Psu Or Motherboard Problem ?

Hello.
I know there are many post about this, but I couldn't see anything looking like my problem, so I am making a new thread.
I had my PC for like 7 years.
CPU: AMD fx 8130
GPU: AMD Radeon HD6600
MB: Gigabyte M68MT-S2
Ram: Corsair Vengeance 2 x 4GB DDR3 1600.
It is a bit of an antique so I bought another graphics card second hand Nvidia Geforce GTX 750 TI.
I switched the cards and I could play some games that I was not able before. I had no problems with performance or restarts or stuff like that.
Than an offer came out to buy better mother board and CPU, so I bought
CPU:AMD A8-7600 Radeon R7, 10 Compute Cores 4c+6g 3.10GHz
MB: A68MD PRO Ver. 6.0/6.1 ( https://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S... )
With cooler (which was crap and the CPU was running at 60 degrees)
And 8 GB ram. This cost me 40 £.0
I have putted the AMD A8, the biostar MB and the GTX 750 ti together and then the problems started.
I have reinstalled Windows, installed all the newest drivers, but the computer was restarting straight away after starting a game or a stress test. I have then disassembled it cleaned everything and putted it back together.
Still the same. Putted the Radeon HD6600 card and it was working, then uninstalled the drivers with DDU in safe mode, putted the GTX gpu in and started the computer. The new device service started and installed the drivers for the GPU. I decided to leave it and do a stress test.
It was doing well. No restarts nothing. Installed the newest driver from Nvidia, and did another stress test and it was working. Installed FIFA18. It was working fine , i didn't check frames and stuff like that, but the game was running smooth without any problems.
Then around a week later i switched on the computer and as soon as a game loaded it restarted itself. And everything started all over again ... I have upgraded windows to 10 as I had home edition 7 x64 before. Installed newest drivers and everything. All visual c++ , all the directX versions were reinstalled.
I took the computer to another room, took it to bits, check all the cables are ok and properly inserted and putted it back together. I've plugged it to another tv, not the one I have originally used and it did started and ran ok. Game where running fine, stress test was ok.
So I decided that the problem may be in the wall socket. I have plugged it to a different socket with an extension lead (normal one, as it was in the other room) tried reinstalling drivers again, but alas it kept on restarting.
So I have putted the HD6600 card in the Biostar MB with the A8 CPU. I did a stress test and it was running ok. I haven't tried any games yet, as I have reinstalled Windows AGAIN and went back to 7. And now all of a sudden while I was browsing it restarted itself again!
I think it is most probable the PSU unit as it is mentioned in the other threads, as the one I have now even though it is new ( 2-3 months old) it is unbranded chinese, but it was working fine with GIgabyte MB and the FX cpu.
The odd thing is that when the computer restart itself it is sometimes not loading. It stays on the BIOS screen with only the first two lines of the messages. If it does load without me pressing the reset button it will start up and load windows, but the USB ports of the motherboard are not working.
So I am not very sure if it is the PSU or the mother board that are faulty. Any advice is greatly appreciated, I don't have another PSU to try , and I don't wanna spend 50-60-70 £ on a new PSU and turns out to be the motherboard that is faulty.
Thanks in advance!
Vlad

 

I didn't read the rest of your post because it does not matter. The first rule of electronics troubleshooting is ensuring you are getting good power. Is it plugged in? Is it turned on? Are the voltages correct?

Since everything inside the computer depends on good, clean stable power, you need to swap in a known good PSU before buying anything else - if for no other reason than to eliminate your PSU from the equation.

 

I have an old psu that I bought with the second hand parts, that I can now try( I couldn’t before because it doesn’t have a pcie six pin plug).
My point was ,if it is due to the electricity ,is it possible that computer is not booting or for the usbs not to work after rebooting? Now it restarted and didn’t boot at all. I pressed the reset button a few times and nothing. It booted properly after I switched it off and back on again.

 

This is also a symptom of a failing PSU. But it could also point to a faulty power switch on the case. Or a failing motherboard.

I am not sure what you are asking here. Note a PSU must output 3 main voltages; +12VC, +5VDC and +3.3VDC. One or more of those "rails" could be having problems.

Again, since everything inside the computer depends on good clean power, you have to verify you are supplying it. The only way for "normal" users to verify that is to swap in a known good supply and see if the problem goes away, or is still there.

