Post problem - Is this an issue with the CPU Fan?

[Jeff]

Perhaps someone can help me out - a first time builder.

....have some top of the line components.

AMD FX62 dual core processor and Gigabyte MB are the parts at issue right now.

I'm attempting to turn the machine on for the first time.

At present, I still have the digital video card hooked to an older analog monitor with a converter - I don't think that this is the
problem.

When the power goes on, it seems to start the fans and hard drive as normal but I get nothing on the monitor. I get a longer single
beep and then continuous short beeps at regular intervals. I unplugged everything that would not be needed to get to the bios but
still nothing other than the beeps.

This is an award bios, but I haven't got much information by looking at beep codes on the net.

The MB has a 4 pin connector for the CPU heatsink fan, but the stock AMD heatsink fan only has a 3 pin connector. Until I get a
converter, I plugged the CPU heatsink fan into another fan controller. I'm wondering whether this could be the problem.

Could someone point me in the right direction and let me know if this thing might not start if it doesn't think that the cpu fan is
running?

Thanks in advance

Jeff

 

[JAD]

video card loose- not compatable -damaged video ram

outside chance (memory timing , memory module loose)

try and reset cmos load boot defaults and or check memory timings and
video AGP/PCIe settings

Perhaps someone can help me out - a first time builder.

...have some top of the line components.

AMD FX62 dual core processor and Gigabyte MB are the parts at issue right now.

I'm attempting to turn the machine on for the first time.

At present, I still have the digital video card hooked to an older analog

monitor with a converter - I don't think that this is the

problem.

When the power goes on, it seems to start the fans and hard drive as

normal but I get nothing on the monitor. I get a longer single

beep and then continuous short beeps at regular intervals. I unplugged

everything that would not be needed to get to the bios but

still nothing other than the beeps.

This is an award bios, but I haven't got much information by looking at beep codes on the net.

The MB has a 4 pin connector for the CPU heatsink fan, but the stock AMD

heatsink fan only has a 3 pin connector. Until I get a

converter, I plugged the CPU heatsink fan into another fan controller. I'm

wondering whether this could be the problem.

Could someone point me in the right direction and let me know if this

thing might not start if it doesn't think that the cpu fan is

 

[JAD]

Perhaps someone can help me out - a first time builder.

...have some top of the line components.

AMD FX62 dual core processor and Gigabyte MB are the parts at issue right now.

I'm attempting to turn the machine on for the first time.

At present, I still have the digital video card hooked to an older analog

monitor with a converter - I don't think that this is the

problem.

When the power goes on, it seems to start the fans and hard drive as

normal but I get nothing on the monitor. I get a longer single

beep and then continuous short beeps at regular intervals. I unplugged

everything that would not be needed to get to the bios but

still nothing other than the beeps.

This is an award bios, but I haven't got much information by looking at beep codes on the net.




The MB has a 4 pin connector for the CPU heatsink fan, but the stock AMD

heatsink fan only has a 3 pin connector. Until I get a

converter, I plugged the CPU heatsink fan into another fan controller. I'm

wondering whether this could be the problem.
MISSED THIS! however that beep sequence dosen't correspond to a CPU
probem. Don't mess around with the CPU cooling system. It can be like
starting your car without oil in the engine if the cpu fan fails to start.
It could be that the MB bios is not detecting the fan connection and there
for won't start up.

Could someone point me in the right direction and let me know if this

thing might not start if it doesn't think that the cpu fan is

 

[Jeff]

MISSED THIS! however that beep sequence dosen't correspond to a CPU
probem. Don't mess around with the CPU cooling system. It can be like
starting your car without oil in the engine if the cpu fan fails to start.
It could be that the MB bios is not detecting the fan connection and there
for won't start up.

Thanks but let me clarify and update.

The heatsink fan is running fine. It's just that the MB has a 4 pin connector and the fan has a 3 pin connector.

