Starts then Stops all of a sudden

[DarkLogan]

Hey guys. Ive been using win xp pro. I was about to install win 7. All i did was take my case backing off and blow the dust out with some regular air. I do it all the time. Then i added another mem stick cuz im going to be using 64bit. When i plugged the pc back up and hit the power button i noticed i had no picture. 60 seconds later the pc shut down and restarted all on its own. Now that is all it does. No picture and constant restarts. So i took the mem stick out and guess what ? Didnt help. What the heck went wrong ??  Cant be over heating. Also ive been wondering what is the best processor for this board ?? Thanx for the help. My mother board is the

Board- EP45-UD3P
Pent 4 processor
Power- Thermaltake 750W
Video- ATI Radeon x1950pro
Sound- Sound Blaster X-FI
Drives- Raptor and Seagate

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
From your description it would sound simple but I bet it isn't! Obviously the first thing to check ids that you haven't moved a power connection or something like that. So check all your power cables especially the ones near the CPU the 12v. Next check the GPU is firmly sited. Make sure that the CPU heatsink/fan combination is still securely mounted and the fan runs. Failing all those possible faults it is possible that you damaged it with static electricity when you were cleaning or adding the extra memory. Did you take anti-static precautions (and that has nothing to do with condoms )?

[DarkLogan]

All fans are running and all connections seem to be ok. I didnt take any anti static measures but i didnt touch anything that is normally gonna cause a problem like the HD. Is there something else that may have caused a static issue that would render it like this. If that is in fact the problem what did it cause to go bad ??

[Dark Mantis]

Now I am not saying that static is what has caused your problem but for future reference I think it only prudent to clear up your m,isunderstandiong of static problems. Static elecricity is something that can be picked upo just by walking on a carpet or wearing man made fibre clothes etc. There are many ways to pick up static. Any electronic device is suseptable to damage from this if it discharges through it.  The firsat thing that you should do before you start messing with your computer's internals is to make sure you earth yourself to discharge any buildup of static electricity that you may have picked up. You can either use a proprietory device like an anti-static wristband or make sure that you touch an earthed object like a radiator or copper water pipe or similar. Even after doing this care should be taken not to touch the printed circuit board connectors if possible.

[Lsdmeasap]

Sounds like a short to me, if you are sure no power connections are loose.

Your best bet is to get the board out of the case, and OFF the motherboard tray, and see if it starts that way.  Use minimal hardware at first adding items one at a time testing as you go.

[DarkLogan]

So take the MB out of the case and plug it in and see if it stays running ?? Leave processor in the MB or what ?? Also what is the best processor for that type of board ?? The best that it can handle.

Also isnt there such a thing as clear cmos ?? There was on my last MB. I dont see one on this board though.

[Dark Mantis]

Right bearing in mind what I was saying about static precautions, remove the motherboard and lay it on top of some cardboard sheet on the worktop. Leave the processor/heatsink/fan, memory, buzzer and PSU attached. When you have done that post back. By the way I wouldn't worry about the best CPU for now, let's get this runing first.

[DarkLogan]

Ok the only thing i did was take out the memory and move it around and everything seems to be ok now.

[Dark Mantis]

Maybe it was just not making a good connection. Anyway as long as it's working now that's what matters.