BOXX computer failing to start

CGough88 · 6 Jan 2018 at 19:40

Hi all,

I’ve been having some problems with an old BOXX work computer I’ve had for a few years after my work place upgraded.

It worked perfectly well but started blue screening after say an hour, then it would progressively crash faster and faster till now all it does is spin up the fans (not the CPU fans however) and cut off after a second, there’s no BIOS beeps, I am sure the PSU is fine as I’ve tested another with the system.

I feel the motherboard might be the issue, it’s a Tyan Tempest i5000XL S2692, oddly the Power and fans will not even start for a second when the 6 pin CPU power is plugged in, when it’s removed however the fans will start and spin for a second.

I can’t see anything like blown capacitors and to be honest I can’t quite understand why it would have progressively blue screened if any component had broken to cause this.

It does feel like overheating to have caused the faster crashes but it’s clean and well ventilated, no dust in the heat sinks etc.

The pc now does nothing more than “spin up” for a second before turning off, the LAN light is on though so there must be power to some extent.

Does anybody have any clues? It’s not an incredible computer but it’d save me 300 or more buying a new comparable machine.

Please feel free to ask for more information, I can do my best to provide help and many thanks for reading.

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 09:17

I would suggest opening up the PC and taking out the CPU. If this is an old PC the thermal paste could have worn away and the CPU could have been overheating. That would explain why it stayed on longer the first power on, then starting failing quicker and quicker. Because the CPU would have overheated easier as it would not have cooled down.

By continuously booting the PC this could have burn out the CPU. If you post a picture of the current state of the CPU we should be able to see if the thermal paste has worn or the state of the CPU.

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 09:18

Also send a pic of the internals of the PC please. Is it quite dusty? Dust int he fans could cause poor cooling of the CPU.

Or it could well be the MOBO that has died or the RAM.

CGough88 · 8 Jan 2018 at 10:33

I did see the CPUs when I removed the motherboard to check the rear, the thermal paste was indeed worn away, two sections of paste on each cpu had came away with the heat sink, that also makes sense with the overheating idea. I might even have the same CPUs in a render node I have floating about so I can try replacing them and the thermal paste.

I’ll post a picture soon as well, it’s indeed very busy but not massively overcrowded.

Many thanks for the help so far.

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 11:09

Yep that could suggest the CPU may have burnt out, if you can try another CPU then that would be an ideal test.

Does the CPU look good itself or can you see any visible burn marks? Usually you can see some dark orange marks, brown or black on some of the pins on the CPU. Might be worth taking a look if you can see any discolored pins/contacts

Mrp1980 · 8 Jan 2018 at 15:06

Sounds more like failed motherboard or psu to me remove/disconnet all unnecessary devices and try to boot. I highly doubt it would burn out the cpu as it would throttle to control temps.

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 15:26

Mrp1980 said:
Sounds more like failed motherboard or psu to me remove/disconnet all unnecessary devices and try to boot. I highly doubt it would burn out the cpu as it would throttle to control temps.

Yep could well be a PSU as well, cGough has a spate CPU though I believe so I think he is trying that.

I only suggested the CPU as it gradually stayed on for less time before crashing which could have been overheating.

Just need to try and troubleshoot the issue I guess.

CGough88 · 8 Jan 2018 at 20:56

Hi all,

I did try another PSU and there was no real change, I would only get the same result as the original PSU, though there is every chance the new PSU I tried wasn’t perfect but it was 700 watts, the same as the original.

I tried swapping out the CPUs for ones I have in an old render node, there was no change either.

The CPUs looked fine, no discolouration on them or the board beneath or the capacitors(?) on them

Will I need to upload pictures to a hosting site or can I upload on here?

Either way it does look like it’s not POSTing, but for what reason I’m not sure, I’m also a little hesitant to take it to a shop as I fear I’ll get some dingbat that’ll only tell me what I already know.

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 21:14

You can upload to imagebb i think it’s called or any image hosting site.

Is there any error testing with the MOBO? Lights or anything? If not then you could try the CPU in another PC to double check it’s not the CPU.

Or try another MOBO but it will be awkward to swap it all over.

CGough88 · 8 Jan 2018 at 21:23

I will upload some pics, can always put links to a google drive.

I found a tyan i5000 S2692 on eBay but it’s the smaller one, I have the XL and the smaller one doesn’t quite have the extra slots I’d need. It’s a bit much anyway when I could call it quits and get an HP Z600 for £200 and use parts from this BOXX to kick it into gear.

The LAN light is the only thing that comes on on the MOBO, the CPU fans don’t start when the other fans do but that makes sense as when the CPU power is plugged in on the mobo nothing starts or spins up.

There was, for a short time a loud pained beep coming when the fans spun for a moment, that might well have been the beeper sending some last ditch message, I couldn’t see it on the motherboard Beeps list though. That “screech” has since stopped though.

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 21:34

Is there anyway to jump that MOBO with pins?

Have you tried clearing CMOS and removing MOBO battery and replacing with a new one?

Could be a dead motherboard if not as no fans are getting power.

CGough88 · 8 Jan 2018 at 21:37

Yeah I replaced the mobo battery, I can buy a new BIOS chip on eBay for a fiver I think but I don’t think it’d be the BIOS if it doesn’t even POST.

There are jumpers on the MOBO but not sure what I’d be jumping, I do feel the MOBO might be dead, it’s just a shame not really knowing what’s the issue.

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 21:46

Yeah this is a tuff one? Not easy to troubleshoot motherboards when it’s well the motherboard ahaha.

Hopefully you will be able to utilise all the other hardware anyway

CGough88 · 8 Jan 2018 at 21:50

Yeah, I’m sure if I had a multimeter and some know how I’d be able to check the correct parts and see if it is indeed FUBAR.

CGough88 · 8 Jan 2018 at 21:58

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 22:00

Yep I can’t help you there ahaha, it’s a pain when this stuff happens

CGough88 · 8 Jan 2018 at 22:02

Sorry I couldn’t see how to delete a post,

Are these links fine for the pics?

https://ibb.co/b1eYU6

https://ibb.co/bMQwhR

https://ibb.co/hgA7p6

Either way I doubt they help much, I can’t see much wrong.

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 22:06

Yeah they are fine, you can integrate them into the post using BB

That thermal paste looks so dry ahaha, I see what you mean now, it’s deffienlty worn off. That’s one vintage looking PC.

What are the CPU’s is runs? It had 2 from the looks of it

CGough88 · 8 Jan 2018 at 22:08

Yeah it must be near 10 years old? Those are intel xeons I believe, it’s a server board or whatever you’d call it so it uses Error Correcting memory too, so very little of this thing is easily sourced, the RAM still sells for a bit too.

harvey.l12 · 8 Jan 2018 at 22:10

Yep ECC RAM, and yeah I can imagine. Must be fairly decent as a render node still though. I’m an IT Technician myself hence why I’m pretty interested in all this.

Yeah you’ve got a small dinosaur there ahaha