# Computer will not POST?



## dadi_oh (May 28, 2008)

OK. Now that I have your attention...

I just upgraded my second rig with an E8200 that I took from my main rig (which now has an E8400). Here is the scenario.

The system consists of:
ASUS P5N32E-SLI motherboard BIOS 1403 (which supports the E8200)
http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5N32-E SLI
E2180 processor @ 300X10 (this is being replaced by an E8200)
OCZ Vendetta heatsink (rebranded Xigmatek HDT-S983)
OCZ PC2-6400 SLI Memory  2 X 1GB sticks dual channel
2 X 7900GT SLI
Ultra 650W SLI Power Supply
Antec Sonata 2 case (120mm inlet, 120mm exhaust)
WinXP 32 bit

I removed my ASUS P5N32E-SLI motherboard from the case since I wanted to get a good solid attach on the heatsink when I changed the processor (I hate this Intel clip on heat sink design). Removed the E2180 and put in the E8200 processor. Applied new Arctic Ceramique compound and seated the heatsink. Reassembled the motherboard in the case and put all the cards back in. Hit the power button and.... nothing. No fans. Nothing. Oh oh...

Then I remembered I had not cleared the BIOS. (It was on my list to do but I forgot). So I switch off the AC switch on the power supply and move the clear CMOS jumper over for about 60 seconds. Put the jumper back. Power on the supply... hit the power  button and... all the fans come on, disk drives do their initialization thing, etc... but... no BIOS Beep. No display on the monitor.

So I remove the BIOS battery, move the clip to clear CMOS and let it sit for 15 minutes. Put the battery back in and... same thing. Fans come on but no BIOS beep.

So now I'm thinking... did I fry the E8200 by not clearing the BIOS? The E2180 had been setup to run at about 1.35V which "should" be in the safe range for the E8200. In fact, that is the voltage I was running it at in my P5K-E motherboard.

So I remove the heatsink (this time without removing the motherboard) and pop my E2180 back in with the heatsink. Clear the BIOS.  Same thing. Fans spin up but no BIOS beep, no display. So the motherboard is not working with either CPU now.

So I am wondering... What would it have meant in the first round when the board did not power up at all? Does it require the CPU to do something to get to the stage where power is applied to the board and the fans spin up?

And what else does the CPU need to do to get it to the next stage? i.e. BIOS beeps and allows you to enter.

Any ideas?

As a bit of a background I originally had some problems with this motherboard when I reseated the factory heatsink on the NB. Could not get it to post and when I removed the NB heatsink, a corner of the 680i chip did not have thermal compound on it. i.e. it was not sitting flat and squeezing the compound to the extreme corners. Reapplied paste and that solved it. Now I am thinking I will remove the NB heatsink again and make sure it is making good contact with the 680i chip. Maybe the process of removing the motherboard jarred it.


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## Squirrely (May 28, 2008)

The CPU should be fine.

Only thing I would do is let it sit for a bit, and then feel the temps on the heatsinks if you wish to see if it is overheating.

If not, then whenever you took the mobo out of the case, ESD may of gotten it. 

Edit: Try your parts on that other mobo, if they work, then it's probably the mobo.


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## dadi_oh (May 28, 2008)

Squirrely said:


> The CPU should be fine.
> 
> Only thing I would do is let it sit for a bit, and then feel the temps on the heatsinks if you wish to see if it is overheating.
> 
> ...



I suppose ESD is a possibility but I am pretty careful with that. I am wondering if the fact that clearing the CMOS took it from a "non-powering up" scenario to a "powering up but not posting" scenario suggests something to do with the BIOS?


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## zCexVe (May 28, 2008)

My o.02 says It is with the RAMs as of with my experience.All the nVIDIA chipset boards I have will not boot after CPU change or a RAM change.They need to remove the RAMs and ground them.Lay off the PC without AC connected for 4~5 mins and start by pluging a single memory module will help I think.


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## dadi_oh (May 28, 2008)

zCexVe said:


> My o.02 says It is with the RAMs as of with my experience.All the nVIDIA chipset boards I have will not boot after CPU change or a RAM change.They need to remove the RAMs and ground them.Lay off the PC without AC connected for 4~5 mins and start by pluging a single memory module will help I think.



I did try one experiment removing one of the memory modules and same thing. In the past when I have had memory compatibility problems however, I would still get a BIOS long BEEEEP. In this case no beep at all. Seems different, but has anyone experienced no beep at all with memory incompatibility?


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## Black Panther (May 28, 2008)

I'm sure you'll get the memory error loud and clear if you remove _both_ modules.

And yes, once I had a defective SD RAM and the computer didn't beep, posted normally and kept rebooting. Removing that module solved the issue. Strangely, I tried the defective module in another pc.... and it made the memory error beep!

My idea would be to disconnect all devices - HDD, Optical drives, if you have onboard graphics then remove both 7900's. Get the pc barebones with just PSU, motherboard, cpu and ram. See if it POSTS like that. If it does, then try adding the rest of the stuff one at a time and that will help determine where the glitch is.


