Mountain Lion does not load after MultiBeast install

[sukebei]

Wild Willow...

Well, I got the new motherboard as well as a brand new power supply. Re-installed both and made all the connections exactly the same as the first time (documented the connections as I disassembled the old mobo and PSU. I just powered everything up and it didn't start up. Fans spun for a second and then died. I checked both PSU connections to the motherboard to make sure they weren't loose. Tried to power up again with the same disappointing result. I reset the cmos button while the power was off. Nada. I pressed the reset button while the power was off. Nope.

The motherboard's onboard power on button does light up when I turn on the power supply so there is obviously power going to the mobo.

I've noticed that after I turn on the power and press the start up button fans spin and die. However, on all subsequent presses to the power button absolutely nothing happens (no fans nor led flash). I have to power off everything then power on again to get the fans to spin and die.

I left the video card off because I wanted to be sure it was not the cause of the problem.

This is driving me nuts. It can't be that both motherboards and PSU's are bad. For the life of me I can't figure out what's wrong. I know that both the ram and processor work because I was doing things like loading unibeast and changing the bios with the first motherboard. I did not touch any of the connections while I was working with you so there shouldn't be any problems with the way everything was plugged in.

There must be some simple thing that I'm just not seeing that's the cause of this. Any ideas?

 

[wildwillow]

Wild Willow...

Well, I got the new motherboard as well as a brand new power supply. Re-installed both and made all the connections exactly the same as the first time (documented the connections as I disassembled the old mobo and PSU. I just powered everything up and it didn't start up. Fans spun for a second and then died. I checked both PSU connections to the motherboard to make sure they weren't loose. Tried to power up again with the same disappointing result. I reset the cmos button while the power was off. Nada. I pressed the reset button while the power was off. Nope.

The motherboard's onboard power on button does light up when I turn on the power supply so there is obviously power going to the mobo.

I've noticed that after I turn on the power and press the start up button fans spin and die. However, on all subsequent presses to the power button absolutely nothing happens (no fans nor led flash). I have to power off everything then power on again to get the fans to spin and die.

I left the video card off because I wanted to be sure it was not the cause of the problem.

This is driving me nuts. It can't be that both motherboards and PSU's are bad. For the life of me I can't figure out what's wrong. I know that both the ram and processor work because I was doing things like loading unibeast and changing the bios with the first motherboard. I did not touch any of the connections while I was working with you so there shouldn't be any problems with the way everything was plugged in.

There must be some simple thing that I'm just not seeing that's the cause of this. Any ideas?

Hi sukebei and welcome back,

Sorry to hear that your replacements have resulted in the same problem. As I suggested in a previous post was to try you system outside the case. This was to eliminate any shorts to your motherboard.

A quick suggestion for you. Try disconnecting all the cables to your case except for the fans. Use the power button on the motherboard to start up your system and report back.

 

[sukebei]

Wild Willow...

Did as you suggested and disconnected all connectors to case. No go. The only thing other than the two power cables that was still connected was the wifi card. Even disconnected the fan to rear of case.
Cannot see the case causing any short because it was running fine with the first mobo. There are 9 stand offs that I use to screw the mobo to the case so the mobo is not touching the case except for where the screws go in. Should I try pulling the motherboard out and try to start it up with just the PSU connected?

 

[wildwillow]

Wild Willow...

Did as you suggested and disconnected all connectors to case. No go. The only thing other than the two power cables that was still connected was the wifi card. Even disconnected the fan to rear of case.
Cannot see the case causing any short because it was running fine with the first mobo. There are 9 stand offs that I use to screw the mobo to the case so the mobo is not touching the case except for where the screws go in. Should I try pulling the motherboard out and try to start it up with just the PSU connected?

Yes this is very strange, I would one stick of Memory out and replace it with other, its going to be a diagnostic stage I'm afraid. There are only two culprits outside the case, the CPU and Ram, well and possibly your wiring

 

[sukebei]

Wild Willow...

