Motherboard Problem? I have the D850MV mobo with four 64MB RDRAMs installed and an Inno3D video card, Maxtor 40GB HDD and DVD R/RW drive. When I plug it into the power outlet the HDD indicator lights up, the cooling fan of the switching power supply turns on but there is no activity and no display on the monitor. I opened up the case and checked the power supply voltages and all were correct. I noticed that the SMD LEDs on the board are also lit but the CPU fan is not rotating. I can hear a faint buzzing sound within the vicinity of the P4 processor. The power switch has no function as well as the reset switch. Could this be a motherboard problem?

The fan RPM will vary from one fan to the next; as long as you have a suitable fan installed (use one specifically designed to cool your Pentium 4, as they run MUCH hotter than the old P-III / Celeron CPUs), you shouldn't have a problem.

Right now, I think your CPU is getting too hot; the motherboard is designed to shut down the CPU in order to avoid destroying it. The CPU is thermally protected internally, and the motherboard is designed to cut power to the CPU core when it overheats; I doubt that the P-III / Celeron you've installed can provide adequate cooling for your P-IV... you really need to install a QUALITY P-IV fan before you can take this any further. Once you have a suitable fan installed, you'll have eliminated the chance of overheating the CPU core, and you can then test the system to see if there are any other problems with it...

Remember to install a THIN layer of quality heat-sink compound (what some people refer to as "thermal grease", which isn't actually grease at all); I prefer Arctic Silver Ceramique:
http://www.arcticsilver.com/ceramique.ht...

Check these links for information on how to apply it properly:
http://www.arcticsilver.com/ins_route_st...

Simply choose the type of CPU you will be installing the thermal compound onto, then read the .PDF file for instructions...

Lastly, take your time; if you don't understand what you're doing, load Google and prepare to read until your eyeballs bleed...

Let us know if you have any questions, or if you encounter any problems that Google can't help you with... The fan RPM will vary from one fan to the next; as long as you have a suitable fan installed (use one specifically designed to cool your Pentium 4, as they run MUCH hotter than the old P-III / Celeron CPUs), you shouldn't have a problem. Right now, I think your CPU is getting too hot; the motherboard is designed to shut down the CPU in order to avoid destroying it. The CPU is thermally protected internally, and the motherboard is designed to cut power to the CPU core when it overheats; I doubt that the P-III / Celeron you've installed can provide adequate cooling for your P-IV... you really need to install a QUALITY P-IV fan before you can take this any further. Once you have a suitable fan installed, you'll have eliminated the chance of overheating the CPU core, and you can then test the system to see if there are any other problems with it... Remember to install a THIN layer of quality heat-sink compound (what some people refer to as "thermal grease", which isn't actually grease at all); I prefer Arctic Silver Ceramique: http://www.arcticsilver.com/ceramique.htm Check these links for information on how to apply it properly: http://www.arcticsilver.com/ins_route_step2intelcmq.html Simply choose the type of CPU you will be installing the thermal compound onto, then read the .PDF file for instructions... Lastly, take your time; if you don't understand what you're doing, load Google and prepare to read until your eyeballs bleed... Let us know if you have any questions, or if you encounter any problems that Google can't help you with...

Thanks for the latest update; I hesitate to offer semi-technical advice when I don't know the skill level of the person I'm advising, but since you're comfortable applying heat-sink compound, let's put our heads together and see if we can nail this down.

Just FYI, the motherboard shouldn't "need" to detect an RPM signal. Years ago, I repaired motherboards to pay the bills, and your MAIN problem seems to be the temps being generated by the P4, which is a HOT chip. If the motherboard didn't provide over-temp protection, you'd easily see core breach of the CPU within 15 seconds, which would turn your P4 into an expensive paperweight. The fact that the system IS shutting down, along with the operation of the vidcard fan, makes me think that there is probably nothing really wrong with the motherboard at all... I could be wrong, but from what you've described, the motherboard is protecting the CPU from meltdown, and solving the problem with CPU cooling should get you a lot closer to actually booting the system...

Keep in mind that you want a THIN layer of HSC; the brand isn't as critical to success as proper application. I use and recommend Ceramique mostly because it is non-conductive; I never know when a client will remove or replace a HSF. If they happen to smear the HSC onto the motherboard, Ceramique won't cause the problems a conductive compound will inflict...

When you get the chance, reset the CMOS; you might have corrupted settings that are compounding this problem. Once the CMOS is back to the default settings, you'll have eliminated one more possible cause of this snafu...

Install a good cooling solution for your CPU; let me know if you still have problems afterwards. If the system still won't boot, we'll dig a bit deeper... Thanks for the latest update; I hesitate to offer semi-technical advice when I don't know the skill level of the person I'm advising, but since you're comfortable applying heat-sink compound, let's put our heads together and see if we can nail this down. Just FYI, the motherboard shouldn't "need" to detect an RPM signal. Years ago, I repaired motherboards to pay the bills, and your MAIN problem seems to be the temps being generated by the P4, which is a HOT chip. If the motherboard didn't provide over-temp protection, you'd easily see core breach of the CPU within 15 seconds, which would turn your P4 into an expensive paperweight. The fact that the system IS shutting down, along with the operation of the vidcard fan, makes me think that there is probably nothing really wrong with the motherboard at all... I could be wrong, but from what you've described, the motherboard is protecting the CPU from meltdown, and solving the problem with CPU cooling should get you a lot closer to actually booting the system... Keep in mind that you want a THIN layer of HSC; the brand isn't as critical to success as proper application. I use and recommend Ceramique mostly because it is non-conductive; I never know when a client will remove or replace a HSF. If they happen to smear the HSC onto the motherboard, Ceramique won't cause the problems a conductive compound will inflict... When you get the chance, reset the CMOS; you might have corrupted settings that are compounding this problem. Once the CMOS is back to the default settings, you'll have eliminated one more possible cause of this snafu... Install a good cooling solution for your CPU; let me know if you still have problems afterwards. If the system still won't boot, we'll dig a bit deeper...