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## modder (May 28, 2008)

long BEEEEP for me  is 
1- PCIE_12V (graphic card power cable ) not plugged correctly 
2 -problem with timming ram
3- chassis intrusion detection (jumper into the motherboard)


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## Black Panther (May 28, 2008)

Yes but apparently he's been getting no beeps, at all.


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## dadi_oh (May 28, 2008)

Black Panther said:


> Yes but apparently he's been getting no beeps, at all.



Correct. No beep at all. I like your idea of removing both memory modules and see if I get a long beep.

I could try pulling a module out of my main rig and trying that to see if it is a memory issue. The main rig also has OCZ memory but it is PC2-8800. This mobo was running the E2180 with this OCZ PC2-6400 memory with no issues at all. Does it seem possible that a new CPU changes that?


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## mikek75 (May 28, 2008)

Could also be that Ultra PSU IMO, I know it says SLI certified but that doesn't necessarily mean its good enough to run those cards. That certification is marketing bullshit IMO, and Ultra ain't exactly the best brand in the world. For experimentation purposes I'd remove one of the cards and see what gives.


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## zCexVe (May 28, 2008)

Mm,AFAIK there is no way to check a faulty mobnly way is to check all other.PSUs too can be assumed work well since the fans spin off and keep spinning coz mobo has a pin to send PWR_OK signal to PSU to keep it on.If you have something like ASUS LCD poster,MSI D-bracket, you can see it directly.I dont think you have one in this case. Since you still post I assume youve got another rig and hopefully a desktop,try checking the RAMs.Only other parts to check is PSU,mobo and CPU and VGA.


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## mikek75 (May 28, 2008)

The fans are connected electrically so will spin regardless, but if there isn't enough juice to pass POST then thats all they will do, as the VGA BIOS hasn't taken control of them yet. IMO.


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## zCexVe (May 28, 2008)

IMHO even the fans will stop spinning if the PWR_OK signal is not received.Don't they have green and grey lines for power on and power ok signals in ATX standard?


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## mikek75 (May 28, 2008)

Pass. The above was my understanding, removing one card should allow enough current for troubleshooting purposes though.


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## Thermopylae_480 (May 28, 2008)

Please use thread titles that describe your problem.  I have no idea what your original title had to do with your problem?


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## dadi_oh (May 28, 2008)

Thermopylae_480 said:


> Please use thread titles that describe your problem.  I have no idea what your original title had to do with your problem?



I am not getting a Beep when the system tries to post. Thought it was explanatory but I am OK with the new title.


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## dadi_oh (May 28, 2008)

zCexVe said:


> My o.02 says It is with the RAMs as of with my experience.All the nVIDIA chipset boards I have will not boot after CPU change or a RAM change.They need to remove the RAMs and ground them.Lay off the PC without AC connected for 4~5 mins and start by pluging a single memory module will help I think.



Also, I am currently back to my original E2180 processor which ran fine in this config with these same memory sticks. So I honestly don't think it is the memory conflicting with the new processor.

I am suspicious of the NB heatsink since I already had issues with the once before and the fact that I have removed the mobo and put it back in suggests I could have jarred it a bit.


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## erocker (May 28, 2008)

Take the motherboard back out and make sure nothing is getting shorted out on the backside.


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## dadi_oh (May 28, 2008)

erocker said:


> Take the motherboard back out and make sure nothing is getting shorted out on the backside.



Yeah. That was my other reason for removing the mobo again. I didn't have any left over screws


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## Dark_Webster (May 28, 2008)

My friend had a problem like that with a P5KC, but it was too much overclocking.

I would say to reset the CMOS...

But, seeing that you already did that, try returning to your old processor to see if it will beep.
Or try to update your BIOS.


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## dadi_oh (May 29, 2008)

Update:

I removed the motherboard from the case and set it up on a desktop with a different power supply. I plugged in a single graphics card and attached a speaker to the speaker output. I installed a temp switch on the power. I managed to get it to POST with the E2180 and entered BIOS and verified everything was OK. I then removed the E2180, popped in the E8200, cleared the CMOS/BIOS, and that posted OK. Entered BIOS and verified that the motherboard saw the E8200 correctly. So at this point I now know that there are no BIOS issues preventing the E8200 from being identified properly. I also know the RAM passes POST.

Put the motherboard back in the case with the same video card and the system would not post. Verified all of the power rails are OK using my multimeter. Removed the motherboard and replicated the desktop setup. Still would not post. I was still suspicious of the northbridge (680i) heatsink so I removed it and checked that the paste was covering the chip. There is too much paste (Arctic Ceramique) and I am not happy with the how flat the heatsink sits on the chip.

