I just bought a new case, and transfered my ECS K7S5A mobo w/ Athlon
XP 1600+ to it.  I also got a new Thermaltake Volcano 9+ Cool Mod CPU
cooler and installed that.  I went to POST the computer and it won't
start.  The power supply won't turn on, but it spins the Cpu fan, and
system fan briefly.  They only get a flicker of electricity, so they
only spin for about 1/2 second and then stop.  I thought maybe I had a
bad power supply, so i used the one i just removed from the board, and
I get the exact same results.  I know that power supply is good, so I
thought maybe the board was shorting out on the new case, so I
transferred it back to the old case, and I get the exact results.

Basically, this computer isn't even POSTing.  I have the CPU installed
(which it already was, never touched it), I installed the Heatsink and
CPU fan, plugged in the CPU fan, connected the ATX power plug to the
mobo, installed 384 Mb of PC133 Ram (which I tried to reseat, no use),
connected the power switch wires from the front panel, and installed
the speaker wires.

Do I need to have anything else installed to POST?
Why isn't either power supply starting up now?
IF I CRACKED THE CPU, will the mobo still POST?
IF I CRACKED THE MOBO, will the power supply turn on anyway?
What do you think is going on, what else should I try (i also tried to
POST with the AGP card installed and not installed)?

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Request for Question Clarification by verteiron-ga on 31 Jan 2003 20:32 PST

From my own troubleshooting experience, I can at least answer a couple
of your questions...

If you cracked the CPU, the board will not POST. However, the fans
will usually power on correctly, you just don't get beep codes and it
will require a 5-second hold to power the system down again via the
front switch.

If you cracked/zapped the mobo, any number of things could happen, but
most likely either you'll get what you're describing here, or you'll
get power but no POST (like a bad CPU).

Other things you can try: 

Hook everything up and short the power jumper/lead manually with a
screwdriver. You could be dealing with something as simple as a bad
power switch.

As djuti suggested, reseat the CPU. You would be AMAZED at how many
"dead" systems I've brought back just by doing this. And take his
advice about the RAM; sometimes a bad/zapped RAM chip will prevent you
from getting beep codes. Removing it should get you a steady
on/off/on/off beep or a series of 3 beeps.

Can you tell me whether or not the fans "twitch" when you plug in the
power supply? Or is it only when you try to turn the system on via the
switch?

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Clarification of Question by hellscream-ga on 01 Feb 2003 06:28 PST

The fans twitch only when I try to use the power switch.  The "bad
switch" is a good thought, but I used this system up until my new case
came in, so I know the switch in the other case works just fine, but
when I tried to POST in the original case, I get the exact same
result:  power supply does not start, fans twitch, then nothing, even
if I hit the power switch again.  I have to reset the power supply
using the switch in the back, turn the switch in back over to live
again, then when I hit the switch in front, exact same result.  It
wont't do anyting after the first hit of the fron panel switch until I
cycle the power supply switch.



After typing this, I tried to see if the fans twitch if I plug the
power supply in, and I have done something REALLY dumb.  This is going
to be a good laugh for everybody, believe me, I'm smiling.  As I tried
this, I realized, ready for this.....I've been trying to start the
system with the power supply in the OFF postition.  That's why they
twitch, it was a discharge.  I BRILLIANTLY thought to try it in the
other position and PRESTO, the board POSTs.  <ahem> Please, hold the
boooos.  Quiet in the Galley.  Anyway, I got 2 or 3 rapid beeps, and 8
long beeps.

Thanks for your help everybody, but I've been stressed about this for
4 days now, and I was just being a complete idiot.  I'm going to go
hide now, bye, bye.

You might want to make sure that all the jumpers on your motherboard
are in the right place. If your motherboard uses dip switches instead
of jumpers you should make sure they didn't get accidentally moved
when you switched the case. Still, I don't think that's what's causing
the problem since the power supply should still turn on. Regardless,
it's worth checking.

Remove the processor and carefully slot it into the motherboard again.
 If it came pre installed it may have been partially unseated during
delivery.  Also open your motherboard manual (or download the latest
one) and lookup any beep tones that you get.  If your not getting beep
tones trying booting without the RAM.

I just suffered this problem over the summer when I built my husband's
new computer.  Turned out, I had managed to fry my processor -
slightly slower CPU, same fan assembly.

If you don't spread the "thermal grease" on, or don't ensure the fan
is completely seated before you fire up that Athlon, you run the risk
of frying your proc in seconds.

Find a chip shop in your area that offers diagnostic testing.  Many of
the smaller shops will test your CPU and Mobo for free.  This is the
only way to *really* find out what happened.

--Missy

It's quite alright hellstream, we've all been there before. Just be
glad you didn't do something like a friend of mine, which caused
similar symptoms. He was building a new computer and forgot to put in
the plastic standoffs between the motherboard and the case, and short
circuited the whole thing, ruining most of his computer components.
The place he bought it from was nice enough to replace everything, so
it worked out in the end. I'm just really glad that something like
this was not what happened to you.

The ONLY error's that your Motherboard will Beep on when it POST's are
related to RAM and the Videocard.  Try changing them again.  You can
also try using some PC2100 (DDR233) RAM instead of the PC133, in case
something has cooked in the RAM slots.
Another thing to try, which shouldn't be the problem, but for some
reason has fixed many errors for me in the past, is to reset the BIOS.
 To do this, move the jumper which is next to the battery(looks like a
quarter) on the motherboard from pins 1&2 to pins 2&3 for about 5
seconds, then put it back and start the system.  This will reset ALL
the settings however, and you will need to set the speeds back to
133/133 in Frequency/Voltage Control.

Hope this helps

I had a similar problem when I built a computer last year. The problem
wasn't a bad power supply -- it was an underpowered power supply (and
a bad motherboard) both of which had to be replaced. It took alot of
trial and error testing with known working parts to figure out exactly
what was wrong but eventually it worked in the end. Good Luck!