Personal computing discussed

Moderators: renee, mac_h8r1, Nemesis

 
Fearless
Gerbil First Class
Topic Author
Posts: 153
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, CO

Help diagnose HW failure

Fri Nov 25, 2016 6:23 pm

Gerbils,

I have a Z-97a based system that has been running for 2 years.   No recent (6+ months) changes to HW or OS other than normal Microsoft patches and the occasional video driver update.  

Last night I walked in to find the system hung at the ASUS splash page.  Video obviously working, and keyboard lit up but not responsive (couldn't toggle num lock for instance but lights were on).   Hard power off/on cycle by pulling the cord from the wall results in a similar hang.   Idiot lights on the board indicate failing at boot device - CPU, ram lights are off indicating per the manual they are good.  

I did try plugging in older keyboard and mouse combos and had similar behavior; power indication but no function.  I did attempt different USB ports to try to rule that out and nothing changed.  

So in short, I can't get into BIOS as f2 and del presses on the keyboard do nothing as I'm already hung before I get control and I'm at a loss for what else I can attempt with HW on hand.  

My quick thought was I lost the motherboard.   The boot drive is a SSD that the last time I looked had not used very many replacement sectors.  

Other thoughts?
Image
 
derFunkenstein
Gerbil God
Posts: 25427
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2003 9:13 pm
Location: Comin' to you directly from the Mothership

Re: Help diagnose HW failure

Fri Nov 25, 2016 6:28 pm

Disconnect as much as you can. If you get farther into the process, then something you disconnected died.

Assuming the CPU has onboard graphics (i.e., not one of those specific Xeons without it), remove the graphics card. Disconnect all the drives. Only plug in the mouse and keyboard, and remove all other USB items. Reset the CMOS. See where you get. If you get to the same spot and you're still unable to get into the firmware interface, then I'd probably agree with you. If disconnecting the drives fixes it, then maybe the mobo's error code was right on.

Funny story, now that it's resolved: My work-assigned Mac can't boot if an Android phone is plugged in. Kernel panic after the initial logo. I'd want to make sure you're not into something similar before buying new parts.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
Twittering away the day at @TVsBen
 
CScottG
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1252
Joined: Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:53 pm

Re: Help diagnose HW failure

Fri Nov 25, 2016 6:55 pm

REMOVE AND THEN REINSTALL THE BATTERY ON THE MOTHERBOARD! (..have it removed for at least 10 seconds before putting it back in.)

..and then report back the effect please.
Last edited by CScottG on Fri Nov 25, 2016 6:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
just brew it!
Administrator
Posts: 54500
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2002 10:51 pm
Location: Somewhere, having a beer

Re: Help diagnose HW failure

Fri Nov 25, 2016 6:56 pm

Yeah...

Disconnect everything (including any external USB storage devices!) except display and keyboard, and see if you can get into the BIOS. If yes, then start re-connecting things one by one starting with the boot drive, to see what causes the hang. If no, try another keyboard (or test the keyboard on another system) just to make sure that's not somehow causing the hang.

It is also worth trying a CMOS reset; maybe your BIOS settings got scrambled somehow.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
 
Fearless
Gerbil First Class
Topic Author
Posts: 153
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, CO

Re: Help diagnose HW failure

Fri Nov 25, 2016 7:09 pm

Thanks all for the ideas.  Will be tomorrow morning before I can try but will report back.  
Image
 
Fearless
Gerbil First Class
Topic Author
Posts: 153
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, CO

Re: Help diagnose HW failure

Sun Nov 27, 2016 12:36 pm

Sorry for the delay - wife had other ideas for my time yesterday.   

Pulled the battery, moved the jumper to clear CMOS, pulled all cards and had the same behavior.    Think we've confirmed MB failure at this point.   Thanks again for all the ideas.  
Image
 
Fearless
Gerbil First Class
Topic Author
Posts: 153
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: Colorado Springs, CO

Re: Help diagnose HW failure

Sun Nov 27, 2016 2:56 pm

Stupid question as I've never really tried this before. 

If I get a new motherboard/cpu/memory setup, and attempt to reuse my boot drive, how competent is Windows 10 at dealing with the differences, installing new drivers and allowing the system to come up?

For instance - I'm considering going to a 1151 based motherboard for the replacement, and the Z97-a I had was a 1150.

Am I setting myself up for a host of headaches?
Image
 
Kougar
Minister of Gerbil Affairs
Posts: 2306
Joined: Tue Dec 02, 2008 2:12 am
Location: Texas

Re: Help diagnose HW failure

Fri Dec 09, 2016 2:04 pm

Sorry for the late reply. ASUS offers a three year warranty on those, yours should still be covered?

Windows 10 won't care if you just plug your entire system into the replacement board. It's more intelligent about drivers than past versions and even Windows 7 was capable of handling it. Not entirely sure how the activation process works with installs tied to user accounts these days, but you may not even need to reactivate it either. And if you did then it's a straightforward process.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
GZIP: On