ASUS A8N - No POST

[requested89]

I have built my system comprising of:

Asus A8N-SLi Deluxe
CRUCIAL 1GB DDR PC3200 400MHz 184-PIN UNBUFF 128MX64 Memory Modules
Pny Quadro Fx 540 16 X Pci-express 128mb Ddr
Western Digital WD360GD 36.7Gb "Raptor" 10,000RPM SATA/150 8MB Cache
LG GSA-4167BAL 16x DVD±RW
Aopen H500b Midi Tower 300w
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+


When I power it up I everything starts and whirs etc like the fans, HDD, CPU fan, GPU Fan but I don't get any POST beep at all and the monitor doesn't receive a signal. I would expect something even if it was an error beep but I get nothing.
I know the issue could be related to any of the components but this lack of POST leads me to think that maybe it is either a:

1) Mobo issue
2) Speaker Issue

The manual suggests a minimum PSU of 350W but mine is a 300W. Could this be the problem? Surely I would still get something in the way of on screen activity?

My GPU is a single PCI-Express 16x (not SLI) plugged into the blue PCI-E 16x slot. The weird looking 'thing' that looks like a memory stick (the one that selects whether you are using 1 or 2 GPU's) is set up correctly. Unfortunately I dont have a spare PCI graphics card and this Mobo doesn't accept AGP.

Also my HDD is SATA. Would it be worth checking a normal IDE drive on the Mobo? I don't see how a problem with the HDD could affect the POST or mean I don't get any signal to the monitor.

Any ideas how I can narrow this problem down?

Thanks in advance,

Chris

 

[electronicsfreak]

First off make sure if your motherboard requires the 4 pin connector that it is connected. If it is then try a differnet memory chip one at a time. A bad memory chip will cause that for ive had it happen to me. If that dont work strip everything down to just processor , fan and motherboard and see if you get a beep.

 

[rvnguy]

requested89,

Ditto electronicsfreak's post.

I would add that the Pny Quadro Fx 540 16 X Pci-express 128mb Ddr card also requires a power connection.

As you get nothing at all beep wise. I would start a base one. Remove all attached devices except the CPU one stick of ram and the video card. Also take the mobo out of the case and place on a suitable surface(static mat of you have one, news paper if you don't) and see if you get a POST. If you do continue. If you don't try a different stick of RAM, if still no joy there is some basic problem with the CPU or mobo.

Connect one device at a time and attempt to post. If all devices get connected and you still have a post there is probably a problem with the standoffs that mount the mobo in the case. Shorting is a common problem. Obtain several plastic standoffs and use these to secure the board. Use at least one metal standoff & select one that lines up close to perfect.

Try this and post results.

Hope this helps.

rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[requested89]

I would add that the Pny Quadro Fx 540 16 X Pci-express 128mb Ddr card also requires a power connection.

How do I supply power to the Graphics card? There is no power socket on the Graphics Card (unlike the better models i.e 1300 etc) so should I be attaching more than one power cable to the Mobo? There are 3 possible power sockets on the Mobo: 24pin, 4pin square & EZ-Connecter. Should I be attaching all of these or just one?

Thanks in advance,

Chris.

 

[electronicsfreak]

The 24pin and 4 pin square connector are both supposed to be connected. As for ez connector ill get back to you on that as soon as i have this manual for your motherboard downloaded. Its downloading slow at the moment.

 

[electronicsfreak]

Yes the ez connector should be connected to power as well. According to the manual it will be unstable if not.

 

[rvnguy]

requested89,

My error on the power connector requirement for the Video card.

Did you find a solution for the POST problem?


rvnguy
"I know everything..I just can't remember it all

 

[requested89]

I bought a new 450W PSU and now the system boots correctly. Nearly!

The system boots and I can get into the BIOS etc but if I try to install windows I get a Blue Screen with a Hardware compatibility error message. It doesn't mention the hardware which isn't compatible just some typical long Microsoft numbers (you know, the really unhelpful helpful 8x000000E variety).

If necessary I can post the exact numbers if it will be of any help. Any idea what the problem might be?

I'm gonna try to replace the RAM with some other that I have and also try using a cheap PCI Graphics card if I can find one instaed of the PCI-E x16.

Any Ideas?

 

[requested89]

The error codes are as follows:

***STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005, 0x80829160, 0xF7C7E2A4, 0x00000000)

Any ideas?

 

[temporello]

It is usually caused by faulty RAM,or "extreme" RAM settings.
Try to reduce the memory frequency to 333 Mhz.

 

[requested89]

OK thanks I'll try that. Doesn't the RAM speed affect the speed of the processor? When I initially booted my PC for the first time, the RAM speed was set at 133 or 266 or something which made the processor speed 4.2Ghz (it should be 2Ghz).
I changed the speed of the ram to what it should be which is 400Mhz and this altered the processor speed to the correct, 2Ghz setting.

Isn't the processor speed determined as a mulitple of the RAM speed or something?

How can I alter the speed of my RAM but keep the Pocessor speed at 2Ghz?

Thanks in advance,

Chris

 

[temporello]

Refer to to the manual!
The advice is to keep the memory and FSB at the same frequency for system stability.
But you can experiment with the settings carefully.