From what I gather, I can simply plug the 3 pin fan connector into the 4 pin MB connector leaving the extra pin outside of the
connector's housing. I did this, but the results didn't change.

The ram is new corsair DDR2, and installed as per instructions. The video card is a middle of the line gigabyte sold as a combo with
the MB by Newegg - PCIe x16. There should be no compatibility problems.

I'll be checking the other issues you've mentioned.

In the meantime, any other ideas?

Jeff

 

[Paul]

Perhaps someone can help me out - a first time builder.

...have some top of the line components.

AMD FX62 dual core processor and Gigabyte MB are the parts at issue right now.

I'm attempting to turn the machine on for the first time.

At present, I still have the digital video card hooked to an older analog monitor with a converter - I don't think that this is the
problem.

When the power goes on, it seems to start the fans and hard drive as normal but I get nothing on the monitor. I get a longer single
beep and then continuous short beeps at regular intervals. I unplugged everything that would not be needed to get to the bios but
still nothing other than the beeps.

This is an award bios, but I haven't got much information by looking at beep codes on the net.

The MB has a 4 pin connector for the CPU heatsink fan, but the stock AMD heatsink fan only has a 3 pin connector. Until I get a
converter, I plugged the CPU heatsink fan into another fan controller. I'm wondering whether this could be the problem.

Could someone point me in the right direction and let me know if this thing might not start if it doesn't think that the cpu fan is
running?

Thanks in advance

Jeff

Aren't the beep codes in the manual ? Single beeps repeated at
regular intervals can be RAM. But confirm with your motherboard
manual, as they are free to change these codes whenever they
feel like. For example, on a private forum, someone noted that
a recently manufactured product, reversed the beep patterns for
"bad video" and "bad RAM". Every board can have quirks like that,
so you really have to look around and find a thread that is
specifically for your motherboard.

A frequent problem with current generation hardware (AMD or Intel),
is DDR2-800 RAM compatibility. Sometimes it takes a stick of
DDR2-533, to get a system to start. You didn't mention the motherboard
model number, but you may want to try some searches on a web
search engine for "ram compatibility" and your motherboard model
number. I'm sure there is nothing seriously wrong with your hardware
Just the normal aggravation every DDR2 user gets to enjoy

You can plug a three pin fan into a four pin fan header. The
keying of the header should only allow the cable to be turned
one way. Then, look in your manual, as it will label the pins
on the header as GND, +12V, tacho, PWM. If they are labelled
like that, then the PWM pin is the one you leave not connected
to anything. The fan sitting in front of me is:

Black="GND" Red="+12V" Yellow="tacho"

At the very least, make sure the GND and +12V are connected
to the correct two pins.

Paul

 

[Jeff]

More information:

I've checked most that I can check. I've removed and re-installed the processor and ram. I haven't reset the cmos, but waiting until
checking all else first. If there is a way to check things like memory timings, etc. I can't imagine how if I can't even get
anything whatsoever on the monitor.

I'm starting to get the impression that I may have a bad processor. I hope not.

When I completely remove the processor, I get no further beeps from the post. I don't know enough to know whether this means
anything.

The processor was purchased from eBay, but was a retail box and completely sealed.

Help.

Jeff

 

[JAD]

More information:

I've checked most that I can check. I've removed and re-installed the

processor and ram. I haven't reset the cmos, but waiting until

checking all else first.

Why? Do it man do it.....its the least you can do


If there is a way to check things like memory timings, etc. I can't imagine
how if I can't even get

anything whatsoever on the monitor.

I'm starting to get the impression that I may have a bad processor. I hope not.

When I completely remove the processor, I get no further beeps from the

post. I don't know enough to know whether this means

 

[Jeff]

Aren't the beep codes in the manual ? Single beeps repeated at
regular intervals can be RAM. But confirm with your motherboard
manual, as they are free to change these codes whenever they
feel like.

