[Gllug] [OT] How can I tell if I've just trashed the mobo/CPU

[Liam Smit]

Hi Adrian

Erm my last email should also have been addressed to Adrian. <g>

> It is easy to mis-plug some data cables, and if you have a FDD they often
> have pin 1 of the data cable reversed compared with other drives.
> A modern ATX PSU will not start its main output if there is a short, does
> the fan revolve?
> 
> Remove unnecessary (all?) add-on cards, and listen for a beep. If there is a
> FDD socket, plug a drive in to the last connector on the cable and look for
> a flashing LED on power up, note the 8-bit binary error code.

Another gotcha is making sure you that your ATX PSU has the extra 4
pin 12V cable from the PSU if it's a P4 or Athlon64 and that it is
plugged in. Otherwise the box just sits there.

You can also make sure that the motherboard is mounted correctly in
the case if it's not position 100% it can cause a grounding /shorting
problem. This does entail removing the motherboard from the case and
reinstalling it.

As Chris says the standard trouble shooting procedure is to remove
everything but the CPU (keep the heat sink and fan! <g>), one stick of
memory and the video card. If that works then you can add drives /
cards one at a time. If it doesn't work swap out the RAM and the video
card in turn.

cheers
Liam
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