You sure don't want to buy a new motherboard (and have to deal with all the hassle of removing the old and installing the new) only to find out you still have the same problem.

 

My question was if it is PSU related will it have these symptoms of not booting or usbs not working.
I have putted the other PSU today, had to buy a 6 pin PCI-E to 4 pin adapter, as it is older one and doesn't have one and everything seems to be working fine. It is unbranded and only 400w but seems to be working one.
We will see what will happen later on. Didn't crash any of the numerous furmark stress tests I did. So fingers crossed

 

It could. The problem with a failing PSU is it can result in very odd, confusing and often intermittent symptoms that often make it "appear" as if something else is the problem. That's why ensuring you are providing good, clean, stable power by swapping in a known good PSU is so important - if for no other reason than to remove the PSU from the list of possible causes.

Great! That sure is much easier (and cheaper!) than a whole new motherboard!

Since your current motherboard is pretty old, it is likely you would not be able fine an exact replacement. That means any replacement might not support your current CPU or your current RAM so they might need replacing too. And for licensing purposes, a new motherboard (unless an exact model replacement) is typically considered a new computer and that often requires a new Windows license.

Replacing the PSU, as long as it is big enough, does not involve any of those issues.

Since you said this other PSU is old and unbranded, I would look at replacing it with a quality 80 PLUS Bronze (preferably Gold) supply as soon as the budget allows. A new supply will surely come with the necessary connectors so you don't have to use adapters.

With all the hardware you listed, 400W is plenty but if me, I would probably look at 500 - 550W just for future proofing. I like EVGA and Seasonic.

 

I was looking at some 600/650 w EVGA as they are a bit cheaper but seems to do the same thing ,just to be on the safe side,as I am looking to change the MB and the CPU (hoping soon) .
As for the Windows I installed it on the Biostar Mb with the same key and it was working. I think you can use one key on different devices as I took this as it is not currently in use as I took from an old laptop and used it on a desktop in the first place.
Thanks for the help and the advice!

 

It is not about technically being able to do it. It is about it being legal or not. And that depends on the type of license. If OEM/System Builders (as the vast majority are) it is NOT legal under any circumstance to transfer that license to a new computer. The license is inextricably tied to the "O"riginal "E"quipment.

Only full "retail" licenses can legally be transferred to new computers. But again, most users don't have full retail license because they are considerably more expensive.

Note too you agreed to abide by the terms of the EULA (end-user license agreement) when you decided to keep using that license on the original computer.

So while a license key is likely to work with a new motherboard/computer, it may not be legal. Just something to consider.

 

I am. And I haven’t heard of such restrictions. But I have never checked.
But anyway, the main problem was solved, so the thread can now be locked.
Thanks

 

Sorry Philipp, but pretty sure that is not true. The contested argument and EU court ruling involved selling the license to another person. In the EU (which I note, the UK is due to leave effective in March 2019), that was deemed legal. In the US, the 9th Circuit Court said the license had to stay with the original equipment. You can sell (or give away) the old computer, but the license and copy of the Windows installation must stay with it.

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2002/05/08/selling_oem_windows_copies_you/

The EU court order also allowed owners of volume licenses to split out individual and unused licenses and sell them. In other words, if a company paid for a 100 unit volume license but only used 60 of those licenses, in the EU, they can sell the remaining 40 to outside parties. That is still illegal in the US.

So the practice of a user moving an OEM license to a new computer is still in violation of the terms of the license agreement, even in the EU.

I have done a lot of research on this because it comes up often and have never seen a definitive court ruling saying the terms of the OEM EULA are not valid in the EU. That does not mean I can't be wrong! If you can point me to an EU or UK court ruling that says otherwise, I would appreciate it. That is, if you can show a EU or UK court order that says users do NOT have to abide by the contract (EULA) they already agreed to abide by, I would be very interested in seeing it.

 

I don't see that as the same thing. All that tells me is I, as the buyer, have the right to make copies for backup purposes. It also says I can sell it (which is different from the US).

Note you did not bold the last part of that statement you quoted.

Sadly, it is still confusing and vague (perhaps intentionally). But I note generally IP (intellectual property) rights between member countries are protected by UN agreements.

Sadly also is Microsoft (and definitely others too) shot themselves in the foot years ago over this. They did stupid stuff like putting EULAs inside the shrink wrap that said if you break open the shrink wrap, you automatically agreed to the EULA! That led to EULAs we could read, and were required to "click to agree" to continue installing the software.

