PC dead after 3 days

rizaydog · 04-30-2009, 05:21 AM

I just installed my new carputer last wednesday. Here are the specs on my new pc:

Intel D945GCLF Mini-ITX Motherboard with 1.6 Processor
M4-ATX 250W Intelligent DC-DC PSU
2gig mem
Toshiba 30gig laptop HD
Laptop DVD ROM
Lilli 7" screen
GPS receiver
7 Port USB Hub
Logitech Joystick

I built a pc to set inside my dash behind my lcd. All the software was installed and working fine. I used this system every day for about a month on my bench using a 12 volt power supply and it worked great. I installed the pc in my dash last wednesday. It worked great. The m4 would start the pc when I turned the key on, and would push the pc to hibernation when I turned the car off. I drove the car to work Thursday and Friday and everything worked like a charm. I didn't drive the car at all on Saturday. I went out Sunday morning and started my car. The lilli turned on as usual. The led's on my usb hub came on. The light on my dvd rom came on, but no picture on the screen.

I turned off the switch that supplies the acc line to the m4 but the pc wouldn't shut down. I pulled everything out of the dash, checked all the fuses and wires. Everything seemed fine. I took the case in the house and hooked the m4 to my 12v supply and my carputer to my kvm. Again, the pc turned on, but no video. The bios screen didn't come up or anything.

I removed the m4 from the case and used a desktop psu and tried again. Same results. I figured the mb was fried so I order a new one. I installed the new mb and installed in in my case on tuesday. I put the memory, hardrive, and m4 back in. I hooked the m4 to my 12v power supply and the pc to my kvm. Same results. I removed the m4 from the case and used a desktop psu and tried again. Same thing happens.

I assumed that the problem was the mb. However, now I think it might have been both the mb and m4 got fried. Does this sound likely? If so, how likely would it be that the memory and hd are non functional to?

What could have been the cause of the malfunction? My thought was heat. My old system was in the trunk. This was in the dash. Last Saturday got to about 85 degrees outside with full sun all day. I added two fans to the case just in case. When I get this up and running again, they will be powered by the acc line on my car. I had the m4 set to delay startup for 5 seconds. If I wire it this way, the fans should start running 5 seconds before the pc starts to boot.

I wouldn't think I am pushing the m4 too hard. I was only running laptop hard drive and dvd rom, and the lilli. I checked all the wires in the car and everything was clean.

Any thoughts or idea's would be greatly appreciated.

mayhembdm666 · 04-30-2009, 05:41 AM

I just had a quick look over what you wrote, I'm still coming down from work so my mind might skip or stray with ideas...

* With the first motherboard, Did you reset the bios via removing the battery or doing the jumper?
* Have you taken a laptop/pc outside and tested the display on a known working computer?
* Try the motherboard on a separate display and power supply?

When i have a computer that will not power up/restart/blank screen and so on, Will remove a single item and test it on another system to make sure that it does not do the same thing. Test each part if you have a spare setup as this may take awhile but generally is the best way to find a faulty part. 1 Hour and you can have tested a whole setup.

This means every separate item, Slotted Cards/USB Items/IDE/Sata/eSata/PS2/Serial/Parallel and so on.

Something like this to me sounds more like a bios issue or the screen..
Could be something like a faulty cable/plug or the screen is cooked.

rizaydog · 04-30-2009, 05:52 AM

I tried both mb using my desktop monitor and a desktop psu. I think the lilliput is good. When it was still in the car, the screen would come on and tell me that there was no video signal. It did that before my pc crashed. I did take the cmos battery out of the mb and nothing. After the crash, I disconnected everything, but I haven't tested anything with another pc. I'll do that asap.

Also, when it was still in the car, the pc would stay on even after I shut the car off. The lights on the hub and dvd rom stayed on. I had to disconnect the + wire to the psu to get it to turn off.

mayhembdm666 · 04-30-2009, 05:54 AM

Actually i had this fault once... Turned out the grounding for the monitor was just enough to turn it on.. Not accept signal.

Stripped the wire back again and crimped to a ring on a screw hole.. Fixed..
I would just try to test the lilliput with another video source on power supplies.

rizaydog · 04-30-2009, 06:02 AM

Ok, I'll try that out.

kross · 04-30-2009, 02:56 PM

Do you have a speaker connected to the speaker pins on the mb? Does it beep when you power on?

rizaydog · 04-30-2009, 04:03 PM

I don't have a speaker connected to the mb. I am thinking that either the psu blow and fried both the mb's and possible the memory. I removed the first mb from my case and powered it with a desktop psu and used my desktop monitor. Black screen. When I got my second mb, I installed it in my case, used the m4 power supply, and connected it to my desktop monitor. still nothing. So, the m4 must be bad. Then I took the new mb back out of the case, and tried to power it up using a spare desktop psu. nothing. I know it has to either be the psu, or the memory. They are the only two things I am consistantly using. Im gonna try to test the memory tonight. If I just remove the memory and turn the mb on, I should still be able to get in to change the bios settings correct?

rizaydog · 05-01-2009, 08:30 AM

I tested my memory on another pc. It was fried too. My second mb still works. I had the carputer setup to hibernate. I used a 1 gig stick of memory out of my desktop and put it in the carputer. Now the "resuming windows" screen comes up but it never goes into windows. Maybe that is due to the fact that I originally had a 2 gig stick of memory?? Any ideas?

strikeback03 · 05-01-2009, 08:56 AM

Can you hit F8 while it is attempting to resume to force a full reboot? I would imagine it could be trying to put stuff back in memory at a location that is no longer available.

rizaydog · 05-01-2009, 09:15 AM

I tried f8. no luck. Maybe it will work once I have another 2 gig stick in it. We'll see.

BCasey · 05-01-2009, 01:28 PM

i got the D945GCLF2 but i assume they are almost identical. the mb doesnt have anywhere for a speaker to be added to get beep codes, but u can hook up the HDD led light and it will blink the beep codes to you. id suggest doing this and watch for the beep code, google it and itll tell u exactly what the problem is. if u dont get a beep code from the LED then its not even attempting to start the bios and id say its ur PS

rizaydog · 05-08-2009, 06:42 AM

I got it working again. The memory was dead. I had a 2 gig stick from patriot. I decided to go with a 2 gig stick of pny for a replacement. I also had to find a keyboard with a ps2 plug to use the f8 function to get into windows. After the initial boat using the keyboard, it boats and hibernates well. I just finished the install this morning. Hopefully it lasts more then three days this time.

rizaydog · 05-18-2009, 07:21 AM

Well, its been over a week now and she is still going strong. Must just have been a bad stick of memory...

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