Board...

[Arne Saknussemm]

Hmm I would try another PSU if you have one....check all cables for contacts...have a look inside contacts to make sure there are no short pins or anything like that.

I would be tempted to remove the board from the case and set it up on it's box see if it is the mounting that is the problem in the case or something like that.

I would take the opportunity to check that the cooler on the CPU is not displacing the CPU etc.

[kaese]

What a wonder, it is running again (lets see how long...)

What I did: complete disassembly of parts & cleaning of contacts (isopropyalcohol, pressurized air).
While reinstalling single components (such as GPU or CPU) in a systematic manner hadnt yield any success.
So I am still not sure what caused the problems but the freeze also occurred also with the board taken out of the case.

Thanks for your help Arne

[Arne Saknussemm]

OK nice one!....keep an eye on it...but if it works it works...sometimes things unscramble with everything pulled apart or no power for a decent amount of time...CMOS clears properly...