Motherboard seems dead.....

[Ed989]

I just finished building a computer for my brother. The problem I am having involves the motherboard and/or RAM. I'm going to be pretty detailed in my description of the problem so that it might make things more clear. The motherboard is an ASUS M2A-MVP (with an AMD X2 3800+) and the RAM is 2 sticks of 512mb GSkill DDR2 800 for a total of 1 gig. I know that the RAM was good because I took it out of my other computer when I upgraded its RAM. The motherboard and processor are new. When I powered up for the first time everything worked fine, and I was just going through the BIOS making sure everything was showing up as it should. This particular RAM is rated to run at 4-4-4-12 timings at 1.9 - 2.0 volts (that's what the sticker on it says). So, in the BIOS I changed the timings to 4-4-4-12 and the voltage to 2.0 volts. The computer powered off almost as soon as I saved the settings. When it restarted, it only gave me 1 long beep followed by 3 short beeps. I looked it up and in AMI BIOS this is a sign of memory problems. But, I couldn't get back into the BIOS to change the settings back. Removing and reinstalling the RAM had no effect. So, I unplugged the computer, removed the motherboard battery, and switched the jumper to clear the CMOS data. Then i put the jumper back, reinstalled the battery, and powered on. Now there are no beeps at all, no image is being sent to the monitor, and there is no power going to the mouse or keyboard. All the fans and the hard drive start up, but that's it. Does anybody have any idea what the problem might be? Thanks.

[Panama Red]

The ram may have worked in another pc but it may be faulting in the new one due to incompatibility issues. I'd recommend clearing the CMOS one more time and trying some different ram (only one stick at first).

[kram 2.0]

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery off for ten minutes (although five should do). Make certain that the motherboard jumper is now set to the appropriate setting such that it will retain any BIOS setting that you intend to set later on. Plug in your computer again and boot it up.

kram

[Ed989]

Ok, I reset the CMOS again, and with the two RAM sticks it did the same thing. I took one out, and still no. Then I put the other stick in and took the first one out, and it worked once, but now is not working again. I don't have any other RAM sticks here to test, so I can't say if that's the problem. I also noticed that the hard drive activity light stays on nonstop while this is happening, as do the two DVD drive activity lights. When I push the eject buttons to open the drives, there is considerable delay before they open, and then it automatically closes them and the activity lights come back on. Maybe I'll check and see if I can find any known compatibility issues with this RAM and motherboard combination.

[minsonngo]

What are you system specs? Please include the brand and model and don't forget the PSU.

[Ed989]

Ok, I just got a couple more RAM problem beeps....so I'm going to run down to my apartment and get the Corsair XMS2 out of my computer and try that out. If it won't boot with that stuff, I'll assume there's something wrong with the motherboard.

[Ed989]

I just tried my Corsair XMS 2 and it still either gives me the bad RAM beeps or just does nothing. The only component in the build I can think of that might be of questionable quality is the power supply. It is a really cheap 350 watt Rosewill that came with the case i bought. Typically I buy Antec power supplies, but i was trying to keep the cost down and in the reviews this one seemed to be at least decent. The couple times the system booted though I checked the voltage readings in the BIOS and they were almost exactly what they're supposed to be, so I don't think the problem is wrong voltages. I had a wireless LAN card in a PCI slot, and thought that might be a problem, but when I removed it the same thing still happens. The two times the computer did boot nothing seemed to be wrong in the BIOS; it was recognizing all drives, RAM, and the processor correctly. The system specs are:

ASUS M2A-MVP mobo
AMD X2 3800+
1 gig (2x512) GSkill DDR2800 or 2 gigs (2x1 gig) Corsair XMS2 DDR2800
Radeon X800GTO
160 gig Western Digital hdd (SATA)
Sony DVD-ROM and Samsung DVD-RW on the IDE channel
350 watt Rosewill PS (the two 12 volt rails are 10 and 13 amp)

[minsonngo]

I would swap in a replacement quality PSU and see if the problem goes away. All your other specs look good.

Do you have the cpu heatsink and fan installed securely? Do you have brass standoffs setup between the motherboard and case?

[Ed989]

I just went to a friend's house who works with computers all the time as it is his job. He powered it up and got the bad RAM beeps. He then reseated the RAM and it successfully POSTed about 12-15 times in a row. So, we didn't bother to try another power supply because it seemed that the problem had been solved. I brought the computer home, powered up, and got bad RAM beeps. I have tried every combination of RAM sticks that I have in every slot, and pressed them in until my thumbs hurt, and I get bad RAM beeps every time. Does it sound like I may have received a defective motherboard?

[doubledragon5]

download and run memtest, sounds like you have faulty ram.. And you really should think about a bettery quality psu... If the ram gave error beeps in your friends board as well as yours you most likely have bad ram.. You may also have a defective mb as well which could have been caused by the poor quality psu..You must also realize that the mb will only accept certains types of ram.. So not every ram you install will work with that particular mb...

