CONTINUOUS RE-BOOT AFTER FORMATTING HARD-DRIVE

[WelshWitch]

Hi everyone,

 

not sure if this is a hard-drive issue or something else but please bear with me as I'm tearing my hair out.

 

I built up this comp about 6 years ago

 

ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE mb

AMD ATHLON 64 PROCESSOR

NIVIDIA CHIPSET

 

BLAH BLAH

It was a great comp until a couple of years a go when it crashed and I couldn't get it going again so I took it to a local comp shop and was told the hard-drive had been zapped and I needed a new one (Samsung 500GB SATA) and a new power unit, which I purchased. A few days later the same thing happened so I just left it.

 

I recently went back to it to see if I could get it going again which I did after re-formatting the HD (this took ages as it kept saying there was already an operating system on there) I had to give it a different drive letter in order to do this (G:) as it wouldn't let me use C: I managed to get everything working except the sound (it was still having problems) so I downloaded the drivers for the chipset and it crashed again but this time went into a re-boot loop and when I tried to re-load windows xp again it did exactly the same thing as last time, saying there was already a OS on there, I tried repair but it only came up with repair C:/.

 

Really don't want to re-format the drive again, please can anyone help....any suggestions as to what might be wrong with it would be great, even if it's to say it's dead!

 

Cheers in anticipation

[KenB]

Hi,

 

Did you format the drive from the XP Installation disk ?

 

Have you tried a "Repair Installation" ? ( assuming XP )

[WelshWitch]

Hi,

 

yes I did format it from the disk,

I tried repair but it only comes up with the 1.C: (not G: which is the one I set up) and when I click on it, it doesn't do anything so I have to exit.

[Jelly Bean]

I will butt in,I know I shouldnt.

 

But some computers would struggle to boot from another drive or partion other than C drive.

 

If there is nothing to save on the computer I would of sugested to reinstall the operating system,deleteing both partitions and start again...

 

Or repair C and delete G.

 

Just my opinion.

[WelshWitch]

Hi,

 

I did want to keep the C drive but it just wouldn't let me repair, which is why I used another drive

[KenB]

I will butt in,I know I shouldnt.

J-B ......I don't have a problem with this :)

 

WelshWitch

I think your best advice would be to start over.

 

Format and create one or two partitions as required.

 

If you have problems:

 

Connect the drive to another pc - format the drive and create one or two partitions then install XP on the C: partition where it would expect to be located.

[WelshWitch]

Hi again,

 

OK ...just had another look at my comp and the nforce4 heat sink has fallen off and the area underneath looks a ermmm.... brown ... I shared the building of the comp with my ex and he dealt with that part, I was having a problem with a warning for the chipset fan for a while but ignored it because he said there wasn't a fan on the chipset ...... there doesn't appear to be a fan in the casing with the detached HS, should there have been?...... just wondering if this is what's causing the problem and does that mean my MB is dead?

[KenB]

Hi again

 

Is this the heat sink to which you refer ?

http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/motherboards/biostar/tf4_u775/biostarfront.jpg

[WelshWitch]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1422[/ATTACH]It's similar, mine is more square - doesn't have those wider bits ........ so is there meant to be a fan or am I being dense ...there is a connection to the bottom left of the chipset that is for a fan! Edited March 27, 2012 by WelshWitch

[WelshWitch]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1423[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1424[/ATTACH]

 

More pics

[KenB]

Hi

 

That chip is an nforce4 SLI

It is specifically for media and communications. It is not the main CPU.

 

The heatsink in the picture is not designed for a fan.

 

The connection is there as an option - ( upgrade ).

 

However - if the heatsink was loose it could cause the boot process to fail due to overheating.

 

Is the surface of the chip sticky with the residue of thermal paste?

[WelshWitch]

Hi again,

 

thanks so much for replying.

 

Yes, there is a slight stickiness on the surface, looks like it's covered in a thin film of sticky plastic.

 

Does this mean that the MB doesn't need replacing and if so (if the chip is OK), would you be able to recommend a suitable upgrade? (For the heatsink)

Edited March 28, 2012 by WelshWitch

[Vr5fx]

That brown stuff looks like glue of some sort, some motherboards use adhesive and the clips to attach the small heatsink to the chip I've tried taking one off an old motherboard but I couldn't get it to budge because of the adhesive connecting them.

 

Do you have the clips that were with the heatsink? Or are they lost?

[WelshWitch]

Hi, no, it looks like the heat sink was just on with glue, I do remember him having problems with this heatsink (he put it on wrong and had to take it off again), there are certainly no clips or screws inside the tower case that I can see and I don't remember any clips holding it on ..... the MB came in a box with a ton of extra wires, connectors and other stuff but I can't find anything that resemble clips ..... I did find a tube of thermal paste though not sure if that's what was used to attach it .... the heatsink does have a thin piece of plastic/rubber with a square cut out of it on the underside!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1425[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1426[/ATTACH]

[KenB]

The purpose of a heat sink is to transfer heat away from the chip - which will get hot if this is not done efficiently.

To do this the heatsink must be in contact with the surface of the chip.

The surface may look smooth but when they are together there may be a very small gap.

This is where the thermal paste comes in.

This bridges the gap between the chip surface and the heatsink surface.

To do this it must be capable of transferring heat - it is a good conductor.

There only needs to be a very thin film of thermal paste to do the job.

 

I would be inclined to try cleaning off the thermal paste with rubbing alcohol ( Isopropyl rubbing alcohol )

 

You need to clean both surfaces.

Then apply a very thin layer to the chip surface and replace the heatsink.

 

I am sure that this did not have a fan attached at any time.

 

Once you have it connected again ( make sure the heatsink is not tilted when you fasten the clips ) try booting up.