I placed the heatsink on my granite counter top to verify flatness. This heatsink has a heatpipe arm coming off of it and heading up to a radiator that sits on the power FETS next to the CPU socket. It is critical that the bend in that heatpipe be "just right" to allow both the NB heatsink and the radiator to sit flat on their respective devices. On the flat granite top I could see that the two were not in alignment. Also, there is some scoring visible on the bottom of the NB heatsink that lines up with the edge of the die so it is obvious that the heatsink is not sitting flat on the chip.

I am now convinced that the reason that the card is not posting (or posting consistently) is related to the 680i not being heatsinked correctly. I ordered a Thermalright HR-05 IFX northbridge heatsink and hope to get it in a couple of days.

http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_p...hr05_ifx.htm?art=MTQyMywxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

I will just use some RAM heatsinks on the power FETs and get a proper heatsink contact on the 680i with the new heatsink. Will keep you posted with the results.


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## CDdude55 (May 31, 2008)

That made me scared, since i have a evga 680i SE mobo and am planning to upgrade my CPU to a Q6600.


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## dadi_oh (Jun 3, 2008)

dadi_oh said:


> Update:
> 
> ...
> 
> ...



So everything is back up and running. As I suspected, when I put on the new Thermalright cooler everything came back up alright. I spent a little time overclocking last night. On my watercooled P5K-E I was able to stabilize the E8200 @ 1.4V @ 465 X 8 = 3720MHz. In this setup with an OCZ Vendetta on the P5N32E-SLI motherboard I can run at 450X8 @ 1.4V but it will fail Prime95 after about 10 minutes. According to Realtemp my cores are hitting about 40C and 48C which is not too bad. I am not sure at this point if the limiting factor is FSB limitation on the 680i northbridge or a thermally induced limit of the E8200. I can try lowering the multi and bumping the FSB to see.

For now I have dropped the core to 1.37V and am running it at 3400MHz to avoid stressing the system. I am probaly going to be swapping in my 9600GT from my main rig into this one to replace the 7900GT's in SLI. That will remove a lot of heat from the system and may allow higher clock on the CPU.

The base of the HR-05 heatsink gets quite toasty... almost can't keep my finger on it. Right now I am just running the HR-05 passively but I could put an 80X80X15mm fan on it. None of the local shops seem to carry 15mm deep fans unfortunately and it is $10 shipping to get a $2 fan   I have a 60mm X 15mm fan I might pop on there just to get "some" cooling and wait until I have to order some more stuff to order the correct fan.


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## kyle2020 (Jun 3, 2008)

like erocker said, first thing i would have checked would have been clearence at the back of the board. Could have been a bad boot due to not clearing CMOS but i doubt it.


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## spearman914 (Jun 3, 2008)

When you say that line: "ASUS P5N32E-SLI motherboard BIOS 1403 (which supports the E8200)", are you referring the "which supports the E8200" part to the BIOS version or the mobo itself? If u are saying the mobo, then try a newer version of the BIOS. If u are saying the BIOS, then IDK what happened. I don't know if I made it clear enough.


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## dadi_oh (Jun 3, 2008)

kyle2020 said:


> like erocker said, first thing i would have checked would have been clearence at the back of the board. Could have been a bad boot due to not clearing CMOS but i doubt it.



I did check behind the motherboard when I took it out. No probelsm there. It was the bad heatsink contact causing the issue.


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## kyle2020 (Jun 3, 2008)

dadi_oh said:


> I did check behind the motherboard when I took it out. No probelsm there. It was the bad heatsink contact causing the issue.



oh right, glad you found the source of your problem. When does the new heatsink arrive?


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## dadi_oh (Jun 3, 2008)

kyle2020 said:


> oh right, glad you found the source of your problem. When does the new heatsink arrive?



Already got it. That was how I fixed the motherboard. Seems to work OK. Has a huge surface area so I am assuming it will keep the 680i much cooler than the stock ASUS heatsink. Will be even cooler when I get an 80mm fan attached to it. For now I am only running the FSB at 425MHz and the NB is running at 1.4V (I think it was 1.2V stock?). If I wanted to get into some extreme FSB (>500MHz) I might need the extra fan for sure. I know my watercooled P5K-E mobo would run at 535 FSB although it caused issues for the video card.


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## dadi_oh (Jun 3, 2008)

spearman914 said:


> When you say that line: "ASUS P5N32E-SLI motherboard BIOS 1403 (which supports the E8200)", are you referring the "which supports the E8200" part to the BIOS version or the mobo itself? If u are saying the mobo, then try a newer version of the BIOS. If u are saying the BIOS, then IDK what happened. I don't know if I made it clear enough.



The ASUS site lists the versions of BIOS that introduced support for new processors. The E8200/E8400/E8500 were introduced in a BIOS version earlier than 1403 (can't remember exactly).

As it turns out I am runnign fine now with the E8200 in the P5N32E-SLI with BIOS version 1403. There is a 1404 version out but I have been nervous about flashing BIOS unless absolutely necessary since toasting a P5N32E-SLI with a bad flash...


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