Looking for help with PC Case Migration

knoggs

Hi all,

In preparation for a new graphics card and some other upgrades I tried to migrate my Alienware x51 to a new case (with new power supply).

However, the PC will not power on at all. I have no experience in doing PC builds and don't know if there is an issue with how I've connected components or if I've shorted/fried something or if my new power supply is defective.

Any advice on where/how I could hire someone to come take a look at it for me? I think I'm at the limit of my limited knowledge.

I'm in North Dublin - D15 ( blanchardstown area).

Thanks,

Knoggs

MarkAnthony

Take the Mainboard out of the case, pop it on something non conductive - a piece of cardboard is ideal - and see it powers on. If it does the case is shorting it somewhere.

Any lights on the motherboard? If so are they lit - if so you have the power switch wired up wrong.

Is the 24 pin mainboard connector AND the 8 pin plugged in?

I've built PCs for 20 years this year - guess what - did a build two days ago and the reset switch doesn't work. Panic not, it's probably something easy to fix.

knoggs

I'm out of town today but will try tomorrow to power on with mobo outside case. Thanks for the suggestion - would never have thought of it. Not sure there are any lights on motherboard (but memory could be faulty)

The 24 pin and 8 pin should be connected. First time it failed to power it on I opened it up and the 4 pin part of the 20/4 pin connector was loose but I reseated it.

knoggs

There is a very good chance the front panel connections are wrong as there is no motherboard manual and hard to find diagrams online for x51. I believe power switch should work even if + and - terminals are reversed?

Noxin

Usually the fans in the power supply with kick in for a second when you first connect the power cord. This happening?
As Mark said - Any lights on the mobo?
This might sound stupid but I've seen many people do it. Is the PSU turned on? A lot come with switch that needs to be turned on before it will work. It'll be pretty obvious but like I said, I've seen many forget about it.

Other than that, what PSU have you got and what case?
Maybe take some pics of your board / connections / case wires so we can get a better look at whats going on.

MarkAnthony

In 20 years I've blown up one motherboard and one PSU and mullered a PCIe slot on another (the current one!). It's very difficult to knacker this stuff.

Go back to the components that were working previously and pop in new stuff one by one.

If you're mobile and really stuck you can pop over to me in Kilbarrack early next week and I'll happily take a look at it for you.

Edit +1 on photos!

knoggs

Thanks guys

PSU is EVGA 600W 80+ bought from Amazon . Case is Fractal Define S.

I'll post some pics tomorrow when I'm back home.

I did test with power supply button in both positions to be sure (unless there's another switch I missed?). No beep, no fan noise and no front panel lights (wasn't able to check mobo lights but will tomorrow).

The case and PSU are only new components. I mounted an SSD but didn't connect it yet and the new graphics card is still sitting in its box.

Mark, might take you up on your offer if I can't make any progress tomorrow. Travel not a problem for me. Much appreciated

knoggs

Hi,

A quick update before bed. I got home and took off the case side panels so I could take a pic. I noticed the gfx card wasn't seated correctly and fixed that. Also, the CPU power connection. I then plugged the power cord in and pressed the power button.

The CPU fan spun for about a second and then stopped. A blue light flashed ever so briefly on the motherboard - and that was all. I couldn't see exactly where as it was obscured by the graphics card - seemed to be near the audio ports and CMOS battery.

I will remove graphics card and all front- panel connections except power tomorrow and see how that goes.

By the way - can I attach pics directly to posts here or do I need to host the pics online and provide a link?

Thanks again,

Knoggs

MarkAnthony

Press Post Reply or Go advanced. Use the paperclip icon and attach the pic.

knoggs

I think maybe I can't because I don't have enough posts

Tried adding a URL from imagesshack and got a message saying I couldn't as I'm a new user

MarkAnthony

knoggs wrote: »

I think maybe I can't because I don't have enough posts

Tried adding a URL from imagesshack and got a message saying I couldn't as I'm a new user

If you can PM me the links I'll post them for you - if you can PM! :pac:

knoggs

PM on its way - I hope!

MarkAnthony

BTW five will get you ten (before I look at the pics) that's a short so don't leave it plugged in and try not to cycle the pwer too much before you pull it out of the case.

MarkAnthony

MarkAnthony

I can't work out whether that's a PCI or PCIe slot.

Top left cable looks disconnected.

How have you attached that rather funky looking motherboard to the case? Those screws look a bit suspect.

These yokes are behind the screws attaching the MB to the case?

knoggs

Top left power cable is in 2 parts of 4 pins but the CPU power connection only needs 4 so you're seeing the spare 4 that is loose


The mobo is ITX sized and I have it resting on 4 spacers/risers that I got with the case and then screwed it in at the 4 corners

MarkAnthony

Did you leave any stand offs behind the MB that aren't being used?

knoggs

It is an unusual motherboard but plenty of other people have moved it into regular cases. Seems the only issue is a warning upon booting up because there is a sensor looking for connection to the power board that I no longer have.


Of course, my effort hasn't gone quite as well as others have :-(

knoggs

I don't believe I left any unused standoffs - will be able to confirm tomorrow when I remove the motherboard

What will I need to connect at a minimum when I take mobo out - everything or just power switch and the motherboard and CPU power connectors?

MarkAnthony

Test rig should be PSU connected to Mainboard, A monitor and keyboard. (CPU in obviously)

Try one RAM stick then the other then both try moving them between slots. Hook up a power switch if you can, if not just short the two pins with a screw driver, be prepared to pull the plug out of the PSU if anything starts to go mental!

I really think this is a short and hopefully pulling it out you'll see something sticking up. It should be a fairly pain free process but you never know with prebuilts I'm afraid!