Not wanting to waste time I decided to remove the mobo and the PSU from the case and placed them on a cardboard box to do the external test. When I pressed the onboard start up button everything lit up and the fan on the cpu began to race at high speed. The led readout was Ab or A6 and held steady on that reading.
I reset the cmos button and tried again. This time the fan sped for a little while and the led readout ran thru a series of letters and numbers again finally settling on A6. The third time the fan did not start up but the led ran thru those numbers again with the A6 final setting. There is also a yellow led in the middle of the mobo that remains lit the entire time the power is on.
I just connected the monitor to the mobo and successfully got into BIOs. There is nothing wrong with either the mobo nor PSU. I guess your idea that the case might be the problem seems correct.
What should I do about the case so it does not short out the mobo like it does?

 

[wildwillow]

Wild Willow...

Not wanting to waste time I decided to remove the mobo and the PSU from the case and placed them on a cardboard box to do the external test. When I pressed the onboard start up button everything lit up and the fan on the cpu began to race at high speed. The led readout was Ab or A6 and held steady on that reading.
I reset the cmos button and tried again. This time the fan sped for a little while and the led readout ran thru a series of letters and numbers again finally settling on A6. The third time the fan did not start up but the led ran thru those numbers again with the A6 final setting. There is also a yellow led in the middle of the mobo that remains lit the entire time the power is on.
I just connected the monitor to the mobo and successfully got into BIOs. There is nothing wrong with either the mobo nor PSU. I guess your idea that the case might be the problem seems correct.
What should I do about the case so it does not short out the mobo like it does?

Well we are getting some where now, I know that taking out the Motherboard and setting it up outside the case can be a timely procedure but it is great practice, one that I do follow to the letter.

What case are you using? Its hard to say what would be the problem but I would check for bare metal where the motherboard may touch, all areas, back connecting ports, especially where the PSU sits. As you can eliminate the switches since you disconnected them from the motherboard. Look at the kit that came with your motherboard, rubber grommets etc.

 

[sukebei]

Wild Willow...

I already did the RAM test and that did nothing.

However, since you correctly diagnosed the case problem I googled solutions and it seems that people like to use pieces of electrical tape around the standoffs. I also noticed when installing the mobo I had to push it very firmly toward the I/O shield so the screw holes would line up with the standoffs. When I unscrewed the mobo I could see and hear the tension being released. I don't know if this was causing some sort of contact with the case.

I'll await your advice as it looks as though there is some ray of hope. Needless to say but your help is greatly appreciated by me.

 

[sukebei]

Wild Willow...

The case is a Corsair 500R mid tower. The area where the mobo lies has 9 screw points (3-3-3).
The bottom 6 are standoffs that screw into the case. The top three are molded from the case itself so it is elevated to the same height as the standoffs.

I did not find any rubber grommets that came with the mobo. I could go to a hardware store and get some rubber washers for the standoffs or use the electric tape as others have done. As for the top three molded standoffs electrical tape sounds like the solution there.

 

[wildwillow]

Wild Willow...

I already did the RAM test and that did nothing.

However, since you correctly diagnosed the case problem I googled solutions and it seems that people like to use pieces of electrical tape around the standoffs. I also noticed when installing the mobo I had to push it very firmly toward the I/O shield so the screw holes would line up with the standoffs. When I unscrewed the mobo I could see and hear the tension being released. I don't know if this was causing some sort of contact with the case.

I'll await your advice as it looks as though there is some ray of hope. Needless to say but your help is greatly appreciated by me.

It's no problem. The standoff material is made from a non conductive material so it shouldn't be a problem. Usually it takes a bit of pressure towards the I/O panel to seat the motherboard correctly. My suggestion is to put everything back in the case. Do not over tighten anything. Obviously secure enough. Again do not wire up the case, use it as if it were still on the case box. Test it again and ensure that it boots to the BIOS with your monitor. If you manage to get this far, power down and unplug the cable and connect the necessary wires to the case.

 

[sukebei]

Much thanks. I'll do it tomorrow. It's getting late so it'll have to wait. You'll be the first to know if I was successful or not.
Again, thanks.