Member Avatar for johnmd32

Hi guys,

first off my pc is running on an Asus K8VSE Deluxe w/ am AMD 64 bit processor. My PSU was a Thermaltake Purepower ATX 12 V with a Max Load of 420W. 1 Gig of Memory and a Radeon 9600 256MB gpu.

Well about a year ago I moved into an apartment and I had just plugged in the computer, used it for about 5 minutes and then the machine died on me. I have a feeling it was something weird with the electricity there (maybe faulty wiring/unsteady current). Nevertheless I deduced that the PSU fried. I used my laptop for the past year and one of my friends just swapped his PSU in his rig so he gave me the one he took out. The model is an "@-Power" EP-43057 with a max load of 430W. So I plugged it into my rig and hoped for the best. Well I threw an error in post saying my chassis had been intruded. I wasn't really sure what it was so I double-checked all my mobo connections and found everything to look correct. I took some advice to reset my CMOS. I switched the jumper for about 30 seconds and when I put it back and went to power on, nothing happened. The LED light on my mobo is on so I know at least some power is reaching it. The case fans and CPU try to move when I press the power button but they don't even get a full rotation before giving up. Is the mobo fried? (but if it is how did I get to the post error initially?). Did this second PSU fry and what could be causing that (I'm now in a location that I know has steady electricity)? Any thoughts? I don't think I'm going to get to sleep tonight til I figure this out haha. I know a lot of you can relate to that.

Thanks for reading!

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Dani AI

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Building on and and on 's description, this is a focused bench checklist and quick diagnosis you can apply now. The steady mobo LED plus fans/CPU that try to spin and then stop usually means the PSU standby rail (5VSB) is present while the main rails attempt to come up and immediately fold back. That pattern points to a PSU protection trip or a short/overload on the board or a component — not a BIOS setting by itself.

  • Remove the motherboard from the case and run it on a non-conductive surface (breadboard). This rules out stray standoffs or screws shorting the PCB.
  • Verify both the main ATX 20/24-pin and the CPU 4/8-pin 12V connector are seated. The LED can be on with only 5VSB present even if the CPU rail is missing.
  • Strip to minimum: PSU, mobo, CPU+cooler, one RAM stick (primary slot). Disconnect drives, USB headers and extra cards. Try booting.
  • If possible, swap in a known-good PSU or use a bench PSU/PSU-tester. A paperclip test only proves the fan spins and is not a substitute for a load test.
  • Momentarily short the front-panel power pins to rule out a faulty switch. Attach a small speaker for beep codes.
  • Visually inspect caps and solder joints for bulges, leaks, or burn marks.

If the system boots, disable the chassis-intrusion feature in BIOS (or fit the manual-specified jumper). Do not attempt a BIOS flash while power is unstable. If it still cuts out on the bench, the most likely culprits are the PSU or a damaged motherboard; try a tested PSU before replacing the board. Always unplug mains before changing connectors and use basic ESD precautions.

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Member Avatar for Rik_

Try removing the mains power plug. Then remove the bios battery for about 1 minute then refit it, re-connect the mains power and give it a whirl.
The bios battery is a round silver object with CR2032 pressed into it.

If that doesn't work, remove and refit the ram and the graphics card.

I run an ASUS K8VX and so have plenty of experience. :)

Member Avatar for johnmd32

haha thanks. yea letting it sit powerless for a while fixed it, but now I'm still getting the "chassis intruded" message. I reset the CMOS again but no dice. Now I'm on a hunt for a floppy disk to reflash my bios.

Member Avatar for Rik_

If you have a look in the manual for your mobo (motherboard) you will find that the chassis intrusion alert can be either removed via a bios setting or by fitting a jumper cap to the correct pins on the mobo.

Member Avatar for caperjack

e "chassis intruded" message. .

did you close up the case yet ,should be that all it is ,

Member Avatar for Rik_

I doubt that there is actually a chassis intrusion micro switch fitted.

Member Avatar for johnmd32

Yea I don't have a chassis sensor

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