WTF did I do to break my computer?

[Krusty]

So I RMA'd my Corsair pc2400 memroy last week and yesterday I got myself some shiny new corsair pc2700 c2 memory complete with adonized aluminum heatspreaders. Before I put my new memory in, I had some kingston pc2100 valueram in there running fine.

Soo...I pull the power plug, pop out my old ram, pop in my new ram, plug the power back in and hit the power button. . .

nothing.

So I stick my kingston ram back in. Still nothing. Reset the cmos and reseat the ram. Still nothing. I switch the leads for the power and reset switches. I figured my power switch may have suddenly got all freaky. Still nothing. I put the switches back as they were before and nothing. I hit my power button repeatedly. I'm talking like 10-15 power button pushes and suddenly the computer comes back on!

But alas, the fans turn on but there is no hard drive clicking, no monitor display, no beeps, no nothing. I hit the power button to shut it off, but it doesnt work. Have to pull the plug to turn off the computer. I tried doing multiple power button presses again and the same thing happened after several power button presses.

Just now I popped one of the new RAM modules in and my computer can now turn on and off, but there is no POST at all.

Gahhhh! What did I do?

Btw, I've got an Athlon xp 1600+ palomino, a Shuttle AN35N-ultra motherboard, a gainward geforce3, and an enermax 431W psu.

 

[DaveSauce]

did you try putting the old stick back in?

And also, were you careful while you were working in there? Make sure to ground yourself and whatnot? You could have ESDed something...

If the old stick of ram doesn't work, I'd start removing components to isolate the problem. I dunno if this can be caused by the vid card....Im certain it's either the CPU or memory causing it....or you could have damaged or zapped the motherboard.

 

[Dios67]

You probably allready did this but.... Reseat all your pci cards and your video card, and the ram. Sounds to me like something is loose

 

[Krusty]

I've got a second system and all the components are pretty interchangeable. today I'm going to test every single component in my computer to figure out the problem.

Yes, I already tried with the old stick of ram. Yes, I make sure to keep myself grounded when working. I generally k eep the cable plugged into my psu and keep the psu switch off. That way, the case is grounded and I touch the case several times a minute.

Currently, I'm predicting that my power supply is freaking out.

 

[Krusty]

Ok, all 3 ram sticks work fine in my secondary system. the video card works fine in the secondary system. the power supply works fine in the secondary system. I think my motherboard is getting grounded by a case screw.

So, it's time to pull out the stupid friggin motherboard

I'm really starting to hate my watercooling system now. too many tubes and stuff.

 

[Krusty]

Ok, CPU works in the secondary system. Time to test the motherboard.

I'm going to attempt something I haven't done before now so I can use a quick answer. I'm going to toss my motherboard on top of an anti static bag and hook everything up without a case. Should the lack of mounting screws cause any problems?

EDIT: I hate computers. I take all that time to test all the components and pull the motherboard to test it outside of the case and I still don't know what was wrong. The motherboard worked PERFECTLY when I tested it. I was kind of hoping it was something simple like a broken motherboard where an RMA would fix it, but no. There is some sort of magical device inside my case that sucks the blue smoke out of my components.

So now I get to put the computer back together and pray that it magically works while inside the case.

How many chicken sacrafices should I perform to guarantee my computer will work?

 

[kagee108]

So now I get to put the computer back together and pray that it magically works while inside the case.

As has been said before, sounds like you had a bad connection somewhere. Make sure that the psu cable pins are in all the way. These pins have a habit of coming out and get pushed up as you push the plug down.

Hopefully all will be ok.

 

[Steve978]

lol that happens to me all the time I did something to make my computer not switch on one time and I just couldnt figure it out, so I lugged the whole PC to my friends place to see if he had any ideas, I plug the thing in and say "this is what its doing" and voila like a miracle it works like a charm.

 

[Krusty]

Once I put the whole thing back together again, it worked perfectly.

I hate computers.

 

[kagee108]

Once I put the whole thing back together again, it worked perfectly.

I hate computers.

No you don't!! LOL You love it and you know it. You're addicted.

 

[Captain U]

^^ aren't we ALL?

 

[XunknownX]

The machines are rising. Driving us mad is a tactic they are deploying.

 

[Sir Golitech]

Yeah my power button is very strange to.I have to push it in and hold it down for 3 seconds and then the PC will turn on.I try not to turn of the PC that way, I like to use Windows shut down the I turn off the power switch on the PSU.