MarkAnthony

Another question is it me or is your board flexing in the middle?

knoggs

Haven't touched CPU or memory - they were already on the mobo and working fine in old case

Didn't see any flex but will check again in the morning

Noxin

Was there a second board in your X51 case? Smaller than the first.

I read something about a second board and it being the main power distribution with some link between the two... I also have a massive headache and could be completely lala here.

knoggs

Yes - the x51 has a separate power board for the external power brick. I've followed other people's who just moved the main board to a new case and attached a new power supply. Lots of people have done it - you don't need the power board in new case with new PSU

knoggs

Just tried booting with the motherboard external to the case. Only connected the motherboard power, CPU power and hdmi to display.

The CPU fan started and then the board started emitting a series of 5 short beeps with a small interval between. Did not POST

Noxin

5 short beeps is process failure. As in, the CPU is dead...

Try taking the CPU out and re-seating it, maybe clean it up and get a bit of paste.

Actually I'd go from scratch. Disconnect and re-seat everything carefully. Everything. CPU / RAM / Any cables.

Ram-wise, only use one stick. If at first that doesn't work, swap the same stick into a different slot. If that doesn't work, try a different stick in either slot.

knoggs

Could it be CMOS battery related?

Noxin

CMOS errors show on screen. Wouldn't stop it from booting.

edited my post above with a few things.

knoggs

Tried manually resetting cmos per Dell website but no dice

I think I'm screwed. I don't have thermal paste and I definitely don't feel comfortable messing around with CPUs. I've already messed up the easy bits - don't feel like tackling anything more complicated.

knoggs

Thanks for your assistance and patience, by the way, I really do appreciate it

knoggs

I'll test out the ram though - why not?

knoggs

Tried the various ram combinations

Stick 1 in slot 1
Stick 1 in slot 2
Stick 2 in slot 1
Stick 2 in slot 2

No change

Noxin

That CPU is a piece of cake to take out and reseat dude.

Just unscrew it carefully and lift. The fan will come off.

From what I can tell of other pics of this mobo, the cpu itself is locked under a metal case so you can't even get to it doing the fan on its own. Just lift off the fan and check what it looks like paste wise.

Then if you're feeling brave (again, just be careful and it's not hard) unhook the cpu case bar and lift it. Only the case will come away.
Just be sure if / when you lift the cpu to only touch the sides. Not the bottom. Reseat it and resit the bar to lock it in place.

Just make sure there is no power going into the board before you do this and de-static yourself before you go anywhere near it.

If you're near a PC world or maplin you can get paste for 5-10 euro.

knoggs

Do I need to remove old paste somehow first?

What's the best way to de-static (I really am unknowlefgeable about this stuff)?

There's a Maplins in Blanch - think I'll pop over

Noxin

Inside of the computer case is usually pretty good. Just touch a grounded unpainted metal surface anyway.

Don't worry too much about cleaning up for now. Just check it. It might be fine.

Maybe take pics of what you see.

knoggs

CPU cooler is off

I can't post urls or pics directly so I'll send you a link in PM

knoggs

Seems that going over 25 posts means I can now attach pictures !

Its dead Jim

I thought dell were awkward and use BTX (or something like that) motherboards with a specific connection for the power supply? Might be wrong so don't pay too much attention to me.

Noxin

Doesn't look too bad. Not enough to warrant a rush out to the shops anyway.

I'd lift the case and reseat it. It's unlikely the cpu could have moved in that case though.

knoggs

Ok - will give it a try

knoggs

CPU reseated and everything re-assembled

Beeps are back :-(

knoggs

Jim - it's an ITX motherboard but to save room in the x51 case ( they make a big deal of it being slightly bigger than an Xbox 360) they have an external power brick that connects to a power board - which in turn connects to the motherboard with usual 24 pin connector

MarkAnthony

Possibly - POSSIBLY something has shorted and given something a jolt. It's not the end of the world and don't give up! A cheap mobo and CPU can be got of adverts. Do you happen to know what CPU it is? I can't quite make it out from the pics.

Just to confirm you're getting different behaviour now it's out of the case?

Noxin

--edit--

Nevermind. I'm getting conflicting reports as to the beeps on an x51...

Are you getting anything on start now after / before the beeps? Could you make it to bios?

knoggs

H Mark - CPU is i5-3450 CPU @ 3.10GHz


Yes - I can confirm different behaviour once out of the box. When in the case there was a quick blue flash and then everything stops, including CPU fan.

Now, outside the case, it continues spinning the fan and the motherboard is beeping in a Pattern of 5 beeps - .5 second pause - 5 beeps - .5 second pause - 5 short beeps and so on

Noxin

quick blue flash?

From an LED? or a power spark? :eek:

MarkAnthony

Last thing I can think of is try swapping over any power cables connected to the main board. e.g. try the other 4 pin of the 8 pin connector, make sure the right 4 mins are in the 24 pin connector. Make sure the 4 pin connectors are going in properly. Can you try it with the original PSU?

MarkAnthony

If push comes to shove will a sandy bridge CPU go in that?

Noxin

MarkAnthony wrote: »

If push comes to shove will a sandy bridge CPU go in that?

afaik should be fine.

knoggs

Original powe supply is gone, I'm afraid

I tried both of the 4 pin power connectors

The 4 pins I used with the 20 pin connector are the only ones branching off same cable, if that makes sense. Definitely the right ones

Regarding the blue light - I tested again and I can see it is actually coming on now too. When in the case it must have been reflecting off a surface which made it more visible but I didn't notice when motherboard was out of the case until I looked more closely .

It's near the front panel audio connectors - near what appear to be 2 small capacitors ( I think )

knoggs

Blue light flashes briefly near the '+' on the left edge of board in this pic

Flashes when I power on and also when I switch power off