A frequent problem with current generation hardware (AMD or Intel),
is DDR2-800 RAM compatibility. Sometimes it takes a stick of
DDR2-533, to get a system to start.
Paul

Okay, I did find the beep codes in the manual. What I'm not really sure about is what I'm hearing.

The case speaker is hooked to the MB so the noise is clearly from the speaker. The first beep (similar to what I'm used to hearing
from other machines) is a clear distinct beep - again, just like I'm used to hearing when my other machines start. Immediately after
that single normal beep, the continuous beeps start but they are more like dull taps - they aren't the same as that initial beep but
they definitely are coming from the case speaker. The manual claims that continuous long beeps indicates "DRAM error," while
continuous short beeps indicates "power error." The beeps sound short to me, but they are distinctly different from the initial
one, so perhaps they are considered "long" - in which case you might be right about the RAM.

The MB is a Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5
The ram is Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800 MhZ CAS4

So yes, I'm using DDR2-800.

I've check the web and did find one mention so far that this MB may be picky about RAM. I was assuming that I would not have a
problem with high quality ram. I'm still checking further.

So let me get this straight - are you telling me that I may be successful by taking out the current memory, putting in a single
stick of 533, and then putting back the 800 later and it may start working?

Again, so far I've been unable to get into either the bios nor cmos as I can't get anything on the monitor.

Jeff

 

[Jeff]

processor and ram. I haven't reset the cmos, but waiting until

Why? Do it man do it.....its the least you can do

Okay, I reset the cmos but the problem remains. If I pull out the ram and try to start, I get the same beep pattern. If that beep
pattern is, in fact, indicating a RAM issue, I suppose that having no ram would be the same as incompatible ram?

Jeff

 

[Paul]

Jeff wrote:

Okay, I did find the beep codes in the manual. What I'm not really sure about is what
I'm hearing.

The case speaker is hooked to the MB so the noise is clearly from the speaker. The
first beep (similar to what I'm used to hearing from other machines) is a clear
distinct beep - again, just like I'm used to hearing when my other machines start.
Immediately after that single normal beep, the continuous beeps start but they are
more like dull taps - they aren't the same as that initial beep but they definitely
are coming from the case speaker. The manual claims that continuous long beeps
ndicates "DRAM error," while continuous short beeps indicates "power error." The
beeps sound short to me, but they are distinctly different from the initial one,
so perhaps they are considered "long" - in which case you might be right about the RAM.

The MB is a Gigabyte GA-M59SLI-S5
The ram is Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800 MhZ CAS4

So yes, I'm using DDR2-800.

I've check the web and did find one mention so far that this MB may be picky about
RAM. I was assuming that I would not have a problem with high quality ram. I'm
still checking further.

So let me get this straight - are you telling me that I may be successful by taking
out the current memory, putting in a single stick of 533, and then putting back
the 800 later and it may start working?

Again, so far I've been unable to get into either the bios nor cmos as I can't get
anything on the monitor.

Jeff

Well, I cannot speak for every board. Some of the Asus boards exhibit those symptoms,
where a lower speed RAM works. I've never heard anything about funny sounding
beeps. Asus hosts their own forums, and some of the RAM problems have been
documented there. I don't know if there is a "hot" site for Gigabyte boards
or not.

This Asus board uses the same chipset as yours, and the Asus BIOS
offers a "skew" setting (and placing something like that in the BIOS, is
bad design as far as I'm concerned - if skew needs to be adjusted, the BIOS
should know how to do it, silently).

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...model=M2N32-SLI+Deluxe&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

Some other threads:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...model=M2N32-SLI+Deluxe&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...model=M2N32-SLI+Deluxe&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx...model=M2N32-SLI+Deluxe&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

And if you cannot get your board to POST, it will be pretty hard to update
the BIOS to the most recent version. You can try just the one stick of
RAM, and try it in all the slots, and see if things change. If you
still aren't getting anywhere, find the cheapest slowest stick of
memory you can, and give it a try.

