Doesn't POST... at first

[Hackworth]

I recently assembled a general-use system for a friend. It's an Athlon XP
2400+ running on a DFI AZ30-TL mATX motherboard with 512MB of "Mushkin Blue"
PC2100 memory. The mobo has an AGP slot, but for now the future recipient of
the system just wants to use the integrated graphics, so no separate
graphics card is installed. Also installed are a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive
and a 40GB 7200-RPM hard disk. Everything works great and the system handles
burn-in and benchmark tests flawlessly.

Motherboard details are here if anyone is interested:
http://www.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_product_spec_details_r_us.jsp?PRODUCT_ID=1298&CATEGORY_TYPE=MB

Here's the problem: Whenever I hit the switch to start the computer, the
LEDs blink and the fans spin up, but then the system just sits there and
does nothing, and the monitor does not receive a signal. If I press the
reset switch, or if I shut down and wait a few seconds and then restart, the
system boots just fine! This behavior occurs almost every time I try to
start the system; sometimes, I get lucky and it does manage to POST the
first time.

Some mobos have a delay that one can set to give the hard disk time to spin
up, but this one doesn't and it doesn't appear to be the problem anyhow. I
do have ENABLED/DISABLED settings for I/O Delayed Transaction and PCI Bus
Delay (or whatever it's called), but it doesn't seem to matter how they're
set.

I've tried two different power supplies, and both have tested perfect with
my digital multimeter under full load.

Anyone have any other ideas as to what may be causing the boot-up weirdness?

 

[JAD]

reseat the memory and make sure its in the proper slot. Could be the
power switch. A friend of mine had this same problem, he had been
living with it for almost a year. However, when he reseated the memory
the problem disappeared.

Hope it works for you.

 

[El Phantazmo]

As JAD said, a gimpy switch could be culprit. Try swapping the reset and
power switch header connectors on the motherboard, and see if using the
reset switch as a power switch gets it up an going with consistency...