Hi... I'm hoping someone can help me. I trying to rebuild this computer, and I'm running into this huge problem.

First, I want to provide someone background information by saying that I was sharing this old machine for which I bought all the guts. I am now taking all my stuff out and putting it in this new one that I am trying to build. The old one worked just fine, and I figured that taking everything out and putting it somewhere else would be as easy as when I first built it... That assumption was obviously horribly incorrect.

I have an Asus A7S333 motherboard, with a Athlon XP 1800+, proper heatsink, and I'm running 512 MB of PC2100 Atlas Precision Premium RAM. I was simply going to remove all this, mount it in a different case, and hook all my stuff up to it. And besides the video card and my peripherals, I didn't change a thing from the old configuration... which, worked perfectly, by the way...

Well, after everything was hooked up, it was time to boot. So, I was on my way to BIOS to boot from my Windows XP disc. Upon booting, I entered BIOS and the first thing it asked me was the CPU speed. It was defaulted, I guess, at 1150 MHz and gave me the option to go up to 1533 MHz. Well, ignoring my instincts to accept the default and speed it up later, I decided to keep everything the exact same as I had just moved it from case to case. I know it was running at 1533 MHz before the move. So, if nothing changes, shouldn't it work perfectly throughout? No...

So that's when I ran into some problems. The machine froze after about 5 seconds. So, I turned it off and tried it again. This time it didn't even boot. The power would come on and everything, but the system itself was being difficult. The first couple of times I tried, it booted after sitting there for a while, but it would then eventually freeze, or just revert back to its standstill status. To make matters worse, after a while it just simply refused to even start to boot at all.

So, while searching for an explanation, I attributed this incredible setback to my changing of the CPU speed. I then thought that if it were running at 1533 before I moved it, it must have somehow managed to get back to 1150 in transit. So I was trying to figure out how to get it back to that state as if I had just removed it from my old machine. Like a reset button on a video game...

So, I unhooked everything, de-mounted the board, and started over. Well, this time, I decided not to hook up any of my peripherals. I was just going to try to get it to boot, and add stuff later upon success. Then it got weird. After getting power to the board itself, and hooking up the video card, case LED's, I pressed the power switch expecting it to boot right up. No go. In fact, it seemed as if the power wouldn't even come on. the green LED on the board itself was always on, which is a good sign I suppose... But when I would press power, signal seemed to surge through everything, and then surge right back out within the same second. Like it was shorting out or something.
So I checked the panel for all of the case LED's and whatnot. It seems I had those wrong. I fixed them to where all of the writing was facing me. I was thinking that maybe the grounds were in the wrong place... So I tried that. And Lo and behold, the system came up!

Well, I say the system came up. I didn't have my monitor plugged in to my video card, so I don't know if BIOS came up with it. So when I tried to hook my monitor up to it, the whole system shut down as it did before. So I unplugged the monitor, and tried to get the system up again. And it continued to come on only for a split second. So, I re-seated all of the case LED's in that panel, and tried it again. Now it worked. I again tried to get the monitor in, only for it to shut itself down! So this time, I left the monitor in and re-seated the Case LED's in the panel. Again, it started up. However, I could see now that BIOS did not start up with it. It's status was identical to what it was doing before I re-mounted everything. So I let it run for a while to see if it would ever wake up, and it didn't. And, oddly, It kept running until I scooted the case across the floor. When I moved it, it shut down. This happened a few times. I still don't know what has to happen for the thing to shut itself down like that. But every time it happens, I have to re-seat all the stuff in that panel. This is very annoying. I want my computer to work now. I'm tired of playing with it!! ^_^

Again, this is what I'm running:
Asus A7S333
Athlon XP 1800+
One 512 MB module of PC2100 Atlas Precision Premium RAM

My case is a Raidmax case, and I have a 400W PSU.

I again want to point out that this set up worked perfectly before. The ONLY thing I have changed about it (besides what case it's in and the peripherals) is the video card. I went from a GeForce 2 MX 200 to a Radeon 9200 128 MB. But, with none of my peripherals hooked up anyway, that means the only difference is indeed the video card and the case itself!

Someone please help me!!! I am completely stumped!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peace!