Paul

 

[Jeff]

And if you cannot get your board to POST, it will be pretty hard to update

the BIOS to the most recent version. You can try just the one stick of
RAM, and try it in all the slots, and see if things change. If you
still aren't getting anywhere, find the cheapest slowest stick of
memory you can, and give it a try.

Paul

After further checking, I see that GigaByte has just released a new bios for my board only a few weeks ago. It is specifically
listed as being released to improve DDR2 compatibility. So, I'll try to find a stick of slower ram tomorrow and see if I can get the
thing to post with it. If so, hopefully a bios upgrade will do the trick to get the PC6400 ram going. I suppose that this will give
me a good reason to check out this fancy dual-bios thing that the MB has that can update the bios from a floppy while still in the
[2nd] bios.

....major pain I didn't anticipate going through.

Thanks - I'll post if I get the thing going.

Jeff

 

[Rod Speed]

Okay, I reset the cmos but the problem remains. If I pull out
the ram and try to start, I get the same beep pattern. If that
beep pattern is, in fact, indicating a RAM issue, I suppose
that having no ram would be the same as incompatible ram?

Yes, I'd certainly try different ram. Like Paul said, there are
currently quite a few problems with the higher speed DDR2 ram.

Usual bleeding edge problems. Gigabyte is absolutely
notorious for those, they ship stuff too early, presumably
to try to get the jump on the competition.

 

[Mike T.]

Okay, I did find the beep codes in the manual. What I'm not really sure
about is what I'm hearing.

The case speaker is hooked to the MB so the noise is clearly from the
speaker. The first beep (similar to what I'm used to hearing
from other machines) is a clear distinct beep - again, just like I'm used
to hearing when my other machines start. Immediately after
that single normal beep, the continuous beeps start but they are more like
dull taps - they aren't the same as that initial beep but
they definitely are coming from the case speaker. The manual claims that
continuous long beeps indicates "DRAM error," while
continuous short beeps indicates "power error." The beeps sound short to
me, but they are distinctly different from the initial
one, so perhaps they are considered "long" - in which case you might be
right about the RAM.

Jeff - You are second-guessing yourself. Stop it! Take the information
that the system is giving you and run with it. If it was long beeps, you
would know it. It is short beeps. There's no guarantee that your RAM is
good, and it wouldn't hurt to try different RAM. However, the mainboard is
complaining about a power error. This would mean that there is:
1) A problem with your power supply
2) A bad connection between mainboard and power supply, or you forgot a
connection between mainboard and power supply
3) (least likely) A bad mainboard

Given your symptoms, I would TRIPLE-check all connections on the mainboard
(ALL of them) and if they all look good, disconnect every cable and start
over anyway (it's possible a connection just needs to be reseated). If
still no luck, try a different power supply. -Dave

 

[JAD]

why are you guys dismissing the CPU fan connector information. I just tried
to fire up this asus board with a 3 pin connector to a four pin header....NO
BOOT i don't have the speaker hooked up yet so I don't hear the beep code
yet.

 

[johns]

You are probably looking at the wrong fan connector. Or,
you just ordered parts randomly without knowing which
cpu goes with your mobo. In that case, you probably
bent a lot of cpu pins trying to cram the wrong cpu in
the wrong socket. Home builders should always order
mobo, cpu, and ram as a bundle assembled and tested
by the vendor. That gives you vendor warrantee, and is
worth every cent it costs extra.

johns

 

[Jeff]

why are you guys dismissing the CPU fan connector information. I just tried
to fire up this asus board with a 3 pin connector to a four pin header....NO
BOOT i don't have the speaker hooked up yet so I don't hear the beep code
yet.

So it appears that the thing ended up related to the video card. After attempting everything else including hooking up a new
powersupply (externally - didn't actually remove the one I wanted to use), I finally stuck in another card from another machine and
it worked. I then put back the original, and that worked also. ...perhaps some dirt/grease/whatever on a contact? ...anyway, I'm now
in the process of installing Vista RC1, which I think I'll use until the regular release comes out.

