PC Power Not Staying On

Hi Guys, Just wondering if anyone has any Ideas.
I have a PC here that someone did not want anymore and I am trying to find out why.
It has a Gigabyte GA-K8VT890-9 Motherboard Socket 939
CPU I dont know yet the CPU has one of those huge Zalman fans on top. PSU is 400W PCI-E 1 + PCI-E16 slots but I have no Video card I stuck a DDR333 256mb ram in and a HD but when I power up the power will stay on only about 10 seconds and than it turns off even if I keep holding the power button in now I don't know if it needs a video card just to spin, naturally I have not connected any Monitor I just wanted to see if it would run at all
Could it be the PSU or just a bad mobo.
Any Ideas are greatly appreciated.
hawk22

 

Hi hawk22,

Your timer is off. Should turn it off in 4 seconds.

IMHO, you need a video card (an old PCI will do) and monitor, and a speaker (to listen for beep codes) and a keyboard and memory stick to avoid unhelpful beep codes, to evaluate the machine. An alternate PSU is necessary to see if a problem resides ig the PSU or the MOBO.

 

Thanks Steve and Sparrow, you could be quite right it might only be 4 seconds 10 was just a rounded off guess.
Maybe starting off by resetting the CPU would not be such a bad Idea, at least that would be one item off the list.
Now this might sound silly to you guys but I have never removed a 939 with the cooler mounted onto the Motherboard by two screws and the CPU is the same as the previous XP models with the lever.
As I had mentioned the cooler and fan is one of them huge Zahlman type. Am I to take out the two screws and lift the cooler off the CPU, cause I cant get my fingers under the fan to lift up the lever to unlock the CPU and lift the whole lot out and then separate them.
Also I would need advise in the procedure to replace them again after applying new thermal paste.
Now Sparrow you say that I can just use a old PCI video card even though it requires PCI-E 1 or 16.
In the Gigabyte Manual that I downloaded it recommends dual channel DDR 400 / 333 / 266 / 200 184 pin
would that be different to the DDR 400 or 333 that I have put in.
OK iff I get this sorted out now than I would get a bit further in finding out.
I will next time use keyboard and Monitor as well also what sort of HD should I be connecting on to it or do without.
Appreciating your advice.
hawk22

 

To remove the Zahlman, you have to remove those screws. They are attached to a plate which is on the underside of the motherboard. Loosen each one a little at a time until they can be removed. Then the whole heatsink can be pulled right off. Its actually very simple.

 

Thank you Rockster, I thought that this would be the way, as I could not see any other but I wanted to be sure before I started to remove the Zalman CN PS 7700 AlCu.
Well upon removing the Zalman I was not surprised that it shut off after 4 seconds one ***** was totally loose and there where only dried up patchy remnants left of the thermal paste, ( Steve R Jones) worst I have ever seen.
Now Rockster I know you are an AMD man from way back should I be able to resurrect this machine the CPU (looking spotless after cleaning up) is a "Athlon 64 3500" would that be a worthwhile upgrade for one of my AMD XP2600+ units.
As soon as I can lay a hand on a PCI or PCIe video card I will assemble it and try a boot.
I would assume that assembling the CPU and cooler would be a reverse procedure of your instructions to remove.
In your experience just how tight would I need to pull those two little screws, and would they need re-tightening after a day or two.
One more thing before I go, the surface of this Athlon 64 CPU is so much bigger than the XP, is Arctic Silver ok for that as well.
many thanks
hawk22

 

Hawk:

Steve doesn't miss much - looks like he was right on the money once again. As far as a worthwhile upgrade, that 3500+ being a 64 bit CPU is most definately going to be an improvement to your 2600+ but sometimes the performance difference can be difficult to detect or let's say its not that noticeable. Obviously you know you can't put a socket 939 CPU on a socket 462 board.

With regard to your questions re: Artic Silver and putting that Zahlman back on, Artic Silver will work just fine but you'll find that its a little more difficult to spread on the larger die of the 3500. Patience is the key here. As to the heatsink $crews, you can torque them down pretty good. I'd use a medium sized phillips and instead of holding it in your fist, hold it with your thumb and first two fingers and tighten it as tight as your grip permits - again, a little on one side and then a little on the other and back and forth until you've got it secured. Make sure you orient the retention clip the same way it was.

Holler if you encounter any issues. Good Luck.

 

thanks mate I will.
hawk22

 

You have to strike it lucky sometime. Well I followed the procedure lined out, first reseated the CPU installed PCIe video card connected mouse and keyboard plus one stick of ram same 4 seconds then off. Replaced the PSU and Bingo correct one beep post and BIOS comes up on the Monitor.
I also removed the variable CPU fan speed control thinking that this huge fan might not spin fast enough if there is a safety minimum speed setting in the BIOS.
And as it turned out maximum speed with speed control is 2400 rpm and without speed control she spins at 2600 rpm.
It has now been running for several hours without failure.
hawk22

 

Nice to hear that you're up and running. I know those Zahlmans look somewhat intimidating and awkward if one is used to more conventional heatsink/fan arrangements, however, I think you are about to discover just how awesome they are when it comes to cooling.

Congratulations.

 

thanks Rockster, yes you are not wrong, after letting the beast run for 4 to 5 hr. the CPU temp was 34ºC without any load on it.
When I find time I will now pull out the XP 2600+ with the socket A ASUS board and replace it with the 939 Gigabyte and the Athlon 64 3500.
thanks again
hawk22