Input on potential motherboard problem

Chess · Post by **Chess** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 11:06 am

I have a little shuttle type pc that I got cheap from idotpc and it uses a VIA EPIA ML 6000E, 600mhtz fanless motherboard. It's been running fine for months now. Anyway, now there is a problem. When I turn on the box, literally nothing happens. The green power light is lit up, but that is all. No BIOS POST, no bad memory beeps, no spinning drives, literally nothing. No video output at all.

Any ideas on what the problem could be other than a blown motherboard? I am submitting an RMA request since it's still under warranty, but until I send it in I thought I would solicit thoughts if there is anything I can try. I have not tried replacing the ram or the power supply because none of my ram sticks are the correct type and I don't have an extra power supply. So there's probably not much I can test, but if anyone has any ideas on what the problem could be, I'd love to hear it. Thanks!

mowestusa · Post by **mowestusa** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 12:07 pm

You mentioned that the power light comes one. That seems to indicate that your power supply is fine or at least working. Do any case fans come on or is it completely fanless?

You mentioned that it was working fine but suddenly stopped. Did you move the unit at all? Did you take it to a different room? Have you checked to make sure that the connections to the motherboard haven't gotten loose or the connections to the drives? (Including the power button to the motherboard.)

What drives do you have in the unit that you can hear if it is starting up?

I had something similar happen to me, computer was working fine, I changed the layout of the drives in the case to make things neater inside, and the computer wouldn't turn on at all. I took everything apart again, and determined that a floppy connection cable had been plugged in upside down. Turned the cable over, and started up no problem. I doubt that is your problem, but I thought I would share a hardware trouble because they are frustrating to figure out.

mowestusa

Chess · Post by **Chess** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 1:14 pm

No, I have not touched this box for months. It's just been a nice little Slackware server sitting there doing its thing. I do think the rear case fan is on, as well as the power light, so yeah, I'm pretty sure the power supply is ok. I don't hear any drives starting up. It is literally silent when I press the power button. Very strange.

Gomer_X · Post by **Gomer_X** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 3:03 pm

Chess wrote:No, I have not touched this box for months. It's just been a nice little Slackware server sitting there doing its thing. I do think the rear case fan is on, as well as the power light, so yeah, I'm pretty sure the power supply is ok. I don't hear any drives starting up. It is literally silent when I press the power button. Very strange.

What is the power light connected to? Does it run to the power supply or the motherboard? Most of the time it goes to the motherboard, but having it light could just mean the MB is getting 5 volts.

Your PSU feeds 12 volts and 5 volts (at least) to the MB. It's still possible that your 12 volt rail is dead in the PSU.

If your PC speaker is hooked up and you're not getting any beeps, either the PSU is dead or the MB is bad. Bad RAM, video card, or anything else should still get you some beeps from the POST.

My bet is the PSU is bad, but that's a guess.

Chess · Post by **Chess** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 3:38 pm

Gomer_X wrote:What is the power light connected to? Does it run to the power supply or the motherboard? Most of the time it goes to the motherboard, but having it light could just mean the MB is getting 5 volts.

Your PSU feeds 12 volts and 5 volts (at least) to the MB. It's still possible that your 12 volt rail is dead in the PSU.

If your PC speaker is hooked up and you're not getting any beeps, either the PSU is dead or the MB is bad. Bad RAM, video card, or anything else should still get you some beeps from the POST.

My bet is the PSU is bad, but that's a guess.

Hmm.. thanks Gomer_X. I am going to check on where the power light is connected to and see if I can determine whether it's the PSU or the MB. You're probably right -- it might be PSU. It's definitely one or the other, though.

Gomer_X · Post by **Gomer_X** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:01 am

Chess wrote:Hmm.. thanks Gomer_X. I am going to check on where the power light is connected to and see if I can determine whether it's the PSU or the MB. You're probably right -- it might be PSU. It's definitely one or the other, though.

Let us know what you find out.

Post by **Patrick** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:21 am

In my experieces the power supply is the #1 culprit of hardware issues. You can always pickup a new supply fairly cheap and swap it out. Most vendors put the cheapest hardware in their boxes. The power supply usually goes first.

Gomer_X · Post by **Gomer_X** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:39 am

Patrick wrote:In my experieces the power supply is the #1 culprit of hardware issues. You can always pickup a new supply fairly cheap and swap it out. Most vendors put the cheapest hardware in their boxes. The power supply usually goes first.

That's kind of why I lean toward the PSU. I've blown several, but I don't know that a motherboard has ever failed on me except when abused.

Last system I built I bought a case without a PSU and bought the PSU seperately. Money well spent. Even a decent case will often have a crappy PSU. I'm not in favor of buying the 500 watt monsters, but a good power supply gives peace of mind.

Chess · Post by **Chess** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:54 am

Pat and Gomer_X:

I think you guys are right. Last night I tested the box again and discovered that when I turned it on and the green power light was lit, it looked like good power was flowing. But, when I tried to open the optical drive by pressing the outside button, it didn't open. So, perhaps no juice was flowing to the drive even though the power cable was correctly connected to the drive. I guess it does not rule out the motherboard, but it does seem like the PSU is the culprit.

I might have to pick up another PSU and test it out. Thanks for the input, guys. I'll report my findings.