 

It is not worth investing in a "better" heatsink. This one was provided and should do the job OK.

[WelshWitch]

Sorry to be a pain asking so many questions but does the thermal compound act like a glue as well as conducting the heat away from the chip? Because as far as I can see there was nothing else holding the heatsink on ..... to the bottom left corner of the chip on the MB there is a piece of plastic that I assume one of the bracket holes on the heatsink goes over and on the opposite diagonal corner there's just a hole, I don't have an clips with this component, can I put a screw in there to hold it on?

 

Also do I leave the black rubber patch on the bottom of the heatsink or remove it?

Edited March 28, 2012 by WelshWitch

[KenB]

Hi

 

No problem with the questions :)

 

The 2 holes in the heatsink corners should line up with 2 in the motherboard.

There should be 2 spring clips ( see my first picture ) to hold it down.

The thermal paste will help hold the two together as to be able to take them apart there needs to be air between and the thermal paste helps exclude any air

BUT - the heatsink does not just sit on top of the chip.................there needs to be some pressure there to force it to come into contact with the metal surface of the chip.

 

Are there 2 holes that line up with the heatsink holes ?

( I think you just answered this in your last post )

 

there is a piece of plastic

Does this look broken ?

[WelshWitch]

Yes I can see your clips in the picture, don't ever remember seeing those on my heatsink though ..... the piece of plastic does appear to have broken off something ...... it moves around in the hole ..... the other hole doesn't have anything in it ..... also very curious ...... I went on a forum earlier and some guy was saying that the original chipset 'FAN' on this MB was faulty so Asus changed it, the one on the left is the replacement fan and also the picture from the Asus site shows a fan on the chipset ....... why does mine have a heatsink?[ATTACH=CONFIG]1428[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1427[/ATTACH]

[KenB]

The motherboard in your latest pics is an Asus A8N SLi

 

Can you see this on your motherboard ?

 

Has your computer ever been anywhere for repair?

If not - I don't understand how you could have a basic fin-type heatsink if it is supposed to be fan-assisted.

 

This is an Acer board and if you look - there is a fin-type heatsink.

http://extremetechsupport.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1421&d=1332835852&thumb=1

[WelshWitch]

Yes, it's been in for repair at my local comp shop ..... I took it in when my comp wouldn't switch on and he told me that my HD had been wiped and my psu had gone ...... when I got upset over losing all my photo's and videos he said to leave it with him ...when I went back he had somehow managed to save everything from my documents and settings ( I thought this was a bit dodgy ) ...anyway I paid for the HD and PSU ..... but three days after I got it home it crashed again ....called him and he said to bring it back in but I told him I didn't want him having it again ..... that was 18 mths ago ....only recently decided to look at it again ...... why would anyone change the cooling for the chipset though?

[KenB]

why would anyone change the cooling for the chipset though?

They may need to if the plastic clips were broken off and they couldn't get the last one out.

 

Does your board have Asus A8N SLi written on it?

 

Does the cut-out on the underneath of the heat sink look as if it has been done manually ?

 

Can you get the broken plastic clip out ?

[WelshWitch]

Hi again,

yes, it has Asus A8N-SLi written on it, it's definitely the same motherboard ..... we took 3 months planning what components to put in it ..... the graphics card is a Radeon X550 256mb (still there) , Geil DDR ram (still there) I still have the receipts for all the components that went in there so he couldn't have swapped the MB .... what I am wondering though is whether he broke the original fan off when he changed the HD as it's directly in front of it!

 

The cut out on the heatsink has definitely been done manually as it's not straight and no I can't get the plastic clip out.

 

I have some photo's somewhere of when we first built this comp up so I'm going to dig them out and check that the fan was there originally.

 

If I can't get the clip out what can I do ?

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1429[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1430[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1431[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]1432[/ATTACH]

[KenB]

yes, it has Asus A8N-SLi written on it

In that case it looks as if there was a fan-assisted heatsink there originally.

 

 

what I am wondering though is whether he broke the original fan off

That is what I was thinking too when I asked - the fact that the heatsink has been cut manually seems to confirm this.

Also the plastic clip is broken.

It looks as if he was able to get the other one out - but not the remaining one.

 

I am now wondering if the sticky substance is thermal paste or glue !

 

There are thermal glues that you could use

click here

 

I would be inclined to try to get the broken plastic clip out.

If that isn't possible then you will need to clean both surfaces and use the thermal glue.

( which I now suspect is what has been done before )

 

Is there a screw-thread in the hole opposite the plastic clip ?

 

If there is ............

And if there is nothing to get hold of on the broken plastic .............

You could try this:

 

Get a screwdriver and heat the tip as hot as you can get it.

Carefully press the hot tip into the plastic. The idea is to create an indentation.

DO NOT attempt to unscrew at this point.

 

Let the plastic cool - then try to unscrew it.

 

If you make a mess of it it doesn't really matter as you can't get it out anyway :)

[WelshWitch]

Hi again,

 

I still can't get the broken piece of plastic out of the hole, I think the only way I would be able to do it is to remove the MB from the tower.

 

I actually rang the shop it went into and explained everything, all they could say was that, if I was unhappy with the repair I should have brought it back straight away not left it 18 months and, strangely no denial when I told them that I was 100% certain that they had broken the original fan and given me back a damaged/botched computer.

 

Anyway I rang consumer services/trading standards and they advised me to write a letter saying that under The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 I have a right to claim (up to six years in Scotland from the time of the sale or repair)that sub-standard workmanship be put right and to give them 14 days to reply or it will go to court.

 

Worth a try I suppose

[KenB]

Nothing to lose.

 

How could you take it back straight away - it only fell off recently exposing the botched job and from your photographs it is obvious what has happened.

 

Let me know how you get on :)