Hello all, my first thread here goes
This week i was on my computer when there was a power cut, the electric then came back on so i restarted my computer but the power went again, i'm pretty sure it was during post and it hadn't reached the Windows login screen, since then iv'e had various problems with my computer, these are

1)the keyboard wasn't recognised or would lock up but would'nt work,
2)the computer started to shut down and start up of it's own accord,at regular intervals however when it was on it worked fine and i could do the normal things.
3)Now i get a Cpu failed test simillar to the other chaps thread and the cmputer doesn't get to post just cpu failed test.
Iv'e tried a spare CPU in the Mb but the results the same there have been no prior warning beeps from the Mb(it's a ASUS P4S8X).
All the power to the fans etc seems to be ok and the MB power light is on, tried resetting the cmos by removing the battery but to no avail.Has anyone got any pointers as to whats gone, also the surge protector (PROTECTED) light has gone out on my protector, is this now useless as a surge protector?
My brother in law who knows a bit about computers seems to thin that the psu is ok but the Mb has been damaged or lost it's cache memory(i think)


Cheers guys hope i'm not to vague but i'm no expert.

Welcome Aboard!

You're already on the right track - the surge protector (unless it has a reset switch) is fried, and should be replaced if no user-replacable parts (such as an extra fuse) are present.

The chances are that it is indeed a problem with the motherboard - if a keyboard is not recognised, then it's easy to swap out and try another, but it could well be the keyboard controller on the mobo, and your other problems also point to motherboard errors. if you can test the remaining equipment with a known good motherboard, that will obviously help isolate it.

The one caveat here is that the psu could actually be the problem - these psus are switching units, and if a component inside (such as a capacitor) was damaged, this could send spurious signals to the mobo, powering up and down. if the power to the cpu is dodgy, then you would obviously get an error message for it.

My first port of call would be to replace the psu. This is simply because it is relativley cheap, and if a surge got through to the motherboard, it obviously had to come through the psu, and I'd consider it unsafe. try replacing it and see if it solves anything. If not, then the mobo is standing tall with it's hand in the air saying 'I did it!'

If you regularly get power cuts then an uninterruptable power supply is a good way to go - the more advanced ones really clean up the system, and have surge protectors built in. Whatever happens, get a good surge protector.

BTW - it wasn't a branded one such as Belkin was it (the surge protector)? these usually come with a warranty. My Belkin came with a warranty which would replace up to £30,000 worth of equipment if it was damaged due to electrical problems whilst connected to it.

The surge protector is from PC world and i'm not sure what make it is as i'm at work at the mo, problem was i had multiple dips so one of the latter ones could have caused the problem. I'll try the psu as you suggested, i think however my brother in law has orderd another MB but it's only 30 quid so i'll leave it in the box till ive tried the psu and return it if allowed if the psu solves it.
Cheers.

Check it for Bad Capacitors (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25482). This sounds a lot like the kind of strange things that problem can cause.