new build disaster

captainl

captainl

captainl

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13 Feb 2008
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15
i just got these parts for my new build today:

Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI/HDMI (PCI-Express)
Gigabyte GA-P31-DS3L Intel P31 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E2200 "LGA775 Conroe" 2.20GHz (800FSB)
Antec NSK 6580 Super Midi Tower Case - 430W Earth Watts PSU
OCZ 2GB (2x1GB) PC2-6400C4 Dual Channel Platinum Revision 2 XTC Series DDR2 (OCZ2P800R22GK)
Samsung SpinPoint T 500GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM (HD501LJ)

and i'm not having much luck making it work. after putting it all together it won't start - the power is on and stays on for 20 seconds or so then it just restarts, there's never any picture on the monitor and never any beeps. if i take the memory out then it does beep, so i know the speaker works but if i put that back it doesn't.

i tried starting with just graphics card, cpu and ram but it makes no difference. in fact even if i start with just cpu and ram it does the same thing - no beeps then restarts every so often. i noticed that when it initially starts the cpu fan spins briefly (a second or two) then stops. it doesn't move again until the restart when it moves briefly again. could this be normal? just due to the mobo not activating the fan as the cpu isn't hot enough.

i'm totally stuck. why would it restart like that? what would you do if you were me?
 
Earth problem, check screws that hold motherboard to case! My mate had a weird fault the other day and it was one of the screws touching a component!

Just a thought!

Xray
 
Have you connected the extra power lead supplying the Gfx card?
Also is the 12V AUX power connected properly to the mobo?
 
thanks for the replies.

it actually turned out to be the ram slots on the mobo. there are two channels each with two slots and if anything is in the first channel it does the weird restart thing. if i just have one stick in the second channel it starts okay, but that's no good as i have two sticks and they are supposed to go in separate channels.

so this means my mobo is screwed right? any bios magic that i can try?
 
if both the ram sticks work when in the slot you mention, then the motherboard is borked.

you could try a BIOS update, but it sounds like it's knackered.
 
Sounds like a RAM/MOBO compatability issue, but you should be able to find what is the exact cause.

Firstly securely reconnect all components, listen for clicks holding things in place etc.

Then double check that when you use a single stick that both sticks when used seperately boot the machine.

Gigabyte mobo RAM slots = 2 x orange + 2 x red?? or similar 2 x colour yes?

I have probably misunderstood what you have typed when you say you have two sticks and they are supposed to go in seperate channels.

But with gigabyte mobos if you put the 2 sticks of ram in just the orange slots and try it should work. If that does not work then put them both in just the red slots. (or whatever the colour of your slots are)

Do not do 1 x orange and 1 x red, make sense??

Apologies if you have already tried this, i had difficulty understanding exactly what you had tried.

The fans starting up and then turning off on your cpu cooler is because your bios is enabled to only let the cpu cooler kick in when temperature reaches a certain point, this can be disabled once you get your machine up and running.

If still no boot, then by using your machine with just your one stick, you could get a copy of the latest bios and flash your machine, then clear cmos.

If this doesnt work, can you get hold of some different RAM to try? Or can you try your RAM in a different mobo? Or is it possible to try a more powerful psu just incase when things start sucking up juice your 430w isnt enough?
 
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As long as he has covered all the ground rules for building the system and trying to start up the system by testing everything else, I would not think this would invalidate the warranty.

As long as an official 'non beta' bios update was used I would assume it would be fine.

Also the gigabyte mobo's often have 'backup' non-rewriteable bios's on them anyway so he can always roll back to the default one if that still doesnt work.

It is not like the machine is being overclocked or watercooled. I am pretty sure if a retailer said updating the bios was invalidating a warranty especially on a build that did not appear to work from the start anyway you could get trading standards involved.
 
Crashgate3 said:
Wouldn't flashing the BIOS invalidate the warranty?
Click to expand...

well there not gonna know are they?

if you just short the CMOS jumper before you send it back and just claim ignorance your sorted.

if you ring up there helpline they'd probably only tell you to try updating it anyway.
 
well, i've flashed the bios to the latest version and still no joy. neither putting both ram sticks in the yellow slots or both sticks in the orange slots works.

a quick google suggests that some people are using these sticks with this mobo, so i guess i've no choice but to return it, which is a bit disappointing.

ah well, thanks for your help.
 
Could it be a RAM voltage issue? Check what voltage your ram works at then check the BIOS if you can get to it with one stick.

PK!
 
hmm yeah iwas wondering about ram volatges also. if you put one stick in can you get to the bios check the ram voltage in there it may be set to default which si normnally 1.8v the ram you got can is recomended at 1.8v-2.1v soo maybe worth upiing it to 2v then saving it closing down and puting the second stick in and then see what happens.
 
thefishdude said:
hmm yeah iwas wondering about ram volatges also. if you put one stick in can you get to the bios check the ram voltage in there it may be set to default which si normnally 1.8v the ram you got can is recomended at 1.8v-2.1v soo maybe worth upiing it to 2v then saving it closing down and puting the second stick in and then see what happens.
Click to expand...

i tried this and still no joy. i set it to +0.2 (which should be 2.0) and then +0.4 and while one stick was fine still, two didn't work. i might try +0.1 and +0.3 and maybe flash back to the non-beta, but i'm not optimistic.
 
captainl said:
i tried this and still no joy. i set it to +0.2 (which should be 2.0) and then +0.4 and while one stick was fine still, two didn't work. i might try +0.1 and +0.3 and maybe flash back to the non-beta, but i'm not optimistic.
Click to expand...

If that didn't work then its RMA time I'm afraid. Have you tried it with each stick on its own?

PK!
 
I would send a webnote to OcUK, explaing your problem, mention things you have tried. Then request a replacement.You could try asking them to send you a replacement and have that courier pick up the duff board at the same time, would save them in postage and your time ;)
 
fobose said:
I would send a webnote to OcUK, explaing your problem, mention things you have tried. Then request a replacement.You could try asking them to send you a replacement and have that courier pick up the duff board at the same time, would save them in postage and your time ;)
Click to expand...

that would be absolutely awesome. surely they wouldn't be so trusting though, after all, they don't know that i'm not an idiot and that the board is fine.
 
Whatever the case they are legally obliged to pay for return postage on DOA products, the same as all other e-tailers.
 
i imagine it'll be fun getting them to cough up for that. would be good to get it over with though.

i wonder if i should just order another one and ask them to refund once the RMA is all done. risky if it's not deemed faulty i suppose, but i'm pretty sure it is.
 
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