prctr Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 Does anyone know what could cause me to lose power during boot up?Just installed everything and already have Windows ME on the hard drive, but as machine starts, it begins the boot sequence, then power kicks off. :blink: I am assuming that my main board connections (Asus A7V400-MX) must be wrong.OR, something with how the CPU is positioned (as in not enough thermal paste).Thanks much. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurdy Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 Sounds like a thermal cut-off in the BIOS.Is the HSF working / installed correctly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prctr Posted April 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 HSF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Man Posted April 2, 2005 Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 Heat Sink FanYou dont need a lot of thermal paste. Take your heatsink off, check to see if your CPU is properly inserted, then put the heatsink back on.Also check to make sure any pci devices are out. and make sure to check video and ram as well.Of course, turn off the power and unplug it from the wall first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prctr Posted April 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 Changed C.O.P. from 85 degrees to 95 degrees. No change, and not sure where else in the BIOS to change shutdown temperature............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prctr Posted April 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 HSF is working fine, it is one with an adjustable speed, which I have running full tilt at the moment.It WILL let me enter the BIOS by pressing the dlete key during start-up, and will not shut off as long as I stay in the BIOS. When I hit F10 to save & exit, and Windows starts up, just a few seconds later - it simply stops! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prctr Posted April 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 CPU was secured well before, but I noticed thermal paste wasn't evenly distributed - adjusted that ituan, and it seems to have imporved things. Well see........THANKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prctr Posted April 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2005 Now machine is up, but showing 100% CPU activity. That can't be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted April 3, 2005 Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 If it runs in BIOS, it seems to me that it is something beyond in the chain that which is causing the difficulty, for example the hard drive or CD/DVD device.Try running without any other devices connected (that is completely disconnected, both power and IDE cable or whatever). If that is OK, connect the hard drive. If that is OK then connect the CD/DVD device and so on. This way you should be able to determine which device is causing the problem. Remember to shut down and reboot between each of these tests.Regarding thermal paste, definitely a case of less is more. Only the merest trace of the material should be used. Excess can do exactly the opposite to what you require and act as a thermal insulator. Ensure that the heatsink is FIRMLY attached to the CPU and, if you can disconnect any speed controller for the fan, do so and have it running at a fixed full speed, at least during the setting up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prctr Posted April 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 pops, Hurdy & Scarecrow - Thanks for the assistance. It seems that, perhaps due to some irregular bend on the HSF clips, there wasn't proper seating for the CPU and fan - I noticed that the pressure on the CPU seemed to have been unevenly distributed, by looking at the traces of thermal paste - some was undisturbed.Played around with all that, and sure enough, the machine now boots correctly, and isn't showing 100% CPU usage anymore.Now, to refamiliarize myself with Windows ME so that I can make use of some my printers/scanners that do not care for Win2K or WinXP.Thanks very much for your responses, and I hope you are all well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prctr Posted April 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 Is 46.5 C a decent temperature for this Athlon XP-M 2500 - at "no-load?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted April 3, 2005 Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 That temperature is just about perfect.Glad you're fixed up now. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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