I suspect my motherboard is going bad

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pencilartist
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2015/11/28 12:59:16 (permalink)

I suspect my motherboard is going bad

Board:
ASUS P8H61-M LE-CSM, 16GB DDR3, i3 3.1GHz (original BIOS)
 
Internal Drives:
SanDisk SDSSDXPS480G
Crucial CT240M500SSD1
WD WD5000AVDS-63U7B1
 
External drive:
WD My Book 1140
 
Video:
AMD Radeon HD 7700
 
Audio is an M-Audio M-Track Quad on USB. I have printers and a scanner connected by USB, but not drawing power. I have a 550W power supply. The system and peripherals are supported by UPS.
 
Windows 10 64bit.
 
When I first built the box, it booted at lightning speed. Anything and everything I connected was fine. For a few months now, I have noticed slower and slower booting. Sometimes it will give 5 beeps. Often, the HD light will come on at power-on, and be continuous through the boot, then last for a while afterward. In these events, the internal 500GB WD drive will not be recognized. I have been able to swap cables and make it discoverable, or just disconnect and reconnect, but sometimes even this doesn't work. The occasions when it is just discovered without extra effort are rare.
 
More background on that drive, this is a replacement for a previous drive which had the same issues, but also developed extensive errors. I'm thinking now that this disappearing act means my motherboard is going tits-up.
 
I've done 3rd party virus scans, and regularly use Malwarebytes. Windows Defender is in place, and I do all the updates Windows wants.
 
Ideas?

Sonar Platinum, Win10 64bit, i5 with 32gb ram, 480gb SSD C drive, 240gb SSD scratch drive, 2tb Cakewalk project drive, dual 24" monitors, M-Audio M-Track Quad, Event TR8 monitors, Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones, lots of guitars and other toys.
#1

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    kitekrazy1
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/28 15:17:44 (permalink)
    Look up the BIOS code for 5 beeps.  Also update our BIOS.

    Sonar Platinum, W7 Pro 32GB Ram, Intel i7 4790, AsRock Z97 Pro 4,  NVidia 750ti, AP2496
     
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    pencilartist
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/28 15:24:54 (permalink)
    kitekrazy1
    Look up the BIOS code for 5 beeps.  Also update our BIOS.


    The nearest I could find regarding this board is the video card might have an issue. Updating the bios should be done before installing an OS, shouldn't it? Risky at this point.
     
    In relation to the beep(s) during POST, sometimes there is no beep and no startup. It just stays in POST. A reset will get it to start.
    post edited by pencilartist - 2015/11/28 15:36:58

    Sonar Platinum, Win10 64bit, i5 with 32gb ram, 480gb SSD C drive, 240gb SSD scratch drive, 2tb Cakewalk project drive, dual 24" monitors, M-Audio M-Track Quad, Event TR8 monitors, Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones, lots of guitars and other toys.
    #3
    kitekrazy1
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/28 16:21:59 (permalink)
    pencilartist
    kitekrazy1
    Look up the BIOS code for 5 beeps.  Also update our BIOS.


    The nearest I could find regarding this board is the video card might have an issue. Updating the bios should be done before installing an OS, shouldn't it? Risky at this point.
     
    In relation to the beep(s) during POST, sometimes there is no beep and no startup. It just stays in POST. A reset will get it to start.




    BIOS are only risky if there's a power outage while updating.  Replace the video card with something under $50.
     

    Sonar Platinum, W7 Pro 32GB Ram, Intel i7 4790, AsRock Z97 Pro 4,  NVidia 750ti, AP2496
     
    Sonar Platinum, W7 Pro, 16GB Ram, AMD FX 6300, Gigabyte GA 970 -UD3 P, nVidia 9800GT, Guitar Port, Terratec EWX 2496
    #4
    pencilartist
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/28 18:09:33 (permalink)
    kitekrazy1
    pencilartist
    kitekrazy1
    Look up the BIOS code for 5 beeps.  Also update our BIOS.


    The nearest I could find regarding this board is the video card might have an issue. Updating the bios should be done before installing an OS, shouldn't it? Risky at this point.
     
    In relation to the beep(s) during POST, sometimes there is no beep and no startup. It just stays in POST. A reset will get it to start.




    BIOS are only risky if there's a power outage while updating.  Replace the video card with something under $50.
     


    I understand about the BIOS and power, but what do you have against my video card?
     
    I'm searching in vain for a ROM BIOS for this board. There is only the Flashback version (P8H61-M-LE-CSM-R2-ASUS-1414.CAP), and this board doesn't support Flashback. Now I remember why I left the BIOS as-is.
    post edited by pencilartist - 2015/11/28 18:26:08

    Sonar Platinum, Win10 64bit, i5 with 32gb ram, 480gb SSD C drive, 240gb SSD scratch drive, 2tb Cakewalk project drive, dual 24" monitors, M-Audio M-Track Quad, Event TR8 monitors, Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones, lots of guitars and other toys.
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    JonD
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/28 19:08:29 (permalink)
    A few suggestions:
    1) Capacitors going bad is quite common.  Visually inspect the motherboard and identify the caps (They resemble small barrels).  The tops should be flat or concave.  If they're bulging even a little (Or worse, have burst and are leaking) then there's your answer. 
     
    2) This tip, when described, seems like it wouldn't work, but I've personally seen it fix a "possessed" PC on two occasions:  Unplug the AC cord or turn off the power supply switch on the back.  Press the PC's power button and hold it in for 5 seconds.  This drains all the residual power from the board (which causes the wonky behavior).  Plug back in, power up and see what happens.
     
