Hey everyone, this was my first computer build today and I'm afraid it didnt go to well. When I power on the PC it comes on for about 3-15 seconds then it shuts off automatically. Also, sometimes a Siren sound starts to go off for about 3 seconds. I cant find where the sound is coming from, (probably the motherboard). Before this happened it did work ONCE, but kept restarting on its own... Any suggestions??????

I have a Intel D945Psn Motherboard
Pentium D 820
4 Fans
OCZ modstream 520W
2 GB Ram PC5400 DDR2 (OCZ)
one ATA hard drive 200 GB
one cd/dvd rw drive
geforce 128 mb 5500fx

Does your case, by chance, have a temperature guage / safety check built into it? If so, have you made sure that your temps are within the limits predetermined by the case manufacturer?

I'm not sure, it's the NZXT Lexa, it does have a temperature thing but i havnt stuck it on the hard drve or anywhere...its working though because it powers on when I power the computer on, till it shuts off after 6 seconds.

the siren sound is most likely your cpu temp alarm going off .
The motherboard is shutting down before it fry's your cpu
Try reseating your cpu cooler and /or reapplying thermal paste.
Dont try restarting your pc untill you do this ,otherwise it's possible you could damage the cpu.

it already has the thermal compund on it. when i opened it up.it did seem a little peeled off though, like 90% of it had it on...Ill try messing with it a bit by taking the heatsink fan off and then put back on...

What do you mean "peeled Off" .
If theres a thin plastic tape like strip covering the cpu cooler you must REMOVE IT ,its only there to protect the cooler base during shipping.
If you dont it'll act like insulation and you'll fry your cpu.
It might be a thermal pad but those useually are really stuck on well.
I'm sorry ,but I cant tell you without a picture.

in one of the steps it says this:

with your motherboard installed into the chasis, place the fan heatsink onto the motherboard aligning the fasterners through the holes(be careful not to damage the thermal interface material attached to the bottom of the fan heatsink. ) i didnt have to put any thermal compund in, it was already there.

now the heatsink wont come off! 2 out of the 4 pins are out...I dont wanna use to much force pulling them out but my god they wont come loose! Now what?

#1 - Take the WHOLE Motherboard out of the case

#2 - Remove the heatsink
#3 - Be sure there was no thermal compound protective film on the HS
#4 - make sure there is thrmal compound in an area large enuff to cover the entire surface of the cpu contact area
#5 - if your not 100% sure of the thermal compound on the HS clean it all off and put on new compound. Reinstall HS BEFORE you put the motherboard in the case
#6 - install the mobo assm. in the case
#7 - attach only what you absolutly need ** HDD , 1 optical drive

after that if it boot up and works then finish up formatting and whatever then shut down and attach all you other stuff

EDIT: Depending on your confidance level, you could also, after reseating the HS , hook up the board to power in the motherboard box, on top of the static bag it came in. This way, if something still isnt working right it would save you the trouble of haveing to pull it out again.

So let me make sure this is correct, the heatsink should or shouldnt have thermal compound on it?? Probably should right?? Isnt the cpu contact right underneath the fan heatsink?? If so then both would get the thermal compound on it. I'll pobably have to go buy some, any idea how much and is there different kinds, and what store?? Also I realllly think that fan heatsink is STUCK on the motherboard, Half of it is off and the other half is in there good...

Quote: Originally Posted by Linkin24 So let me make sure this is correct, the heatsink should or shouldnt have thermal compound on it?? Probably should right?? Isnt the cpu contact right underneath the fan heatsink?? If so then both would get the thermal compound on it. I'll pobably have to go buy some, any idea how much and is there different kinds, and what store?? Also I realllly think that fan heatsink is STUCK on the motherboard, Half of it is off and the other half is in there good...

Yes, for the thermal compound -- it needs to create a connection between the CPU and the heatsink/fan. Note that both the CPU and hsf should be CLEAN prior to application, as little bits of dust and hair and whatnot will cause pocketing, small air bubbles, and ultimately might cause a heat problem on your CPU. ASCII diagram looks like this:

-heatsink-
-------------
======== thermal compound
-------------
--- cpu ---

As for what type to buy and where, you can get Arctic Silver 5 (one of the best, and not expensive) at a variety of places, and they have excellent instructions on how to apply it (follow that link). If you have a CompUSA somewhere near you, you probably can get it there -- otherwise, just go to your nearest computer enthusiast store and ask for thermal compound, chances are they have AS5 or something comparable.

As for the HSF being stuck on the motherboard, that is unlikely. Remove the entire motherboard from the case (as HTRN so wisely suggested) and you'll get a better view of how it's still attached, and likely will be able to remove it with just the right amount of effort and direction.

good luck, keep us posted....
-godling

Based on your earlier post:

Quote: Originally Posted by Linkin24 in one of the steps it says this: with your motherboard installed into the chasis, place the fan heatsink onto the motherboard aligning the fasterners through the holes(be careful not to damage the thermal interface material attached to the bottom of the fan heatsink. ) i didnt have to put any thermal compund in, it was already there.

