New system/big headache

**debbieeees** · May 5th, 2003, 01:36 AM

Hi everyone,
I'm hoping someone can help me out. I'm putting together a new system consisting of the following:

Asus A7N8X Deluxe m/b
AMD 2400+ cpu
Asus Ti4200 AGP videocard
WD 120gig hdd
512mg PC3200 ram
Antec PLUS660AMG Case (330w 'true power' psu)

Theres also a Plextor CDRW and DVD drive, and an Audigy2 soundcard, but have since disconnected for troubleshooting purposes.

The problem: The system turned on at first...well, at least it stayed on long enough to format the harddrive but then bam! the thing shuts off....so okay...I turned it on again and it would stay on for approx 15-20 sec and turn off again. Thing wont say on...period. If I try to turn the thing back on immediately it would only stay on maybe 3 seconds. I'd have to wait a few minutes to get another 20 seconds! Anyway, I sent the board and cpu back to the supplier. They called me up and said it was fine so they sent it back to me. Guess what! Same friggin thing. So I'm thinking power. So I went out and got another psu (generic 400watt) and when I hooked it up and turned it on, I didn't even get video. The board turns on....sounds like its all good, but no bios beep...no video...no nothin!! I'm bout to go postal!

Sorry to be so long winded here...just trying to get a clue!!
I'll also be calling my supplier tommorrow....anyone have any idea out there? ThanQ in advance.

**NooNoo** · May 5th, 2003, 04:28 AM

Get the anti static bag the motherboard came in, lay it flat on a work surface. Remove the motherboard from the case and rebuild the motherboard and components outside the case completely. If it still does it, then it is not a problem with shorting against the case (which is darned hard to track down sometimes on a cheap case).

Make sure you reseat the ram carefully.

**Archangel42069** · May 5th, 2003, 09:54 AM

I had the same problem with my MSI K7N2G...one thing you may want to check is whether or not the RAM is even supported with the board...shockingly enough, Kingston doesn't even support my board - MSI recommended that I try some low latency Crucial...Also, if you do decide to exchange the RAM, you may want to go with PC2700(DDR333)...PC3200(DDR400) runs asynchronously with the CPU, resulting in a higher latency and reduced performance - in most tests, the DDR333 actually performed better than DDR400.

**Radical Dreamer** · May 5th, 2003, 10:09 AM

Seems like grouding to me as well, build the machine outside the case or check to make sure that the board isnt touching any metal, and make sure that you are all teh standoffs that are supposed to be there, and none that arent

In my experience if it were ram, the machine would boot but just sit and spin its fans, no post or anything.

**debbieeees** · May 5th, 2003, 11:09 AM

Ohhhhh....grounding. hmm, that would make sense. I'm using PC3200 DDR...and the case is a brand new Antec so its definitly not a cheapy.
I'll run it 'outside of the box' and see what happens.

Wish me luck! I'll post the results.

Thank you guys!

**debbieeees** · May 5th, 2003, 08:39 PM

That didn't work.

I've had it. I'm givin up. They can shove this thing.

**Guts3d** · May 5th, 2003, 09:07 PM

A few things to try might be to reset the cmos by flipping the battery over or changing the jumper so that it resets the cmos to default. Check to see if the chip fan is firmly seated on chip, might be a heat problem with those kind of post times. Have you taken everything off the board except ram and chip and video to see if it will post then? Are there any case wires to the board ( such as reset, speaker, hdd light, etc. ) and if so, disconnect them as well. Good luck, hope that you figure it out!

**debbieeees** · May 6th, 2003, 12:09 AM

I tried clearing the cmos. no go. Flipping the battery over? literally? that won't fry something? I popped the battery out. That didn't help either.

**NooNoo** · May 6th, 2003, 05:35 AM

Can you confirm that the fans do spin up?

how have you got the fsb jumper set?

**Stalemate** · May 6th, 2003, 09:14 AM

Most of the power issues have already been covered, so I would ask...

What brand of RAM are you using?

There were some known issues with earlier batches of Corsair, but my own 512Mb of XMS works just fine.

The nForce2 chipset is particular about it's RAM. Very particular, especially in dual mode.

What revision # is this particular board?

Resetting the BIOS on this baby requires both the battery to be removed and a BIOS reset jumper has to be used concurrently (check your manual for which one to short).

Other things to check:
Also, is your HSF cold to the touch when you turn the PC on? This would indicate that it is either unseated, the HSF may not be coming in direct contact with the CPU, or the fan may be on backwards. It should be a little warm when you power on the PC.

I'm not promoting them, but nForcers HQ have an entire forum devoted to the A7N8X, if you don't find an answer.

**Archangel42069** · May 6th, 2003, 10:31 AM

Originally posted by a d e p t
Most of the power issues have already been covered, so I would ask...

What brand of RAM are you using?

There were some known issues with earlier batches of Corsair, but my own 512Mb of XMS works just fine.

The nForce2 chipset is particular about it's RAM. Very particular, especially in dual mode.

What revision # is this particular board?

Resetting the BIOS on this baby requires both the battery to be removed and a BIOS reset jumper has to be used concurrently (check your manual for which one to short).

Other things to check:
Also, is your HSF cold to the touch when you turn the PC on? This would indicate that it is either unseated, the HSF may not be coming in direct contact with the CPU, or the fan may be on backwards. It should be a little warm when you power on the PC.

I'm not promoting them, but nForcers HQ have an entire forum devoted to the A7N8X, if you don't find an answer.

Didn't I basically say that?

Anyway, in response to Radical...usually that would be the case, but as Adept and I have pointed out, nForce2-based mobos are very picky about their RAM. Kingston refused to RMA my 2 sticks of DDR333 b/c they said that more than likely they were fine, but that they were no longer supported with the MSI K7N2G...MSI recommended that I go with Crucial...

**debbieeees** · May 7th, 2003, 01:17 AM

Well first..thanks to all of you. All of your suggestions have been excellent.
I have done the cmos thing...no go. I've tried 3 dif psu's..no go. Tried with/without practically everything, including the ram. Nada...I even tried to run the board 'outside the box' to check for a possible grounding problem. Tonight was the final try...new ram and another CPU. Guess what! NOTHING! lol
The board...she's GONE! Its heading out tomorrow. (damnit!) :-{ Wish me luck on its replacement! {{shudder}}

Thanks again to all of you.

Debbie

**constructor** · May 7th, 2003, 01:34 AM

Last time I had this problem it was caused by an incorrectly
fitted heat sink.
Sounds as if the mobo is firing up , then the thermal protection shuts it down. Can you turn down the FSB?

Also try a different graphics card.

**debbieeees** · May 8th, 2003, 12:16 AM

Did that..and that...and that too.

New boards comin soon.

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