Flashing Power Light CPU, ruh-roh?

I came back to my computter after a few hours- the CPU had powered down Sori for the long gab, here it comes--

I poweredup and there is 30 seconds of HDD activity (normally 120 secs), the power button light on the front panel is blinking at me (it's usually steady), and there is no apparent bootup. My monitor stays blank except for the "On Screen Display" setup menu. Keyboard inputs have no effect, like Cntl/Alt/Del achieves nothing. No F5 or F8 to safe mode.

My digits are crossed that Disaster may not have struck, cuz:

3 hours before it auto-powered down, i had upped the display to just 1024x768 from 800x600, using the same Nvidia "optimal" refresh rate, and used it for an hour with no apparent problems.

Both my monitor, a Princeton Ultra 73e 17" CRT, and video card, a Nvidia/Jaton GeForce2 MX400 3D, claim to easily handle that measly 1024x768 rez. Everything is 3 years old, tho 'should' have many hours left.

I haven't yet swapped monitors/cpus, cuz that is going to be a lousy dismemberment of my wall cabinets. Anyone have an idea about the blinking power light on the CPU. {i fear the worst, but i'm a pissimist}
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Athlon TBird 1.4Ghz, 512mb crucial, winme {not as bad as it is}
mobo ms6340m k7tm pro, chip via8365 km133a, award bios v6
geforce2 mx400 3dforce, princeton 73e crt monitor
Sony cd/rw-dvd, samsung sv4084h hdd

 

Your probably going to have to open up your case. Are the fans spinning? Also, you may have to try a different cpu.(I know you dont want to) If it works with another cpu, then you know. If the fans arent spinning, i would try new ones. Swapping Power supplys if available. If all else fails, im thinking your mobo died.

 

I can hear PSU and case fans running (stethescope), & installed a new 400w Sparkle a few months ago. Will swap another monitor/cpu to check things, take me a day or two to get fired up Before i cut & stack firewood, after is bad timing.

 

My T-Bird works again, I'm on it now. Took the 'hint' and changed the display back to 800x600 and another full system backup. And while in there installed USB2 and Firewire cards

But now I'm confused cuz all I did was set it on the kitchen table to troubleshoot, and it powered/booted up normally. I need some help on what the problem is going to be.

Problem Recap:
-Upped the display to {edit} 1024x768 on the Nvidia/Jaton GeForce2 MX400.
-3 hours later it had auto-shutdown.
-Upon PowerUp, the power light blinked ~every second, would not Boot up,
no display, no keyboard input. HDD activity for 15secs vice normal 120secs.

-Now, it boots up normally and the display is fine.
-All the fans are working (HSF, case and Sparkle 400w PSU).
-MBM5 Temps are normal: mobo 24c, chip 27c, case 23c or 71F-82F.
-This SysteMax 'puter/mobo/HDD & monitor are 3 yrs old, GeForce2 card & {edit}PSU are <2 yrs old.

What can I troubleshoot that may be near failure? No errors at all during bootup nor while its been running 3 hours now. I've got a volt-ohm-amp meter and some electro-mech knowledge after 50 years (i won't call it electronics knowledge), what should I be checking? Thanks for more help . . .

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Athlon Tbird 1.4{noc'd}, 512mb Crucial pc133 sdram
Mobo MS6340M VIA vt8365a, FSB 266mhz
Award BIOS v6.00pg, TweakedMe{98-}, IE5.5 SP2
IDE uata100, Samsung SV4084H HDD
Sparkle 400w PSU on UPS, Sony CD/RW, DVD
GF2 mx400/64, PCITel v.92/.44 HardModem
MBM5 online/idle: mobo-24c, chip-27c, case-23c
Mid-ATX 2 case fans, HSF & PSU

 

CAN YA HEAR IT? ( Theme From Twilight Zone )

Maybe have loose connection somewhere in that PC
Test the PS

 

The avail PSU voltages are:
Spec Measured
+3.3v +3.36
+5 +5.15
+12 +12.19
+2.5 +2.58
+1.8 +1.82

It's good that what i can measure is within Sparkle's & Athlon/approved specs.

I can't *feel* any loose connections, when I pull on wires hard with both hands while standing on the case. (~)

So I dunno' whass up yet. The Twilight Zone tunes are Ok, I just don't want to hear "Jaws" as my machine munches itself
--------
Athlon Tbird 1.4ghz{noc'd}, 512mb Crucial pc133 sdram
Mobo MS6340M VIA vt8365a, FSB 266mhz
Award BIOS v6.0pg, TweakedMe{98-}, IE5.5 SP2
IDE uata100, Samsung SV4084H HDD
Sparkle 400w PSU on UPS, Sony CD/RW, DVD
GF2 mx400/64, PCITel v.92/.44 HardModem
MBM5 online/idle: mobo-24c, chip-27c, case-23c
Mid-ATX 2 case fans, HSF & PSU

 

Thanks for the help, my T-Bird has been running 24hrs now no prob, shut down & poweredup thrice. Didn't find the *for-sure* problem, but did some preventive maintenance:

The MBM5 temperature log didn't support that it was an overheating problem, but what the hey. Yesterday i cut a hole and added another 80mm exhaust fan. An ugly hole, praise Neptune for silicone. Be nice if it cures the problem, but the 'before & after' temps were just 2c-4c lower. Both this Athlon and an Intel machine have been in an open-fronted cabinet over 3 years, no probs with heat. MBM5 logs show that the already cool running Athlon got a little cooler.

MBM5 Temps Online/Idle in 21c ambient:
....Before . After removal from an open wall cabinet (+ side panel off for T/S):
case 25c . 23c
mobo 27c. 24c
chip . 31c . 27c

And the log showed all voltages remained constant with little variation, though it was sampling just every 10 secs.

My 'best guess' so far is that when I threw it on the kitchen table yesterday to T/S, a loose contact on *RAM?*, *Video Card?*, *PSU?* reseated. I took Asus advice and cleaned all contacts that were cleanable and ensured they were tight. I'm still scratching my head though, and just hope this isn't sporadic cuz that's the worst to T/S But it's working now

Appreciate the advice, and if another idea pops up for why that blinking power light happened at failed startups, lemme' know please . . .
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Athlon Tbird 1.4ghz{noc'd}, 512mb Crucial pc133 sdram
Mobo MS6340M VIA vt8365a, k7mpro, FSB 266mhz
Award BIOS v6.0pg, TweakedMe{98-}, IE5.5 SP2
IDE uata100, Samsung SV4084H HDD, Princeton 17" 73e crt
Sparkle 400w PSU on UPS, Sony cd/rw, dvd
GF2 mx400/64, PCITel v.92/.44 hardmodem
MBM5 online/idle: mobo-24c, chip-27c, case-23c
Mid-ATX 2 case fans, HSF & PSU, usb2 & firewire added