Is it a new PSU...kinda sounds like a bad PSU. And make sure your CPU fan is plugged into the header on the mobo.

Did you try to reset your CMOS? that could help.

this has happened to me before, find someone with a spare Duron or Athlon processor and plug it in and power up the board. It should reset the BIOS settings and automattically detect CPU speed. Soemtimes if you plug a different CPU in it it will reset the CMOS and then you can plug in your Athlon CPU without resetting your CMOS settings.

If that don't work, reset the CMOS eith the jumper, or maybe it's your power supply, try unplugging it for 10 or 15 seconds, ATX power supplies do that sometimes.

Hmm that sounds familiar J-dogg

try putting it in the old case and if it works mabey its a grounding issue.

Hey... thanks for all the replies.

Yeah, the PSU is brand new, I got it with the case. And I'm definitely sure that everything is hooked up right. However, I don't know about the CMOS thing. Is that the little white board with the 4 switches on it? How do I reset that?

I just don't get it. I can't get it to even turn on anymore. It makes this weird noise when you put power to it. Like it's shorting out or something. I mean, it was at least booting at one point and it seems to be getting worse. lol... I really hope I haven't fried my motherboard.

I guess if the CMOS thing doesn't work either, my next step is to try it with a different PSU... the old one, which I know works. If that still doesn't work, I guess I'll just put the whole thing in the old case and see if it works at all. Beyond that, I guess I'll give up. I honestly do think that it is a grounding issue though. It just seems to be shorting out and refusing to boot.

But, let me know how to do that CMOS thing. And if anyone else has any more suggestions, please let me know! I'm desperate!

Peace!

Are you sure that you mounted it through grounded holes and if not did you use plastic spacers? I would try laying out the system on newspaper and trying to boot there.

Its a power/ground issue mark my words. Though you should get some new Power/HDD LED's and switches, if they simply fall out on there own that there is a problem. There is possibility that the power switch is not properly giving the system the electrical signal to boot.

Clear CMOS by either:
1, Putting the "Clear CMOS" jumper and booting (see manual for pin config)
2. Removing the onboard battery and jumping the + and - terminals while booting.
Once the clear CMOS message comes up, power down and reseat the jumper/battery

Check and make sure that no mounting posts in the new case are in the wrong spot...it sounds like the board is shorting out on a mounting post that is somewhere it shouldn't be. Remove everything from the new case, then remove ALL of the mounting posts. Map where the mobo holes are on the mobo tray in the case, then put the standoffs back in and try again.

Hey guys....

First of all, I want to say that I really appreciate all of your help. You guys have kept my hopes alive and thus, too, the chance to have my computer work. Thank you guys so much... seriously.

Turns out that yes, it was a grounding issue. In fact, it was a grounding issue so simple that I'm embarrassed to share it! But, I figure that perhaps someone will wind up making the same dumb mistake, (at least hopefully) so I might as well share!

The problem was not with the locations of the standoffs or screws or anything. The problem was with the screws: their heads were touching the board. Why is that? Because I forgot the washers. The board was shorting out because I forgot to use washers with the mounting screws. How dumb is that, right? Well, dumb or not, my system works pefecly now.

So, again, I appreciate all of you guys' help... And don't make too much fun of me for this! See you guys later. AND ALWAYS REMEMBER THE WASHERS!!!

Peace!

I don't use washers on my board, and it works fine, weird. Case nor mobo came with washers, just came with standoffs and screws. Well, atleast you figured it out and saved many strands of hair from being ripped out due to frustration.

good work...thanks for the update...I've yet to use washers on ANY of the 600+ computers that I've built, but I guess if the heads are too big...

Glad all is well now...

Same here. Never used washer before in the hundred or so computers Ive built myself. Glad to hear you got your computer up and running.

It's possible that it wasn't the washers. I know I've taken stuff apart that didn't work, and put it back together without making any repairs, and it miraculously works. When I worked on radios we called it FM (F@#$ing Magic).

I hear you on the FM thing. Lots of P1 computers I "fixed" that way and made cash.

lol, I had a FM moment with this pentium board I have, Wink2k would come up with IRQ or less, did something, works fine now..

wow i was actualy right about something