And Microsoft and others said users were not even allowed to make backup copies for archival or recovery purposes. It was these strong-arm practices that led to many of these new consumer protection laws. A very good thing.

The problem, of course, is software piracy. It was (and in some countries, still is) rampant. The entire software industry was losing $billions every year. But they tried to go from one extreme to the other and clearly went too fat.

But I still don't see where, if you live in the EU or UK, consumers have the right to transfer OEM licenses to new computers after they agreed to abide by the EULAs. Full retail licenses are transferable.

If it didn't matter, why would SCAN UK sell both OEM and Retail licenses?

 

Ummm, still not seeing it. We are not talking about distributing or reselling licenses.

In your first quote, it says the license is "non-transferable". The court's ruling did not dispute that.

Note in your first reference, it says (in their bold no less)

The court did NOT say the transfer prohibition is illegal. What the court ruled was the rightholder cannot oppose the "resale" of that copy.

In fact, further down in that link, it says (again in their bold),

This ruling is really about one owner reselling licenses to a new person, and not about transferring licenses to a new computer (which is what we are talking about here).

As for the German 2000 Microsoft OEM case, that too does not apply. Note it was a ruling about users who receive an OEM license with their computers. Microsoft argued users do not have a right to sell that license if the user does not want to use it. The court ruled users can sell it. Please note the last paragraph of your link where it clearly says (my bold added),

Again, nothing about using it for years then deciding to "transfer" it off the "original equipment" and on to a new computer.

I am aware of these difference but don't see how any of that relates to the license agreement, or the transfer of the license.

BTW, it is true Microsoft does not provide any tech support with the OEM license. But if you read the license, it clearly states the "system builder" (typically Dell, HP, etc.) must provide 1 year of tech support for the software. Just because the home user may be the "system builder" that does not mean there is no tech support. It just means he/she has to (and agreed to) provide it.

I note this it the whole reason OEM software licenses still exist here in the US, the UK and the EU. That is, to give consumers a less expensive option. If users want Microsoft support and we want the right to transfer to new computers, we have the option to pay more for full retail copies.

BTW, contrary to how this may look, I am NOT defending Microsoft on this. As a shop owner, IT consultant and custom PC builder for the last couple decades, I've been round and round about this for years, and not just with Microsoft products. I've seen it with pre-loaded Corel WordPerfect, MacOS, pre-loaded Norton and McAfee, photo editing software that came with cameras and more. Windows is just the bigger, more visible target.

And believe me, I sympathize with users wanting to transfer their OEM licenses. I own 6 Windows computers myself. Anywhere I can save a few bucks, I am all for it. But, I also want to be legal about it even though I know I would likely get away with it. After all, there are perfectly legal and capable and free alternatives in the form of several flavors of Linux where users can do just about anything they can do with Windows, except maybe gaming.

 

I agree. But that is splitting hairs. And at the same time, not precisely defined. There is also the example of selling the "unused" 40 licenses from a 100 license volume pack. Those 40 were never previously installed and used on a computer. And to me, it makes total sense they should be allowed to be resold. The problem is OEM licenses that were previously installed and used on "o"riginal "e"quipment. That's the issue here, and the issue not addressed by the courts.

I think it is sad there is no definitive court ruling on this but the fact is, court rulings typically do split hairs leaving many questions unanswered. It really is NOT up to me or you to interpret those unanswered questions. So that leaves the terms of the license agreements we agreed to abide by. I mean if left up to me, I would like to see W10 be totally free to everyone! MS would still make money off of me with MS Office.

IMO, "IF" it is not legal for Microsoft and others to prohibit such transfers of previously used OEM licenses (and I've still not seen anything to convince me otherwise), then the UK and EU are doing a serious disservice to their citizens by allowing those terms to remain in the license agreement consumers must agree to abide by when installing and setting up such software! They could easily prohibit such language and conditions just as they have for other terms in the past.

BTW, it is perfectly legal to sell OEM licenses with the hardware it came with.

I've noticed this too and am happy to see it. Even Microsoft is making significant inroads to ensure W10 and Linux play well together. But until all the major game makers routinely code (or port) Windows games to Linux, I think gaming support in Linux will remaining lacking. I hope I am wrong on that.