I'm using a WD Raptor 10K for the OS, and likely will switch it to 2 Raptors in Raid 0 later. ...already have one of the Seagate 750
gig drives for video. So far, that drive hasn't been any where near as hot or noisy as some of the reviews led me to believe it may
but, but to keep things in perspective, my last machine had 2 15K 1st generation SCSIs in it (before they got the fluid bearings
that quieted the noise down a bit).

Thanks for the help and suggestions to all who provided them. ...hopefully all will go more smoothly now, although I may end up back
with a few questions later.

Jeff

 

[Paul]

So it appears that the thing ended up related to the video card. After attempting
everything else including hooking up a new powersupply (externally - didn't actually
remove the one I wanted to use), I finally stuck in another card from another machine and
it worked. I then put back the original, and that worked also. ...perhaps some
dirt/grease/whatever on a contact? ...anyway, I'm now in the process of installing
Vista RC1, which I think I'll use until the regular release comes out.

I'm using a WD Raptor 10K for the OS, and likely will switch it to 2 Raptors in
Raid 0 later. ...already have one of the Seagate 750 gig drives for video. So far,
that drive hasn't been any where near as hot or noisy as some of the reviews led
me to believe it may but, but to keep things in perspective, my last machine had
2 15K 1st generation SCSIs in it (before they got the fluid bearings that quieted
the noise down a bit).

Thanks for the help and suggestions to all who provided them. ...hopefully all
will go more smoothly now, although I may end up back with a few questions later.

Jeff

So the sound you were hearing, was a "bad video" beep pattern ?

It would be interesting to pull the RAM, and listen for that
beep error. Then pull the video (with some RAM in place) and
see what beep pattern that produces. Just so you'll have something
to use for future reference. While I see in the manual, mention
of a "power error" beep code, I don't know what power the board
might be checking (sure, there is a hardware monitor, but the
question would be, what the BIOS does with the information it
can see).

Paul

 

[Tomcat (Tom)]

Home builders should always order
mobo, cpu, and ram as a bundle assembled and tested
by the vendor.

I don't think many home builders except the most ignorant put in the
wrong CPU.

However, ram is another story. I've had numerous problems with RAM
incompatibilties that wasted countless days of pulling my hair out, so
next time I may look for one of those CPU + RAM + MB bundles just for
the assurance the RAM is tested to work with the MB.

 

[Jeff]

So the sound you were hearing, was a "bad video" beep pattern ?

It would be interesting to pull the RAM, and listen for that
beep error. Then pull the video (with some RAM in place) and
see what beep pattern that produces. Just so you'll have something
to use for future reference. While I see in the manual, mention
of a "power error" beep code, I don't know what power the board
might be checking (sure, there is a hardware monitor, but the
question would be, what the BIOS does with the information it
can see).

Paul

I did do as you mentioned prior to the problem being solved. When I pulled the RAM, I got the same pattern. When I pulled the 8 pin
MB power connector the beeps stopped, but that likely stopped the post completely. When I finally pulled the video card, the beeps
stopped, and I could hear different activity as if the post was continuing. So at that point I figured that it had to be the video
card. ...was a big pain to go into another machine to get another card, particularly when the other was a smaller HTPC, but the
other card worked. As I mentioned, when I finally ended up putting the original card back, it worked also. ...can't imagine what was
going on, but it's working now.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[JAD]

I did do as you mentioned prior to the problem being solved. When I pulled

the RAM, I got the same pattern. When I pulled the 8 pin

MB power connector the beeps stopped, but that likely stopped the post

completely. When I finally pulled the video card, the beeps

stopped, and I could hear different activity as if the post was

continuing. So at that point I figured that it had to be the video

card. ...was a big pain to go into another machine to get another card,

particularly when the other was a smaller HTPC, but the

other card worked. As I mentioned, when I finally ended up putting the

original card back, it worked also. ...can't imagine what was

going on, but it's working now.

Thanks again for the help.

Seems the first card was not seated properly