    3)  Does your motherboard have a built-in video card?  If so, temporarily remove the HD 7700 and switch over to the onboard graphics.  This will confirm/rule out if the 7700 is the culprit.

    SonarPlat/CWbBL, Win 10 Pro, i7 2600K, Asus P8Z68 Deluxe, 16GB DDR3, Radeon HD5450, TC Electronic Impact Twin, Kawai MP11 Piano, Event ALP Monitors, Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro, Too Many Plugins, My lucky hat.
    #6
    pencilartist
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/28 19:34:41 (permalink)
    JonD
    A few suggestions:
    1) Capacitors going bad is quite common.  Visually inspect the motherboard and identify the caps (They resemble small barrels).  The tops should be flat or concave.  If they're bulging even a little (Or worse, have burst and are leaking) then there's your answer. 
     
    2) This tip, when described, seems like it wouldn't work, but I've personally seen it fix a "possessed" PC on two occasions:  Unplug the AC cord or turn off the power supply switch on the back.  Press the PC's power button and hold it in for 5 seconds.  This drains all the residual power from the board (which causes the wonky behavior).  Plug back in, power up and see what happens.
     
    3)  Does your motherboard have a built-in video card?  If so, temporarily remove the HD 7700 and switch over to the onboard graphics.  This will confirm/rule out if the 7700 is the culprit.


    I will try the onboard video and see. I've done the power drain before, but didn't notice anything changing.
     
    I've also browsed the Event Viewer to see what Windows thinks is happening. Sometimes there is a failed driver for my Wacom tablet shortly before a reboot happens (yes, I've been seeing unexpected reboots, too). No mention of the video card, however, has made its way to the report. Maybe I will uninstall the tablet and see what develops.
     
    I'll take a closer look at the caps, too. I've replaced them on vintage circuit boards before, but I won't try it in this one.
    post edited by pencilartist - 2015/11/28 19:46:50

    Sonar Platinum, Win10 64bit, i5 with 32gb ram, 480gb SSD C drive, 240gb SSD scratch drive, 2tb Cakewalk project drive, dual 24" monitors, M-Audio M-Track Quad, Event TR8 monitors, Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones, lots of guitars and other toys.
    #7
    kitekrazy1
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/28 21:24:36 (permalink)

    Sonar Platinum, W7 Pro 32GB Ram, Intel i7 4790, AsRock Z97 Pro 4,  NVidia 750ti, AP2496
     
    Sonar Platinum, W7 Pro, 16GB Ram, AMD FX 6300, Gigabyte GA 970 -UD3 P, nVidia 9800GT, Guitar Port, Terratec EWX 2496
    #8
    pencilartist
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/28 22:31:46 (permalink)
    kitekrazy1
    https://www.asus.com/Moth...ds/P8H61M_LE/HelpDesk/


    Thank you, but I've already been there. The only BIOS to be had can't be used on this motherboard.

    Sonar Platinum, Win10 64bit, i5 with 32gb ram, 480gb SSD C drive, 240gb SSD scratch drive, 2tb Cakewalk project drive, dual 24" monitors, M-Audio M-Track Quad, Event TR8 monitors, Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones, lots of guitars and other toys.
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    Starise
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/30 11:44:08 (permalink)
    If...a big if, you can find the disk that came with the mobo, you could attempt to reload bios from that.

    Intel 5820K O.C. 4.4ghz, ASRock Extreme 4 LGA 2011-v3, 16 gig DDR4, ,
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    #10
    pencilartist
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/30 12:14:49 (permalink)
    Starise
    If...a big if, you can find the disk that came with the mobo, you could attempt to reload bios from that.


    That's a great idea, and I do have the disk. But... the version on the disk is a year older than what my motherboard is working with. I must have been able to update once in the past (2012, it seems), but that's as far as it went.
     
    I've uncovered the reason for reboots, and that was needless Wacom apps for browser usage. Uninstalling them eliminated that problem. Still have a hit and miss relationship with the extra hard-drive. Most often I just wiggle the cables (powered down, of course) and it appears.
     
    Yesterday I bit the bullet and ordered a new mobo/processor/ram setup. Welcome to the age of 3.9Ghz i5 and DDR4. The sense of adventure is about to increase.

    Sonar Platinum, Win10 64bit, i5 with 32gb ram, 480gb SSD C drive, 240gb SSD scratch drive, 2tb Cakewalk project drive, dual 24" monitors, M-Audio M-Track Quad, Event TR8 monitors, Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones, lots of guitars and other toys.
    #11
    Starise
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    Re: I suspect my motherboard is going bad 2015/11/30 12:39:06 (permalink)
    I always try to do everything possible to save a setup if possible and this is why I was pulling at straws...but yeah, sounds like you made a good call there.
     
    I would feel bad if you hadn't exhausted all of the possibilities first.

    Intel 5820K O.C. 4.4ghz, ASRock Extreme 4 LGA 2011-v3, 16 gig DDR4, ,
    3 x Samsung SATA III 500gb SSD, 2X 1 Samsung 1tb 7200rpm outboard, Win 10 64bit, 
    Laptop HP Omen i7 16gb 2/sdd with Focusrite interface.
     CbB, Studio One 4 Pro, Mixcraft 8, Ableton Live 10 
     
     www.soundcloud.com/starise
     
     
     
    Twitter @Rodein
     
    #12
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