# Fan spins for a sec, then quits



## wizdro (May 6, 2009)

Hello, I have a homebuilt PC with:

EVGA e-7050/610i GeForce Socket 775 Motherboard
Intel Pentium D 965 Extreme 3.73Ghz Socket 775 CPU
GeForce 9600GT PCI-e videocard
Rocketfish 550W continuous PSU

It was running fine for about 8 months then one day, playing Sims 3 the damn thing just went out as if the plug were pulled.

Since then, it has been behaving just like http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/251144-31-wont-boot-fans-spin-moment-quit.

Basically, it wont boot. When I hit the power button, the fan spins for less than a second, and I can see the PSU's LEDs flash then it immediately plays dead again. I can hold the power button for 10 seconds and it will let me repeat this process to no avail.

I have done just about everything I know. Bought a new (better) PSU and tried that: fail. Checked the MOBO risers for anything loose: nothing. Completely removed, reseated, unplugged absolutely everything and put it back (including the CPU with fresh heatsinkfluid) and still get the same response.

I'm starting to fear that the MOBO is dead, but I don't see any damage, and want to know if there is any way I can verify it is functioning, or if someone out there knows what I can do to fix it.

In the mean time, I'm sharing my girlfriends computer, and she doesn't like it. Help me please!
~Wizdro


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

What new PSU did you get? The Rocketfish 550W is a 400W PSU at best and can't run a 9600GT in the long term.


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## wizdro (May 6, 2009)

A Corsair 650W was the second PSU I tried.

I don't understand how a Rocketfish 550W is a 400W PSU. It would be false advertising to say that it has a peak of 600W and can run continuous 550W if it couldn't, wouldn't it?

This is besides the problem. My system is pretty bare-bones. MOBO, HD, DVD drive, 2 RAM sticks and a 9600GT don't seem like too much to run. I would have thought that the Corsair would have addressed any problems if it was power, but it didn't.


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## wizdro (May 6, 2009)

Here is something else I thought relevant, but am not entirely sure: my CPU fan is a 3-pin although the MOBO has 4 pins. I've been simply plugging it on the first 3 so it runs 100%. I didn't give me problems, so I didn't think much of it. Just thought it might have relevancy.

Having tried reseating the CPU, cooler, the MOBO, all the power terminals and connections, running it with nothing but the essential parts, and trying all variations with a Corsair 650W PSU as well, I am pulling my hair out.

At this point, I an considering sending the MOBO in for checkup/replacement because it is 6 months away from the end of its warranty.

Full Hardware List:

- EVGA e-7050/610i GeForce Socket 775 Motherboard
- Intel Pentium D 965 Extreme 3.73Ghz Socket 775 CPU
- XFX GeForce 9600GT 512MB PCI-e videocard
- Rocketfish 550W continuous PSU
- Thermaltake CL-P0441 CPU cooler
- Apex SK-393 ATX Black Mid-T Case
- Western Digital Caviar SE16MB 320GB 7200 SATA-300 OEM Hard Drive
- Some old, crappy IDE-cable-using DVD drive I pulled from my old PC


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## emosun (Oct 4, 2006)

The board could be grounding , have you assembled the pc outside the case yet? I had a machine that did the exact same thing , it was due to a grounding issue with the board.



wizdro said:


> I don't understand how a Rocketfish 550W is a 400W PSU. It would be false advertising to say that it has a peak of 600W and can run continuous 550W if it couldn't, wouldn't it?


It's trick advertising. IF the power supply was decent quality and running at it's fullest COULD , POSSIBLY hit 600w. How ever it doesn't have to. It most likely is just a rebadged 400w model that can push out 550w for a short time before it burns out.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

It's actually 550W peak and 500W continuous. It was also rated at 25C, an unrealistically low temperature. We like to see them rated at 40-50C. However, I did some checking and it is an honest 500W unit: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/748/7 But it is not a 550W power supply. It appears Best Buy (who owns the Rocketfish brand) is now using CWT (a respectable manufacturer) to make their PSUs now, rather than Huntkey (one of the worst manufacturers; their own brand PSUs will blow up if pushed past 80% load). Not a great PSU, but decent. Best Buy did lose points in my eyes by selling it at its peak wattage, rather than continuous.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Have you tried clearing the CMOS yet?


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## wizdro (May 6, 2009)

I did reseat the BIOS battery to potentially reset the CMOS, but nothing changed.

I have also tried running it completely bare-bones with only the MOBO and HD and get the same behavior. The number of peripherals attached doesn't seem to affect the behavior.

I have *not *tried to assemble and run it out of the case, Emosun, and will try that. *crosses fingers*


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

That board should have a jumper to clear the CMOS, it may be labeled CLR_RTC.


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## pareshbhangale (Nov 6, 2009)

same problem happen to me last 2-3 week.....my cpu n mobo was dead..i got it replaced it from retailer.....i have amd 9950 black edition n asus m3a78-em....remove headsink from cpu & chk if u cpu is getting hot or not....do it for just for 1-2 sec not more otherwise CPU wil die bcoz of overheat....If cpu is getting hot means it is working...


.For PSU ....best is replace it with another 1 & check or u can test it with multi-meter...remove all conn from mobo ...short green & black...check voltages....u can refer to http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ht/power-supply-test-multimeter.htm

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/insidethepc/a/power-supply-voltage-tolerance.htm
IF PSU voltages are within tolerance..then check mobo


for mobo dont try to test at home...go to nearby mobo service center ...they will check it for you at free of cost...just tel them i ned to replace mobo...bcoz of shut off issue....they wil chk it .... according to problem they wil return or replace u r mobo...


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## hakazulu (Sep 30, 2009)

Your matherboard is probably dead...


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## wizdro (May 6, 2009)

hakazulu said:


> Your motherboard is probably dead...


Lol. Probably. Yeah.

I have tested it out of the case, 1 stick of RAM, after reseating the heatsink and resetting the CMOS.

My guess is it's probably dead. Yay for warranties.


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## wizdro (May 6, 2009)

I learned an interesting trouble-shooting trick. Working out of the case on cardboard (to rule out case-shorting), I plugged in *only* the motherboards 24-pin power *without* plugging in the 8/4-pin power to the CPU. The system successfully turned on.

This isolated the problem to either the MOBO's CPU voltage-controller or the CPU itself as the culprit. By swapping out my CPU for another working one, I can know for sure what is the culprit.

I didn't have any compatible CPUs lying around, and I was already working on building a second PC so I will be able to test it in a week when the shipment gets to my door.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The power supply turned on, but just hooking a fan to it would tell you that, I doubt it's going to be the CPU.


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## wizdro (May 6, 2009)

wrench97 said:


> The power supply turned on, but just hooking a fan to it would tell you that, I doubt it's going to be the CPU.


Wait, wrench97, please clarify. You mean I can test the Cpu/mobo without switching out Cpu's? If this is true, I would really like to know for sure.

My replacement was delayed, so being able to isolate the problem now would be a huge help.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Swapping is the easiest and best but there are some steps listed at the bottom of this guide for checking the board with a multitmeter> http://www.techsupportforum.com/f210/test-your-power-supply-with-a-multi-meter-151526.html

You almost never see a CPU go bad unless it over volted in bad over clock or takes a power surge but then it'll be more then the CPU that's burnt.


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## Phædrus241 (Mar 28, 2009)

I have only ever heard of one Intel CPU actually dying from something other than a catastrophic PSU failure or damage during installation, and that was after an inexpert overclocker pushed 1.7V through a 45nm CPU rated for 1.45V max. CPU failure under normal circumstances is extremely rare.


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