ASUS box still won't post

[Me]

Back on 5/29, I posted about an upgrade with a A7N8X-VM/400 that
wouldn't post. Following advice here and elsewhere (including ASUS
e-mail tech support), I've RMA'd the motherboard, moving to an
A7N8X-UAY. I increased the PSU as recommended by the ASUS tech to an
Antec 430Truepower, listed in the xtremesystems.org PSU thread .
I've tried 2 different new CPU's, an Athlon XP Barton 2800+ and a
T-bred 1100+ (which I just happened to have laying around). I've
swapped the memory from the new 512 stick of crucial 2700 to the 2
original 256 M sticks of crucial 2100.

I've tried this thing completely connected and with nothing but the
video card ( Radeon 9600 SE) and memory connected. I even took the
memory out, and got no beeps. The only thing I haven't done with this
motherboard that I did with the VM-400 is try it laying bare on the
bench. It won't post. The fans all spin up, the hard drives (when
connected) click a few times and that's it. No beeps, no video output
at all. Certainly, no joy. I know that some of the above
combinations aren't optimal, but all of the components I've tried
should be good (most are new), and the stupid thing should at least
give me some sort of error indication. Heck, I'd take an error beep
as a good sign.

I used to think I was at least semi-skilled with hardware problems.
I've built dozens of machines and fixed hundreds more, but I've hit
the wall on this one. I will appreciate any suggestions anyone can
give.

Thanks,
CJon

 

[RonK]

Did you make sure the cmos jumper is in the right position. I had an asus
board a year ago that had the jumper in the wrong position because there was
an error in the manual that came with it.

 

[Paul]

Back on 5/29, I posted about an upgrade with a A7N8X-VM/400 that
wouldn't post. Following advice here and elsewhere (including ASUS
e-mail tech support), I've RMA'd the motherboard, moving to an
A7N8X-UAY. I increased the PSU as recommended by the ASUS tech to an
Antec 430Truepower, listed in the xtremesystems.org PSU thread .
I've tried 2 different new CPU's, an Athlon XP Barton 2800+ and a
T-bred 1100+ (which I just happened to have laying around). I've
swapped the memory from the new 512 stick of crucial 2700 to the 2
original 256 M sticks of crucial 2100.

I've tried this thing completely connected and with nothing but the
video card ( Radeon 9600 SE) and memory connected. I even took the
memory out, and got no beeps. The only thing I haven't done with this
motherboard that I did with the VM-400 is try it laying bare on the
bench. It won't post. The fans all spin up, the hard drives (when
connected) click a few times and that's it. No beeps, no video output
at all. Certainly, no joy. I know that some of the above
combinations aren't optimal, but all of the components I've tried
should be good (most are new), and the stupid thing should at least
give me some sort of error indication. Heck, I'd take an error beep
as a good sign.

I used to think I was at least semi-skilled with hardware problems.
I've built dozens of machines and fixed hundreds more, but I've hit
the wall on this one. I will appreciate any suggestions anyone can
give.

Thanks,
CJon

You will think this is a strange suggestion, but swap the PSU
back to the old one. There have been problems with Truepower
power supplies, and Vcore circuits. It seems the Vcore circuit
latches off on some of them, when you turn on the power.

Your board should use plenty of +5V, once it is running flat
out, so I would want a PSU that has 20 to 25 amps or so to offer on
the +5V output. But, to test whether it will beep or not, with
no memory present, you should be able to use your old supply
to try that.

Is this motherboard brand new ? Or is it a refurb ? Since you say
this is a A7N8X (not an A7N8X-E, and not a Deluxe), it must
be a bit on the old side. There was a problem with some of
the older boards, with a bug called "BIOS - Save - Death",
where saving BIOS settings would result in a dead board. It
almost sounds like your symptoms are consistent with that old
problem. (I believe the problem was fixed when A7N8X-E Deluxe
came out.)

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6432

(that link is from this article...)
http://groups.google.ca/group/alt.c....asus/msg/a88703d0e7805cf4?dmode=source&hl=en

Paul

 

[Me]

Well, the original PSU was a Superflower TT-350. I first tested it
with a Fortron 350 before I went to the Antec. The TT-350 tests good
with my PowMax tester, I get green LEDs on all circuits (12v +&-, 5v
+&- and 3.3v) and overall. I admit I don't know the tolerences set up
in the tester, but I have had Bestec supplies (150 W replacements for
HP Walmart specials) fail on the 3.3V circuit, even when the computer
seemed to be working fine. A voltmeter on that circuit seemed to
indicate that the 3.3V rail was actually producing about just over 3
V. The fortron is brand new and also tests good.

The first mobo that didn't work was the A7N8x-VM/400, and when I RMA'd
it, I went with the A7N8X-UAY because I didn't really need the onboard
video. It carries Rev 2.00 printed on the board. Both were sold as
new by Newegg.

I had read about the Bios save problems, and I did clear the CMOS,
which other threads seemed to indicate would at least let the board
post, with no good results.

Monday, when I can talk to a person at Newegg, I think I will RMA both
this board and the Barton.

I'm already WAY over budget on this deal, and can't really step up to
the A7N8X-Deluxe, and Newegg doesn't list an -E in stock. Maybe I'll
switch to either an EPoX 8RDA+ or go with a Via chipset (but I like
the nVidea chipset better.)

Thanks for the thoughts. I'll read the article you cite and try going
back to the Fortron, clearing the CMOS again, and trying to boot it
with nothing attached.

CJon

 

[Paul]

I'm already WAY over budget on this deal, and can't really step up to
the A7N8X-Deluxe, and Newegg doesn't list an -E in stock. Maybe I'll
switch to either an EPoX 8RDA+ or go with a Via chipset (but I like
the nVidea chipset better.)

Try this link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131478

I use a Mobile 2600+ in mine, and run it at 200x11 (3200+ equiv).
Mobiles are not locked, so you get to choose the multiplier.
No heatsink/fan comes with one of these, so that would be
another thing to shop for. I don't know what you paid for your
processor, but sometimes this is a cheaper route to getting
top performance. I could run this processor faster than
that, but it really doesn't make enough difference to bother
with.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103436

The toughest part for me, was getting the RAM to work. I use
CAS2 memory now, and all is well in dual channel mode. Passes
memtest86+ and Prime95.

Paul

 

[Me]

On Mon, 20 Jun 2005 00:14:21 -0400, (e-mail address removed) (Paul) wrote:

Try this link:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131478

I use a Mobile 2600+ in mine, and run it at 200x11 (3200+ equiv).

Paul

I appreciate all the time you've spent with me. I called Newegg
today. It is the 28th day after my original order, and it was an OEM
processor. My only choice was a replacement, which I went for. When
I asked if I had to overnight it to get it there by the 30th day, I
was told "no, you have 14 days from today". Nice folks there. This
has been my first RMA experience with them, and it couldn't be better.
{end of plug}

I RMA'd the board for a credit. The E-Deluxe you linked to is out of
stock, he doesn't need the SATA, RAID or gigabit LAN, and I am really
not wanting to spend another $30. For around the same $60, that EPoX
8RDA+ Pro board gets good reviews. (Blasphemy in the ASUS NG). I
know I'm running a generation behind with either of the A7N8X boards
I've tried and also with the EPoX, but considering how the machine
will be used, they will be good enough. A step up from the Soltek
SL-75 DRV 5 and the T-Bred 1600 he had.

Thanks again

CJon