Power cuts out

Hello, First time posting here hoping someone can help me out.

Here's the problem, beginning of the week my HDD started making a clicking noise then the power cut out. When restarting the computer it went from making it to the Windows 7 load screen to powering up and cutting out after a couple seconds. I disconnected and reconnected everything and then when I tried powering up I got a message saying there was a problem with the OS and it could not boot up. I replaced the power supply (550 watts) with a new one (700 watts) and replaced the HDD with a blank spare. When I tried installing w7 again the computer power cuts off after a couple minutes while the process is still on the loading bar screen (no beep, no odd smells, no warning). Thought it might be a problem with W7 install so I've also tried installing XP, which gets to the choose your option screen (repair, new install, etc) but then has the same problem (cuts out). Also tried using Ubuntu 10.1 live usb but that won't get past the loading screen so haven't been able to use it for trouble shooting. Looking around other forums that have this kind of problem most say the PSU would have been the problem but I've tested both the new one and the old on another computer and both work fine. Most of the other posts I've read also reference beeping noises and error messages but other than the faulty OS (which I would like to fix but right now it's not an issue with the blank hdd) I haven't received any other messages or heard any beeps. I'm going to try removing everything again (processor (reapply the thermal compound to the heatsink as well), fans, ram, hdd, cd drive, though can't remove the video card since the mobo doesn't have video built in) see if I can find any issues there I might have missed, though I doubt it. Any other suggestions for other trouble shooting options? Really hoping it's not a major problem with the board (faulty, something blew) as I just built this 2 months ago.

Specs are
mobo:gigabyte p55-usb3 ,
ram: gskill ripjaws 2x2gb ddr3 1333,
processor: intel core i5-650 lga 1156,
video card: nvidia 7600,
os: (was running) w7 ultimate x32
PSU: Rosewill RV2-700 700W

 

Greetings, ptlsbtnr.

Looks like you've gone through the normal first steps. You might try accessing your BIOS, make sure nothing is awry there, set everything to a default 'safe' state, see if your symptoms change. For that matter, leave the machine in setup for a while, see if you can force the symptoms.

Do the standard RAM dance (swap sticks, boot with one module, etc.). Also, visually check the board, look for any obvious burn tracks, bulging or discolored capacitors, etc.

 

It sounds like a "memory pathway issue" and I suspect it is the RAM (have had a very similar problem recently).

- Whats' the current DRAM: FSB?

Consider only having RAM in DIMM_1 and then boot. If that works then add the RAM to DIMM_3 & reboot. Swap and change the combinations.

 

Re: Power cuts out - Solved

Thanks for the suggestions, I set the bios to the default settings and decided to let it sit there for a while and watch the cpu temp, I had only glanced at this previously and it was usually around 44c but out of curiosity decided to see if it fluctuated any, sure enough after a couple minutes the temp jumped from a steady 43c up to 95c! and then the power cut out. I cleaned off and reapplied the thermal compound to the processor and heatsink and watched the temp again. After 30 minutes of the temp staying between 38 and 45c I started the ram dance just to make sure. Not sure if this was contributing to any part of the problem but taking a closer look a few of the contacts on one of the ram sticks didn't look entirely kosher so I've replaced that stick just in case. Finally finished reinstalling W7 without any issues and now for the joyously tedious process of reinstalling everything.

Wasn't able to salvage any data off the previous HDD but no real problem there considering I didn't have anything too important on there that isn't easily replaced.

 

Re: Power cuts out - Solved

Yikes! Looks like you've found the culprit. Good job - keep us posted. :major