Your heat sink came with some thermal compound on it. Now... it is possible that there was some protective film on the outside of the compound to prevent shipping damage... and you didn't mention removing anything like that.

So, follow Godling's instructions and carefully take everything apart and make sure you didn't melt any plastic to the top of your CPU. Clean everything as good as you can, and go for the AS5, as the conductivity of that is generally better than anything that would come stock with the HS.

Once I booted up a comp with no RAM in in, and it made a terrible beeping noise. In ADDITION to checking your thermal compound, I'd give everything a good push (RAM, vid card, etc) to make sure you've got it all connected.
You can also look up the beep codes for your motherboard. You should be able to find them in the manual or use Google. The pattern of the beeps will tell you what's wrong.

Yes, I have to agree that it sounds like a overheating problem.

As for the thermal compound.....It is definate a MUST HAVE!!!! Do Not turn on the computer without the heatsink installed with the thermal compound. This will fry your cpu. If for any reason you remove the heatsink. You will need to clean the heatsink and cpu and reapply new thermal compound.

To better understand why you need thermal compound.
You have two metal surfaces even though they have fairly true/straight surfaces. They dont mesh together perfectly. That's where the thermal compound comes in. It fills in all the areas including (microscopic) between the metal surfaces to increase thermal transfer between the heatsink and cpu. I hope that better explains it.

As for cleaning the cpu and heatsink, i recommend using 90% rubbing alcohol or acetone(nail polish remover) that none scented. If you use the acetone do a final wipedown with the alcohol.

Note: acetone will melt plastic so keep it away from it.

To clean the cpu......Use some qtips and some acetone/rubbing compound.
To clean the heatsink. You could use a paper towel with the acetone/rubbing compound. Once you got it clean. Examine it for paper towel fibers and do you best to remove them all. A shot of canned air works wonders removing debris/dust that might be on there. I could go into more detail on this but its better explained on the artic silver website. www.articsilver.com

As for the heatsink not coming off......it definately much easier to work on when the motherboard is out of the case. Plus you can see the backside of the board to see where its getting stuck.

All in all......
Take your time and be gentle.

Good luck!

Rockin'male

urrr the heatsink finnaly came off after reading the fine print that says removal...you have to put a flat head screw driver and turn it counter clock wise....hopefully i didnt mess anything up trying to force it off.....

OK i got the thermal compond, its in a sirringe...and it came with a credit card to smooth it....Do I put the thermal compound on BOTH the CPU AND the bottom on the copper of the heat sink fan or just on the heatsink fan?? How much shall I put on?? Awaiting commands :-)

just put it on one of them and use a thin layer. You should be able to find some instructions using a forum search

Here ya go , check this link for , what i think, is a good way to apply thermal compound
http://www.overclockers.com/tips692/

MISSON FAILED

OK, Lets see...I ruined my 80$$ pants by laying on top of that credit card full of thermal compound.....Besides that, I took my motherboard out, took the heatsink fan off...Bought 12 dollar themal compound, added some and smoothed it out...Put the motherboard back in...And connected everything...Turn computer on....20 seconds go by...shuts off....start it back up...beep beep beep!!! shuts off after 5 seconds..Take out both sticks of 2 GB..turn on,,,hear siron sound, then a NORMAL beep beep beep sound then shuts off! WTF!!! What else can be wrong?! Is my motherboad not grounded??? How do I tell? Im depressed....

P.S. If i disconnect the 3rd power cord that powers up peripheals (hard drive and dvd rom) leaving the 20 pin and the 4 pin connected to the motherboard...It turns on, doesnt shut off at all...just no display (because no power to hard drive and video card or cd rom)

Ok try this ,

#1 - remove the MoBo assm. from the case
#2 - put the assm on the bench on your Anti static bag , making sertian nothing is touching the Motherboard
#3 - take your PSU , set it beside the MoBo just close enuff to be able to plug it in to the board
#4 - plug in the board ONLY and a power button , and keyboard **if you have a spare case , pull the power button out of it and use it to power on your board***
#5 - power up the board with only CPU and memory installed, it should power up and then emit a series of beeps which would indicate **most likely** no video
#6 - power off , unplug the PSU, and install video, plug in psu and power up and see if you get bios, then power down
#7 - see step 6 - only this time add the HDD to the system with ide cable and power
#8 - try power up again , see if it recognizes the hdd, then power down
#9 - if it recognizes the HDD, then do step 6 - adding CD-Rom >> see step 8
#10 -- Now if all went well with no beeping or alarms or ????? everything would **without me being there in person to confirm**seem good, so install the board, psu cd rom ,and hdd in your case. If you get beeps/alrams then , it would most likely seem an issue with your case like grounding or ???

you can also do all the above steps when you install the board in your case, as in adding one part at a time. Hope this help, and if any other pimp's can/could think of something else/better please add to or correct me.