Mystery failure

[frozenskipper]

Right guys, i really need help here! 

It started some time ago when my Sabertooth P67 seemingly died on me. I simply shut down my computer, and when i tried to start it the day after, nothing happened. All i got was my fans spinning for half a second, then nothing. No beep code, no red LED's, no nothing.

I tried troubleshooting in many many ways and asking around on forums, and eventually figured it had to be my motherboard that had failed.

I sent it back to my retailer who declined return because the board was "Physically damaged".

 

I though screw them then, and ordered a z77 sabertooth from another retailer and hoped this would be the solution. I just received it, placed it on a cardboard box, hooked everything up; 8 pin, 24pin, single RAM dimm, CPU and cooler, and when i went to short the power switch pins, guess what?

The fans spun for half a second then nothing. Only a single green LED at the bottom. Not even a beep code. I have also tried to reset the CMOS.

 

Anyone had similar experiences? It's frustrating the hell outta me... Keep in mind that this rig ran strong for about 18 months before this.

 

Specs: Sabertooth Z77, i5 2500k, xfx 850 xxx, 2xGTX570, Corsair Dominator 1600MHz 4x4 GB

[HirgaLTTki]

PSU problem?

[frozenskipper]

Have tried both the XFX and my old Chieftec that worked fine the last time i used it.

[Godlygamer23]

Take out all video cards and use the iGPU. Something also may be shorting out.

[mvitkun]

try removing the processor and inspecting the bottom of it and inspecting the pins in the socket.

 

try running with only 1 ram stick installed,try all the ramsticks.

[Richyo]

All of these should have been tried before buying the motherboard  :unsure:

[efstajas]

I recon PSU issue. RAM issues normally cause a beep code, as well as a missing or fried CPU.

[frozenskipper]

I actually tried to troubleshoot it fully with both the new and old mobo.

I'll check the PSU, try out the old chieftec one again.

[Wulfgar]

I'm putting my money on the psu. Also, make sure to try different outlets. It may be a problem with your outlet and/or the circuit it's on.

[frozenskipper]

I'll get back to you on the PSU, and we'll se.. ;)

[asusfan]

check the cables and the case cables for the power switch / reset in the Q-connector etc.

[frozenskipper]

Well, this has been an interesting turn of events!

I jump started both the XFX and the Chieftec PSU's, and both ran just fine.

Then i connected the XFX to the motherboard with the CPU and single RAM dimm installed. Shorted the power switch pins and guess what! IT RAN! I did this once more as  i didn't beleive my eyes, and it did it again! The last time i wanted to do this, just to make sure however, nothing happened. And i though: Well f**k.

 

So i went to type a new post on this and another forum, but just then POP! The XFX made a really loud pop, and when i tried to jump start it again, nothing happened. This frightened me. I really thought it migh just have fried my brand new Z77 as well. 

Luckily though, the machine ran just fine once i connected the Chieftec PSU, so at least the XFX didn't fry my new motherboard as well.

 

At this point i can get into the bios, and my CPU, GPU's, all of my Ram, the Z77 AND the Chieftec PSU all seem to be running fine. But i do beleive the HDD and SSD have both been fried. As my machine refuses to start when i have either connected to the PSU.

 

It seems the XFX has somehow fried the P67 and both my drives, and waited this long before killing itself.

Hopefully i can get my hands on a working HDD and see if it will boot into windows at this point.

[Morfy]

Keep is posted on this alright?

[Richyo]

That sucks and sorry to hear dude - i would rather some of my other components to get fried then losing data!

[frozenskipper]

Turns out i had a couple bad sata power cables (hehe, whoops)

I can now get into the bios with any of my drives connected, but the mobo won't detect any of my drives except the ONE drive (out of three) that i never installe any OS on. So it only detects the barracuda 3tb which doesn't have an os on it, and the other two drives remain undetected. (The SSD and an old laptop drive)

What to do now? It seems i'm This (--) close to getting into my OS, but something is obviously not working. 

Nothing i do in the CSM seems to affect the outcome.

[frozenskipper]

Hey guys, can any of you tell me how to measure a hard drive / SSD with a multimeter? I'm assuming there is a way to see if the drive is fried.

[Maverik5124]

Hey guys, can any of you tell me how to measure a hard drive / SSD with a multimeter? I'm assuming there is a way to see if the drive is fried.

I don't think there is... It would probably still use power even though it is broken. Don't quote me on that though. You could try the hard drives in a friends computer

[frozenskipper]

I'm just trying to get a hold of a copy of Win7 (in more or less legitimate ways) because i never backed it up...

It seems i'll have to get a hold of a brand new SSD, and after that i should hopefully be good to go (Y)

Lots of money being spent here trying to get this machine operative again, but i guess that's part of it. Some of us have bad luck i suppose.

I'm really hoping some of the components are covered by warranty unlike my P67 (which i now have possession of again)

[frozenskipper]

Finally back to desktop! I now have to install drivers, programs and everything else. But hey, at least she's running. I'll post an update after stress testing my components too.

[asusfan]

Finally back to desktop! I now have to install drivers, programs and everything else. But hey, at least she's running. I'll post an update after stress testing my components too.

Glad you found the problem, i had experience of a bad connection and cables in the past which caused hard drives to not run and dvd drive etc, so after replacing the PSu and cables never had a problem since.

 

If your on a budget and still looking for a decent PSU i recommend a Evga supernova gold series psu, i love mine and really nice calbes come with it.

[frozenskipper]

Yeah. i'll have to get a hold of a new PSU and SSD. I'm looking for 850w and up, and the supernova 1000w looks great.
Any recommendations for SSD's? Looking at the HyperX 3k. Too bad they don't sell the 5k anymore :/