I just read your system requirements for that video card. You need a minimum 350watt, I would recommend at least a 400 to 450, but of good quality.. check out this list of psu to use and which to stay awary from..

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=131195

[Ed989]

The RAM wasn't put in another mobo....it was POSTing in my motherboard....at least until I got it home. Also....if I try another PSU, does it have to have a 24 pin motherboard connector? This motherboard has a 24 pin connector, but i have a Dell with a working power supply that I might try. The Dell is older though so I'll bet its motherboard connector is only 20 pin...will it still work? I'm almost thinking it's not really a RAM problem because for those 12-15 times, it was POSTing just find in this motherboard.

[Ed989]

Also, would it be a good idea to take the motherboard out of the case and see if it will POST just sitting by itself, to rule out a short with the case?

[minsonngo]

Originally Posted by Ed989 The RAM wasn't put in another mobo....it was POSTing in my motherboard....at least until I got it home. Also....if I try another PSU, does it have to have a 24 pin motherboard connector? This motherboard has a 24 pin connector, but i have a Dell with a working power supply that I might try. The Dell is older though so I'll bet its motherboard connector is only 20 pin...will it still work? I'm almost thinking it's not really a RAM problem because for those 12-15 times, it was POSTing just find in this motherboard.

You need a PSU with a 24-pin main power supply connector. The 20-pin will not work.


And it is a good idea to do it outside of the case on a non-conductive surface with only the bare essentials. This means only the power supply, video card, motherboard, processor, processor heatsink & fan, ONE stick of memory. You can power it up buy using a screw driver to short the two power pins on the motherboard.

[Ed989]

Ok, it was the power supply. I just swapped in the 500 watt Antec PSU from my other computer and it POSTs every time now. I was worried that maybe the poor quality power supply had toasted my RAM, but with the Antec it works great. Thanks for the advice everybody who posted.

-Ed

[doubledragon5]

Your lucky, poor quality psu are know to take out more than just itself, like ram, mb and even hd...It never pays to save on the quality of the psu..

[Ed989]

Premature celebration.......the Antec power supply DID NOT solve the problem. Upon moving the computer to where I intended to work on it, it once again began giving me the bad RAM beeps. So, I disconnected all the drives and removed the video card and wireless LAN card. I looked at my Corsair RAM again, and the EXACT model number of my Corsair RAM is listed right in the motherboard owner's manual as compatible RAM. So, I removed the GSkill RAM and put in one stick of the Corsair. The only things connected to the motherboard were the processor, one stick of the Corsair RAM, the case speaker, and the two power connectors to the PSU. Then I removed the motherboard from the case and set it on a book to rule out any possible shorts in the case. After getting all this set up, I bridged the two power switch pins to start the system, and got bad RAM beeps. The PSU is very high quality, and I am now positive that the Corsair RAM [B]is[B] compatible with the motherboard, but it is still not POSTing. I am really thinking that maybe the motherboard is defective. Do you think I should try to get an RMA?

[doubledragon5]

You may want to.. But if you can install the ram in a different board and download memtest86 on to a floopy and test the ram if possible.. If not then ya rma the mb instead...

[Ed989]

Ok, I'm about ready to start throwing things......I got an RMA on the motherboard from Newegg, and the same exact thing is still happening as before. It's giving me bad RAM beeps. I know the RAM is good, I'm using the good quality PSU, and the RAM is listed as being compatible right in the motherboard manual. Is it possible that the CPU is defective?

[Ed989]

Should I try to get an RMA for the CPU?

[doubledragon5]

If it is giving you bad ram beeps, than that should tell you you are having a problem with the ram... Did you run memtest86? if not do so it is highly unlikly you have a bad cpu..

[Mr.Ferrari]

Let me first clear something up for myself, both of your sticks of ram, the Corsair and G.Skill, have you tried them, after using them to troubleshoot to no avail, on a working computer?

Before each try are you clearing the CMOS?

Are you sure that nothing is shorting the motherboard out? Have you tried swapping sticks and using them individually on different slots?

[Ed989]

I have just put the Corsair RAM back in my other computer, and it works just fine with games, Prime95, and Memtest. I have tried using the sticks individually in all the memory slots, and it still doesn't work. I don't think anything is shorting out, because I set the whole system up outside of the case with the new motherboard, and it still gave me the RAM problem beeps. I don't know what else the problem could be.

[Mr.Ferrari]

So the motherboard doesnt POST at all? If the CPU was the problem then there would be a CPU error code/beep, a repeating High/Low if im not mistaken.

I see the board is a ATi chipset. They haven't been the greatest for AMD setups, alot of issues. You might think of rmaing the motherboard for a different chipset. Like the 570 or 590 from Asus. Since you've already tried RMA with the current board.